Body size and flight distance

In appearance as well as in body size wild bees differ considerably in some cases.

Our smallest species reach a body length of only 4-5 millimeters. The distances they can cover between their nests and the forage plants are correspondingly short: For small bees, even a hundred meters is a long way. If, for example, all food plants suddenly disappear due to large-scale mowing of flowering areas, this hits them particularly hard.

Our largest native bee is the violet carpenter bee, with a body length of up to 25 millimeters. It covers distances of several kilometers in its search for large-flowered legumes and labiates (Fabaceae, Lamiaceae).

Image captions:
The diet of the violet carpenter bee is varied.
Male (left) and female (right) of the violet carpenter beee (Xylocopa violacea).

English translation of the information panel in the Botanical Garden. Original German text: Dr. Barbara Ditsch