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The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees
The ultimate bee book for bee enthusiasts and experts alikeThe 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.The book features more than 900 stunning color photos of the bees living all around us--in our gardens and parks, along nature trails, and in the wild spaces between. It describes their natural history, including where they live, how they gather food, their role as pollinators, and even how to attract them to your own backyard. Ideal for amateur naturalists and experts alike, it gives detailed accounts of every bee family and genus in North America, describing key identification features, distributions, diets, nesting habits, and more.Provides the most comprehensive and accessible guide to all bees in the United States and CanadaFeatures more than 900 full-color photosOffers helpful identification tips and pointers for studying beesIncludes a full chapter on how to attract bees to your backyard
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2015
29 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 23, 2016
Enjoyed but will still be using descriptors like large and fuzzy instead of proper names of bees.
November 15, 2017
So I pretty much “read” this, in the sense that you can really read any field guide or reference book. Lots of great information in the first part of the book— bee anatomy (which helps a lot when learning to ID), natural history, their role as pollinators, behavior. I became obsessed with bees this year since starting a garden at my new place and I’ve spent countless hours standing around in my backyard with a camera, photographing bees. I really never knew how many bee species there really are and how many can be attracted to a suburban backyard. Native bees are so much more interesting than the (non-native) honeybees, both in looks and behavior. This is a pretty good field guide/reference to start with but I’m not rating it 5 stars because holy shit, could the range maps be ANY smaller? They were ridiculously tiny and it’s really hard to see where any one species can be found. I live in a tiny state and I would need a magnifying glass to see it on their maps, so it can be difficult to tell if a species occurs here. Also, while the photography is great, there really should be more photos. It’s helpful when a bee is described in the text to see an actual photo of it.
January 4, 2020
This is a wonderful book for Californians to own. Tons of interesting facts and vivid illustrations. We should all know more about these wonderful insects.
July 29, 2017
This is more of a "flip around" reference book (though it has gorgeous pictures!) than a "read from beginning to end" book. This had to go back to the library before before I could get through the entire thing, but it has earned a place on my "to be purchased" list! Fascinating blurbs, well-organized and beautiful photography.
December 14, 2024
Excellent book, but there is just too much there. Identifying bees is way more subtle and complicated than I thought. I ended up just skimming parts of this book. I live in Michigan, and many of the bees are not native to our area. If you really want to learn about bees, this book is great. If you just want to learn to identify the most common types in your yard, it may be more than you need.
February 4, 2023
Wow. The absolute best book on native bees I have come across. Accessible, comprehensive, and a joy to read. The photographs are beautiful and the authors even emailed me back when I needed help with an ID. 10/10
November 30, 2018
This is an incredible book. My curiosity about bees is sated with all of the information in this book. Anything I ever wanted to know, and so very much more, is offered for the average person to familiarize themselves with the great variety of bees in North America. I never knew there was such profound variety, not in the obvious size differences, but also in their coloration, and habits. When one thinks of a bee, one immediately thinks of yellow, and black. The iridescent green, and fire reds with what appears as a wasp's body were completely unexpected. The language is a nice balance between scientific terms, which are nicely defined, and descriptive words everyone knows.
The book focuses on identification, with several brilliant, full-color photographs detailing the bee anatomy, and each specie taken both in nature, and in lab conditions for further emphasis on features on every page. The comparisons made between the similar looking species of fly, and wasp further helped make identification easier. The section about enemies of the bee fascinated me.
The second chapter focuses on how humans can promote bees in our neighborhoods with a examples of habitats one can build. A color chart of the planting zones, and a regional guide to the plants that are easiest to grow for bees in that area.
Within each species chapter, the author includes inserts within the text that covers name and its meaning, description, distribution, diet and pollination services, and other biological notes. The inserts, off-set in golden boxes, offer several unique points about each tribe. My favorite inserts are for each tribe with its name pronunciation guide; its size when compared to one inch; its active period by month, and region; and distribution shown on a North American map with the likelihood of occurrence color-coded to frequency.
