This guide’s purpose is to present, through vivid and detailed photographs, bee species native to the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley in which the National Butterfly Center is situated.  Many of these species are rare within the United States, and very little information – photographic or written -- is widely available on them.

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The Guide’s goals are to help naturalists identify wild bee species, to provide visual records of live native bees, to record their behavior within their native habitats, and to furnish information on little-known bees’ floral preferences, flight seasons and nesting activities.  Where available, published research on unusual bee species has been summarized on the guide pages that showcase them.

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On January 15, 2019, the Guide launched with information on forty bee species. Since then, dozens more species, spanning more than 45 genera, have been added to the guide, together with new information on bee behavior and floral preferences.  We welcome information from NBC visitors about their encounters with bees or bee nests.  We also welcome information about bees found in surrounding areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

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You can use the Guide by starting with the introduction and then browsing through the various pages organized by bee genus.  Or, you can use our species-name index or picture index and follow links to identify bees you have observed or photographed.