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bee
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A blue banded bee (Amegilla) hovers near a white flower, with green foliage in the background, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Close-up of a plasterer bee, Colletes daviesanus, with striped abdomen and fuzzy thorax, perched on the edge of a green leaf. Nectar
Roles of bees and flowers in European woodlands
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A metallic green sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) collects pollen on the dark purple center of a bright yellow coneflower. All Hail the Queens
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A female blue mason bee (Osmia caerulescens) carries leaf mastic while flying toward an insect box nest entrance in a garden, close-up view. bee diversity infographic
At a Glance
Leaf-cutting bee (Anthidium)
bee summary
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A blue banded bee (Amegilla) hovers near a white flower, with green foliage in the background, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Solitary bee A blue-banded bee (Amegilla species) flying near a flower in Tamil Nadu, India.

bee

insect
Also known as: Apoidea
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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bee, (superfamily Apoidea), any of more than 20,000 species of insects in the suborder Apocrita (order Hymenoptera), including the familiar honeybee (Apis) and bumblebee (Bombus) as well as thousands more wasplike and flylike bees. Adults range in size from about 2 mm to 4 cm (about 0.08–1.6 inches). Bees are closely related to certain types of wasps, the principal biological difference between them being that bees (except for parasitic cuckoo bees) provide their young with...

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