The book focuses on identification, with several brilliant, full-color photographs detailing the bee anatomy, and each specie taken both in nature, and in lab conditions for further emphasis on features on every page. The comparisons made between the similar looking species of fly, and wasp further helped make identification easier. The section about enemies of the bee fascinated me.
The second chapter focuses on how humans can promote bees in our neighborhoods with a examples of habitats one can build. A color chart of the planting zones, and a regional guide to the plants that are easiest to grow for bees in that area.
Within each species chapter, the author includes inserts within the text that covers name and its meaning, description, distribution, diet and pollination services, and other biological notes. The inserts, off-set in golden boxes, offer several unique points about each tribe. My favorite inserts are for each tribe with its name pronunciation guide; its size when compared to one inch; its active period by month, and region; and distribution shown on a North American map with the likelihood of occurrence color-coded to frequency.
July 16, 2021
Overall a good reference though all of the IDing sections were dry and hard to pay attention to and I still can't really tell the difference between bees.
It would be cool if there was some kind of computer game/app to practice IDing with.
The prose sections were interesting enough but even though I read this as hard copy somehow I wasn't able to record as many quotes as I would have liked to.
I wish library loans were longer, especially on popular items like this where I have to keep checking out and re-checking. Maybe I should just buy books? But I already have enough books in my house.
It would be cool if there was some kind of computer game/app to practice IDing with.
The prose sections were interesting enough but even though I read this as hard copy somehow I wasn't able to record as many quotes as I would have liked to.
I wish library loans were longer, especially on popular items like this where I have to keep checking out and re-checking. Maybe I should just buy books? But I already have enough books in my house.
February 9, 2021
Bees are a little known but important part of the ecosystems in North America where there are more than 4000 species. This is four times the number of bird species. They increase the seed set in over 70 percent of the flowering plants.
Bees are often confused with flies, but flies have short antennae, large forward-facing eyes and no hair for collecting pollen. The distinction between wasps and bees is more subtle. Wasps tend to be thinner, mostly hairless and have thin, spiny legs. Bees have stout legs with plentiful hairs for collection of the pollen. Bees feed on nectar and honey whereas waps are generally meat-eaters.
Most bees nest in holes in the ground, although some groups such as the bumblebees nest in rock crevices hollows in tree stumps.
Female bees have hairs specifically for the collection of pollen, called scopa, which are generally on their legs but on the underside of the abdomen in some species. Male bees lack these hairs, a characteristic that is apparent in the field. The scopa become electrically charged when the bee is in flight, aiding in the adherence of the pollen to the hairs. Bumblebees have pollen baskets. Bees can see into the ultraviolet, but cannot see red.
The book has great material on making one's yard bee friendly, including recommendations for plants that attract bees. Some interesting pointers such as choosing flowers that have not been excessively modified - "Doubled petals, though beautiful, are especially spurned by bees because the extra petals come at the expense of nectar." Also, the number of bee species attracted goes up greatly with the number of flower species planted.
Andrenidae (mining bees) are the largest family in North America, the majority being in the genera Andrena and Perdita, whose common name refers to their nesting in the earth. Among the first bees to fly in the spring, many Andrena are diverse feeders, but some specialize and visit only a single species of composite. The Perdita are very small bees that tend to specialize in evening primrose, globe mallow or certain composites.
Most Colletidae in North America are in the genera Colletes (plasterer or cellophane bees) and Hylaeus (masked or yellow-faced bees). Colletes linsleyi is interesting as it prefers collecting pollen from the salt cedar (Tamarix) which was imported from the Mediterranean only 200 years ago. Hylaeus are small black bees with little hair that can easily be mistaken for wasps. Commonly found in the mountains, they do not make their nests but use woody material such as hollow stems.
