---
title: "Bees: A Complete Global Guide"
date: 2026-07-17
published: 2026-05-12
author: "Dragos Nistor"
featured_image: "https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/honeybee-co-raw-honey-apiary-hero-1366w.webp"
---

# Bees: A Complete Global Guide

The HoneyBee & Co. Education Series

## Bees: A Complete *Global* Guide

Everything known about the world’s 20,000 bee species. Their diversity, their biology, their decline, and their indispensable role in feeding humanity. Explore our tools, discover species, and understand what happens when bees disappear.

20,000+ Bee species worldwide 270 Native UK species 75% Food crops needing pollinators 30% Global decline in 30 years  Interactive Tools ## Three Tools. One *Mission.*

Built with peer-reviewed data and six generations of beekeeping knowledge. Each tool is freely accessible, ad-free, and built to make the science of bees genuinely understandable.

World Bee Atlas Native Bee Species by Country Explore native bee diversity across 75 countries and 6 continents. Filter by genus, search by country, discover which species pollinate which crops and why they matter to global food security. [Explore the Atlas](/world-bee-atlas/) 75 countries · 25,000+ species records · 9 languages UK Bee Distribution Where Britain’s Wild Bees Live An interactive field map of all 270 UK bee species across 17 recording regions. From Hebridean machair to Thames Estuary brownfields. Filter by family, explore habitats, and discover what flies near you. [Open the Map](/uk-bee-distribution/) 270 species · 17 regions · Peer-reviewed BWARS data Your Plate Without Bees How Bee Decline Reshapes What We Eat Choose a cuisine. Remove the bees. See which dishes disappear. Built on Klein et al. (2007) peer-reviewed pollinator dependency data. Available for 30 country editions, each in English and the country’s primary language. [Try the Tool](/plate-without-bees/) 30 live country editions · Bilingual · English plus native language  Global Diversity ## 20,000 Species. *Seven Families.*

Bees are not a single creature. They are an order of more than 20,000 described species, a 2026 study in Nature Communications now estimates the true total at between 24,700 and 26,000, ranging from 2mm to 38mm, from eusocial colonies of 80,000 to solitary individuals nesting in empty snail shells. They inhabit every continent except Antarctica and have been evolving alongside flowering plants for approximately 130 million years.

All bee species belong to seven families within the superfamily Apoidea. The vast majority of species are solitary. Fewer than 10% of bee species live in social colonies (Danforth et al., 2019). The popular image of bees as colony-dwellers reflects honeybees and bumblebees, which together represent a small fraction of bee diversity. The majority of the world’s bees nest alone in ground burrows, hollow stems, or cavities in wood and stone, living and dying without a colony structure of any kind.

The smallest bee is *Perdita minima* of the American Southwest, at just 2mm in length. The largest is Wallace’s Giant Bee, *Megachile pluto* of Indonesia, females reach up to 38mm, with a wingspan of 63mm. Both are functional pollinators despite their radically different scales. Size matters for which flowers each species can access: small bees enter tiny tubular flowers; large bees force open spring-loaded blossoms that smaller species cannot.

~20,000 Described bee species worldwide across 7 families 130M Years bees have co-evolved alongside flowering plants <10% Of bee species are eusocial (Danforth et al., 2019), the majority are solitary 700+ Species classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List  ![The Nistor family at their home in Transylvania, summer 1978, six generations before founding HoneyBee and Co.](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/About-1-2-1024x804.jpeg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 1") Transylvania, 1978 Six generations of this direct knowledge inform every jar of honey we produce and every piece of educational content on this page. The Nistor family’s beekeeping roots stretch back to landscapes that were already botanically rich long before industrial agriculture reduced wildflower diversity across most of Europe. That heritage matters to the science: Transylvania’s Carpathian meadows still support the kind of floral diversity that most bee populations in Western Europe no longer have access to.

### The Seven Families

Every bee species belongs to one of seven families. Each family has distinct anatomical features, nesting behaviours, and ecological roles. Together they constitute one of the most ecologically important insect groups on Earth.

