Bees
Osmia ribifloris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Suborder: Apocrita Superfamily: Apoidea (unranked) Anthophila
Families
Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Dasypodaidae Halictidae Megachilidae Meganomiidae Melittidae Stenotritidae
Synonyms
Apiformes

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Osmia ribifloris, one of several species referred to as a blueberry bee, is a megachilid bee native to the coastal mountains of southern California Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of Insects comprising the sawflies, Wasps Bees and Ants The name refers to The family Andrenidae is a large (nearly cosmopolitan (absent in Australia non-parasitic Bee family with most of the diversity in temperate and/or arid areas (warm temperate Colletidae is a family of Bees and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with The family Dasypodaidae (originally named "Dasypodidae" but that name was preoccupied is a small Bee family with some 70-80 species in 7 genera found in Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored The Megachilidae are a Cosmopolitan family of (mostly solitary Bees whose pollen-carrying structure (called a scopa) is restricted to the The family Meganomiidae is a very small Bee family with 10 species in 4 genera found primarily in Africa, primarily in Xeric habitats with the distributional The family Melittidae is a small Bee family with some 60 species in 4 genera restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone The family Stenotritidae is the smallest of all formally-recognized Bee families with only 21 species in 2 genera all of them restricted to Australia. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described A wasp is any Insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a Bee nor Ant. Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila. A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor There are slightly fewer than 20,000 known species of bee, in nine recognized families,^[1] though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains flowering dicotyledons. Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There

Introduction

'Morphology of a female honey bee. The term morphology in Biology refers to the outward appearance ( Shape, Structure, Colour, Pattern) of an Organism This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees '

Honey Bee, on tufted vetch (Vicia cracca) (Quebec, Canada)

Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca, also occasionally known as Cow Vetch or Bird Vetch is a common Species of Vetch native throughout most of North America Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Nectar is a Sugar -rich liquid produced by plants It is produced either by the Flowers in which it attracts pollinating animals or by extrafloral Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl Most pollen is used as food for larvae. A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example

Bees have a long proboscis (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. In general a proboscis (from Greek προ pro "before" and βοσκειν boskein "to feed" also known as probiscus A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also They have antennae almost universally made up of thirteen segments in males and twelve in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Antennae (singular antenna) are paired Appendages connected to the front-most segments of Arthropods In Crustaceans they are Bees all have two pairs of wings, the hind pair being the smaller of the two; in a very few species, one sex or caste has relatively short wings that make flight difficult or impossible, but none are wingless. Insect wings are outgrowths of the Insect Exoskeleton that enable insects to fly.

The smallest bee is the dwarf bee (Trigona minima), about 2. 1 mm (5/64") long. The largest bee in the world is Megachile pluto, which can grow to a size of 39 mm (1. Megachile pluto is a very large Indonesian Resin Bee (a leafcutter bee that uses resin to make compartments in its nest 5"). Member of the family Halictidae, or sweat bees, are the most common type of bee in the Northern Hemisphere, though they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'

The best-known bee species is the Western honey bee, which, as its name suggests, produces honey, as do a few other types of bee. Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the Human management of this species is known as beekeeping or apiculture. Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, Bee) is the maintenance of Honey bee colonies commonly in Hives

Bees are the favorite meal of Merops apiaster, the bee-eater bird. The bee-eaters are a group of Near passerine Birds in the family Meropidae Other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, bee wolves, and dragonflies. The genus Tyrannus is a group of large insect-eating Birds in the Tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae Mockingbirds are a group of New World Passerine Birds from the Mimidae family. The genus Philanthus of the subfamilly Philanthinae is in the family Crabronidae. Anisoptera redirects here For the genus of trees see Anisoptera (tree.

Pollination

Two honey bees are collecting pollen from Nightblooming cereus

Honey Bee collecting pollen

Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. Pollination in angiosperms and Gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen grains, which contain the male Gametes (sperm to where the female The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group A pollinator is the biotic agent ( vector) that moves Pollen from the male Anthers of a Flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish Bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand, especially in social species. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators.

