Bees are an important taxon of hymenoptera, in the late Tertiary Eocene strata found in a large number, its variety of species have great economic value, and human life is closely related, in our country since ancient times there are bees and their use of technology, the most well-known is the Italian bee and Chinese bees, let's take a look at the characteristics of bees!
First, ecology
Bees are fully metamorphosed insects, and the three types of bees go through four stages: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults (adult bees), all of which have different morphologies. The eggs are banana-shaped and milky white. The larvae are white worm-like, initially c-shaped, and extend with the growth of the worm body. The pupal stage gradually presents three parts: head, chest and abdomen, and appendages are also present, and the color gradually changes from milky white to thick. Mature pupa feathers into bees, the exoskeleton after the adult bee is soft, the body color is light, and soon the bones harden, and various organs in the body are developed.
Second, diversity
Bees are the general name of insects in the bee family, which are divided into 3 subfamilies of wood bees, subfamily bright spotted bees and subfamilies of bees, of which there are 3 subfamily of wood bees, 3 subfamily of wood bees, 3 families of wood bees, small bees and bees, 6 families of bees, strip bees, long-whiskered bees, comb bees, bees, wheat bees and bumblebees, a variety of products and behaviors
Third, extensiveness
The geographical distribution of bees depends on the distribution of honey-sourced plants "all over the world, but there are many species in the tropical and subtropical tropics. The distribution of different subfamilies and genera has certain boundaries, such as the bumblebee in the northern temperate zone, which can extend to the Arctic region, and there is no distribution record in the tropical region. The subgenus Wood Bee is found only in Central Asia: The genus Thornless wasp, distributed in the tropics.
4. Sociality
Bees live in groups of three species: queen bees, worker bees and male bees, and there is one queen bee (with the exception of two queen bees), 10,000 to 150,000 worker bees, and 500 to 1500 male bees. The queen bee and the worker bee live in the same hive, with different morphology, physiology and division of labor. Females are large and specialize in spawning and reproduction. Males are smaller than females, mate with specialists, and die after mating. Worker bees are small female bees with poor reproductive organs, and specialize in making nests, collecting food, breeding larvae, cleaning nests, and regulating the humidity of nests.
Fifth, nesting
The nesting instinct of bees is complex, the nesting place, time and nesting structure are diverse, the species of bee genus, stingless bee genus, wheat bee genus and other species use their own secreted wax as the spleen, leaf cutting bee genus rolls plant leaves into a barrel as a nesting room, yellow spotted wasp genus uses plant hair to build warty nests on the stem, reed bee and leaf tongue bee genus build nests on the stem of dead plants, bumblebee species build nests under the dead branches and leaves of the forest, wood bee genus builds nests in wood, and stone bee genus uses saliva to stick small sandstones to nest on the nest