Sweat Bees and Mining Bees in Ohio: Harmless Native Bees You Can Leave Alone
Small bees landing on your arm on a hot day, or dozens of little bees zipping over a bare spot in the lawn in April, can be unsettling. In most cases, these are sweat bees and mining bees, two groups of gentle native bees that are common across Northwest Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Southern Michigan. They are valuable pollinators, they rarely sting, and in almost every case the best plan is to leave them alone. Here is what to know.
What Are Sweat Bees?
Sweat bees belong to the family Halictidae, one of the largest groups of bees in North America. They get their name because some species are attracted to the salt in human sweat and will land on skin to lick it.
How to Recognize Sweat Bees
- Size: Mostly small, often under half an inch long.
- Color: Many are a brilliant metallic green or blue-green. Others are dark brown or black, sometimes with pale bands on the abdomen. Some species have a green head and thorax with a black-and-yellow striped abdomen.
- Behavior: They visit a wide range of flowers from spring to fall and often land on people on hot, humid days.
Where Sweat Bees Nest
Most species nest in the ground, digging narrow tunnels in bare or sparsely vegetated soil. A few species nest in rotting wood. Some are solitary, while others share a nest entrance or form small, simple colonies. Their nests are small and do not create a large defended colony the way yellowjackets do.
What Are Mining Bees?
Mining bees are mostly in the genus Andrena, a large group of solitary, ground-nesting bees. They are among the first bees active in spring, often appearing when the first trees and spring flowers bloom.
How to Recognize Mining Bees
- Size: Small to medium, roughly the size of a honeybee or smaller.
- Color: Usually fuzzy and brown, reddish-brown, gray or black, sometimes with pale hair bands.
- Nests: Small holes surrounded by volcano-shaped soil mounds, often many in the same patch of lawn or garden.
- Timing: Most noticeable in early spring, and activity typically lasts only a few weeks.
Although many mining bees may nest in the same area, each female builds and provisions her own nest. The cloud of bees you see is often males patrolling for mates, and male bees cannot sting.
Why Sweat Bees and Mining Bees Matter
Both groups are important native pollinators. Mining bees are especially valuable in early spring, when they visit fruit tree blossoms, willows, maples and early wildflowers. Sweat bees visit a huge variety of garden plants, wildflowers and crops through the summer. Because neither group stores large amounts of honey or forms big colonies, they are easy to coexist with.
Do Sweat Bees and Mining Bees Sting?
Female sweat bees and mining bees can sting, but they are not aggressive. Stings usually happen only when a bee is trapped against skin, such as under a shirt collar or when someone swats a sweat bee that landed on them. Their stings are generally mild compared with yellowjacket or honeybee stings. As with any sting, anyone with a known insect sting allergy should take precautions. See our article on sting allergies for warning signs.
Bee Removal: When Is It Needed?
Almost never for these bees. As a beekeeper-owned company, we encourage homeowners to leave sweat bees and mining bees alone. They do not damage homes, they are active for a limited time, and they help gardens and orchards. A few simple steps help:
- Gently brush off bees that land on you instead of swatting them.
- Wear shoes in the yard while mining bees are active.
- Raise the mower deck or skip mowing a nesting patch for a few weeks.
- If you want fewer ground nests next year, water and overseed thin areas in late summer or fall. These bees prefer dry, bare soil.
The exception is when what you think are “ground bees” are actually yellowjackets. Yellowjackets are shiny, bright yellow and black, and they fly in and out of a single busy hole. Our guide to ground bees vs. yellowjackets walks through the differences, and our page on yellowjacket ground nests explains when removal is needed.
How These Bees Compare to Other Bees
- Honeybees: Golden-brown, live in large permanent colonies with wax comb, and swarm in spring. Honeybees are always relocated, never exterminated. See our honeybee swarm guide.
- Bumblebees: Large, round and very fuzzy, with small annual colonies. Also always relocated. See Ohio bumblebee species.
- Sweat and mining bees: Small, mostly solitary, nest in soil and are best left alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do sweat bees land on me?
Some species are attracted to the salt and moisture in sweat. They are not trying to sting. Brush them off gently.
Are the green bees in my garden dangerous?
Metallic green bees in our area are usually sweat bees. They are gentle pollinators and are rarely a problem.
How long will mining bees be in my yard?
Usually only a few weeks in spring. After that, the nests are quiet until the next generation emerges the following year.
Not Sure What Kind of Bee You Have?
Call or text a photo to Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal at 419-614-6445 or use our contact page. We serve Northwest Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Southern Michigan, and we are happy to help you identify bees before you decide on any bee removal.
