The Bees in Your Backyard provides an engaging introduction to the roughly 4,000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart in the field.

Table of Contents

• 1 INTRODUCTION
• 1.1 Is This a Bee?
• 1.2 Bee Names
• 1.3 The Bee Lifecycle
• 1.4 Where Do Bees Live?
• 1.5 Bee Sociality
• 1.6 What Do Bees Eat?
• 1.7 A Bee's Enemies
• 1.8 A Bee's Body
• 1.9 How to Study Bees
• 1.10 Identifying Bees 39 Key to the Chapters of this Book
• 1.11 Appreciating Bees
• 2 PROMOTING BEES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
• 2.1 Bees as Pollinators
• 2.2 Providing Habitat
• 2.3 Providing Food
• 3 ANDRENIDAE
• Identification Tips
• 3.1 Andreninae
• 3.2 Protandrenini and Panurgini
• 3.3 Perditini
• 3.4 Calliopsis
• 3.5 Oxaeinae
• 4 COLLETIDAE
• Identification Tips
• 4.1 Colletinae
• 4.2 Hylaeus
• 4.3 Diphaglossinae
• 5 MELITTIDAE
• Identification Tips
• 6 HALICTIDAE
• Identification Tips
• 6.1 Agapostemon
• 6.2 Halictus
• 6.3 Lasioglossum
• 6.4 Augochlorini
• 6.5 Nomiinae
• 6.6 Rophitinae
• 7 MEGACHILIDAE
• Identification Tips
• 7.1 Lithurginae
• 7.2 Osmia
• 7.3 Hoplitis
• 7.4 Other Osmiini
• 7.5 Anthidium
• 7.6 Other Anthidiini
• 7.7 Megachile
• 8 API DAE
• Identification Tips
• 8.1 Xylocopa
• 8.2 Ceratina
• 8.3 Exomalopsini
• 8.4 Emphorini
• 8.5 Common Eucerini
• 8.6 Peponapis and Xenoglossa
• 8.7 Other Eucerini
• 8.8 Anthophorini
• 8.9 Centris
• 8.10 Bombus
• 8.11 Apis mellifera
• 8.12 Euglossa
• 9 POLLEN THIEVES
• Identification Tips
• 9.1 Cuckoo Bees: Apidae
• 9.2 Cuckoo Bees: Halictidae
• 9.3 Cuckoo Bees: Megachilidae
• Appendix: Guide to the Pronunciation of Bee Names
• Photographic Acknowledgments