Bees of the North Coast & Cascades

Bees are some of the most abundant and important pollinators in the world – especially in mountainous environments. Despite the importance of bees in our natural environments, many national parks do not know what species are in their parks. In 2016, to celebrate the Centennial of the National Park Service, North Coast and Cascades National Parks focused on pollinators. The inventories we initiated at that time are just a beginning; you can continue our quest to learn more about bees by uploading your photos to inaturalist.org.

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Mining Bees (Andrenidae)

Species	Common name	Sociality/nesting	EBLA	FOVA	LEWI	MORA	NOCA	OLYM	SAJH
Andrena columbiana	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Andrena knuthiana	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Andrena thaspii	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Andrena trevoris	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Andrena vicinoides	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Andrena washingtoni	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Andrena w-scripta	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Panurginus atriceps	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x	x
Panurginus ineptus	Mining bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x	x

EBLA = Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; FOVA = Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; LEWI = Lewis and Clark National Historical Park; MORA = Mount Rainier National Park; NOCA = North Cascades National Park Complex; OLYM = Olympic National Park; SAJH = San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Mining bee (Andrena w-scripta). Mining bees are solitary bees that nest in the ground.

NPS / Jessica Rykken

Bumble Bees, Honey Bees, Cuckoo Bees, etc. (Apidae)

Species	Common name	Sociality/nesting	EBLA	FOVA	LEWI	MORA	NOCA	OLYM	SAJH
Apis mellifera*	Honey bee	Social; hive					x	x
Bombus appositus	White-shouldered bumble bee	Social; belowground/surface nest	x	x			x	x	x
Bombus bifarius	Two form bumble bee	Social; belowground nest				x	x	x	x
Bombus caliginosus	Obscure bumble bee	Social; above/belowground nest		x	x			x
Bombus fervidus	California bumble bee	Social; aboveground/surface nest		x	x				x
Bombus flavidus	Fernald cuckoo bumble bee	Social parasite					x	x
Bombus flavifrons	Yellow-fronted bumble bee	Social; belowground nest	x		x	x	x	x	x
Bombus griseocollis	Brown-belted bumble bee	Social; belowground/surface nest		x
Bombus insularis	Indicscriminate cuckoo bumble bee	Social parasite					x
Bombus melanopygus	Black tail bumble bee	Social; above/belowground nest				x	x	x
Bombus mixtus	Fuzzy-horned bumble bee	Social; surface or above/belowground nest			x	x	x	x	x
Bombus nevadensis	Nevada bumble bee	Social; belowground nest		x
Bombus occidentalis	Western bumble bee	Social; belowground nest						x
Bombus rufocinctus	Red-belted bumble bee	Social; aboveground/surface nest	x	x				x	x
Bombus sitkensis	Sitka bumble bee	Social; belowground nest				x	x	x
Bombus sylvicola	Forest bumble bee	Social; belowground nest				x	x	x
Bombus vandykei	van Dyke bumble bee	Social; belowground nest					x	x
Bombus vosnesenskii	Vosnesensky bumble bee	Social; belowground nest	x	x	x			x	x
Diadasia diminuta	Chimney bee	Solitary/Aggregations; ground nest					x
Melissodes sp.	Long-horned bee	Solitary; ground nest						x
Nomada sp.	Cuckoo bee	Kleptoparasite					x	x
Ceratina acantha	Prickly ceratina	Subsocial; belowground nest						x

* = non-native
EBLA = Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; FOVA = Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; LEWI = Lewis and Clark National Historical Park; MORA = Mount Rainier National Park; NOCA = North Cascades National Park Complex; OLYM = Olympic National Park; SAJH = San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Obscure bumble bees (Bombus caliginosus) are restricted to the Pacific Coast and live in social colonies.

