Bees are related to wasps and ants.
The shape of their body helps show the relationship:
Comparison of Bodies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bee | Wasp | Ant |
 |  |  Photo by Alex Wild of myrmecos.net |
Photo from Gould, J. and Gould, C. (1988). The Honey Bee . New York: Scientific American Library
Each bee is born to fill a single job. All the bees you see on flowers are worker bees. All worker bees are Female.
The three bee jobs or types that are rarely seen outside the hive are specific female hive workers, sometimes called "nurses", male bees called "drones", and, of course, the queen.
Honey bee, colony with queen. Photo by Drees.
Can you find the Queen?
Bees that live in a colony have a set life cycle. Eggs are laid by the queen. When they hatch, they are fed by nurse bees, drones or workers are fed a combination of nectar and honey, while queen larvae are fed a substance called Royal Jelly, specially designed to help them develop into Queens.
Bees gather both necter and pollen, depending on the needs at the colony.
Honey bees have "scopa" on their legs, which a just like baskets for pollen and nectar.
Queens can lay up to 2,000 eggs daily.
Some bees live alone or in much smaller groups. Unlike social bees, they do not make honey and wax.
The bee kept by beekeepers in the United States is generally the European Honey Bee. In Africa, they use a slightly more aggressive African Honey Bee. The most likely to sting Honey Bee is a hybrid between the two. These are called Africanized Honey Bees, a mix between the two main types.