Most pollen is used as food for their larvae. Bees range in size from tiny stingless bee species, whose workers are less than 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long, to Megachile pluto, the largest species of leafcutter bee, whose females can attain a length of 39 millimetres (1.54 in).īees feed on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. The most common bees in the Northern Hemisphere are the Halictidae, or sweat bees, but they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. Some species – including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees – live socially in colonies while most species (>90%) – including mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees – are solitary.īees are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants. There are over 16,000 known species of bees in seven recognized biological families. They are presently considered a clade, called Anthophila. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea. Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey.
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