It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated Western honey bee. Contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. Pollination Management is the label for horticultural practices that accomplish or enhance Pollination of a crop to improve yield or quality by understanding of the particular A beekeeper is a person who keeps Honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as Honey, Beeswax, Pollen; pollinating Monoculture and pollinator decline (of many bee species) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally-varying high-demand areas of pollination. Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area The term Pollinator decline refers to the reduction in abundance of Pollinators in many Ecosystems worldwide during the end of the twentieth century Seasonal human migration is very common in agricultural cycles. Recently, many such migratory beekeepers have experienced substantial losses, prompting the announcement of investigation into the phenomenon, dubbed "Colony Collapse Disorder," amidst great concern over the nature and extent of the losses. Colony Collapse Disorder (or CCD) is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly disappear Many other species of bees such as mason bees are increasingly cultured and used to meet the agricultural pollination need. Mason bee is a general term for certain species of bees in the family Megachilidae, most appropriately restricted to the genus Osmia, such as the orchard mason Most native pollinators are solitary bees, which often survive in refuge in wild areas away from agricultural spraying, but may still be poisoned in massive spray programs for mosquitoes, gypsy moths, or other insect pests. Mosquitoes are insects in the family Culicidae. They have a pair of scaled wings a pair of Halteres, a slender body and long legs The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded by Humans as injurious or unwanted

Honey bee near a flower. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also

Most bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge, which aids in the adherence of pollen. Electrostatics is the branch of Science that deals with the Phenomena arising from what seems to be stationary Electric charges Since Classical Female bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into the scopa, which is on the legs in most bees, and on the ventral abdomen on others, and modified into specialized pollen baskets on the legs of honey bees and their relatives. The term scopa is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic Bee that form a Pollen -carrying apparatus In Vertebrates such as Mammals the abdomen (belly constitutes the part of the body between the Thorax (chest and Pelvis. The pollen basket or corbicula is part of the tibia on the hind legs of the four related lineages of apid bees that used to comprise the family Apidae This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees Many bees are opportunistic foragers, and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, while others are oligolectic, gathering pollen from only one or a few types of plant. The term oligolecty is used in Pollination ecology to refer to Bees that exhibit a narrow specialized preference for Pollen sources typically to a single A small number of plants produce nutritious floral oils rather than pollen, which are gathered and used by oligolectic bees. One small subgroup of stingless bees (called "vulture bees") is specialized to feed on carrion, and these are the only bees that do not use plant products as food. Stingless bees, or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees comprising the tribe Meliponini (sometimes called stingless honey bees) in the family Vulture bees are a small group of three closely-related American Stingless bee species in the genus Trigona which feed on rotting meat Carrion (from the Latin caro, meaning meat refers to the carcass of a dead animal Pollen and nectar are usually combined together to form a "provision mass", which is often soupy, but can be firm. It is formed into various shapes (typically spheroid), and stored in a small chamber (a "cell"), with the egg deposited on the mass. Equation A spheroid centered at the origin and rotated about the z axis is defined by the implicit equation \left(\frac{x}{a}\right^2+\left(\frac{y}{a}\right^2+\left(\frac{z}{b}\right^2 The cell is typically sealed after the egg is laid, and the adult and larva never interact directly (a system called "mass provisioning"). Mass provisioning is a term used in Entomology to refer to a form of Parental behavior in which an adult (most commonly a Hymenopteran such as a Bee

Visiting flowers can be a dangerous occupation. Many assassin bugs and crab spiders hide in flowers to capture unwary bees. Reduviidae is a large cosmopolitan family of predatory Insects in the suborder Heteroptera. Crab spiders make up the Thomisidae family of the Araneae order Other bees are lost to birds in flight. Insecticides used on blooming plants kills many bees, both by direct poisoning and by contamination of their food supply. An insecticide is a Pesticide used against Insects in all developmental forms A honey bee queen may lay 2000 eggs per day during spring buildup, but she also must lay 1000 to 1500 eggs per day during the foraging season, mostly to replace daily casualties, most of which are workers dying of old age. The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult mated female that lives in a Honey bee colony or hive she is usually the mother of all the bees in the hive Among solitary and primitively social bees, however, lifetime reproduction is among the lowest of all insects, as it is common for females of such species to produce fewer than 25 offspring.

The population value of bees depends partly on the individual efficiency of the bees, but also on the population itself. Thus, while bumblebees have been found to be about ten times more efficient pollinators on cucurbits, the total efficiency of a colony of honey bees is much greater, due to greater numbers. A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily Cucurbitaceae is a Plant family commonly known as Melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like Cucumbers Likewise, during early spring orchard blossoms, bumblebee populations are limited to only a few queens, and thus are not significant pollinators of early fruit.

