![]() These hives will pollinate the farmer’s crops while producing honey for their keepers to harvest and sell. These bees have been captively bred in the United States for generations.īeekeepers often maintain hives that they rent to farmers. European Honeybee European Honeybee | image by Insects Unlocked via FlickrĮuropean honeybees are in the bumble bee family, and are not native to Texas but are found throughout the state. If you have zucchini, gourds, or pumpkins growing in your yard, keep an eye out for these adorable pollinators.ĥ. Once he mates he will fall asleep inside the flower.Īfter breeding, females will build ground nests similar to the leafcutter bees, but without the leaves. The male squash bee will hang out near squash flowers in the morning waiting for the female bees to stop by. You may also like: Water Snakes in North Carolina (13 Species With Pictures) These bees can be found anywhere squash can grow from Canada down to South America. Squash bees are super interesting in that they will only pollinate the flowers of squash species. Squash Bees Squash Bee | image by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab via Flickr They are opportunistic feeders and enjoy almost any flower they come across.Ĥ. These bees are important pollinators that are thought to visit some rare flowers as well as crops. Each egg is nestled into a bed of pollen where the egg will hatch and the baby will grow. The female mining bee uses a saliva mixture to waterproof the inside of her tunnel and create small chambers for her eggs. ![]() The females will often nest near each other, and create tunnels that resemble chimneys. These bees are solitary bees that will build nests in soil such as clay. There are a few different species of miner bees that have wide ranges all across Texas and North America. Mining Bees Miner Bee | image by Judy Gallagher via Flickr | CC BY 2.0 They have the ability to sting, but are fairly docile and will rarely sting humans.ģ. Mason bees are often found in orchards throughout Texas as they are better adapted to pollinating citrus flowers than European honeybees. Interestingly, the eggs laid toward the back of the chamber are always female and the ones at the front are male. Similar to leafcutter bees, they will then lay 1 egg per chamber and leave nectar and pollen for the baby bees. They are usually made of a collection of wooden tubes stuck together. You can even purchase mason bee houses to hang in your garden. They use pre-made holes often in trees or reeds and create egg chambers with mud. Like their name implies, mason bees build their nests with collected mud. She will line her burrow with pieces of leaves that she has cut from plants and then deposit pollen and a single egg in each chamber of the nest.Įach burrow usually has a few egg chambers and each female will create several burrows in her lifetime. After a female has mated she will choose a location for her nest and then dig a burrow in the ground. These bees are unique in the way they build their nests. There are several species of leafcutter bees found throughout Texas. Leafcutter Bees Leafcutter bee | image by USFWS Midwest Region via Flickr We certainly can’t list them all here, but we can look at ten of the more common and interesting species. It is estimated that there are 800 species of bees, 11 species of wasps, and 1 honorary hornet species in Texas. In this article we will specifically look at 10 types of hornets, bees, and wasps in Texas. With all this diversity, it makes sense that you would be able to find many species insects in these different habitats. It is also one of the top agricultural producers in the United States. The lone star state is made up of prairies, coastal areas, deserts, and forests. Texas is the second largest state in the U.S., covering over 261,000 square miles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |