Anatomy and Life Cycle

Bees, like all insects, have a thorax, an abdomen, and a head. Not only that, but they are also wingless and have six legs. The head is equipped with the following parts: • two touch- and smell-sensitive antennae; • two pairs of compound eyes and three pairs of simple eyes; • and the jaws, or mandibles, that are utilized for biting, working pollen and wax “loaves,” burrowing, and so on. Two sets of flight-supporting membranous wings joined by tiny hooks and three sets of legs make up the thorax. The abdomen has six or seven segments depending on the species, internal wax glands in some bees (like honeybees and bumblebees), a stinger (a modified ovipositor) at the tip (in females only), and plumose hairs (branched) in other parts of the body. Scopae, which some females use to transfer pollen, are formed of stiff hairs and can be found on the underbelly or the hind legs. To transmit pollen grains from their bodies to their transport mechanism, bees often brush themselves, collecting them from their feathery hairs. The ecologically significant proboscides, or relative length of mouthpart segments within the tongue, allow bees to be classified into two main categories. Honey is collected using both the long and short tongues. While bees of the Apidae and Megachilidae families are more likely to gather nectar from open, flat blooms, those of deeper blossoms with longer throats are also acceptable. Shorter beaks and a narrower range of flower preferences characterize the remaining bee families.