Webinar: Small Bees (Great Southeast Pollinator Course — Week Four)
Webinar Date: July 7, 2026
Speakers: Amanda Bratcher (NC Cooperative Extension, Lee County); Dr. Kris Braman (University of Georgia, Professor Emerita of Entomology)
Series: Great Southeast Pollinator Course
Source: Corrected SRT (Stage 1) — GTBOP_Transcript_2026-07-07_SmallBees.srt (259 blocks); Archive Package (Stage 2) for structural reference
Audience note: Built for an engaged general and census-volunteer audience. Every term, definition, and relationship below comes only from what the two speakers said in this session. Each exercise includes two extra Column B options (distractors) so students cannot answer by elimination.
Three exercises are provided: one matching bee groups to their identifying features (Bratcher’s half), one on bee biology and terminology (both halves), and one matching garden practices to the resource or reason the presenters gave (Braman’s and Bratcher’s conservation content).
Matching Exercise 1: Bee Groups and How to Recognize Them
Timestamp Reference: 14:47 – 21:36 (primary coverage area)
Type: Species Identification
Instructions: Match each bee group in Column A with the identifying feature Bratcher gave in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apidae | a) Metallic green sweat bees with defined colored hair bands on the abdomen | |
| 2 | Megachilidae | b) The very hairy, bumblebee-like “cuddly ones” — “if you don’t know what it is, it’s probably in this one” | |
| 3 | Andrenidae | c) Leafcutter and mason bees with a rounded, cigar- or submarine-shaped abdomen | |
| 4 | Halictidae | d) Ground-nesting mining bees, often seen nesting in aggregations | |
| 5 | Cellophane bees (Colletidae) | e) Produce a cellophane-like secretion that seals the nest so it survives flooding | |
| 6 | Hylaeus (yellow-faced bees) | f) Collect pollen internally — they eat it and regurgitate it, lacking pollen hairs on the body | |
| 7 | Perdita (fairy bees) | g) The smallest bees, smaller than the writing on a penny | |
| 8 | Nomada | h) Wasp-like cuckoo bees placed in the Apidae | |
| i) The only bee that makes wax honeycomb and stores honey for winter | |||
| j) A social colony that overwinters as a mated queen underground |
Answer Key:
1 → b, 2 → c, 3 → d, 4 → a, 5 → e, 6 → f, 7 → g, 8 → h
(Distractors not used: i — the honey bee was named as the large, recognizable bee the census separates from small bees, not one of these groups; j — no small-bee group in this session was described as an overwintering social colony with a mated queen.)
Source in transcript: Apidae (blocks 52–54, ~14:47–15:49); Megachilidae (blocks 55–57, ~15:50–16:43); Andrenidae and Perdita (blocks 59–61, ~16:59–17:59); Halictidae sweat bees and hair bands (blocks 62–65, ~17:59–19:17); cellophane bees (blocks 66–67, ~19:17–20:05); Hylaeus (block 71, ~20:22–20:41); Nomada as wasp-like Apidae cuckoo bees (block 54, ~15:29–15:49).
Matching Exercise 2: Bee Biology and Terms
Timestamp Reference: 12:15 – 44:28 (primary coverage area)
Type: Term-to-Definition
Instructions: Match each term in Column A with the definition given during the session in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scopa | a) Club-shaped organs behind a fly’s two wings | |
| 2 | Corbicula | b) Pollen-carrying hairs a female bee uses to gather pollen for her young | |
| 3 | Halteres | c) The specialized pollen basket found on bees in the Apidae | |
| 4 | Tergites | d) The segments on the back (abdomen) of a bee | |
| 5 | Aggregation | e) Many solitary bees (“single mamas”) nesting close together | |
| 6 | Brood parasite (cuckoo bee) | f) A bee that lays eggs in another bee’s nest, whose larva kills the host’s larva | |
| 7 | Functional group | g) A way of grouping bees by nesting site, origin, sociality, diet breadth, seasonality, and size | |
| 8 | Generalist bee | h) A bee that visits a wide variety of different flower types | |
| i) The metallic green coloration unique to all sweat bees | |||
| j) The annual migration some bees make to overwinter in Mexico |
Answer Key:
1 → b, 2 → c, 3 → a, 4 → d, 5 → e, 6 → f, 7 → g, 8 → h
(Distractors not used: i — green coloration was described only for certain Halictid sweat bees, not defined as a general term and not true of all bees; j — no bee in this session was described as making an overwintering migration to Mexico.)
Source in transcript: Scopa and corbicula (block 43, ~12:31–12:58); halteres (block 84, ~23:26–23:55); tergites (block 47, ~14:06–14:25); aggregation / “single mamas” (blocks 98, 171, ~27:11, ~45:40); brood parasite / cuckoo bee (blocks 99, 115, ~27:28, ~30:41); functional group (blocks 160–163, ~42:47–44:28); generalist bee (block 162, ~43:38–43:58).
Matching Exercise 3: Garden Practice and the Resource It Provides
Timestamp Reference: 48:52 – 1:10:44 (primary coverage area)
Type: Timing-Practice
Instructions: Match each garden practice in Column A with the reason or resource the presenters gave for it in Column B. Two options in Column B will not be used.
| # | Column A | Column B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leave some bare spots of ground | a) Forage for the first bees of early spring | |
| 2 | Trim stems to 18–24 in., attached and kept high and dry | b) Nesting sites for ground-nesting bees | |
| 3 | Plant early-blooming trees such as maples and willows | c) Nesting habitat for stem-nesting bees | |
| 4 | Add flowers to a grass-based erosion-mitigation site | d) Roughly 33 times more bees than grass alone | |
| 5 | Don’t leave bee houses up too long | e) Prevents a buildup of parasites such as Melittobia wasps | |
| 6 | Use gravel mulch or gravel pathways instead of heavy mulch | f) Keeps the soil accessible to soil-nesting bees | |
| 7 | Go for a cottage garden with color all season | g) Floral resources available across the whole season | |
| 8 | Tolerate a little messiness and leaf litter | h) Shelter and undisturbed habitat that helps bees | |
| i) Kills leafcutter bees before they damage the plants | |||
| j) Removes any water source so mosquitoes can’t breed |
Answer Key:
1 → b, 2 → c, 3 → a, 4 → d, 5 → e, 6 → f, 7 → g, 8 → h
(Distractors not used: i — Braman said leafcutter leaf damage doesn’t harm the plant and is not something to treat for; j — she said the opposite, that we should make sure bees have access to water.)
Source in transcript: Bare ground (blocks 209, 215, ~57:17, ~59:26); stem trimming 18–24 in. (blocks 249–251, ~1:08:17–1:09:24); early-spring trees, maples and willows (blocks 254–255, ~1:10:07–1:10:44); flowers vs. grass, 33× (blocks 200–203, ~54:00–55:31); bee houses and Melittobia (block 186, ~49:54–50:09); gravel mulch (block 234, ~1:05:40–1:05:56); cottage garden all season (block 216, ~59:54–1:00:16); tolerate messiness (blocks 194, 215, ~52:03, ~59:26); leafcutter damage not treated (blocks 191–192, ~51:19–52:02); access to water (block 215, ~59:26).
Processed for UGA Center for Urban Agriculture / Great Southeast Pollinator Course Archives
Source: Corrected SRT (Stage 1) — GTBOP_Transcript_2026-07-07_SmallBees.srt (259 blocks); Archive Package (Stage 2)