Which came first, the flowers or the bees? The answer to this age-old question lies deep in the history of the bees, which are estimated to have been living on earth for over 100 million years.
There are nearly 20,000 known species of bee, which evolved from wasps, in nine recognized families. They are found on every continent in the world, with the exception of Antarctica, and in every habitat that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants. The hairs that came to cover bees by means of natural selection and evolution enable them to be the most efficient collectors of precious, protein-rich pollen. Bees are considered specialized as pollination agents and are generally more efficient at the task than other pollinating insects.
Learn more about bees and beekeeping:
| History of Beekeeping | |
| Communication & Navigation | |
| The Bee Genome | |
| Intelligence, Sleep & Memory | |
| Social Behavior | |
| Bees in the Bible | |
| Humans, Bees & Social Behavior |
