Types of Bees

The honeybee 

The honey bee is the only insect that produces food for humans. Honey keeps very well. A pot of honey was found in good condition in King Tut's tomb. Honey is full of a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which are important to reduce illnesses.  All honey bee colonies respond aggressively when their colony is disturbed or attacked.

In the wild, honey bees live in wooded areas in large hives made of wax honeycombs. The queen lays eggs whilst the workers care for the young. Every year a new queen will either take the place of her mother, or she will leave to start a colony of her own.

Honey bees are very important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. This means that they help other plants grow!

Honey bees live in hives or colonies. The members of the hive are divided into three types:

• Queen: One queen runs the whole hive.

• Workers: these are all female and their roles are to forage for food. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive.

•  Drones: These are the male bees.

The Bumblebee 

A honey bee is different from a bumble bee.

They are two very different types of bees! Honeybees are skinnier in appearance.  They look closer to the shape of a wasp and have smaller stripes. Bumblebees, meanwhile, are larger and look fuzzier, with thicker black and yellow stripes.

While both produce honey, bumblebees do not produce a lot of honey like honeybees. Therefore, beekeepers do not collect bumblebee honey for consumption.

Bumblebees are aggressive. Males cannot sting, and females only do so when they feel threatened.

The Solitary bees 

Solitary bees are different from honey bees and bumble bees.

As the name suggests, they live alone, although in truth they often nest close to one another. They do not produce honey, do not have a queen and do not live in hives.

Solitary bees do not have a store of honey to protect so  they are non-aggressive. This means that they are safe around pets and children. The males generally have no sting and the females will only sting if handled roughly.