NPS / Jessica Rykken

Plasterer Bees, Polyester Bees (Colletidae)

Species	Common name	Sociality/nesting	EBLA	FOVA	LEWI	MORA	NOCA	OLYM	SAJH
Colletes nigrifrons	Polyester bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Colletes consors	Polyester bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Hylaeus annulatus	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems					x	x
Hylaeus coloradensis	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems						x
Hylaeus episcopalis	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems						x
Hylaeus modestus	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems					x	x
Hylaeus nevadensis	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems					x
Hylaeus wootoni	Masked bee	Solitary; pithy stems					x	x

EBLA = Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; FOVA = Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; LEWI = Lewis and Clark National Historical Park; MORA = Mount Rainier National Park; NOCA = North Cascades National Park Complex; OLYM = Olympic National Park; SAJH = San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Masked bee (Hylaeus modestus), a solitary bee that nests in hollow twigs.

NPS / Jessica Rykken

Sweat Bees (Halictidae)

Species	Common name	Sociality/nesting	EBLA	FOVA	LEWI	MORA	NOCA	OLYM	SAJH
Agapostemon virescens	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest			x
Halictus confusus	Sweat bee	Social; belowground nest					x	x
Halictus rubicundus	Sweat bee	Social; belowground nest					x	x
Halictus virgatellus	Sweat bee	Social; belowground nest					x	x
Lasioglossum anhypops	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum colatum	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum egregium	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum nigroviride	Sweat bee	Social; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum ruidosense	Sweat bee	Social; belowground nest						x
Lasioglossum sisymbrii	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum trizonatum	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest					x
Lasioglossum zonulum*	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Sphecodes sp.	Cuckoo bee	Kleptoparasite					x	x
Dufourea campanulae	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x
Dufourea maura	Sweat bee	Solitary; belowground nest						x

* = non-native
EBLA = Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; FOVA = Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; LEWI = Lewis and Clark National Historical Park; MORA = Mount Rainier National Park; NOCA = North Cascades National Park Complex; OLYM = Olympic National Park; SAJH = San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Sweat bee (Halictus rubicundus). Sweat bees are usually social bees and nest in the ground. This species is native to Europe, northern Asia, and most of North America.

NPS / Jessica Rykken

Mason Bees, Leafcutter Bees (Megachilidae)

Species	Common name	Sociality/nesting	EBLA	FOVA	LEWI	MORA	NOCA	OLYM	SAJH
Anthidium tenuiflorae	Wool carder bee	Solitary; belowground cavity lined with plant hair					x
Coelioxys rufitarsis	Cuckoo bee	Kleptoparasite						x
Coelioxys sodalis	Cuckoo bee	Kleptoparasite						x
Hoplitis fulgida fulgida	Mason bee	Solitary; cavity nest						x
Megachile melanophaea	Leafcutter bee	Solitary; belowground cavity						x
Megachile perihirta	Leafcutter bee	Solitary; belowground cavity					x	x
Megachile relativa	Leafcutter bee	Solitary; wood cavity					x	x
Osmia coloradensis	Mason bee	Solitary; wood/stem cavity						x
Osmia densa	Mason bee	Solitary; wood cavity					x	x
Osmia dolerosa	Mason bee	Solitary; wood cavity					x	x
Osmia paradisica	Mason bee	Solitary; ?ground cavity					x
Osmia penstemonis	Mason bee	Solitary; stem cavity						x
Osmia pusilla	Mason bee	Solitary; wood/stem cavity					x	x
Osmia simillima	Mason bee	Solitary; galls, wood cavity						x
Osmia subaustralis	Mason bee	Solitary; wood cavity						x
Osmia tristella	Mason bee	Solitary; wood/stem cavity					x	x
Stelis sp.	Cuckoo bee	Kleptoparasite					x

EBLA = Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; FOVA = Fort Vancouver National Historic Site; LEWI = Lewis and Clark National Historical Park; MORA = Mount Rainier National Park; NOCA = North Cascades National Park Complex; OLYM = Olympic National Park; SAJH = San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Mason bee (Hoplitis fulgida). These bees are solitary, and nest in pre-existing holes and crevices.

NPS / Jessica Rykken