蜜蜂包括两万个种类，都以花蜜和花粉为食。其中大部分是独栖的，也有一些正处在群体生活的起始阶段。不过，没有任何一个种类像蜜蜂科的高级蜜蜂那样过着严密的群体生活。蜜蜂科是惟一营社会生活的蜜蜂，其中包括蜜蜂属、熊蜂属和无蛰蜂属。
蜜蜂的4个种类分布在全球各地，它们各有不同的栖息习惯。其中3种在亚洲栖息，它们悬空筑巢。印度巨蜂喜欢高山生活，它们可以在海拔2000米的高度栖息，这种蜂主要分布在东南亚和菲律宾一带。花蜂栖息地不超过海拔500米，其分布区域与印度巨蜂相同。印度蜂分布在亚洲的广大区域，其中包括中国以及西伯利亚的一部分地区。
第4种就是蜜蜂。这种蜂在西方分布最广。它们栖息在好几个欧洲国家(西班牙、英国、德国和法国)，在这些国家它们还成为驯养的家蜂。它们也栖息在非洲。伴随着殖民运动，蜜蜂也来到美洲、澳大利亚和新西兰。它们在天然洞穴或人工蜂箱中筑巢，而且也很适应高山生活。
It’s a warm summer afternoon in a park or garden.Bees are buzzing around the flowers.You might be sitting in the sun and feeling kind of lazy.But the bees are very busy doing work that is important to you.
The bees are going from flower to flower.They are collecting a liquid called nectar and yellow grains called pollen.The bees use nectar and pollen as food.They also do something wonderful as they go about collecting.The bees take pollen from one plant to another.Some pollen sticks to a bee’s legs and body.It rubs off when the bee visits another plant.In this way bees pollinate，or fertilize，plants.
Plants need pollen in order to reproduce.We would not have many kinds of flowers，fruits，or vegetables if bees did not carry pollen to plants.
Honey bees live in hives.Each hive contains a queen，female workers (pictured，right)，and male drones.The queen lays up to 1，000eggs a day.Worker bees gather food，make honey，tend eggs，and guard the hive.Drones mate with the queen，and then die.
Bees are insects that depend on flowers for food.They eat a powder in flowers called pollen and collect a sweet liquid called nectar.
Leafcutting bees use pieces of leaves or flower petals to make their nests.
When a bee such as this bumblebee visits a flower，tiny grains called pollen stick to the bee.The bee then carries the pollen to another flower.This process，known as pollination，is necessary for many plants to make seeds and fruit.
The sweat bee got its name because it is attracted to the salt in human sweat.It is one of the most common bees in North America.
A honey bee hive is made up of networks of cells made of beeswax.These networks are also called honeycombs.The queen bee lays eggs in some of the cells.Other cells are filled with honey
Carpenter bees got their name because they tunnel through wood to make their nests.The chewing sounds these bees make can be heard several feet away！
Beekeepers wear protective clothing over their whole body to keep from being stung by the bees.Beekeepers collect honey from the hives.
Kinds of Bees