See also List of plants pollinated by bees

Evolution

Bees vary tremendously in size. Here a tiny halictid bee is gathering pollen, while a bumblebee behind her gathers nectar from a lily. Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored

Bees, like ants, are a specialized form of wasp. Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order A wasp is any Insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a Bee nor Ant. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family Crabronidae, and therefore predators of other insects. Crabronidae is a large family of Wasps that includes nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea The switch from insect prey to pollen may have resulted from the consumption of prey insects that were flower visitors and were partially covered with pollen when they were fed to the wasp larvae. This same evolutionary scenario has also occurred within the vespoid wasps, where the group known as "pollen wasps" also evolved from predatory ancestors. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Vespoidea is a superfamily of order Hymenoptera of class Insecta, although older taxonomic schemes may vary in this Pollen wasps are unusual Wasps that are typically treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but have in the past sometimes been recognized as a separate family " Up until recently the oldest non-compression bee fossil had been Cretotrigona prisca in New Jersey amber and of Cretaceous age, a meliponine. Stingless bees, or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees comprising the tribe Meliponini (sometimes called stingless honey bees) in the family A recently reported bee fossil, of the genus Melittosphex, is considered "an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea sister to the modern bees", and dates from the early Cretaceous (~100 mya). Melittosphex burmensis is the oldest-known species of Bee. The species was discovered as an amber inclusion in the year 2006 by George Poinar Jr Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry ^[2] Derived features of its morphology ("apomorphies") place it clearly within the bees, but it retains two unmodified ancestral traits ("plesiomorphies") of the legs (two mid-tibial spurs, and a slender hind basitarsus), indicative of its transitional status. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry

The earliest animal-pollinated flowers were pollinated by insects such as beetles, so the syndrome of insect pollination was well established before bees first appeared. Beetles are the group of Insects with the largest number of known Species. The novelty is that bees are specialized as pollination agents, with behavioral and physical modifications that specifically enhance pollination, and are much more efficient at the task than beetles, flies, butterflies, pollen wasps, or any other pollinating insect. True flies are Insects of the Order Diptera ( Greek: di = two and pteron = wing possessing a single pair of A butterfly is an Insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a The appearance of such floral specialists is believed to have driven the adaptive radiation of the angiosperms, and, in turn, the bees themselves. An adaptive radiation is a rapid Evolutionary radiation characterized by an increase in the morphological and ecological diversity of a single rapidly diversifying lineage The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group

Among living bee groups, the Dasypodaidae are now considered to be the most "primitive", and sister taxon to the remainder of the bees, contrary to earlier hypotheses that the "short-tongued" bee family Colletidae was the basal group of bees; the short, wasp-like mouthparts of colletids are the result of convergent evolution, rather than indicative of a plesiomorphic condition. The family Dasypodaidae (originally named "Dasypodidae" but that name was preoccupied is a small Bee family with some 70-80 species in 7 genera found in Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry Colletidae is a family of Bees and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry ^[1]

Eusocial and semisocial bees

A honey bee swarm

Bumblebee

A Western honey bee extracts nectar from an Aster flower

Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. Aster ( syn Diplopappus Cass) is a Genus of Flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The most advanced of these are eusocial colonies found among the honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. Eusociality ( Greek eu: "good" + "social" is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification Sociality, of several different types, is believed to have evolved separately many times within the bees.

In some species, groups of cohabiting females may be sisters, and if there is a division of labor within the group, then they are considered semisocial.

If, in addition to a division of labor, the group consists of a mother and her daughters, then the group is called eusocial. The mother is considered the "queen" and the daughters are "workers". These castes may be purely behavioral alternatives, in which case the system is considered "primitively eusocial" (similar to many paper wasps), and if the castes are morphologically discrete, then the system is "highly eusocial". Paper wasps are 3/4 Inch to 1 inch (2-25 cm)-long Wasps that gather Fibers from dead wood and plant stems which they mix with Saliva

