Detail of the left wing of a female (worker) 'Apis mellifera' Linnaeus, 1758. In the anterior part, close to the tip, you can see the marginal cell, clearly elongated; more or less like a banana. Author: myself Source: Ent. Col. MNCN-CSIC

Detail of the right compound eye of the same specimen. Short hairs (setae) are visible between the facets (ommatidia) that make up the eye. This feature is only shared with bees of the genus Coelioxys (Megachilidae). Author: myself Source: Ent. Col. MNCN-CSIC

Frontal view of the face of a honeybee drone. Its eyes are similar to those of flies: convergent at the top of the head (vertex). Note also its furry eyes. Author: myself Source: Ent. Col. MNCN-CSIC

Habitus comparison between the drone (left, ♂) and the woker (right, ♀). Author: myself Source: Ent. Col. MNCN-CSIC

Second #KnowYourBees attempt almost disastrous! Being an amateur bee voyeur, I wasn't sure about this 'weird Andrena': it was a honeybee!

Here, 3️⃣ tips to avoid mistakes:

They have 'banana-shaped' edge cells and hairy eyes (both ♀ and ♂). Drones (♂) are easier to spot if they have large 'fly eyes'!

All good things come to an end... and so does the #KnowYourBees course!

Four amazing days with 15 excellent trainees and teachers that ended with a visit to the Arthropod collection of the @museuciencies.cat.

This is not goodbye, it's just a see you later for now!

The fourth (and final) day of the bee identification course is about to start! 🐝

Last but not least, the family Megachilidae! In contrast to other bees, the members of this family have their pollen-carrying structure (scopa) restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen 😯.

#KnowYourBees

Third day of the bee training course, here we go! 🐝

Oscar is now presenting the Andrenidae family, and Alejandro (@alexnunez23.bsky.social) will follow with Colletidae.

Did you know that the genus Andrena encompasses more than 1,300 species worldwide? 🌍

#KnowYourBees
#NameItToSaveIt
@tettris.eu

Good morning! Let's start with the second day of the bee course held at the Jardí Botànic de Barcelona @museuciencies.cat

🐝🐝🐝

#KnowYourBees
#BeeCourseBarcelona
@tettris.eu

First day of the course FINISHED ✅!

Today, our excellent trainers Óscar Aguado and Alejandro Núñez have introduced us to the taxonomy and ecology of the Apidae family 🐝.

Now, let's get some rest to recharge energies for the second day 💪🏻!

See you tomorrow at 9:00 AM!

#KnowYourBees

The sun visited us today after several days of rain, so we left the classroom for a while to visit the botanical garden and its bee hotels! 🏨🐝

#KnowYourBees
#BeeCourseBarcelona

Today is the day! The course on bee taxonomy and ecology is already started at Jardí Botànic de Barcelona @museuciencies.cat!

Jordi Bosch (@creaf.cat) has given an inaugural talk on ecology of bees 🐝🌼. Thank you very much for sharing your deep knowledge about bee life!

@tettris.eu

#KnowYourBees