27 Precious Bee Tattoo Ideas to Inspire You (Men & Women) in 2024
There’s something about bees that people truly love. Perhaps it’s their ability to pollinate beautiful flowers, or maybe it’s the fact that humans rely on them a lot more than we give them credit for. A fun fact about bees, they have five eyes! Did you know that? If not, well, now you do.
But before you go and get your own bee tattoo, let us help guide you in choosing the perfect piece of ink. Below we’ll show you the sweetest, most adorable, and loveliest bee tattoo ideas of 2024. You’ll surely be inspired with the perfect idea of which tattoo style to get, as well as where to get tattooed on your body.
With that said, let’s begin.
Feminine Honeycomb and Bee Back Tattoo
I like that the solid outlines of the triangle are opposing the thin lines in the flowers. The placement of the design fits the shoulder nicely, however, I feel that because there is a triangle in the design, it should have been placed in the middle of the back. Either way, this tattoo is stunning and oh-so-feminine.
IG: panumart_tattoo
Tiny Color Bumblebee Tattoo
Notice how the strokes creating the tiny hairs are created by using whip shading. The eyes are huge and remind me of a cartoon character, which is absolutely too cute. Forearm tattoos are a popular spot to get tattoos, especially insects; many people also get butterflies in this area. The artist responsible for this piece actually specializes in Black and Gray but proved she knows color just as well.
Blackwork Bee Tattoo On Outer Forearm
What a lovely placement for this precious blackwork bee. As you can see, the artist used lines to create the shading rather than using a technique like whip shading or dotwork. I love the tiny hairs on the legs and body. The artist used open spaces for the yellow of the bee, which was a great idea to replace the color.
IG: teawithmel
Micro Black and Gray Dotwork Bee Tattoo On Calf
The calf is always a good place for a tattoo, some people like to go big, and others prefer keeping things simple with a small design. Like this client. To get so much detail in such a small tattoo is amazing. I love the stippled shading, it’s soft and gives this piece texture, you can almost feel the fluff of the bee just by looking at it.
IG: klax.tattooer
Micro Realistic Bee In Honey Tattoo
A bee drowning in honey, how ironic and very unique. I feel this tattoo could symbolize the irony of how sometimes the things we love the most can also be the things that hurt us the most. Perhaps that’s not what the client was going for and simply liked the design, but I feel like this piece could definitely have a deeper meaning behind it. The artist did an amazing job at creating honey with various shades of orange, yellow, and brown. Truly a work of art.
IG: mumi_ink
Beautiful Neo Traditional Floral Bee Tattoo
What I really love about this piece is the soft pink in the flowers, it’s very close to the client’s skin tone, but because it’s a shade darker, it stands out. Like most Neo Traditional tattoos, the colors are muted, which works well with the black and yellow of the bee. I simply love the color palette. Sarah is a Neo Traditional artist who loves to incorporate nature into her designs, if you need more inspiration, her Instagram is the perfect place to look.
Stunning Color Realistic Floral Bee Tattoo
While the main focus of this tattoo is the flowers, the addition of the little bee on its way to pollinate them really adds life to this piece. Color realism, just like any realistic tattoo, requires a lot of time, skill, and patience to perfect, but the artist clearly knows what they’re doing. Remember always to make sure your artist knows the style you’re wanting to get tattooed; take a look at their portfolio before getting work done.
IG: picsola
Adorable Kawaii Bee Tattoo On Forearm
Are you a fan of Kawaii? If you are, don’t you just adore this cute tattoo? Look at how chubby and round these guys are! I like that the artist hardly used any solid black lines, it would have taken away from the style. The colors are so bright, and believe it or not, yellow is a very difficult color to tattoo, it takes a lot of packing and the right brand of ink to get results like this. When you’re packing color you don’t want to overwork the skin because this leads to scabbing, here we can see that the artist knew exactly how to work with their colors and managed to avoid damaging the skin. Amazing work!
