Page 15 - kids ebook

On the contrary, a solitary bee does not live in a colony or have a queen. Unlike the honey bee they do not make honey. They
forage for their food on their own. Like honey bees and bumble bees, a solitary bee collects pollen from flowers and pollinates

the plants, which means they transfer pollen from one plant to another. Sometimes they group their nests close to each other
making them look like a group. However, every female bee makes an individual nest cell for her brood group.

Wasps and hornets are in the same “order” as bees, Hymenoptera (also containing ants), but are a different family. The most
commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae. There are nearly 5,000 different spe-
cies of wasps on the planet, and they can be social (like yellowjackets), or solitary. They are hairless, usually have a long skin-
ny “waist,” and are often yellow and black, but can sometimes have white or red markings. The vast majority of wasps are
beneficial. They eat and spread pollen. They also eat insects that can be harmful to our food crops and gardens. However
some wasps, like European yellowjackets, are meat eaters and can be very aggressive with people. Because they are a similar
size as honey bees, many people call them “meat bees,” but they are not bees at all! All bees are vegetarian, and want nothing
to do with the fried chicken at your picnic!

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