Introduction to Alberta’s Native Bees
New to native bees? Start here.
What are they?
Did you know there are over 380 species of native bees in Alberta? Native bees have evolved over many thousands of years in Alberta, and are adapted to our climate and environmental conditions. Many species of bumblebees are native to Alberta, but all of our honeybees are introduced here from Europe.
Learn more about bee biology and ecology here!
Social vs Solitary?
You will hear these terms frequently throughout this website, but what do they mean? These terms refer to the type of lifestyle different species of bees have. The more well known bumble bees and honeybees are examples of social bees, who live together in a hive, and have a queen. Most of our native bees are solitary bees, who instead live alone, and do not have queens or hives!
How can I help?
There are many ways you can help native bees! The best possible way to help native bees is to provide habitat for them. Plant native flowers in your garden, and keep your yard wild. You may have also heard about solitary bee hotels as a way to support native bees - for detailed information about how to build a bee hotel to best support solitary bees, click here.
Looking for more information about bumble bees? We have a well established and successful bumble bee box monitoring program, that relies on the participation of citizen scientist volunteers. You can be a part of it!
Ready for more in-depth information? Our Alberta Native Bees page covers detailed information about each taxonomic family group of bees in Alberta, their characteristics, and what habitat they use.
Visit our event page for talks and workshops.
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