While the Melittidae (Melittid Bees) is a small family, it is the oldest family of bees with the oldest fossil dating to 100 million years ago. These bees are buzz pollinators with M. americana visiting cranberries and blueberries and M. californica living on the pollen of mallow family flowers.
The Halictidae (sweat bees) are both widespread and abundant. Eusociality - cooperative brood care by multiple generations - appears to have arisen numerous times within this family at about 22 million years ago. The metallic green and blue-green Agapostemon species are found at all elevations to above treeline. Halictus are remarkable in that although they are eusocial, all females retain the ability to lay eggs and can go off and start their own colonies. Small Lasioglossum species are abundant but often overlooked in North American gardens.
The Megachilidae are large bees with obvious striping and often with large jaws that are used for chewing leaves, moving rocks and gnawing wood. Many species of Osmia (mason bees) specialize in flowers of the rose family and are important pollinators of orchards. Osmia lignaria (blue orchard bees) is very efficient - 300 bees can do as much pollination as 90,000 honey bees. Hoplitis is often seen at higher elevations and feeds on such plant flowers as Cryptanthus, beardstongue and scorpionweed. Megachile (leaf cutting bees) cut pieces of leaves with which they line their nest, many preferring rose or lilac leaves. Thirty million year old leaf fossils show they were active then.
The Apidae include the most social of the bees - the honey bees and the bumble bees. The Ceratina are unique in that some species are parthenogenic and can reproduce without mating. Bumble bees are well adapted for cold, and able to forage on the tundra. They are able to fly to high elevations - theoretically as high as Mt. Everest. As their colonies last only a year, they do not convert the collected nectar to honey. The common honey bee is an import. Contrary to cartoons, honey bees do not produce a globular nest (these belong to wasps) but nest in crevices and holes in trees.
Cleptoparasitic bees sneak into another species nest and lay an egg which hatches and feeds on the food reserves in the nest. They are often referred to as cuckoo bees. This lifestyle has evolved 27 times. Species that exhibit this behaviour are found in the Apidae, Halictidae and the Megachilidae. Such species tend to lack pollen collecting hairs and look more wasp-like.
The book has many photos and illustrated keys to the various genera. Identification often relies on small characteristics and so is difficult without capturing the bee.
Bees are often confused with flies, but flies have short antennae, large forward-facing eyes and no hair for collecting pollen. The distinction between wasps and bees is more subtle. Wasps tend to be thinner, mostly hairless and have thin, spiny legs. Bees have stout legs with plentiful hairs for collection of the pollen. Bees feed on nectar and honey whereas waps are generally meat-eaters.
Most bees nest in holes in the ground, although some groups such as the bumblebees nest in rock crevices hollows in tree stumps.
Female bees have hairs specifically for the collection of pollen, called scopa, which are generally on their legs but on the underside of the abdomen in some species. Male bees lack these hairs, a characteristic that is apparent in the field. The scopa become electrically charged when the bee is in flight, aiding in the adherence of the pollen to the hairs. Bumblebees have pollen baskets. Bees can see into the ultraviolet, but cannot see red.
The book has great material on making one's yard bee friendly, including recommendations for plants that attract bees. Some interesting pointers such as choosing flowers that have not been excessively modified - "Doubled petals, though beautiful, are especially spurned by bees because the extra petals come at the expense of nectar." Also, the number of bee species attracted goes up greatly with the number of flower species planted.
Andrenidae (mining bees) are the largest family in North America, the majority being in the genera Andrena and Perdita, whose common name refers to their nesting in the earth. Among the first bees to fly in the spring, many Andrena are diverse feeders, but some specialize and visit only a single species of composite. The Perdita are very small bees that tend to specialize in evening primrose, globe mallow or certain composites.
