Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, feed exclusively on sugary nectar and protein-rich pollen found in flowering plants, unlike the carnivorous wasps from which they evolved.

Famous for their critical role in pollination, it is estimated that almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination. When a bee enters a flower to feed on nectar and gather pollen, some of the pollen sticks to its body. Moving onto the next flower, it deposits some of that pollen, resulting in fertilization, allowing the plant to reproduce and to generate the fruits and seeds so many other wildlife species rely on as a food source.

As an insect, a bee’s body is divided into three parts: a head with two antennae, a thorax with six legs, and an abdomen. There are branched hairs somewhere on their bodies and two pairs of wings. There are over 20,000 bee species worldwide, including the honey bee, which originated in Eurasia and has been imported around the globe as a domesticated species.

Only female bees sting but do so when they feel threatened, especially when their hives are filled with honey and larvae that require protection.