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: This is a self-paced comprehension check for an engaged general and census-volunteer audience, not a licensed-applicator CEU exam. All questions and answers come only from what the two speakers said in this session.
Question set: 14 multiple-choice questions — 6 Recall, 5 Application, 3 Analysis. Coverage spans both presenter halves: Bratcher’s identification half (0:00–34:18) and Braman’s research-and-conservation half (34:19–1:11:00), plus both Q&A blocks.
Question 1
Timestamp Reference: 5:27 – 5:42
Difficulty: Recall
For census purposes, how did Amanda Bratcher define a “small bee”?
a) Any bee that nests in the ground
b) Anything at or below honey bee size — or sometimes as close to honey bee size
c) Any bee that is metallic green
d) Any solitary bee, regardless of size
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Bratcher said that for the census, a small bee is “anything smaller than a honeybee, or maybe sometimes as close to a honeybee” — the catch-all box below the larger, more recognizable bees.
Source in transcript: Blocks 19–22 (~4:40–5:42).
Question 2
Timestamp Reference: 8:04 – 8:19
Difficulty: Recall
Bratcher placed bees within the order Hymenoptera. Which set of figures did she give?
a) About 150,000 Hymenoptera worldwide, roughly 20,000 true bees, and about 4,000 true bees in North America
b) About 4,000 Hymenoptera worldwide, nearly all of them bees
c) About 600 bee species worldwide, all in North America
d) About 20,000 Hymenoptera worldwide, half of them bees
Correct Answer: a
Explanation: Bratcher said there are about 150,000 species of Hymenoptera worldwide (which also includes wasps and ants), only about 20,000 true bees, and about 4,000 true bees in North America.
Source in transcript: Blocks 28–30 (~7:57–8:19).
Question 3
Timestamp Reference: 9:38 – 9:56
Difficulty: Recall
Which five bee families did Bratcher say she would focus on for the session?
a) Apidae, Vespidae, Formicidae, Halictidae, Colletidae
b) Apidae, Megachilidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, Colletidae
c) Megachilidae, Andrenidae, Syrphidae, Conopidae, Apidae
d) Halictidae, Colletidae, Andrenidae, Sphecidae, Apidae
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Bratcher said the main families she would cover were the Apidae, Megachilidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, and Colletidae — five of the seven bee families. (Vespidae, Formicidae, Syrphidae, and Conopidae are wasps, ants, and flies, not bees.)
Source in transcript: Blocks 34–35 (~9:09–9:56).
Question 4
Timestamp Reference: 25:32 – 25:48
Difficulty: Recall
In the single-bee life cycle Bratcher walked through, about what portion of the year is the bee a pupa, usually underground or in a stem?
a) About 25%
b) About 50%
c) About 75%
d) Nearly the whole year, with only a few days as an adult
Correct Answer: c
Explanation: Bratcher described a bee that emerges as an adult in early spring and is a pre-pupa/pupa from the end of spring through summer, fall, and winter — about 75% of the time spent as a pupa, usually underground or in a stem.
Source in transcript: Blocks 93–94 (~25:06–25:48).
Question 5
Timestamp Reference: 26:17 – 26:34
Difficulty: Recall
Where did Bratcher say most small bees nest (using North Carolina figures)?
a) Mostly in cavities such as bee houses
b) Mostly in wood and hollow stems
c) Mostly in the soil — about 70% of species — with a little in wood and stems
d) Split evenly between soil, wood, and cavities
Correct Answer: c
Explanation: Bratcher said about 70% of North Carolina species nest in the soil, with a little in wood and stems and not so much in cavities.
Source in transcript: Block 96 (~26:17–26:34).
Question 6
Timestamp Reference: 39:03 – 39:28
Difficulty: Recall
In Braman’s 50-residential-property study using pan traps, how many bees and species were found, and what share of Georgia’s bee fauna did that represent?
a) About 500 bees and 40 species — roughly 5% of Georgia’s bees
b) Almost 5,000 bees and 111 species — about 20% of Georgia’s roughly 540 species
c) About 122 bees and 8 species — about 2% of Georgia’s bees
d) About 5,000 bees and 540 species — all of Georgia’s bees
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Braman said the 50-property study gathered almost 5,000 bees and found 111 species, representing about 20% of the roughly 540 bee species reported for Georgia.
Source in transcript: Block 148 (~39:03–39:28).
Question 7
Timestamp Reference: 23:26 – 24:14
Difficulty: Application
You spot a small insect on a flower and want to know if it’s a bee or a fly. Which combination of cues, per Bratcher, points to a fly?
a) Four clear wings, long elbowed antennae, and slow flight
b) Two wings plus club-shaped halteres, very short antennae, large eyes, and fast jerky flight
c) A pinched wasp waist and no hairs
d) A stinger and pollen-carrying hairs on the abdomen
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Bratcher said flies have only two wings plus a pair of club-shaped halteres, very short antennae, large eyes taking up most of the head, and a faster, jerkier flight — versus a bee’s four clear wings. (Option c describes a wasp; option d describes a female bee.)
Source in transcript: Blocks 83–87 (~23:05–24:14).
