Bees

There are about 20,000 different types of bee. The best known is probably the honeybee. but not all bees live in colonies like the honeybee Many live alone and build their own nests

Wallace's giant bees are the world's largest at up to 4cm long. They were first found in Indonesia in 1858 but were then thought to have become extinct. In 1981 the bees were rediscovered.

The smallest bee is the Brazilian Trigona duckei at 2-5mm long

• Honeybees are the only insects that make food which humans eat Bees make honey to feed the inhabitants of their hives during winter. The honey they do not eat is harvested by beekeepers. Bees also make beeswax which is used for making candles and furniture polish

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One beehive may contain 50,000 worker bees-these are the bees which collect nectar from flowers to make honey

Honeybees visit up to five million flowers to make one kilo of honey. They fly a total distance equal to flying four times round the Earth

Queen bees can lay two ar three thousand eggs a day as many as 200,000 eggs a year. They may live as long as five years, so can produce a million eggs

• Honey Bees' wings beat 11.400 times a minute, These wing movements make the bees' familiar buzz.

13 million tonnes of honey are produced worldwide every year. China is the main producer with 276,000 tonnes, followed by the USA with 82,000

• Some people are allergic to bee stings, which can even be fatal. In 1962 in Rhodesia. Johanne Relleke was stung 2,243 times by wild bees. but survived!