There are many more species of primitively eusocial bees than highly eusocial bees, but they have rarely been studied. The biology of most such species is almost completely unknown. The vast majority are in the family Halictidae, or "sweat bees". Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored Colonies are typically small, with a dozen or fewer workers, on average. The only physical difference between queens and workers is average size, if they differ at all. Most species have a single season colony cycle, even in the tropics, and only mated females (future queens, or "gynes") hibernate (called diapause). Diapause is a Physiological state of Dormancy with very specific triggering and releasing conditions A few species have long active seasons and attain colony sizes in the hundreds. The orchid bees include a number of primitively eusocial species with similar biology. Euglossine bees, also called orchid bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Certain species of allodapine bees (relatives of carpenter bees) also have primitively eusocial colonies, with unusual levels of interaction between the adult bees and the developing brood. Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large hairy bees distributed worldwide This is "progressive provisioning"; a larva's food is supplied gradually as it develops. Progressive provisioning is a term used in Entomology to refer to a form of Parental behavior in which an adult (most commonly a Hymenopteran such as a This system is also seen in honey bees and some bumblebees.

Highly eusocial bees live in colonies. Each colony has a single queen, many workers and, at certain stages in the colony cycle, drones. The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult mated female that lives in a Honey bee colony or hive she is usually the mother of all the bees in the hive A Worker bee is any female Eusocial bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's Queen bee; under most circumstances this is correlated to an increase Drones are male Honey bees Male honey bees develop when the Queen bee lays unfertilized eggs Drone genetics Haplodiploid sex-determination When humans provide the nest, it is called a hive. A beehive is in a general sense an enclosed structure in which some species of Honey bees (genus Apis) live and raise their young A honey bee hive can contain up to 40,000 bees at their annual peak, which occurs in the spring, but usually have fewer.

Bumblebees

Main article: Bumblebee

Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris, B. A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily pratorum, et al. ) are eusocial in a manner quite similar to the eusocial Vespidae such as hornets. The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species diverse cosmopolitan family of Wasps including nearly all the known Eusocial wasps and many Solitary Hornets are the largest eusocial Wasps that reach up to 45 Millimetres (1 The queen initiates a nest on her own (unlike queens of honey bees and stingless bees which start nests via swarms in the company of a large worker force). The SWARM Remote Weapon System (Stabilised Weapon And Reconnaissance Mount is a fully armored Remote weapon system designed and built by the Thales Group in Bumblebee colonies typically have from 50 to 200 bees at peak population, which occurs in mid to late summer. Nest architecture is simple, limited by the size of the nest cavity (pre-existing), and colonies are rarely perennial. Bumblebee queens sometimes seek winter safety in honey bee hives, where they are sometimes found dead in the spring by beekeepers, presumably stung to death by the honey bees. A beekeeper is a person who keeps Honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as Honey, Beeswax, Pollen; pollinating It is unknown whether any survive winter in such an environment.

Stingless bees

Main article: Stingless bee

Stingless bees are very diverse in behavior, but all are highly eusocial. Stingless bees, or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees comprising the tribe Meliponini (sometimes called stingless honey bees) in the family Stingless bees, or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees comprising the tribe Meliponini (sometimes called stingless honey bees) in the family Eusociality ( Greek eu: "good" + "social" is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification They practice mass provisioning, complex nest architecture, and perennial colonies.

Honey bees

Main article: Honey bee

The true honey bees (genus Apis) have arguably the most complex social behavior among the bees. This article refers collectively to all true honey bees for the "common" domesticated honey bee see European honey bee Honey bees The Western (or European) honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the best known bee species and one of the best known of all insects.

Africanized honey bee

Main article: Africanized bee

Africanized bees, also called killer bees, are a hybrid strain of Apis mellifera derived from experiments to cross European and African honey bees by Warwick Estevam Kerr. "Killer bee" redirects here For other uses see Killer bees. Warwick Estevam Kerr (b September 9, 1922, Santana do Parnaíba, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian agricultural engineer Several queen bees escaped his laboratory in South America and have spread throughout the Americas. Africanized honey bees are more defensive than European honey bees.

