These various insects and pollinators were photographed in June 2015 in our gardens. Some of them are pollinators and some are beneficial insects.
Bees can be very difficult to identify, especially since there are variations in size and colour. The most common bees in Ontario, separated by bee families, are as follows: miner bees; squash, carpenter, bumble, and honey bees; cellophane and masked bees; sweat and pearly-banded bees; leafcutter, orchard, and mason bees.
Most bees that are called “domesticated” are actually honeybees that have been brought in from other countries. Italian bees were brought to Canada in the 18th century and are the most common domesticated bee. Carniolan are the most popular honeybee used by beekeepers. Russian bees were brought to Canada in 2000 because they are capable of withstanding harsh winters and they are resistant to mites. Luckily, due to our cold winters, we do not have to worry about Africanized bees which are commonly referred to as killer bees.
Hover or Flower Fly
Hover flies, or Flower Flies, may look like a bee but technically they are flies. They are pollinators and their larvae eat aphids.
Bumble Bee on Butterfly Bush
One of many types of bumble bees you may come across in your garden. All bumble bees have distinctive bands of black and yellow soft fuzzy hair.
Domesticated Honey Bee on Chive Flower
Here you can easily spot the bee’s ‘pollen basket’.
Bee on Chive Flower
Bee on Potentilla Bush
Small Carpenter Bee on Baby’s Breath
The small carpenter bee like to nest in the dead pithy stems of plants, especially raspberry, bramble and fennel plants. It is also one of the few pollinators you might find in midwinter hibernating in old stem nests.
Honey Bee on Chive Flower
Bee Covered In Pollen
Hover Flies
Hover Fly on Baby’s Breath
Sources:
“A Guide to Northern Native Plants.” Native Plants Journal 9.1 (2008): 76. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
A Guide to Toronto’s Pollinators. Vancouver: David Suzuki Foundation, 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.
Packer, Laurence. 2010.
