View source for User:Penubag/Sandbox/Article

{{ambox
| type      = notice
| style     = width: 400px; 
| textstyle = color: black; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;
| text      = '''This is a <span style="white-space: nowrap"><span>&#87;&#105;<!-- Wikipedia -->&#107;&#105;</span><span>&#112;&#101;&#100;&#105;&#97;</span></span> [[Wikipedia:User_page|user page]].<br>'''

This is not an encyclopedia article. '''
}}
{{otheruses|Western honey bee|Bee (disambiguation)}}


{{For|information on the disappearing [[Western honey bee|domesticated honey bee]] colonies in North America and Europe|Colony Collapse Disorder}}
{{For|Spelling bees|Spelling bee}}

{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Bees
| image = Osmia ribifloris bee.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = ''[[Osmia ribifloris]]''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| ordo = [[Hymenoptera]]
| subordo = [[Apocrita]]
| superfamilia = [[Apoidea]]
| unranked_superfamilia = '''Anthophila''' ( = '''Apiformes''')
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision =
[[Andrenidae]]<br />
[[Apidae]]<br />
[[Colletidae]]<br />
[[Dasypodaidae]]<br />
[[Halictidae]]<br />
[[Megachilidae]]<br />
[[Meganomiidae]]<br />
[[Melittidae]]<br />
[[Stenotritidae]]
}}

'''Bees''' are flying [[insect]]s closely related to [[wasp]]s and [[ant]]s. Bees are a [[monophyletic]] lineage within the superfamily '''[[Apoidea]]''', presently classified by the unranked taxon name '''Anthophila'''. There are slightly fewer than 20,000 known species of bee, in 9 recognized families,<ref name="Danforthetal2006">Danforth, B.N., Sipes, S., Fang, J., Brady, S.G. (2006) The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 103: 15118-15123.</ref> 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]]. 

== Introduction ==

[[Image:HoneyBeeAnatomy.svg|thumb|left|250px|'[[morphology (biology)|morphology]] of a female [[honey bee]].'{{spaces}}-''Credit: [[User:WikipedianProlific]]''</span>]]
[[Image:NKN-2007-07-02 101750b Honey Bee ( in Canada ) (Yvan Leduc author for Wikipedia).jpg|thumb|200px|[[Western honey bee|Honey Bee]], on tufted vetch (''[[Vicia cracca]]'') ([[Quebec]], [[Canada]]) {{spaces}}-''Credit: [[User:Yvan leduc]]''</span>]]
Bees are adapted for feeding on [[nectar (plant)|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 [[larva]]e.

Bees have a long [[proboscis]] (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from [[flower]]s. They have [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] almost universally made up of thirteen segments in males and twelve in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Bees all have two pairs of [[insect wing|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.

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 (1.5"). 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.

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.  Human management of this species is known as [[beekeeping]] or apiculture.

== Pollination ==
[[Image:Two bees in a flower.JPG|200px|left|thumb|Two honey bees are collecting pollen from [[Nightblooming cereus]] {{spaces}}-''Credit: </span>[http://home.comcast.net/~milazinkova/Fogshadow.html {{spaces}}Mila Zinkova</span>]]]
[[Image:Bee Collecting Pollen 2004-08-14.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Western honey bee|Honey Bee]] collecting pollen {{spaces}}-''Credit:</span>[http://pdphoto.org/PictureDetail.php?mat=pdef&pg=8202 {{spaces}}Jon Sullivan</span>]]]
Bees play an important role in [[pollination|pollinating]] [[flowering plant]]s, and are the major type of [[pollinator]]s in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. Bees may focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen, depending on their greater need at the time, 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 this accomplished by bees.

Bees are extremely important as pollinators in [[agriculture]], especially the domesticated [[Western honey bee]], with [[pollination management|contract pollination]] having overtaken the role of honey production for [[beekeeper]]s in many countries. [[Monoculture]] and [[pollinator decline]] (of many bee species) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become [[Seasonal human migration|migratory]] so that bees can be concentrated in areas of pollination need at the appropriate season. 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.

