Honey bee

Flower-rich habitats including gardens, meadows, orchards, forests, and urban areas; colonies live in managed hives or natural cavities.

Adults consume nectar and pollen; larvae are fed glandular secretions and processed pollen. They collect nectar for honey production and pollen for colony nutrition.

Highly social, colony-living insects with worker, drone, and queen castes. Workers forage, communicate food locations through dances, defend the nest, and swarm to establish new colonies.

Females can deliver painful stings, with heightened risk for allergic individuals. They are major pollinators of wild plants and crops and produce honey, beeswax, and propolis.