IG: dokidokitattoos
Stunning Feminine Neo Traditional Bee Tattoo
I can’t get enough of this color palette, the way the artist used lighter green to create highlights in the clovers and light pink for the flowers. This really showcases their ability to work with color and not rely on black or gray wash shading. The varying line weights also give the design a realistic and almost 3D feel because the thicker lines contrast with the finer lines, bringing certain areas to the foreground. Emma is a nature-inspired color artist with a lot of her tattoos following a Neo Traditional style.
IG: gloomtattoos
Colorful Geometric Bee Tattoo
I’ve never seen something quite like this before it’s a very unusual style, but it works so well. The colors are vivid, and the artist packed the black in such a way that there are absolutely no irregularities, in fact, this tattoo is so well done that you can hardly believe an artist with a tattoo machine did it. There’s a lot going on, but that doesn’t mean this is a busy design, every element complements the next, and that’s how you can tell a tattoo is good. Go give tattoo__shabnam Instagram a like for more of these designs.
IG: tattoo__shabnam
Feminine Dotwork Bee Tricep Tattoo
Is this not the most lovely bee tattoo you’ve ever seen? I love the stippled shading the artist used, it gives the piece a soft feel and contrasts against the solid blackwork. There is a lot of detail, especially in the bee, but it doesn’t overcrowd the piece or appear too busy. The flowers framing the piece create a heart shape which I find absolutely adorable. Great job!
IG: erikalukaart
Lovely Micro Black and Gray Bee Chest Tattoo
The honey bee is said to symbolize, in many cultures across the world, the bridge between the natural world and the underworld.
Because of the small size of this tattoo, it is what artists consider a micro or tiny tattoo. The hints of white highlight in this piece add extra detail to an already marvelously detailed tattoo.
IG: campohltattoos
Fineline Black and Gray Bee Tattoo On Woman’s Sternum
Fineline tattoos are always a great style if you’re tattooing bugs or something feminine. Even better is the placement, a sternum tattoo is very sexy because it’s hidden, and only the client knows that it’s there. If you want a sexy tattoo, the sternum is the way to go.
IG: kryshink
Feminine Neo Traditional Bee Tattoo On the Leg
If you were looking for a feminine tattoo, here is the perfect design. I love the flow of this tattoo on the client’s leg, the frame around the bee encapsulates it while the flowers bring the entire piece together. The warm colors blend beautifully with the cool mint green in the frame and contrast against the solid black. This is such a stunning tattoo, I love everything about it.
IG: ianmaggard
Micro Bumblebee Forearm Tattoo
I love the placement of this tattoo it’s perfect for the design; right in the middle and almost perfectly in line with the crease of the arm. Adding tiny details to an already small tattoo can be tricky, but the artist didn’t let the size stop them. The line work is consistent and clean, while the shading is silky and precise, all of this combined makes for an immaculate tattoo.
IG: ulaluart
Feminine Ornamental Blackwork Bee Back Tattoo
I love this tattoo because it looks like an ornament adorning her neck, but I often feel that big line work designs like this one look naked without shading. Regardless the design itself is absolutely stunning, and the composition is perfect for the neck. It flows flawlessly with the shape of her neck and back, and even better, when she wears open-back shirts or dresses, her tattoo will be on display for the whole world to see.
IG: madame._.medusa
Tiny Handpoked Bee Arm Tattoo
How adorable is this handpoked bee? If you’re unfamiliar with handpoke tattoos, it’s a form of tattooing done by hand using a needle you would run in a coil machine and not by a machine itself, hence the word “hand” in handpoke. You can tell the difference by the fact that the lines will look dotted rather than a smooth line. This design is super cute and almost reminds me of the bees from the cartoon Adventure Time.
IG: pigeonpokes_
Tiny Color Realism Bee Tattoo On Woman’s Forearm
Everyone loves a bee bum, they’re so fluffy and cute, which is probably why this client got one. I love that they went with a realistic design and how they included tiny bits of pollen, it almost looks like the bee is flying into the client’s arm, that’s how well done this tattoo is. Kudos to the artist for creating such a realistic piece in such a small space.
