The honey bee and leafcutter bee are common insects that make excellent pollinators. Honey bees yield honey, wax, and propolis and pollinate crops worldwide. Leafcutter bees don’t provide resources but pollinate flowers 20 times more efficiently…

The Colletidae bee family is a large and varied group made up of over 2000 species. With nine distinct subfamilies, it contains short-tongues, primitive species. Colletids range greatly in appearance, including tiny bees, insects resembling wasps,…

The Stenotritidae bee family is mostly made up of large bees that have remarkable speed in flight. They are the only Australian bees that have two subantennal sulci. What is the Stenotritidae bee family? The Stenotritidae…

The Andrenidae bee family consists of bees that are better known as solitary mining bees. This remarkable group of insects live in diverse habitats across the globe. Andrenids are characterized by a unique anatomical feature: two…

The Halictidae family is a diverse bee classification comprising almost 4,500 species distributed globally. They are the second largest family of bees and are commonly called sweat bees. Halictids come in many shapes and sizes, although…

Mammals rely on lungs for breathing, but do insects like bees have the same organ? We look at their respiratory system and whether bees use lungs or another piece of anatomy to breathe. Does a bee…

The Megachilidae family is highly diverse, with over 4,000 species spread across the globe. They make up almost 20% of all named species of bees and include mason bees, carder bees, leafcutter bees, and resin bees….

Honey bees use sophisticated mechanisms of communication and navigation. A fascinating example of this is the waggle dance which demonstrates that these insects communicate with a unique type of sign language. This guide answers the question…