Solitary and communal bees

Most other bees, including familiar species of bee such as the Eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica), alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata), orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria) and the hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons) are solitary in the sense that every female is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. The common Eastern carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginica, is the Carpenter bee most often encountered in the eastern United States. The Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee ( Megachile rotundata) is a European species of bee that has been cultured in the United States for Pollination The orchard mason bee, Osmia lignaria, is a megachilid Bee that makes nests in reeds and natural holes creating individual cells for their brood that The hornfaced bee ( Osmia cornifrons) has been used commercially for several decades in Japan to pollinate apples as it is now in the US There are no worker bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor beeswax. For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus They are immune from acarine and Varroa mites (see diseases of the honey bee), but have their own unique parasites, pests and diseases. Acarina or Acari are a Taxon of Arachnids that contains Mites and Ticks The diversity of the Acari is extraordinary and its Varroa is a Genus of Parasitic Mites associated with Honey bees;Selected species Varroa destructor Mites, along with Ticks belong to the subclass Acarina (also known as Acari and the class Arachnida Mites are among the most diverse and successful Diseases of the honey bee include Pests and parasites Varroa mites See also Varroa destructor Varroa destructor and Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly

A solitary bee, Anthidium florentinum (family Megachilidae), visiting Lantana

Solitary bees are important pollinators, and pollen is gathered for provisioning the nest with food for their brood. The Megachilidae are a Cosmopolitan family of (mostly solitary Bees whose pollen-carrying structure (called a scopa) is restricted to the Lantana is a Genus of about 150 Species of perennial Flowering plants native to tropical regions of the Americas Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistency. Some solitary bees have very advanced types of pollen carrying structures on their bodies. A very few species of solitary bees are being increasingly cultured for commercial pollination.

Solitary bees are often oligoleges, in that they only gather pollen from one or a few species/genera of plants (unlike honey bees and bumblebees which are generalists). The term oligolecty is used in Pollination ecology to refer to Bees that exhibit a narrow specialized preference for Pollen sources typically to a single No known bees are nectar specialists; many oligolectic bees will visit multiple plants for nectar, but there are no bees which visit only one plant for nectar while also gathering pollen from many different sources. Specialist pollinators also include bee species that gather floral oils instead of pollen, and male orchid bees, which gather aromatic compounds from orchids (one of the only cases where male bees are effective pollinators). In a very few cases only one species of bee can effectively pollinate a plant species, and some plants are endangered at least in part because their pollinator is dying off. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation There is, however, a pronounced tendency for oligolectic bees to be associated with common, widespread plants which are visited by multiple pollinators (e. g. , there are some 40 oligoleges associated with creosotebush in the US desert southwest^[3], and a similar pattern is seen in sunflowers, asters, mesquite, etc. Larrea tridentata, known as creosote bush (or chaparral when used as a medicinal herb is a Flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae The sunflower ( Helianthus annuus) is an Annual plant in the family Asteraceae and native to the Americas, with a large flowering Mesquite (from Nahuatl mizquitl) is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in Northern Mexico and the United )

Solitary bees create nests in hollow reeds or twigs, holes in wood, or, most commonly, in tunnels in the ground. Phragmites australis, the common reed, is a large perennial grass found in Wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs The female typically creates a compartment (a "cell") with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off. A nest may consist of numerous cells. When the nest is in wood, usually the last (those closer to the entrance) contain eggs that will become males. The adult does not provide care for the brood once the egg is laid, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males typically emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge. Providing nest boxes for solitary bees is increasingly popular for gardeners. A gardener is any person involved in the growing and maintenance of plants notably in a Garden. Solitary bees are either stingless or very unlikely to sting (only in self defense, if ever).

A bee on a cornel

While solitary females each make individual nests, some species are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, giving the appearance to the casual observer that they are social. Large groups of solitary bee nests are called aggregations, to distinguish them from colonies. In Biology, a colony (from Latin colonia) refers to several individual Organisms of the same Species living closely together usually

In some species, multiple females share a common nest, but each makes and provisions her own cells independently. This type of group is called "communal" and is not uncommon. The primary advantage appears to be that a nest entrance is easier to defend from predators and parasites when there are multiple females using that same entrance on a regular basis.

Cleptoparasitic bees

Cleptoparasitic bees, commonly called "cuckoo bees" because their behavior is similar to cuckoo birds, occur in several bee families, though the name is technically best applied to the apid subfamily Nomadinae. Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism (literally Parasitism by Theft) is a form of Feeding where one animal takes Prey from another The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different Bee lineages which have evolved the cleptoparasitic habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees reminiscent The cuckoos are a family Cuculidae, of Near passerine Birds The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos also includes the The subfamily Nomadinae (eg Nomada, Epeolus, Triepeolus, Holcopasites) is the largest and most diverse group of Females of these bees lack pollen collecting structures (the scopa) and do not construct their own nests. The term scopa is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic Bee that form a Pollen -carrying apparatus They typically enter the nests of pollen collecting species, and lay their eggs in cells provisioned by the host bee. When the cuckoo bee larva hatches it consumes the host larva's pollen ball, and if the female cleptoparasite has not already done so, kills and eats the host larva. In a few cases where the hosts are social species, the cleptoparasite remains in the host nest and lays many eggs, sometimes even killing the host queen and replacing her.