Apidae ~5,700 species Apis, Bombus, Xylocopa The largest family. Includes honeybees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, and orchid bees. Produces all commercial honey. Halictidae ~4,500 species Halictus, Lasioglossum Sweat bees. Often metallic green. Highly diverse; range from solitary to primitively social. Found on every continent except Antarctica. Andrenidae ~3,000 species Andrena, Perdita Mining bees. Primarily solitary ground-nesters. Perdita minima, the world’s smallest bee at 2mm, belongs here. Megachilidae ~4,000 species Osmia, Megachile Mason and leafcutter bees. Carry pollen on their abdomens, not their legs. Includes Wallace’s Giant Bee, the world’s largest. Colletidae ~3,000 species Colletes, Hylaeus Plasterer and polyester bees. Line their nest cells with a cellophane-like secretion. Colletes hederae, the UK’s ivy bee, belongs here. Melittidae ~200 species Melitta, Macropis Oil-collecting bees. Specialist foragers; many depend on a single plant genus. Among the most narrowly adapted of all bee families. Stenotritidae ~21 species Stenotritus The smallest family. Found only in Australia. Fast-flying generalist foragers. Poorly studied compared to other families. Explore species from all seven families in the [World Bee Atlas](/world-bee-atlas/), filterable by genus and country. UK species from Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, and Megachilidae are mapped in detail in the [UK Bee Distribution map](/uk-bee-distribution/).

The Science ## How Bees *Pollinate*

Pollination by bees is not incidental. It is a co-evolved relationship in which both parties benefit and upon which the majority of the world’s fruit and seed production depends.

Bees collect pollen as a protein source for their larvae and nectar as an energy source for flight and colony maintenance. As a bee moves between flowers of the same species, pollen adheres to specialised structures on their bodies. Most bees carry pollen in dense scopae, which are branched hairs on their hind legs or abdomens. As they visit successive flowers, some of this pollen is deposited on the sticky stigma of the next flower visited. If the pollen is compatible, fertilisation occurs, leading to fruit and seed development.

This process is more efficient than it appears. A single bumblebee forager visits between 50 and 1,000 flowers per trip, making multiple trips per day. A honeybee colony of 50,000 bees collectively visits up to 50 million flowers to produce a single jar of honey. The scale of flower visitation by bee populations means that even small declines in bee numbers translate directly into measurable reductions in crop yield and fruit quality.

Buzz-pollination, or sonication, is performed by bumblebees at approximately 400 Hz. Tomatoes, aubergines, blueberries, and courgettes all require it. Honeybees cannot do it. Wind cannot do it. Only certain wild bees can. Not all pollination works the same way. Some crops, including tomatoes, courgettes, blueberries, and aubergines, require a specific technique called buzz-pollination or sonication. The bee grabs the anther of the flower and vibrates its flight muscles at a frequency of approximately 400 Hz, shaking pollen loose that would otherwise remain trapped. This technique is performed by bumblebees and certain solitary species, but not by honeybees. It cannot be replicated by wind. This is why wild bumblebee populations are essential to tomato production even in regions where managed honeybee colonies are abundant.

See how buzz-pollination affects specific dishes in the [Plate Without Bees series](/plate-without-bees/). The Italy edition covers the role of *Bombus terrestris* in Italian tomato production in detail.

The Crisis ## Why Bees Are *Declining*

Global wild bee populations have declined an estimated 30% over the past three decades. The IUCN Red List classifies over 700 bee species as threatened. In the UK, two species became extinct in the 20th century and several more are critically scarce.

Four primary drivers account for the majority of losses. Habitat loss is the most significant. In the UK, wildflower meadows have declined by 97% since the 1930s, eliminating the diverse floral resources that specialist bee species depend on. Bees with narrow dietary requirements, such as the solitary bee *Andrena fulvescens*, which feeds exclusively on toadflax, cannot survive in landscapes where their host plant is absent.

Pesticide pressure, particularly from neonicotinoid insecticides, has been extensively studied. Sublethal exposure impairs navigation, foraging efficiency, and reproductive success in both honeybees and bumblebees. Several neonicotinoids are banned for outdoor use in the EU; the UK regulatory position has diverged since 2020. The debate is ongoing, and the science continues to accumulate.

Disease and parasites are a third driver. *Varroa destructor*, an external mite, has devastated managed and wild honeybee populations globally since spreading from Asian honeybees to *Apis mellifera* in the mid-20th century. *Nosema ceranae*, a microsporidian fungus, weakens bumblebee colonies. Both pathogens spread in part through shared foraging on flowers, making the density of managed hive placement a genuine conservation concern.

![Nistor Grigore tending the family beehives in Transylvania, 1996](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/about-3-2-1024x495.jpeg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 2") Nistor Grigore, family hives, 1996 Climate disruption compounds all three. Warming springs advance flower bloom dates, but bee emergence dates do not always follow at the same rate. When the timing mismatch between a specialist bee’s emergence and its host plant’s bloom exceeds a critical threshold, the bee cannot complete its life cycle. Alpine and Arctic species, including several UK bumblebee species, face range compression as suitable habitat shifts poleward faster than populations can migrate.

You can explore which UK species are most at risk and where their remaining populations are concentrated in the [UK Bee Distribution map](/uk-bee-distribution/). Global threatened species are documented in the [World Bee Atlas](/world-bee-atlas/).

United Kingdom ## Bees in *Britain*

Britain’s 270 bee species span 17 distinct recording regions, from the Hebridean machair to the Thames Estuary. The diversity is lower than continental Europe but includes several species found nowhere else in significant numbers.

Britain’s most familiar bee is the buff-tailed bumblebee, *Bombus terrestris*, visible year-round in gardens and farmland. Its close relative, the great yellow bumblebee, *Bombus distinguendus*, has lost over 80% of its former UK range and now holds on in fewer than 50 known colonies in the Hebrides and northern Scotland. Both belong to the same genus. Their diverging fates illustrate how habitat specialisation determines vulnerability: *B. terrestris* is a generalist; *B. distinguendus* requires unimproved machair grassland, which has almost entirely disappeared from mainland Britain.

The ivy bee, *Colletes hederae*, represents a different trajectory. It arrived in Britain from France in 2001 and has spread north every year since, now reaching as far as Yorkshire. It forages almost exclusively on ivy blossom and emerges in September and October, making it the last significant bee on the wing each year. Its northward spread is a documented response to warming autumns.

The red mason bee, *Osmia bicornis*, is the species most responsible for the popularity of bee hotels. An early-season pollinator active from March to June, it is an important visitor to apple, pear, and cherry orchards. Research has shown it to be significantly more efficient per individual than honeybees at pollinating apples, with 250 to 300 females capable of matching the pollination output of two full honeybee hives (Bosch & Kemp, 2002). Commercial orchardists increasingly deploy *Osmia* cocoons alongside honeybee hives to maximise fruit set.

Explore all 270 UK species, their regional distributions, habitat requirements, and conservation status in the [UK Bee Distribution map](/uk-bee-distribution/).

Species Spotlight ## Six Species Worth *Knowing*

From the bee that produces every jar of HoneyBee and Co. honey to the world’s largest species, rediscovered alive in 2019. Each species below links to a full dedicated page.

[A Apis mellifera Western Honeybee The species that produces all HoneyBee and Co. honey. Native to Africa, Europe, and western Asia; now managed globally. A single colony visits up to 50 million flowers to fill one jar of honey. Widespread](/western-honeybee/) [B Bombus terrestris Buff-tailed Bumblebee Britain’s most widespread bumblebee and the UK’s most commercially important pollinator. Managed colonies are rented by tomato growers across Europe for buzz-pollination. Widespread](/buff-tailed-bumblebee/) [O Osmia bicornis Red Mason Bee Britain’s most familiar solitary bee. Uses hollow stems and bee hotels. An important orchard pollinator now actively managed in commercial apple production. Widespread](/red-mason-bee/) [B Bombus distinguendus Great Yellow Bumblebee Down to fewer than 50 known colonies in the UK, confined to Hebridean machair and far north Scotland. One of Europe’s most endangered bumblebee species. Scarce / RDB](/great-yellow-bumblebee/) [C Colletes hederae Ivy Bee Arrived in the UK in 2001 from the Channel coast. Now spreading north each year. A specialist feeder on ivy blossom, emerging in September and October. Local](/ivy-bee/) [M Megachile pluto Wallace’s Giant Bee The world’s largest bee at 38mm, discovered by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1858. Feared extinct for decades; rediscovered alive in Indonesia in 2019. Scarce / RDB](/world-bee-atlas/)Individual species pages covering all 270 UK species and notable global species are in development. Each will cover biology, distribution, habitat, threats, and conservation status. [Browse all species in the World Bee Atlas](/world-bee-atlas/) in the meantime.