Most Colletidae in North America are in the genera Colletes (plasterer or cellophane bees) and Hylaeus (masked or yellow-faced bees). Colletes linsleyi is interesting as it prefers collecting pollen from the salt cedar (Tamarix) which was imported from the Mediterranean only 200 years ago. Hylaeus are small black bees with little hair that can easily be mistaken for wasps. Commonly found in the mountains, they do not make their nests but use woody material such as hollow stems.
While the Melittidae (Melittid Bees) is a small family, it is the oldest family of bees with the oldest fossil dating to 100 million years ago. These bees are buzz pollinators with M. americana visiting cranberries and blueberries and M. californica living on the pollen of mallow family flowers.
The Halictidae (sweat bees) are both widespread and abundant. Eusociality - cooperative brood care by multiple generations - appears to have arisen numerous times within this family at about 22 million years ago. The metallic green and blue-green Agapostemon species are found at all elevations to above treeline. Halictus are remarkable in that although they are eusocial, all females retain the ability to lay eggs and can go off and start their own colonies. Small Lasioglossum species are abundant but often overlooked in North American gardens.
The Megachilidae are large bees with obvious striping and often with large jaws that are used for chewing leaves, moving rocks and gnawing wood. Many species of Osmia (mason bees) specialize in flowers of the rose family and are important pollinators of orchards. Osmia lignaria (blue orchard bees) is very efficient - 300 bees can do as much pollination as 90,000 honey bees. Hoplitis is often seen at higher elevations and feeds on such plant flowers as Cryptanthus, beardstongue and scorpionweed. Megachile (leaf cutting bees) cut pieces of leaves with which they line their nest, many preferring rose or lilac leaves. Thirty million year old leaf fossils show they were active then.
The Apidae include the most social of the bees - the honey bees and the bumble bees. The Ceratina are unique in that some species are parthenogenic and can reproduce without mating. Bumble bees are well adapted for cold, and able to forage on the tundra. They are able to fly to high elevations - theoretically as high as Mt. Everest. As their colonies last only a year, they do not convert the collected nectar to honey. The common honey bee is an import. Contrary to cartoons, honey bees do not produce a globular nest (these belong to wasps) but nest in crevices and holes in trees.
Cleptoparasitic bees sneak into another species nest and lay an egg which hatches and feeds on the food reserves in the nest. They are often referred to as cuckoo bees. This lifestyle has evolved 27 times. Species that exhibit this behaviour are found in the Apidae, Halictidae and the Megachilidae. Such species tend to lack pollen collecting hairs and look more wasp-like.
The book has many photos and illustrated keys to the various genera. Identification often relies on small characteristics and so is difficult without capturing the bee.
August 22, 2025
Great information. This book is more of a textbook/field guide, purely informational. But a really extensive and well managed book to refer to on all you would need to know of the bees in North America. Some of my takeaways that’s I’d like to note for myself.
The extensive history of bees through time, going back over 60 million years.
Breakdown of classification. Bees belong to the order that includes wasps and ants, many families of bees, and so on in genus’s and sub-genus’s and tribes.
Parasitic bee species is just a wild concept compared to the image of most bees, but alas they exist and often look quite different, much more like a wasp or fly in some cases.
Bee anatomy is pretty interesting, three simple eyes on the top of the head arranged in a triangle, and the two large compound eyes. Head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs and 4 wings
Generalizations: bees typically nest in the ground, typically are solitary, although there are some really interesting gray areas and even some species that are selectively and adaptably solitary or eusocial. Bees really seem to love the helianthus (sunflower) genus, and just a personal note of mine purple flowers.
The extensive history of bees through time, going back over 60 million years.
Breakdown of classification. Bees belong to the order that includes wasps and ants, many families of bees, and so on in genus’s and sub-genus’s and tribes.
Parasitic bee species is just a wild concept compared to the image of most bees, but alas they exist and often look quite different, much more like a wasp or fly in some cases.