Many cleptoparasitic bees are closely related to, and resemble, their hosts in looks and size, (i. e. , the Bombus subgenus Psithyrus, which are parasitic bumblebees that infiltrate nests of species in other subgenera of Bombus). A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily This common pattern gave rise to the ecological principle known as "Emery's Rule". In 1909 the entomologist Carlo Emery noted that social parasites among insects (e Others parasitize bees in different families, like Townsendiella, a nomadine apid, one species of which is a cleptoparasite of the dasypodaid genus Hesperapis, while the other species in the same genus attack halictid bees. The subfamily Nomadinae (eg Nomada, Epeolus, Triepeolus, Holcopasites) is the largest and most diverse group of The family Dasypodaidae (originally named "Dasypodidae" but that name was preoccupied is a small Bee family with some 70-80 species in 7 genera found in Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored

Nocturnal bees

Four bee families (Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Apidae) contain some species that are crepuscular (these may be either the vespertine or matinal type). The family Andrenidae is a large (nearly cosmopolitan (absent in Australia non-parasitic Bee family with most of the diversity in temperate and/or arid areas (warm temperate Colletidae is a family of Bees and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored Crepuscular is a term used to describe animals that are primarily active during Twilight, hence at Dawn and at Dusk. Vespertine is a term used in the life sciences to indicate something of relating to or occurring in the evening Matutinal is a term used in the life sciences, to describe an organism that is only or primarily active in the pre-dawn hours or early morning These bees have greatly enlarged ocelli, which are extremely sensitive to light and dark, though incapable of forming images. An ocellus (plural ocelli) is a type of Photoreceptor organ in animals Many are pollinators of flowers that themselves are crepuscular, such as evening primroses, and some live in desert habitats where daytime temperatures are extremely high. Crepuscular is a term used to describe animals that are primarily active during Twilight, hence at Dawn and at Dusk. Evening Primrose is a musical with a book by James Goldman and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim.

Bee flight

In his 1934 French book Le vol des insectes, M. Magnan wrote that he and a Mr. Saint-Lague had applied the equations of air resistance to bumblebees and found that their flight was impossible, but that "One shouldn't be surprised that the results of the calculations don't square with reality". André Sainte-Laguë ( April 20, 1882 – January 18, 1950) was a French Mathematician who was a pioneer in the area of In Fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called fluid resistance) is the force that resists the movement of a Solid object through a Fluid (a A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily ^[4]

In 1996 Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University showed that vortices created by many insects’ wings and non-linear effects were a vital source of lift;^[5] vortices and non-linear phenomena are notoriously difficult areas of hydrodynamics, which has made for slow progress in theoretical understanding of insect flight. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the V erification of the O rigins of R otation in T ornadoes Ex periment or VORTEX, is a field project that seeks to understand how a Fluid dynamics is the sub-discipline of Fluid mechanics dealing with fluid flow: Fluids ( Liquids and Gases in motion

In 2005 Michael Dickinson and his Caltech colleagues studied honey bee flight with the assistance of high-speed cinematography[1] and a giant robotic mock-up of a bee wing^[6]. The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, Coeducational research university located in Pasadena See also Filmmaking Cinematography (from Greek: kinesis κινησις (movement and grapho γραφω (to record is the discipline Their analysis revealed sufficient lift was generated by "the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes, a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction, and a very fast wing-beat frequency". Wing beat frequency normally increases as size decreases, but the as the bee's wing beat covers such a small arc, it flaps approximately 230 times per second, faster than a fruitfly (200 times per second) which is 80 times smaller. In Geometry, an arc is a closed segment of a Differentiable Curve in the two-dimensional plane; for example a circular ^[7]

