From the large buff-tailed bumblebee to the domesticated honey bee and the many different solitary bee species, what buzzing bees can you find on our canals?
How many types of bees are there in the UK?
The UK has around 270 different bee species – 24 are bumblebees, one honey bee species and the other 90% of UK bee species are solitary bees. While bumblebees and honey bees are well-known, solitary bees often go unnoticed, though they're equally important pollinators.
Hoverflies often mimic bee species with similar black and white bands. You can often tell this interloper apart by its tell-tale hovering behaviour. Hoverflies also do not sting.
A guide to UK bee species
Many bees buzz around our canals. Read our guide to identify our most common bee species.
Bumblebees
So-called for their bumbling flight, these large, fluffy insects are regular visitors and pollinators on our canals in the spring and summer. These social bees are often spotted in gardens, meadows and along canals in the spring and summer months.
Here are the three most common bumblebees you’ll see.
1. Early bumblebee
Bombus pratorum
Early bumblebees are small with bright lemon-yellow bands across the body and an orange tail. The Early Bumblebee is one of the first to emerge in the spring. These bees begin their colony cycle in February, earlier than most other species – hence its name.
They like to build their nests in old burrows and cavities. Early bumblebees are vital pollinators of raspberries and blackberries.
2. Common carder bumblebee
Bombus pascuorum
Common carder bumblebees are fluffy and, unlike most other UK species, the only all-brown bumblebee with no white tail. Emerging early in spring, they feed on flowers – like bluebell, clover, knapweed, scabious, comfrey, and dandelion – from March to November.
You might find a common carder in meadows, parks and woodland edges.
3. Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris
Often found in lowland areas, buff-tailed bumblebees are the largest of the common bumblebees in the UK. They have a yellow collar and another lower on the abdomen. Queens have a buff-coloured ‘tail’, while workers have white tails with a slight buff. Males have black facial hair with buff-tinged tails.
Buff-tailed bumblebees are often found in lowland areas and are key pollinators of crops like tomatoes.
Honey bees
In the UK, we have just one species of honey bee: the Apis mellifera, also known as the European honey bee. They’ve long been domesticated by beekeepers, and it’s rare to find native wild honey bees in the UK today.
Recognisable by their slender body with a sandy thorax, black abdomen and golden bands. Honey bees live in hives with up to 20,000 other bees, but are commonly seen feeding on open flowers – their favourite plants being willow, ivy, lavender, dandelion, clover and thyme.
The workers, of course, produce honey using the nectar gathered from flowers.
Solitary bees
While most people are familiar with bumblebees and honey bees, the UK has over 240 solitary bee species, many of which are harder to identify but just as important for pollination.
Solitary bees don’t live in colonies, nor do they serve a queen or make wax or honey. Some do nest in large groups – often in wood, tunnels or even man-made structures – but they tend to live and work alone.
Here are four common solitary bee species you might spot around canals and in gardens.
1. Red mason bee
Osmia rufa
The red mason bee has a black head with powerful jaws. They have a brown thorax and orange abdomen, and females are very fluffy. Red mason bees are often found in urban areas, like gardens and parks. They opt to live in built-up areas with access to green space. These bees are pollinators of fruit trees.
2. Ashy mining bee
Andrena cineraria
The ashy mining bee is a distinctive species with black and white monochrome stripes. These bees build their nests in underground tunnels in open woodland, gardens, urban areas, and along river banks.
The ashy mining bee feasts largely on buttercups, hawthorns, dandelions, blackthorns, gorse, and fruit trees.
3. Early mining bee
Andrena haemorrhoa
Like the early bumblebee, early mining bees are one of the earlier species to emerge in spring. Characterised by a deep orange thorax, light hairs on the leg, and a black abdomen, these solitary bees are easily recognisable.
Early mining bees nest in light soil along woodland edges, farmland, scrubland, gardens and meadows.
Anthophora plumipes
Easily mistaken for small bumblebees, the hairy-footed flower bee is distinguished by its quick, darting flying. Males and females are different – the males are ginger with creamed-coloured faces and hairy feet, while females are black with orange hair on the hind legs.
These bees are largely found in woodlands, parks, gardens, and urban green spaces in the south and east of England. However, warming temperatures mean some populations are moving north.
Why bees are important?
Bees pollinate over 80% of flowering plants in the UK. Without bees, many plants would fail to reproduce, affecting food crops and wildlife. To help protect bees, consider planting bee-friendly plants in your garden, like lavender, clover and thyme.