Many other species of bees such as [[mason bee]]s are increasingly cultured and used to meet the agricultural pollination need. Bees also play a major, though not always understood, role in providing food for birds and wildlife. Many of these bees survive in refuge in wild areas away from agricultural spraying, only to be poisoned in massive spray programs for [[mosquito]]es, [[gypsy moth]]s, or other insect [[Pest (animal)|pests]].
[[Image:Louise_Docker_-_Lift_Off-_Best_Viewed_Large_(by).jpg|thumb|[[Western honey bee|Honey bee]] near a [[flower]]. -{{spaces}}''Credit: [http://www.flickr.com/people/14516334@N00 Louise Docker]''</span>]]
Most bees are fuzzy and carry an [[electrostatic]] charge, thus aiding in the adherence of pollen. Female bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into the [[scopa (biology)|scopa]], which is on the legs in most bees, and on the ventral [[abdomen]] on others, and modified into specialized [[pollen basket]]s on the legs of [[honey bee]]s and their relatives. Many bees are opportunistic foragers, and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, but many others are [[oligolectic]], gathering pollen from only one or a few types of plant. 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 bee]]s (called "[[vulture bee]]s") is specialized to feed on [[carrion]], and these are the only bees that do not use plant products as food. 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. The cell is typically sealed after the egg is laid, and the adult and larva never interact directly (a system called "mass provisioning").

Visiting flowers can be a dangerous occupation. Many [[assassin bug]]s and [[crab spider]]s hide in flowers to capture unwary bees. Others are lost to birds in flight. [[Insecticide]]s used on blooming plants can kill large numbers of bees, both by direct poisoning and by contamination of their food supply. A honey bee [[queen 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 - note, however, that most casualties are workers simply dying of old age rather than predation. Among solitary and primitively social bees, however, lifetime reproduction is among the lowest of all insects, as it is not uncommon 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 [[bumblebee]]s have been found to be about ten times more efficient pollinators on [[cucurbitaceae|cucurbits]], the total efficiency of a colony of honey bees is much greater, due to greater numbers. 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==
[[Image:Bee scale 8948.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Bees vary tremendously in size. Here a tiny [[halictidae|halictid]] bee is gathering pollen, while a giant bumblebee behind her gathers nectar from a [[lily]]. {{spaces}}''Credit:   [[user:Pollinator]]</span>]]
Bees, like [[ants]], are essentially a highly specialized form of [[wasp]]. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family [[Crabronidae]], and therefore [[predator]]s of other insects. 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 [[evolution]]ary scenario has also occurred within the [[vespoidea|vespoid]] wasps, where the group known as "[[pollen wasp]]s" also evolved from predatory ancestors. Up until recently the oldest non-compression bee fossil had been ''Cretotrigona prisca'' in New Jersey amber and of Cretaceous age, a [[Meliponini|meliponine]]. A recently reported bee fossil, of the genus ''[[Melittosphex]]'', is considered ''"an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea [[sister taxon|sister]] to the modern bees"'', and dates from the early Cretaceous (~100 mya).<ref>Poinar, G.O. Jr., Danforth, B.N. 2006. A fossil bee from early [[Cretaceous]] Burmese amber. ''Science'' 314: 614.</ref> Derived features of its morphology ([[apomorphy|"apomorphies"]]) place it clearly within the bees, but it retains two unmodified ancestral traits ([[plesiomorphy|"plesiomorphies"]]) of the legs (two mid-tibial spurs, and a slender hind basitarsus), indicative of its transitional status.

The earliest animal-pollinated flowers were pollinated by insects such as [[beetle]]s, so the syndrome of insect pollination was well established before bees first appeared. 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, [[fly|flies]], [[butterfly|butterflies]], pollen wasps, or any other pollinating insect. The appearance of such floral specialists is believed to have driven the [[adaptive radiation]] of the [[angiosperm]]s, and, in turn, the bees themselves.