Bees and humans

Bees figure prominently in mythology (See Bee (mythology)) and have been used by political theorists as a model for human society. The bee, found in Ancient Near East and Aegean cultures is believed to be the sacred insect that bridged the natural world to the underworld A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions Journalist Bee Wilson states that the image of a community of honey bees "occurs from ancient to modern times, in Aristotle and Plato; in Virgil and Seneca; in Erasmus and Shakespeare; Tolstoy, as well as by social theorists Bernard Mandeville and Karl Marx. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or William Shakespeare ( baptised This article is about the Tolstoy family, for other meanings see Tolstoy (disambiguation Tolstoy, or Tolstoi Bernard Mandeville, or Bernard de Mandeville (1670 &ndash 1733 was a Philosopher, political Economist and Satirist. "^[8]

Despite the honey bee's painful sting and the stereotype of insects as pests, bees are generally held in high regard. This is most likely due to their usefulness as pollinators and as producers of honey, their social nature and their reputation for diligence. Bees are one of the few insects used on advertisements, being used to illustrate honey and foods made with honey (e. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand g. Honey Nut Cheerios), and appearing in the 2007 Bee Movie. Honey Nut Cheerios is a variation of Cheerios Breakfast cereal, introduced in 1980 by General Mills. Bee Movie is a 2007 Golden Globe -nominated CGI-animated Film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger,

In North America, yellowjackets and hornets, especially when encountered as flying pests, are often misidentified as bees, despite numerous differences between them. Yellowjacket or yellow-jacket is the Common name in North America for predatory Wasps of the genera Vespula and Hornets are the largest eusocial Wasps that reach up to 45 Millimetres (1 While easily confused at a distance or without close observation there are many different characteristics of Bees and Wasps which can be used to identify them Although a bee sting can be deadly to those with allergies, virtually all bee species are non-aggressive if undisturbed and many cannot sting at all. In fact humans will often be a greater danger to the bees, as bees are often affected or even harmed by encounters with toxic chemicals in the environment (see Bees and toxic chemicals). Bees can suffer serious effects from toxic chemicals' in their environment

Gallery

two species together	Western honey bee, Poland	Western honey bee on a Sphaeralcea flower. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The globemallows (or globe mallows) are members of the Genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family ( Malvaceae) Mesa, Az	Western honey bee in a Sphaeralcea flower. The globemallows (or globe mallows) are members of the Genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family ( Malvaceae) Mesa, Az
Sweat bee, Agapostemon virescens (female) on a Coreopsis flower. Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small (> 4 mm to midsize (> 8 mm Bees which are usually dark-colored Tickseed is the Common name for Coreopsis, a group of 35 species of herbs in the family Asteraceae and genus Coreopsis. Madison, Wi	Bumblebee, Bombus sp. A bumblebee (or bumble bee) is any member of the Bee Genus Bombus, in the family Apidae; there are over 250 known species primarily startles Agapostemon virescens. Madison, Wi	Western honey bee	Western honey bee, Kaunakakai, HI
Western honey bees, Lebanon. Kaunakakai is a Census-designated place (CDP in Maui County, Hawai{{okina}}i, United States. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية	Western honey bee, Lebanon. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية	Western honey bee collecting pollen from a rose. A rose is a perennial flowering Shrub or vine of the Genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species	Western honey bee collecting nectar from small flowers. McKinney, Texas. McKinney is a city in and the County seat of Collin County, Texas, United States, and the second in population to Plano.
Hovering bumblebee at lupine	Western honey bee on Apple blossom	Bumblebee, Montreal	Euglossine bees on orchid Mormodes buccinator (Suriname)

See also

• Characteristics of common wasps and bees
• Honey bee
• Honey bee life cycle
• Bee-eater
• Schmidt Sting Pain Index
• Mouthparts
• Beehive
• Apiology
• Colony Collapse Disorder

References

External links

• All Living Things Images, identification guides, and maps of bees
• Bee Genera of the World
• Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
• Rescuing Australian stingless bees
• The first bee of spring
• Solitary Bees & Things Solitary Bees in British gardens
• Scientists identify the oldest known bee, a 100 million-year-old specimen preserved in amber
• Search for North American species at Bugguide here
• For Hymenoptera: Bees and other related Insects Natural History of Bees, Wasps, and Insects
• Bee images on Morphbank, biological image database
• Dickinson Lab
• Video: Life Cycle of a Honey Bee
• Video: Orchid Bees