Your Plate Without Bees ## Every Country. Every *Cuisine.*

Every major cuisine on Earth, mapped against peer-reviewed pollinator dependency data. Each country edition is written in English and the country’s primary language, with country-specific bee species data and native crop analysis. All editions below are live, each in English alongside the country’s primary language.

[Live ![Italy flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/it.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 3") Italy Italia 950+ Bee spp. 75% At risk ENIT](/plate-without-bees/italy/) [Live ![United Kingdom flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/gb.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 4") United Kingdom United Kingdom 270+ Bee spp. 70% At risk EN](/plate-without-bees/) [Live ![France flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/fr.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 5") France France 1,000+ Bee spp. 74% At risk ENFR](/plate-without-bees/france/) [Live ![Spain flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/es.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 6") Spain España 1,000+ Bee spp. 72% At risk ENES](/plate-without-bees/spain/) [Live ![Germany flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/de.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 7") Germany Deutschland 900+ Bee spp. 63% At risk ENDE](/plate-without-bees/germany/) [Live ![Greece flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/gr.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 8") Greece Hellas 800+ Bee spp. 73% At risk ENEL](/plate-without-bees/greece/) [Live ![Portugal flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/pt.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 9") Portugal Portugal 700+ Bee spp. 71% At risk ENPT](/plate-without-bees/portugal/) [Live ![Romania flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/ro.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 10") Romania România 850+ Bee spp. 70% At risk ENRO](/plate-without-bees/romania/) [Live ![Turkey flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/tr.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 11") Turkey Türkiye 1,000+ Bee spp. 70% At risk ENTR](/plate-without-bees/turkey/) [Live ![United States flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/us.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 12") United States United States 4,000+ Bee spp. 65% At risk EN](/plate-without-bees/united-states/) [Live ![Mexico flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/mx.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 13") Mexico México 1,600+ Bee spp. 76% At risk ENES](/plate-without-bees/mexico/) [Live ![Brazil flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/br.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 14") Brazil Brasil 3,000+ Bee spp. 78% At risk ENPT](/plate-without-bees/brazil/) [Live ![Argentina flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/ar.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 15") Argentina Argentina 1,000+ Bee spp. 58% At risk ENES](/plate-without-bees/argentina/) [Live ![Peru flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/pe.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 16") Peru Perú 1,200+ Bee spp. 79% At risk ENES](/plate-without-bees/peru/) [Live ![Colombia flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/co.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 17") Colombia Colombia 1,500+ Bee spp. 77% At risk ENES](/plate-without-bees/colombia/) [Live ![China flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/cn.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 18") China Zhongguo 1,500+ Bee spp. 62% At risk ENZH](/plate-without-bees/china/) [Live ![Japan flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/jp.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 19") Japan Nihon 400+ Bee spp. 48% At risk ENJA](/plate-without-bees/japan/) [Live ![South Korea flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/kr.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 20") South Korea Daehan Minguk 700+ Bee spp. 54% At risk ENKO](/plate-without-bees/south-korea/) [Live ![Thailand flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/th.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 21") Thailand Prathet Thai 500+ Bee spp. 71% At risk ENTH](/plate-without-bees/thailand/) [Live ![Vietnam flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/vn.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 22") Vietnam Viet Nam 600+ Bee spp. 68% At risk ENVI](/plate-without-bees/vietnam/) [Live ![Indonesia flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/id.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 23") Indonesia Indonesia 2,000+ Bee spp. 77% At risk ENID](/plate-without-bees/indonesia/) [Live ![Philippines flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/ph.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 24") Philippines Pilipinas 1,000+ Bee spp. 74% At risk ENFIL](/plate-without-bees/philippines/) [Live ![India flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/in.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 25") India Bharat 700+ Bee spp. 72% At risk ENHI](/plate-without-bees/india/) [Live ![Pakistan flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/pk.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 26") Pakistan Pakistan 700+ Bee spp. 66% At risk ENUR](/plate-without-bees/pakistan/) [Live ![Morocco flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/ma.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 27") Morocco Al-Maghrib 700+ Bee spp. 68% At risk ENFRAR](/plate-without-bees/morocco/) [Live ![Egypt flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/eg.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 28") Egypt Misr 800+ Bee spp. 67% At risk ENAR](/plate-without-bees/egypt/) [Live ![Lebanon flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/lb.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 29") Lebanon Lubnan 800+ Bee spp. 69% At risk ENAR](/plate-without-bees/lebanon/) [Live ![Saudi Arabia flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/sa.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 30") Saudi Arabia Al-Arabiyya 600+ Bee spp. 63% At risk ENAR](/plate-without-bees/saudi-arabia/) [Live ![Ethiopia flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/et.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 31") Ethiopia Ityopya 600+ Bee spp. 65% At risk ENAM](/plate-without-bees/ethiopia/) [Live ![Nigeria flag](https://flagcdn.com/40x30/ng.png "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 32") Nigeria Nigeria 700+ Bee spp. 72% At risk ENYO](/plate-without-bees/nigeria/)All editions use peer-reviewed dependency data from Klein et al. (2007), Dependence of World Crops on Pollinators. [Open the main tool](/plate-without-bees/) to explore all cuisines in one place.