Bee anatomy is pretty interesting, three simple eyes on the top of the head arranged in a triangle, and the two large compound eyes. Head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs and 4 wings
Generalizations: bees typically nest in the ground, typically are solitary, although there are some really interesting gray areas and even some species that are selectively and adaptably solitary or eusocial. Bees really seem to love the helianthus (sunflower) genus, and just a personal note of mine purple flowers.
didn-t-finish
March 24, 2025This is one of the many books we checked out in our search for information about solitary bees and to go along with our Mason Bee house project.
While I think this book is packed with information about different bees in North America, I found it difficult to navigate/read. I think that if you are already a wild bee enthusiast, with an interest in identifying the bees 'in your backyard' this might be a helpful tome, especially with all the lovely color photos and details. The Introduction gives a basic outline for differentiating bee species so you can skip to the right chapter, and each chapter gives further differentiating tips; it's similar to an identification guide in that way. However, the indexing is not really that well-done, so if you know what bee species you want, you'll still have to dig around quite a bit, perhaps online, to be sure you have the right family before digging in.
For bee and insect
While I think this book is packed with information about different bees in North America, I found it difficult to navigate/read. I think that if you are already a wild bee enthusiast, with an interest in identifying the bees 'in your backyard' this might be a helpful tome, especially with all the lovely color photos and details. The Introduction gives a basic outline for differentiating bee species so you can skip to the right chapter, and each chapter gives further differentiating tips; it's similar to an identification guide in that way. However, the indexing is not really that well-done, so if you know what bee species you want, you'll still have to dig around quite a bit, perhaps online, to be sure you have the right family before digging in.
For bee and insect
February 26, 2018
I'm not in any way a specialist, just a girl with a deck garden and an interest in the pollinators that come by. I picked up this book to help me better understand different bee species, and perhaps get involved in some of the pollinator projects that are tracking endangered bee species (like the Great Canadian Bumble Bee Count or Bumble Bee Watch).
The book has very detailed information on identifying bees with an overwhelming amount of beautiful pictures to assist! There is useful info on creating bee-friendly environments, though the bulk of the book is dedicated to identification and information about the habits of the various species. I took it out of the library, but now I want my own copy to keep near the patio doors to grab each time a bee comes by...
The book has very detailed information on identifying bees with an overwhelming amount of beautiful pictures to assist! There is useful info on creating bee-friendly environments, though the bulk of the book is dedicated to identification and information about the habits of the various species. I took it out of the library, but now I want my own copy to keep near the patio doors to grab each time a bee comes by...
February 4, 2023
There are so many different bees in The bees in your backyard I wish I could remember them all. And to think at one time I thought the only two types of bees were Honey Bees and bumble bees.
Besides learning about all the cool bees and seeing pictures of them in The bees in your back yard my favorite section of the book was part two which talks about Bees as pollinators, providing habitat, providing food.
The pictures were fun to look at. And I liked learning about the bees nesting and food they liked to eat, learning about where they may be located.
I wish I had all the bees in The bees in your backyard in my backyard. Maybe someday. I wish I could remember everything about all the bees in the book. What a read!
Besides learning about all the cool bees and seeing pictures of them in The bees in your back yard my favorite section of the book was part two which talks about Bees as pollinators, providing habitat, providing food.
The pictures were fun to look at. And I liked learning about the bees nesting and food they liked to eat, learning about where they may be located.
I wish I had all the bees in The bees in your backyard in my backyard. Maybe someday. I wish I could remember everything about all the bees in the book. What a read!
October 7, 2021
My favorite book about bees that got me hooked on the subject. Looking forward to Olivia Messenger's Western United States bee book. Great for any level (I skipped the microscopic, taxonomy sections besides the pictures, but I still refer to those sections when I take pictures of a bee I cannot identify.
Lovely description and pictures, I've marked all my favorites that I want to see (like a 'gotta catch 'em all mentality'). It is also informative on what to do and not to do for bee habitat (though not the primary reason for the text).