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 apparently the result of [[convergent evolution]], rather than indicative of a [[plesiomorphy|plesiomorphic]] condition.<ref name=Danforthetal2006/>

== Eusocial and semisocial bees ==
[[Image:Bee swarm on fallen tree03.jpg|thumb|250px|A honey bee swarm {{spaces}}''Credit: [[user:Fir0002]]</span>]]
[[Image:Bumblebee closeup.jpg|thumb|right|Bumblebee {{spaces}}''Credit: [[user:Mark Burnett]]</span>]]
[[Image:European honey bee extracts nectar.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A [[Western honey bee]] extracts nectar from an ''[[Aster]]'' flower using its proboscis. {{spaces}}''Credit: [[user:John Severns]], Eleassar, and [[user:Mark Burnett</span>]]]]

Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. The most advanced of these are [[eusocial]] colonies found among the honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. 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 wasp]]s), and if the castes are morphologically discrete, then the system is "highly eusocial".

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". 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]]). A few species have long active seasons and attain colony sizes in the hundreds. The [[orchid bee]]s include a number of primitively eusocial species with similar biology. Certain species of [[Allodapini|allodapine]] bees (relatives of [[carpenter bee]]s) also have primitively eusocial colonies, with unusual levels of interaction between the adult bees and the developing brood. This is "progressive provisioning"; a larva's food is supplied gradually as it develops. This system is also seen in honey bees and some bumblebees.

Highly eusocial bees live in colonies. Each colony has a single [[Queen (bee)|queen]], together with [[worker bee|workers]] and, at certain stages in the colony cycle, [[drone (bee)|drones]]. When humans provide a home for a colony, the structure is called a [[Beehive (beekeeping)|hive]]. 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|Bumblebee}}
[[Bumblebee]]s (''Bombus terrestris'', ''B. pratorum'', et al.) are eusocial in a manner quite similar to the eusocial [[Vespidae]] such as [[hornet]]s. The queen initiates a nest on her own (unlike queens of honey bees and stingless bees which start nests via [[Swarm|swarms]] in the company of a large worker force). 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 [[beekeeper]]s, presumably stung to death by the honey bees. It is unknown whether any survive winter in such an environment.

===Stingless bees===
{{Main|Stingless bee}}
[[Stingless bee]]s are very diverse in behavior, but all are highly [[eusocial]]. They practice mass provisioning, complex nest architecture, and perennial colonies.

=== Honey bees ===
{{Main|Honey bee}}

The true honey bees (genus ''[[Apis]]'') have arguably the most complex social behavior among the bees.  The [[Western honey bee|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|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]]. 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. There are no ''worker'' bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor [[beeswax]]. They are immune from [[acarine]] and ''[[Varroa]]'' [[mite]]s (see [[diseases of the honey bee]]), but have their own unique [[parasite]]s, pests and [[disease]]s.
[[Image:Anthidium September 2007-7.jpg|250px|right|thumb|A solitary bee, ''[[Anthidium florentinum]]'' (family [[Megachilidae]]), visiting ''[[Lantana]]'' {{spaces}}''Credit: [[user:Alvesgaspar]]</span>]]

Solitary bees are important pollinators, and pollen is gathered for provisioning the nest with food for their brood. 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 [[oligolege]]s, in that they only gather pollen from one or a few species/genera of plants (unlike honey bees and bumblebees which are generalists). 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 [[orchid]]s (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 species|endangered]] at least in part because their pollinator is dying off. 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<ref>Hurd, P.D. Jr., Linsley, E.G. 1975. The principal ''[[Larrea]]'' bees of the southwestern United States. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 193: 1-74.</ref>, and a similar pattern is seen in [[sunflower]]s, [[aster]]s, [[mesquite]], etc.)

Solitary bees create nests in hollow [[Phragmites|reed]]s or twigs, holes in [[wood]], or, most commonly, in tunnels in the ground. 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 [[gardener]]s. Solitary bees are either stingless or very unlikely to sting (only in self defense, if ever).

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 [[colony (biology)|colonies]].

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==
[[cleptoparasite|Cleptoparasitic]] bees, commonly called "[[cuckoo bee]]s" because their behavior is similar to [[cuckoo]] birds, occur in several bee families, though the name is technically best applied to the [[apidae|apid]] subfamily [[Nomadinae]]. Females of these bees lack pollen collecting structures (the [[scopa (biology)|scopa]]) and do not construct their own nests. 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 bumble bees that infiltrate nests of species in other subgenera of ''[[Bombus]]''). This common pattern gave rise to the ecological principle known as "[[Emery's Rule]]". Others parasitize bees in different families, like ''[[Townsendiella]]'', a [[nomadinae|nomadine]] [[apidae|apid]], one species of which is a cleptoparasite of the [[Dasypodaidae|dasypodaid]] genus ''[[Hesperapis]]'', while the other species in the same genus attack [[halictidae|halictid]] bees.