Question 8
Timestamp Reference: 14:06 – 14:25
Difficulty: Application
You’re looking at a bee and want to tell whether it’s male or female. Based on Bratcher’s guidance, which is the most reliable cue?
a) Count the antennal segments and tergites in flight
b) Whether it has a stinger, and whether it carries pollen-collecting (scopa) hairs — both indicate a female
c) Whether it is metallic green
d) Body size — females are always larger
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Bratcher said if it has a stinger it’s a female, and the pollen-carrying hairs are the differentiator between a male and a female bee — females gather pollen, males generally don’t. She noted you can’t count antennal segments or tergites while the bee is flying, and males are often the hairier of the two.
Source in transcript: Blocks 46–49 (~13:37–14:34).
Question 9
Timestamp Reference: 50:26 – 50:54
Difficulty: Application
A gardener asks whether putting up a bee house is a good way to support the native bee community. Based on Braman’s findings, what should you tell them?
a) Yes — bee houses reliably fill with the local native community
b) The boxes colonize well but fill mostly with exotic bees such as the giant resin bee and Osmia taurus, so they don’t represent the native community
c) Bee houses never get used and are a waste of effort
d) Bee houses only attract honey bees
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Braman said the bee houses had a lot of colonization but were dominated by exotic bees — the giant resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis) and Osmia taurus — so what fills the boxes is not representative of the native bee community.
Source in transcript: Blocks 188, 190 (~50:26–51:18).
Question 10
Timestamp Reference: 54:00 – 55:31
Difficulty: Application
You are choosing plants to add pollinator value to a tough, eroded, grass-based site. Which choice best matches the plants and result Braman reported?
a) Non-native mimosa, which drew the most bees of any plant tested
b) Black-eyed Susan, partridge pea, rattlesnake master, coreopsis, and mountain mint — which drew about 33 times more bees than grass alone
c) A pure turfgrass mix, which supported the most bees
d) Only mountain mint, since a single species is best
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Braman said black-eyed Susan, partridge pea, rattlesnake master, coreopsis, and mountain mint all established well and attracted pollinators, and that adding those flowers produced 33 times more bees than a grass area alone — with Lasioglossum, Halictus, and Bombus the most abundant.
Source in transcript: Blocks 200–203 (~54:00–55:31).
Question 11
Timestamp Reference: 1:08:17 – 1:09:24
Difficulty: Application
A viewer is confused about how to cut back perennial stems for stem-nesting bees. Based on Amanda’s answer, what should you advise?
a) Cut the stems and lay them flat on the ground so bees can find them easily
b) Trim stems to 18–24 inches, keep them attached to the plant, and keep them high and dry — not lying on the soil
c) Never cut the stems at all; leave them full height indefinitely
d) Pull the stems out and bundle them in a sealed plastic bag
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Amanda said the research found stems are best used while remaining attached to the plant, trimmed to 18–24 inches; shorter stems bias toward male-only eggs, so longer is better for diversity. Stems laid on the ground can be saturated by soil fungi and bacteria, trapping the bees, so keep them high and dry.
Source in transcript: Blocks 249–251 (~1:08:17–1:09:24).
Question 12
Timestamp Reference: 31:44 – 32:31
Difficulty: Analysis
Amanda described the cuckoo (brood-parasite) bees, whose larvae kill the host’s larva or queen. Why did she argue that seeing both the cuckoo bee and its host together is actually a good sign?
a) Because cuckoo bees are better pollinators than their hosts
b) Because it means the cuckoo bees have eliminated a pest species
c) Because both persisting together signals a healthy ecosystem with enough resources to support the host and the parasite
d) Because cuckoo bees only appear in gardens treated with pesticides
Correct Answer: c
Explanation: Amanda said that when both the parasite (cuckoo bee) and its host species are still persisting in the environment, it means there is enough to go around — a healthy population that can support both — so seeing brood parasites is actually a positive sign.
Source in transcript: Blocks 117–120 (~31:28–32:31).
Question 13
Timestamp Reference: 1:06:41 – 1:07:18
Difficulty: Analysis
Asked why exotic bees dominate the bee houses, Braman offered a leading explanation for Osmia taurus. What was it?
a) Osmia taurus is larger and physically blocks the tubes
b) Osmia taurus emerges first, so being first on the site gives it an advantage and lets it dominate the resource
c) Osmia taurus is the only bee that can chew through the nesting block
d) Osmia taurus produces a chemical that repels native bees
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Braman said Osmia taurus is a cavity nester that emerges first — and if you’re first on the site, you have an advantage and dominate the resource. (For the giant resin bee, she attributed dominance to its aggression, even pulling carpenter bees from their nests.)
Source in transcript: Blocks 238–239 (~1:06:41–1:07:18).
Question 14
Timestamp Reference: 40:10 – 41:21
Difficulty: Analysis
Braman reported that as much as 83% of Georgia’s bees are forest-associated, with 26% found exclusively in forest. What conservation implication did she draw from this?
a) Bees do best in fully cleared, open landscapes, so forests should be removed
b) Forest remnants are extremely valuable bee habitat, and urban planning that keeps them helps promote bee abundance and diversity
c) Only agricultural land supports bee diversity
d) Residential landscapes cannot support bees at all
Correct Answer: b
Explanation: Braman said the high forest association means forest remnants are extremely valuable habitats for many bee species and are important to regional diversity, so urban planning that prioritizes and incorporates forest remnants will help promote bee abundance and diversity — even though some species are also favored by open, developed conditions.
Source in transcript: Blocks 151–154 (~40:10–41:45).
Answer Key
1-b, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 5-c, 6-b, 7-b, 8-b, 9-b, 10-b, 11-b, 12-c, 13-b, 14-b
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)