![Dragos Nistor, founder of HoneyBee and Co., with the family beehives in Transylvania](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/WhatsApp-Image-2022-05-26-at-7.00.02-PM-768x1024.jpeg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 33") ![Nistor Fanel and Nistor Dragos, fifth and sixth generation Transylvanian beekeepers](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/8222B825-DCC5-4C54-9D8D-D1F176CE1FE9-768x1024.jpeg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 34") Six Generations of Beekeeping ## Why We Built This

HoneyBee and Co. was founded by Dragos Nistor, a sixth-generation beekeeper whose family has maintained hives in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania since the 1800s. The education series on this page represents our commitment to making the science of bees genuinely accessible: not as a marketing exercise, but as a consequence of knowing, through six generations of direct experience, how much depends on the health of bee populations.

Every tool on this page is built with peer-reviewed data, freely accessible, and designed to work in multiple languages. The [World Bee Atlas](/world-bee-atlas/) covers 75 countries. The [Plate Without Bees series](/plate-without-bees/) will eventually cover every significant cuisine on Earth, each with a native-language edition. The [UK Bee Distribution map](/uk-bee-distribution/) documents all 270 British species with peer-reviewed data from BWARS and the National Biodiversity Network.

Our honey is a direct consequence of healthy bee populations in Transylvania and the British Midlands and Yorkshire Moors. [Our story](/about/) and our [subscription range](/honey-subscription/) are where the education becomes something you can hold in your hands.

![Three generations of the Nistor family beekeeping together in Transylvania: Nistor Grigore, Nistor Fanel, and Dragos Nistor, 2018](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nistor-Fanel-Nistor-Grigore-and-Nistor-Dragos.jpg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 35") From right to left: Nistor Grigore, Nistor Fanel, and Dragos Nistor, Transylvania, 2018. Three generations. Six in the family line. ## Support the Bees. Shop HoneyBee & Co.

Raw, single-origin honey from Transylvanian family apiaries and a SALSA-certified British supplier. Six varieties. Free UK delivery on three or more jars. Save 20% with a subscription.

