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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, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name anthophila. there are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to 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 insect-pollinated flowering plants.
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. most pollen is used as food for larvae.
bees have a long proboscis (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. they have antennae almost universally made up of 13 segments in males and 12 in females, as is typical for the superfamily. 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.
morphology of a female honey bee
the smallest bee is trigona minima, a stingless bee whose workers are about 2.1 mm (5/64") long. the largest bee in the world is megachile pluto, a leafcutter bee whose females can attain a length of 39 mm (1.5"). members 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.
the best-known bee species is the european honey bee, which, as its name suggests, produces honey, as do a few other types of bee. human management of this species is known as beekeeping or apiculture.
bees are the favorite meal of merops apiaster, the bee-eater bird. other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, beewolves, and dragonflies.
contents [hide]
1 pollination
1.1 pollinator decline
2 evolution
3 eusocial and semisocial bees
see also: list of crop plants pollinated by bees
bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. 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 european honey bee. contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. monoculture and the massive decline of many bee species (both wild and domesticated) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally varying high-demand areas of pollination.
honey bee (apis mellifera) collecting pollen
most bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge, which aids in the adherence of pollen. 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. many bees are opportunistic foragers, and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, while others
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