Lovely description and pictures, I've marked all my favorites that I want to see (like a 'gotta catch 'em all mentality'). It is also informative on what to do and not to do for bee habitat (though not the primary reason for the text).
October 25, 2017
This is a book that I will turn to again and again. It is well written, perhaps a little more scientific that I am knowledgeable about - but that is good. Wonderful pictures. It takes in well know varieties of bees as well as the more obscure ones. My current interest is in Mason bee, mining bees, wool carder bees and leaf cutter bees, all of which we have in our yard, as well as bumble bees and honey bees. Worth the price for extensive information.
February 17, 2017
Wow this was loaded with info but it was presented in a clear manner though I found myself skipping some of the bees that were not found in my part of the country (fine I even read most of those because I find bees fascinating).
I made up a few good lists from this book and will be re-reading this book in the future. Bzzzzz.
I made up a few good lists from this book and will be re-reading this book in the future. Bzzzzz.
July 11, 2022
I picked up this book to use for research and ID purposes. If you’re looking for lists of species as their descriptions, this is not your book. Taxonomically, it focuses more on family and genus. However, it does have a wealth of life history and behavioral information. Lots of nice pictures.
December 18, 2022
Beautiful, interesting, packed with information and gorgeous pictures, and well organized. Useful as a field guide but can be read cover to cover. I use it as an exploration tool to investigate what bees are found in the wild.
January 7, 2023
The best single natural history guide that you will ever read.
Profusely illustrated with hundreds of exquisite color photographs. The authors are
world experts on the taxonomy and biology of our native bees.
Profusely illustrated with hundreds of exquisite color photographs. The authors are
world experts on the taxonomy and biology of our native bees.
February 26, 2017
A very good book to help you figure out all the bees that visit your garden once you make it bee and hummingbird friendly.
July 20, 2017
Very informative. Great photos and details.
April 15, 2018
Lots of useful information and incredible pictures. Got all of my bees from last summer identified- just in time for this summer.
December 2, 2020
Fabulous guide. I'm constantly referring to it.
February 21, 2022
NF-Science
277 pages
Overwhelming! There are over 4,000 species that live in North
America. There are over 20,000 bee species that live in the world.
277 pages
Overwhelming! There are over 4,000 species that live in North
America. There are over 20,000 bee species that live in the world.
Want to read
August 19, 2022Recommended ebook to overdrive 8-19-2022
https://www.byuradio.org/constantwond...
https://www.byuradio.org/constantwond...
December 20, 2022
there has to be something better than this out there
May 17, 2023
An extremely accessible book for those interested in melittology
September 26, 2025
incredible staggering amount of info about bees! Even just the intro was fun to read
October 4, 2016
I like to photograph both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. I'm not a biologist and I don't aspire to be one. However, I do like to identify what I've photographed. Most species of birds and mammals are relatively easy to identify by comparing my photos with field guides. That's not the case for insects. I bought The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril to help me identify bees and then read everything in the book except the relatively boring discussions of how to identify them. The book is beautiful — almost coffee-table quality, discussions of bee behavior are fascinating, and by comparing one of my photographs with photos in the book, I've actually managed to identify one cleptoparasitic bee in the Megachilidae family to genus-level. My photo of a Cuckoo Bee, Coelioxys sp., is posted here.
July 24, 2016
A simply incredible book concerning bees in North America. Wilson and Carril begin their guide book with fundamental information concerning the differences between bees, wasps, and flies, which can easily be confused among one another, as well as information concerning the basic life history of various bees. They then proceed to provide a comprehensive overview of the major families of bees resident in North America - Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, and Melittidae. Various genus in each family described and distribution maps are provided.
The photographs included in the guide book are stunning. This book will definitely have a legacy as being somewhat of a magnum opus among books concerning bees.
The photographs included in the guide book are stunning. This book will definitely have a legacy as being somewhat of a magnum opus among books concerning bees.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews