Picture a bee What comes to mind A fuzzy striped bumblebee A shiny green sweat bee A honey bee in a hive About 20,000 species of bees live around the world North America is home to 4,000 of them Most bees live alone Some live in small groups Others form colonies Many bees such as mining bees live in holes in the ground They dig tunnels in sunny spots Other types take over holes in dead trees bored by beetles or birds Mason bees build nests from mud Leaf cutter bees wrap pieces of petals or leaves in their nests Wool carder bees line their nests with plant fi bers All bees are insects They have six legs and three body parts head thorax and abdomen All bees have two sets of wings Bees begin their lives as eggs They change into larvae and then pupae before they become adults 5
Bees visit flowers to find food They get energy from nectar They get protein from pollen They also feed pollen to their larvae While they fly from flower to flower bees provide a valuable service
Pollination How does a plant produce more plants One way is to make seeds Plants form seeds in their flowers To form seeds a plant needs pollen Pollen is made in the anther It germinates or begins to grow in the stigma If pollen lands there fruit and seeds can develop But something must move the pollen That something is often a bee When a bee feeds in a flower pollen sticks to its body It carries the pollen to another flower Some of it rubs off The bee pollinates the flower by providing the pollen it needs Plants flower at different times That means they don't have to compete for pollinators And pollinators can find food through the whole growing season Bees travel from flower to flower seeking out nectar and pollen
