Although we see them as simple creatures, bees are very complex and fascinating. Contrary to what most people think, there are many different types of bees. Their bodies are small but have many intricate components. There is a great deal of research being done on bees today. We have much to learn about them. .
Types of Bees.
Heinrich states that about 20,000 species of bees exist in the world. They vary in size from two millimeters to insects as large as six centimeters. Bees can be divided into three main groups "social bees, solitary bees, and parasitic bees. (205).
Solitary, as their name says, are introverted and makeup the majority of bee population. Although they live alone sometimes they build their nests together in a small area resembling a hive. There are no worker bees among them so each female is like a queen and does her own work. (205) According to Winston the three main kinds of solitary bees are leafcutter, mining, and carpenter. The female leafcutter bee searches for a convenient, ready-made space in such places as a hollow stem, rotten wood, or the ground. There she shapes her nest in the form of a long tunnel. She constructs a cell, using circles she cuts from the leaves of shrubs such as roses or other plants. She begins by cutting a circle for the end of the cell. Next she cuts a series of oval pieces for the sidewalls. When the cell is made, she stores a mixture of pollen and honey inside, lays an egg, and finally closes the cell with a perfectly fitted disk of cut leaf. Then she begins the sequence again, constructing another cell in the same way, and continues her activities until the nest is filled. Mining bees tunnel into soil or clay banks. The bee begins her nest with a long passageway, which she lines with clay moistened with regurgitated water. Short hallways lead off the main corridor to the nursery cells. The bee then fills the cells with nectar for her future young and lays an egg on top.