=="Nocturnal" bees==
Four bee families ([[Andrenidae]], [[Colletidae]], [[Halictidae]], and [[Apidae]]) contain some species that are [[crepuscular]] (these may be either the "[[vespertine (biology)|vespertine]]" or "[[matinal]]" type). These bees have greatly enlarged [[ocellus|ocelli]], which are extremely sensitive to light and dark, though incapable of forming images. Many are pollinators of flowers that themselves are [[crepuscular]], such as [[evening primrose]]s, and some live in desert habitats where daytime temperatures are extremely high.

==Bee flight==
There is a reference in the 1934 French book ''Le vol des insectes'' by M. Magnan, in which it is written that he and a Mr. [[Saint-Lague]] had applied the equations of [[air resistance]] to [[bumblebee]]s 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".<ref>Ingram, Jay ''The Barmaid's Brain'', Aurum Press, 2001, pp.91-92.</ref> 

In 1996 Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University, UK, showed that vortices created by many insects’ wings and non-linear effects were a vital source of lift<ref>[http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn8382-secrets-of-bee-flight-revealed.html 
Secrets of bee flight revealed], Phillips, Helen. 28 November 2005. Retrieved [[2007-12-28]]</ref> &mdash; [[vortex|vortices ]] and non-linear phenomena are notoriously difficult areas of [[hydrodynamics]], which has made for slow progress in theoretical understanding of insect flight. 
In 2005 Michael Dickinson and colleagues at [[Caltech]] studied [[Western honey bee|honey bee]] flight with the assistance of high-speed [[cinematography]][http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/av/dn8382.avi] and a giant robotic mock-up of a bee wing<ref>[http://mr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12772.html Deciphering the Mystery of Bee Flight] Caltech Media Relations. Nov. 29, 2005. Retrieved 2007, [[April 7|4-7]].</ref>, which "proves bees can fly, thank God”.

== Miscellaneous ==
Bees figure prominently in mythology. See [[Bee (mythology)]].

Bees are the favorite meal of ''[[Bee-eater|Merops apiaster]]'', a bird. Other common predators are [[kingbird]]s, [[mockingbird]]s, [[Philanthus|bee wolves]], and [[dragonfly|dragonflies]].

In [[North America]], [[yellowjacket]]s and [[hornet]]s, especially when encountered as flying pests, are often misidentified as bees, despite [[Characteristics of common wasps and bees|numerous differences between them]].

Bees are often affected or even harmed by encounters with toxic chemicals in the environment (see [[Bees and toxic chemicals]]).

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.  

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. 

Bee Wilson states that a community of honey bees have often been employed historically by political theorists as a model of human society:
{{quote|This image 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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Bee|year=2004|title=The Hive: The Story Of The Honeybee|location=London, Great Britain|publisher=[[John Murray (publisher)]]|isbn=0 7195 6598 7}}</ref>}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Bumble bee and honey bee.JPG|two species together
Image:Drinking Bee.jpg|[[Western honey bee]], [[Poland]]
Image:bee01.jpg|[[Western honey bee]] on a ''[[Sphaeralcea]]'' flower. Mesa, Az
Image:bee02.jpg|[[Western honey bee]] in a ''[[Sphaeralcea]]'' flower. Mesa, Az
Image:Sweat bee1.jpg|[[Halictidae|Sweat bee]], ''[[Agapostemon virescens]]'' (female) on a ''[[Coreopsis]]'' flower. Madison, Wi
Image:Bumblebee_1.jpg|[[Bumblebee]], ''Bombus'' sp. startles ''[[Agapostemon virescens]]''. Madison, Wi
Image:Biene auf lavendel.jpg|[[Western honey bee]]
Image:Bee and jatropha.jpg|[[Western honey bee]], [[Kaunakakai]], HI
Image:Honeybee pollen basket.JPG|[[Western honey bee|Western honey bees]], [[Lebanon]].
Image:Honeybee gathering nectar.jpg|[[Western honey bee]], [[Lebanon]].
Image:A bee and a rose.JPG|[[Western honey bee]] collecting pollen from a [[rose]].
Image:Bee IMG 0614 fixed SMALL.jpg|[[Western honey bee]] collecting nectar from small flowers. [[McKinney, Texas]].
Image:Hovering bee portland.JPG|Hovering [[bumblebee]] at [[lupin]]e
Image:Apis mellifera on Prunus flower.jpg|[[Western honey bee]] on [[Apple]] blossom
</gallery>

