Bees

A bee visiting a flower may be gathering nectar, a sweet liquid, or pollen. Nectar provides energy, and pollen is an important food for developing bees. As bees move between flowers, pollen can brush onto the parts where pollination happens. This helps many flowering plants produce seeds.

Many Ways to Be a Bee

Honeybees are just one kind of bee. Many other bees live alone: each female prepares a nest and supplies food for her young. Some nest in the ground, while others use holes in wood or hollow stems. Not all bees live in large colonies or make honey.

Inside a Honeybee Colony

Honeybee workers are female. They care for young bees, build wax cells, gather food and help defend the colony. The queen lays the colony’s eggs, and males are called drones. A worker returning from a food source can use a waggle dance to communicate its direction and distance.

Nectar Becomes Honey

Honeybee workers process nectar and remove much of its water. They store the resulting honey in wax cells as food for times when nectar is scarce. The amount made depends on the colony and available flowers; there is no fixed flower count for every jar.

Look Closely

Watch flowers from a comfortable distance. Do visiting bees look alike? Finding different kinds is a reminder that a honeybee colony does not describe every bee’s life.