From a single wasp ancestor 100 million years ago to 25,000+ species today — anatomy, evolution, the honey bee family, and the waggle dance that turns the dark comb into a map of the sky.
Anatomy of a bee
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Tap a glowing hotspot to highlight a body part and hear its tone. The wings beat from a live sine wave; pollen drifts off the legs in real time — every pixel computed, no image assets.
Timeline of bee-volution
270 mya
Hymenoptera evolve
Bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies appear.
130 mya
First flowers evolve
Flowering plants emerge — hotly debated timing.
100 mya
Bees evolve from wasps
Wasp ancestors feeding on pollen-covered insects develop a taste for pollen.
90 mya
Corbiculates first appear
Bumblebees, honey bees, and sweat bees share pollen-basket anatomy.
60 mya
Mass extinction
Three-quarters of all life dies out, including non-bird dinosaurs.
55 mya
Allodapines evolve sociality
Shared larval care leads toward defined queen and worker castes.
35 mya
Origin of honey bees
Earliest Apis fossils date from this time.
25 mya
Bombus genus appears
Birth of the familiar bumblebee.
20 mya
Highly social sweat bees evolve
Colonies split into distinct queen and worker castes; some turn parasitic.
250 kya
Hunter-gatherer humans
Humans arrive; our impact on bees has been great, if not always positive.
By the numbers
80,000
Individuals in a summer honey bee colony
25,000+
Known bee species (many more to discover)
90%+
Of all species are solitary bees
10 million
Foraging trips to produce 1 lb (450 g) of honey
$295 billion
Estimated global value of insect pollination
40,000 mi
Of flying to produce 1 lb of honey
2,000
Flowers a worker can visit in a day
75%
Of the world's top 100 crops rely on insect pollination
80%
Of insect crop pollination carried out by honey bees
300%
Increase in pollinator-reliant agriculture in 50 years
2,000
Eggs a queen can lay in a day
15 mph
Approximate bee flight speed
Bees of the world
Global (native Eurasia/Africa)
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
The world's dominant domesticated species, on every continent except Antarctica.
The honey bee family
Female — does every non-reproductive job
Gestation: 21 days
Worker career
Day 2 — Juvenile bee
Keeping brood cells clean and warm.
Day 5 — Nurse bee (young)
Feeding older larvae.
Day 11 — Nurse bee (older)
Feeding the youngest, trickiest larvae.
Day 17 — House bee
Wax production, building, undertaking.
Day 21 — Guard bee
Guard duty at the hive entrance.
Day 35 — Forager
Foraging for nectar and pollen — high risk.
Day 45 — Forage scout
Scouting new flower sources for quality and distance.
The waggle dance
Returning foragers dance a figure-eight on the comb. The straight 'waggle' section encodes direction and distance; its vigor encodes quality.
Pheromones — the secret language
Honey bees make more than 50 different pheromones, conveying messages about almost every aspect of colony life. This adaptable chemical language is arguably the key to their social complexity.
Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP)
Mandibular glands
Signals queen health; suppresses worker ovaries; governs swarming, mating, and hive maintenance.
Brood pheromones
Larvae
Egg recognition (queen vs rogue worker), capping trigger, and nurse-to-forager ratio regulation.
Alarm pheromones
Koschevnikov glands (next to stinger)
Recruits guard bees; smells like ripe bananas; guides other workers to the sting target.
Nasonov pheromone
Nasonov gland (abdomen tip)
Orientation — released at the hive entrance to guide foragers home.
Recruitment pheromones
Foragers
Accompany the waggle dance; encourage workers to leave and forage.
Dufour's gland
Abdomen
Coats eggs so queen-laid eggs can be distinguished from worker-laid eggs.