bee

bee Insect distinguished from other members of the order Hymenoptera, such as ants and wasps, by the presence of specially adapted hairs, with which they collect pollen; all bees feed their young nectar and pollen. The body is usually quite hairy, and the hairs are multi-branched (plumose). Although the honeybee and bumblebee are social insects living in well-organized colonies, many other bees are solitary, and some species even live in the colonies of other bees. Found worldwide, except in polar regions, they are important pollinators of flowers. Entomologists recognize c.12,000 species, but only the honeybee provides the honey that we eat. It builds combs of six-sided cells with wax from glands on its abdomen. A honeybee colony may have up to 60,000 individuals, consisting mainly of infertile female workers, with a few male drones and one egg-laying queen.