Gathering Nectar
by Michelle Meenawong
Title
Gathering Nectar
Artist
Michelle Meenawong
Medium
Photograph - Metal Print
Description
Picture of a working bee taken in my garden. Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their role in pollination. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently considered as a clade Anthophila. There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized biological families though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants.
Some species including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees live socially in colonies. Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae. Bee pollination is important both ecologically and commercially; the decline in wild bees has increased the value of pollination by commercially managed hives of honey bees.
Bees range in size from tiny stingless bee species whose workers are less than 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long, to Megachile pluto, the largest species of leafcutter bee, whose females can attain a length of 39 millimetres (1.54 in). The most common bees in the Northern Hemisphere are the Halictidae, or sweat bees, but they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. Vertebrate predators of bees include birds such as bee-eaters; insect predators include beewolves and dragonflies.
Human beekeeping or apiculture has been practised for millennia, since at least the times of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Apart from honey and pollination, honey bees produce beeswax, royal jelly and propolis.
A very grateful thank you to the following groups for featuring this picture
BUGS BUGS AND MORE BUGS
08/24/2019
MACRO MARVELS
10/06/2019
FINE ART AMERICA FLOWERS PHOTOGRAPHY
02/16/2024
Uploaded
August 17th, 2019
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