There are so many varieties of bees? Can you recognize these bees? Test your bee knowledge!

Mondo Three rural Updated on 2024-02-02

Bees are a class of insects widely distributed all over the world, belonging to the class Hymenoptera of the phylum Arthropoda Insects, with more than 100,000 species, some can collect nectar and pollen, some can sting or parasitize other insects, some can build beehives or nests in wooden structures, some can form social groups or live alone, some can provide honey or pollination services for humans, and some can bring harm or benefits to agricultural and forestry crops, their forms, habits, and functions are different, very colorful.

According to the principles of taxonomy, bees can be divided into two suborders, which are the broad-waisted suborder and the thin-waisted suborder. The characteristics of the bees of the broad-rumped suborder are that the abdomen and thorax meet without shrinking into a thin waist, the hindwings have at least 3 basal chambers, 2 nodes, mostly herbivorous, feeding on plant leaves, common saw wasps, flat leaf wasps, leaf wasps, tree wasps, stem wasps, parasitic tree wasps, etc.

The characteristics of the slender-waisted suborder bee are that the base of the abdomen is tightly bundled into a thin waist or extended into a stalk, the first segment of the abdomen is merged forward into the thorax and is called the thoracoabdominal segment, the hindwings have only 2 basal chambers at most, the turning segment is 1 2 segments, the larvae are not legged, and they can be divided into two groups: needle tail and conical tail according to the morphology and birth of the female ovipositor. The needle tail includes all social bees and ants, and the rest are mostly similar to the cone tail, solitary and parasitic.

The following introduces some common bee varieties and **, so that everyone has a deeper understanding of bees.

1. Bees

Honey bee is a collective name for the bee genus insects of the bee family, and there are 9 species in the world, namely small bees, small black bees, large bees, large black bees, saba bees, Suvelasi bees, ** bees, western bees and oriental bees, especially Chinese honey bees, Italian bees, European black bees, etc. Bees are characterized by dense hairs and toxic needles in the abdomen, can collect nectar and pollen and can make nectar into honey, build beehives with beeswax secreted by worker beeswax glands, form social groups, have three roles of queen bee, worker bee and drone, have a clear division of labor, can provide honey, royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, beeswax and other products for human beings, and can also pollinate crops, and are good friends of human beings.

2. Vespa

Vespa (wasp) is a general term for the bee family insects, about 5,000 species are known in the world, and there are more than 200 species in China, the more common ones are golden-ringed wasps, black-breasted wasps, long-legged wasps, black shield wasps, small wasps, etc. Vespas are characterized by a slender waist and poisonous needles in the abdomen, and mostly build nests with pulp-like materials made of leaves or dead branches, forming social groups, with three roles of queen bees, worker bees and drones, with a clear division of labor, can prey on other insects or animals, can also collect nectar and pollen, can bring benefits to agricultural and forestry crops, but can also sting people or harm beekeeping, and are friends and enemies of humans.

3. Bumblebee

Bumblebee is the general name of the bumblebee genus insects of the bee family, there are more than 500 species in the world, and there are more than 150 species in China, especially in Xinjiang and Northeast China, the main species are heavy yellow bumblebee, brachycephalic bumblebee, sparse bumblebee, figure bumblebee, ground bumblebee and so on. Bumblebees are characterized by their large size, similar appearance to bees, but with long hair, poisonous needles in their abdomen, feeding on the pollen and nectar of flowering plants, pollinating agricultural and forestry crops, and providing bear honey for humans, which is a good friend of humans.

4. Carpenter bees

Carpenter bee is a general term for the carpenter bee genus insects, named because it builds nests in the wooden structure, is widely distributed all over the world, and is widely distributed in all parts of China, the main species are Chinese carpenter bee, pointy-footed carpenter bee, long carpenter bee, bamboo carpenter bee, night carpenter bee and so on. Carpenter bees are characterized by their appearance very similar to bees but are much larger, with dense hairs and poisonous needles in their abdomen, feed on pollen and nectar of flowering plants, pollinate agricultural and forestry crops, and can also provide wood honey for humans, and are a good friend of humans.

5. Red-eyed bees

The red-eyed wasp is a general term for the insects of the red-eyed bee family, which belongs to solitary parasitic insects, and the main species are corn borer red-eyed bee, pine caterpillar red-eyed bee, rice borer red-eyed bee, wide red-eyed bee, yellow red-eyed bee, etc. The red-eyed wasp is characterized by the red of both single and compound eyes, and the host has the eggs of corn borer, cotton bollworm, ground tiger and other pests, and the adult worm lays eggs in the host's eggs and feeds on the yolk, which can bring benefits to agricultural and forestry crops and is a good friend of humans.

6. Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasp is a general term for insects of multiple families such as the family of golden bees, the family of agapes, and the family of small bees, belonging to solitary parasitic insects, about 60,000 species are known in the world, and there are more than 10,000 species in China, the main species are aphid wasps, aphid wasps, aphid wasps, bees, etc. Parasitic wasps are characterized by small body size, mostly black or metallic, poisonous needles in the abdomen, the host has aphids, borers, flies, bees and other pests of the larvae or eggs, adult eggs in the host or outside the body, the larvae feed on the host's body fluids or internal organs, can bring benefits to agricultural and forestry crops, is a good friend of human beings.

What kinds of bees do you know?

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