== See also ==
<div style="float:right; border:1px solid #A9A9A9;; margin:1px;">
{| cellspacing="0" style="width:230px; background:#D3D3D3"
| style="margin-left: width:20px; height:25px; background:#f9f9f9; border:#C0C0C0; text-align:center; font-size:14pt; color:black; padding:1pt; line-height:1.25em;"| [[Image:Wikipedia-logo.png|20px]]
| style="font-size:9pt; padding:0pt; background:#f9f9f9; border:#C0C0C0; line-height:1.25em; color:black; " | <span style="font-size: 80%"><center>See '''''[[:simple:bee|bee]]''''' in the [[Simple English Wikipedia]]</center></span>
|}</div>
<br>
{{commonscat|Apoidea}}
{{wikispecies|Bee}}
* [[Characteristics of common wasps and bees]]
* [[Honey bee]]   
* [[Honey bee life cycle]] 
* [[Bee-eater]], predator
* [[Schmidt Sting Pain Index]]
* [[Mouthparts]]
* [[Beehive (beekeeping)|Beehive]]
* [[Apiology]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Apoidea All Living Things] Images, identification guides, and maps of bees
* [http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/beepage.html Bee Genera of the World]
* [http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov Carl Hayden Bee Research Center]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/may2003/default.htm Rescuing Australian stingless bees]
* [http://www.sankey.ws/firstbee.html The first bee of spring]
* [http://www.insectpix.net Solitary Bees & Things] Solitary Bees in British gardens
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6084974.stm Scientists identify the oldest known bee, a 100 million-year-old specimen preserved in amber]
* [http://www.bugguide.net Search for North American species at Bugguide here]
* [http://www.judywoods.dial.pipex.com/Insects.html For Hymenoptera: Bees and other related Insects] Natural History of Bees, Wasps, and Insects
*[http://morphbank.net/Browse/ByImage/index.php?keywords=&tsnKeywords=apidae+apoidea&spKeywords=&viewKeywords=whole+body&localityKeywords=&listField1=imageId&orderAsc1=ASC&listField2=&orderAsc2=ASC&listField3=&orderAsc3=ASC&numPerPage=20&goTo=&resetOffset=off&activeSubmit=2 Bee images on Morphbank, biological image database]
* [http://www.dickinson.caltech.edu/Home Dickinson Lab]

<!--
[[ar:نحل]]
[[an:Abella]]
[[ast:Abeya]]
[[zh-min-nan:Phang]]
[[bs:Pčela]]
[[bg:Пчела]]
[[ca:Abella]]
[[cs:Včela]]
[[co:Abba]]
[[cy:Gwenynen]]
[[da:Honningbi]]
[[de:Bienen]]
[[et:Mesilane]]
[[el:Μέλισσα]]
[[es:Apoidea]]
[[eo:Abelo]]
[[fr:Abeille]]
[[gl:Abella]]
[[ko:벌]]
[[hr:Pčele]]
[[io:Abelo]]
[[it:Ape]]
[[he:דבורה (חרק)]]
[[la:Apidae]]
[[lt:Bitiniai]]
[[ms:Lebah]]
[[nl:Bijen]]
[[cr:ᐋᒨ]]
[[ja:ハチ]]
[[no:Bier]]
[[oc:Abelha]]
[[pl:Pszczoły]]
[[pt:Abelha]]
[[ro:Albină]]
[[ru:Пчела]]
[[simple:Bee]]
[[sl:Čebele]]
[[sr:Пчела]]
[[sv:Bin]]
[[tg:Занбӯр]]
[[zh:蜂]]
-->