Six Single-Origin Raw Honeys [![HoneyBee and Co. Acacia Honey 280g jar, pale gold, raw and unpasteurised, from Transylvania](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/acacia-honey-600x749-1.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 36") Transylvania Acacia Honey £10.99 Shop](/acacia-honey/) [![HoneyBee and Co. British Wildflower Honey 280g jar, golden amber, raw, from the English Midlands](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/wildflower-honey.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 37") British Midlands Wildflower Honey £10.99 Shop](/wildflower-honey/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Yorkshire Heather Honey 280g jar, dark amber, raw, one harvest per year](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/heather-honey-600x750-1.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 38") Yorkshire Moors Heather Honey £12.99 Shop](/heather-honey/) [![HoneyBee and Co. British Soft Set Honey 280g jar, creamy and spreadable, raw, from the English Midlands](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/soft-set-honey-600x751-1.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 39") British Midlands Soft Set Honey £10.99 Shop](/soft-set-honey/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Sunflower Honey 280g jar, warm golden, naturally granulated, from Transylvania](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/sunflower-honey.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 40") Transylvania Sunflower Honey £10.99 Shop](/sunflower-honey/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Linden Honey 280g jar, pale, herbal and woody, from Transylvania, rare in UK retail](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/linden-honey-600x750-1.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 41") Transylvania Linden Honey £10.99 Shop](/linden-honey/) Gift Sets & Bundles [![HoneyBee and Co. Discovery Trio gift set lifestyle photograph showing three raw honey jars with honeycomb](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/honeybee-co-discovery-trio-raw-honey-lifestyle-gift-set.jpg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 42") Bestseller Discovery Trio Acacia, Wildflower and Heather. Our three most popular varieties in one set. The complete introduction to the range. £33.22 £34.97 Shop the Trio](/discovery-trio/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Full Collection gift set showing all six raw honey jars from Transylvania and Britain](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/honeybee-co-raw-honey-shop-hero.avif "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 43") Complete Range The Full Collection All six honeys. Over 1.6kg of raw, single-origin honey from Transylvania and Britain. The complete HoneyBee and Co. experience. From £62.94 Shop the Collection](/full-collection/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Cheese Board Honey Selection with Stilton and Brie pairing](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/honeybee-co-cheese-board-honey-pairing-stilton-brie.jpg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 44") Pairing Set Cheese Board Selection Acacia, Heather and Soft Set. Curated for cheese pairing. Acacia with brie, Heather with Stilton, Soft Set with aged cheddar. £33.22 £34.97 Shop the Set](/cheese-board-honey-selection/) [![HoneyBee and Co. Winter Warmer honey selection with hot lemon and Heather, Linden and Wildflower jars](https://honeybeeandco.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/honeybee-co-winter-warmer-honey-hot-lemon-fireplace.jpg "Bees: A Complete Global Guide 45") Seasonal Favourite Winter Warmer Selection Heather, Linden and Wildflower. For cold nights, sore throats, and evening teas. Three honeys that work best when it is dark outside. £33.22 £34.97 Shop the Set](/winter-warmer-honey-selection/)Save 20% on every delivery with a [raw honey subscription](/honey-subscription/). Free UK delivery on every subscription order regardless of quantity.

Common Questions ## Everything About *Bees*

Twelve of the most-searched questions about bees, answered with accuracy and depth.

How many bee species are there in the world?There are approximately 20,000 described bee species worldwide, organised into seven families: Apidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae, Megachilidae, Colletidae, Melittidae, and Stenotritidae. Scientists estimate that undescribed species in tropical regions may push the true total significantly higher. They inhabit every continent except Antarctica.

How many bee species live in the UK?The UK is home to approximately 270 native bee species. These include 24 bumblebee species, around 245 species of solitary bee (mining bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees, plasterer bees, and cuckoo bees), and a single managed honeybee species, Apis mellifera. Many solitary species are under-recorded, particularly outside southern England.

What is the difference between a bumblebee and a honeybee?Bumblebees are larger, rounder, and heavily furred. They live in annual colonies of 50 to 400 individuals that die each winter, with only mated queens surviving. Honeybees are smaller and leaner, live in perennial colonies of 20,000 to 80,000, and survive winter as a full colony by consuming stored honey. Only honeybees produce honey in commercially significant quantities. Both are members of the family Apidae.

Why are bees important to humans?Bees are the world’s primary pollinators. Around 75% of globally important food crop species depend on animal pollinators to produce fruit, seed, or viable harvest. Without bees, crops including almonds, tomatoes, strawberries, coffee, cocoa, avocados, blueberries, and courgettes would fail at scale. The economic value of insect pollination to global agriculture is estimated at over 150 billion euros annually.

