Bee Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous – Present, | |
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The sugarbag bee, Tetragonula carbonaria | |
Scientific classification | |
Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Anthophila |
Families | |
Synonyms | |
Apiformes (from Latin 'apis') |
Bees are flying insects of the Hymenoptera, which also includes ants, wasps and sawflies. There are about 20,000 species of bees. Bees collect pollen from flowers. Bees can be found on all continents except Antarctica.
Bees fall into four groups:
The European honey bee (called Apis mellifera by biologists), is kept by humans for honey. Keeping bees to make honey is called beekeeping, or apiculture.
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