Editing Bee (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) lapping mouthparts, showing labium and maxillae..jpg|thumb|upright|The lapping [[insect mouthparts|mouthparts]] of a honey bee, showing labium and maxillae]]

{{see also|Characteristics of common wasps and bees}}

Bees differ from closely related groups such as wasps by having branched or plume-like [[seta]]e (hairs), combs on the forelimbs for cleaning their antennae, small anatomical differences in limb structure, and the venation of the hind wings; and in females, by having the seventh dorsal abdominal plate divided into two half-plates.<ref name=Grimaldi>{{cite book |author1=Grimaldi, David |author2=Engel, Michael S. |title=Evolution of the Insects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ql6Jl6wKb88C&pg=PA454 |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82149-0 |page=454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328155201/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ql6Jl6wKb88C&pg=PA454 |archive-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

Bees have the following characteristics:<ref name=Extension/>

* A pair of large [[compound eyes]] which cover much of the surface of the head. Between and above these are three small simple eyes ([[ocelli]]) which provide information on light intensity.<ref name=Extension/>
* The [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] usually have 13 segments in males and 12 in females, and are [[Insect morphology#Antennae|geniculate]], having an elbow joint part way along. They house large numbers of sense organs that can detect touch (mechanoreceptors), smell and taste; and small, hairlike mechanoreceptors that can detect air movement so as to "hear" sounds.<ref name=Extension/>
* The [[insect mouthparts|mouthparts]] are adapted for both chewing and sucking by having both a pair of [[Mandible (insect mouthpart)|mandibles]] and a long [[proboscis]] for sucking up nectar.<ref name=Extension>{{cite web |url=http://www.extension.org/pages/21754/anatomy-of-the-honey-bee |title=Anatomy of the Honey Bee |date=19 June 2014 |publisher=Extension |access-date=30 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701141426/http://www.extension.org/pages/21754/anatomy-of-the-honey-bee |archive-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>
* The thorax has three segments, each with a pair of robust legs, and a pair of membranous wings on the hind two segments. The front legs of corbiculate bees bear combs for cleaning the antennae, and in many species the hind legs bear pollen baskets, flattened sections with incurving hairs to secure the collected pollen. The wings are synchronized in flight, and the somewhat smaller hind wings connect to the forewings by a row of hooks along their margin which connect to a groove in the forewing.
* The abdomen has nine segments, the hindermost three being modified into the sting.<ref name=Extension/>

[[File:Carpenter bee head and compound eyes.jpg|thumb|Head-on view of a male [[carpenter bee]], showing antennae, three [[ocelli]], [[compound eye]]s, and mouthparts]]

The largest species of bee is thought to be Wallace's giant bee ''[[Megachile pluto]]'', whose females can attain a length of {{convert|39|mm|inch|2|sp=us}}.<ref>{{ cite journal | author=Messer, A. C. | title=''Chalicodoma pluto'': The World's Largest Bee Rediscovered Living Communally in Termite Nests (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) | journal=Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society | year=1984 | volume=57 | issue=1 | pages=165–168 | jstor=25084498 }}</ref> The smallest species may be dwarf stingless bees in the tribe [[Meliponini]] whose workers are less than {{convert|2|mm|inch|2|sp=us}} in length.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/27567/1/19(2)_P361-421.pdf |title=Oviposition Behavior of Two Dwarf Stingless Bees, ''Hypotrigona'' (''Leurotrigona'') ''muelleri'' and ''H.'' (''Trigonisca'') ''duckei'', with Notes on the Temporal Articulation of Oviposition Process in Stingless Bees |author1=Sakagami, Shôichi F. |author2=Zucchi, Ronaldo |journal=Journal of the Faculty of Science Hokkaido University Series Vi. Zoology |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=361–421 |year=1974 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063836/http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/27567/1/19(2)_P361-421.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>