What percentage of food depends on bees?Klein et al. (2007), the most comprehensive peer-reviewed assessment of crop-pollinator relationships, found that 87 of 115 globally important food crops benefit from animal pollination. This represents approximately 35% of global food production by volume and up to 75% of crop species. Calorie staples like wheat, rice, and maize are wind-pollinated and largely unaffected, but most fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flavouring crops depend on bees.

What is the largest bee in the world?Wallace’s Giant Bee, Megachile pluto, is the world’s largest bee. Named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who discovered it in the Indonesian island of Bacan in 1858, females reach up to 38mm in length with a wingspan of 63mm. It was feared extinct for over a century before being rediscovered alive in North Maluku, Indonesia in 2019. It nests inside active termite mounds.

What is the smallest bee in the world?Perdita minima, a member of the family Andrenidae, is the world’s smallest bee at approximately 2mm in length. It is native to the desert southwest of the United States. Despite its size, it is a functional pollinator, specialising on small desert flowers. It is so small it can be easily overlooked in field surveys.

Are bees endangered?Many bee species are threatened. The IUCN Red List classifies over 700 bee species as threatened or near-threatened globally. In the UK, two species have become extinct in the 20th century and several more are critically scarce. The Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) has lost over 80% of its former UK range. Globally, wild bee populations have declined an estimated 30% over the past three decades due to habitat loss, pesticide exposure, disease, and climate change.

What is buzz-pollination?Buzz-pollination, or sonication, is a technique used by bumblebees and certain solitary bees to extract pollen from flowers whose anthers resist simple contact transfer. The bee grips the anther and vibrates its flight muscles at around 400 Hz, shaking the pollen loose. Tomatoes, aubergines, blueberries, and courgettes all require this process. Honeybees cannot perform sonication. It is one reason why wild bumblebee populations are irreplaceable even when managed honeybees are present.

What do bees eat?Bees feed on nectar and pollen. Nectar, a sugar-rich solution produced by plant nectaries, provides energy. Pollen provides protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals for developing larvae. Adult bees consume nectar for flight energy, while larvae are fed a mixture of pollen and nectar (or in the case of honeybees, royal jelly for queens). The transformation of nectar into honey involves the addition of enzymes and the evaporation of water from around 80% moisture content down to below 18%.

How long do bees live?Lifespan varies significantly by species and caste. Honeybee worker bees live 6 to 8 weeks in summer, or up to 6 months overwintering. Honeybee queens can live 3 to 5 years. Bumblebee workers live 2 to 6 weeks; queens live around a year including hibernation. Most solitary bees live 4 to 8 weeks as adults. The larval and pupal stages, inside sealed nest cells, can last from weeks to years depending on species.

How do bees make honey?Forager honeybees collect nectar and store it in their honey stomach. Back at the hive, they transfer it to house bees who chew it, adding enzymes including invertase (which breaks sucrose into fructose and glucose) and glucose oxidase (which produces hydrogen peroxide, giving honey its antimicrobial properties). The nectar is then deposited into honeycomb cells and fanned by thousands of bees to evaporate water. When moisture falls below 18%, cells are capped with wax and the honey is stable indefinitely. Raw honey, like ours, is extracted without heating to preserve these enzymes intact.

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6. Falk, S.J. (2015). *Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland.* British Wildlife Publishing.
7. IPBES (2016). *The Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production.* Secretariat of IPBES, Bonn.
8. Danforth, B.N., Minckley, R.L., Neff, J.L. & Fawcett, F. (2019). *The Solitary Bees: Biology, Evolution, Conservation.* Princeton University Press.
9. Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS). National recording scheme. [bwars.com](https://www.bwars.com/)
10. National Biodiversity Network Atlas. UK occurrence records. [nbnatlas.org](https://nbnatlas.org/)
11. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Bee assessments. [iucnredlist.org](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)
12. National Bee Unit / APHA. Wild Bees in the UK, Fact Sheet 08 (October 2024). Defra.