IG: moonzytattoo
Gorgeous Floral and Bee Fineline Tattoo
Yasmin is a tattoo artist from Brazil that specializes in black and gray flowers and nature tattoos. Her style is very soft and feminine, as you can see with this piece. She uses whip shading and fine lines to create her designs, and here she has incorporated a bold circle to combine all of the elements to enclose them as one piece. For more like this, you can find her work on Instagram.
IG: yasmimtattoo
Amazing Black and Gray Honeycomb and Bee Leg Tattoo
Have you ever seen such crisp line work before? It’s amazing how steady this artist hand is because the lines in the honeycomb are extremely thin and have not a single flaw. The flower making up part of the bee was a lovely addition and gives this black and gray bee tattoo a feminine touch. I love the little details, such as the fine hairs on the legs and the shine created by the white highlight in the wings. This is a lovely tattoo and a great way to honor bees.
IG: allysia_tattoo
Micro Strawberry and Bee Color Realism Tattoo
Our final tattoo on the list is absolutely precious. I love it when an artist can perfect micro color realism because it’s not an easy style to do. You need to know your light sources well and how to blend colors in such a way that it’s smooth and as vivid as they would appear in real life. The only issue with this piece is that it seems as though it is facing the wrong way, it’s visible to the client but upside down to the rest of the world. Regardless, the overall design and execution are flawless, and both artist and client can be proud of this amazing tattoo.
We hope you found what you were looking for, and if you didn’t, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy. Happy inking!
IG: xxsummer_ttt
Awesome Masculine Geometric Bee Tattoo
There’s something about geometric tattoos that always come across as very masculine. Perhaps it’s because of the sharp angles and boldness of the lines. The artist displayed skilled linework with this piece, as all the lines are solid and without error, but what’s really cool is how they used varying line weights to create contrast, bringing the bee to the foreground.
IG: cangguinkclub
Ornamental Black and Gray Bee Tattoo On Thigh
The Black and Gray lines and shading in this tattoo are superb. The bee is enclosed by the flowers, which tie the entire design together. I feel as though the artist should have created some sort of contrast between the flowers and the bee because, in its current state, everything looks the same and is slightly flat. Regardless, the design and layout of the tattoo are lovely and suit the shape of the client’s thigh.
Lovely Blackwork Forearm Bee Tattoo
Skilled shading technique is evident in this tattoo. The artist chose various forms of shading to bring this piece to life, from whip shading to stippling and even linework to create a fuzzy look in the bee’s body. But it’s not simply the shading that makes this tattoo phenomenal, rather it’s the varying lines used that are so exact and invariant, worthy of credit. Amazing job on such a small but intricate tattoo.
IG: yaia_ink
Black and Gray Tiny Bee Tattoo On Outer Forearm
Black and Gray bee tattoos are popular; even more popular is the addition of a honeycomb or hexagons to the design. Here we can see both, and they work so well together.
The client chose the outer forearm for this design, and it was a great decision because it looks like it was absolutely made for this area. It’s not too low down that it’s touching the wrist, and it’s not too far up that it’s right in the middle of the forearm. Great placement, great design, and amazing execution of the overall tattoo.
IG: zezitattoo
Bright Watercolor Bee Tattoo On Side of Leg
There is nothing about this tattoo that I could say I don’t like. The artist took a few different styles and mashed them together to create this amazing piece. There are elements of sketch, abstract, blackwork, and watercolor, with watercolor being the main theme. As you can see, this is a massive tattoo that extends halfway up the client’s leg, which is pretty impressive because the side of the leg can be a spicy area. I love the flicks of color; they add motion to the design and are a classic element of sketch and watercolor.
IG: thiagomelloarte
Colorful American Traditional Bee Tattoo
I love American Traditional tattoos for one simple reason, they will stand the test of time. Why? Because as the saying goes, bold will hold, and that’s exactly what this Old School bee tattoo is, bold. From the line work to the color, everything about this tattoo says it’s going to stay as bright as the day it was tattooed. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but look at how vivid those colors are? And the placement is just perfection! It’s clear that the client is an American Traditonal fan because their existing tattoos are in the same style.