A Field Guide · HoneyBee & Co.
World Bee Atlas
Native Bees by Country · Peer-Reviewed Data
75
Countries
~25,000
Species Worldwide
229
Species Guides
Showing 0 countries
Showing 0 species
Data compiled from IUCN, Discover Life, Ascher & Pickering World Bee Checklist, and published national checklists.
Species counts are estimates. Many regions remain under-surveyed. Country totals vary by source and year of assessment.
Fact-Check Sources
Global species total: Dorey et al. (2026) "Estimating global bee species richness and taxonomic gaps", Nature Communications 17:1762. Estimates 24,705 to 26,164 total species globally (~21,000 currently described). Previously estimated at ~20,000.
United Kingdom (270 species): Verified against UK National Bee Unit Fact Sheet (October 2024) and Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society (BWARS). ~270 wild bee species (24 bumblebee, 243 solitary bee, 1 honeybee). Also corroborated by House of Commons Library Research Briefing CDP-2017-0226 (updated January 2026).
United States (4,000 species): Verified against U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab. USGS consistently states "over 4,000" or "about 4,000" native bee species. Perdita minima confirmed as smallest bee (2mm) by USGS.
Australia (~2,000 species): Referenced against Australian Geographic (Feb 2026) and Dorey et al. (2026). Estimates range up to 2,000 described species, with significant undescribed diversity expected.
Megachile pluto (Wallace's Giant Bee): Confirmed as largest known living bee species. Distribution restricted to three islands in North Moluccas, Indonesia (Bacan, Halmahera, Tidore) per iNaturalist, University of Sydney (2019), and Wikipedia. Not found in Malaysia.
Apis (honeybee) species count: Debated among taxonomists. Sources recognise between 7 species (Native Beeology, 2025) and 10 species (Engel 1999; Arias & Sheppard 2005, via PMC). UF/IFAS Extension (2023) recognises 9. Count depends on treatment of A. laboriosa, A. nuluensis, and A. binghami.
Apis koschevnikovi: Distribution confirmed as Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra (Bees4life, 2022), not Borneo alone.
Seven bee families: Confirmed: Apidae, Megachilidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, Melittidae, Andrenidae, Stenotritidae (A-Z Animals, World Animal Foundation).
Country-level species counts: Sourced from Ascher & Pickering Discover Life World Bee Checklist, Orr et al. (2020) "Global Patterns and Drivers of Bee Distribution" (Current Biology), and individual national entomological surveys. Many country counts (particularly Africa, Asia, South America) are approximations due to incomplete sampling. Dorey et al. (2026) notes particularly high undescribed biodiversity expected from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Not independently verified: Individual country species counts for most non-UK/non-US nations, Madagascar 85% endemism rate, New Zealand 40 native species, Hawaii 63 Hylaeus species, Stenotritidae 21 species, Bombus dahlbomii as world's largest bumblebee, and many individual notable species attributions. These are drawn from published literature but have not been cross-checked against primary taxonomic databases for this atlas.
United Kingdom (270 species): Verified against UK National Bee Unit Fact Sheet (October 2024) and Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society (BWARS). ~270 wild bee species (24 bumblebee, 243 solitary bee, 1 honeybee). Also corroborated by House of Commons Library Research Briefing CDP-2017-0226 (updated January 2026).
United States (4,000 species): Verified against U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab. USGS consistently states "over 4,000" or "about 4,000" native bee species. Perdita minima confirmed as smallest bee (2mm) by USGS.
Australia (~2,000 species): Referenced against Australian Geographic (Feb 2026) and Dorey et al. (2026). Estimates range up to 2,000 described species, with significant undescribed diversity expected.
Megachile pluto (Wallace's Giant Bee): Confirmed as largest known living bee species. Distribution restricted to three islands in North Moluccas, Indonesia (Bacan, Halmahera, Tidore) per iNaturalist, University of Sydney (2019), and Wikipedia. Not found in Malaysia.
Apis (honeybee) species count: Debated among taxonomists. Sources recognise between 7 species (Native Beeology, 2025) and 10 species (Engel 1999; Arias & Sheppard 2005, via PMC). UF/IFAS Extension (2023) recognises 9. Count depends on treatment of A. laboriosa, A. nuluensis, and A. binghami.
Apis koschevnikovi: Distribution confirmed as Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra (Bees4life, 2022), not Borneo alone.
Seven bee families: Confirmed: Apidae, Megachilidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, Melittidae, Andrenidae, Stenotritidae (A-Z Animals, World Animal Foundation).
Country-level species counts: Sourced from Ascher & Pickering Discover Life World Bee Checklist, Orr et al. (2020) "Global Patterns and Drivers of Bee Distribution" (Current Biology), and individual national entomological surveys. Many country counts (particularly Africa, Asia, South America) are approximations due to incomplete sampling. Dorey et al. (2026) notes particularly high undescribed biodiversity expected from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Not independently verified: Individual country species counts for most non-UK/non-US nations, Madagascar 85% endemism rate, New Zealand 40 native species, Hawaii 63 Hylaeus species, Stenotritidae 21 species, Bombus dahlbomii as world's largest bumblebee, and many individual notable species attributions. These are drawn from published literature but have not been cross-checked against primary taxonomic databases for this atlas.
HoneyBee & Co. World Bee Atlas · 2026