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Bee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia //For other uses, see [|Bee (disambiguation)] .// 
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Padlock-silver.svg/20px-Padlock-silver.svg.png width="20" height="20" caption="Page semi-protected" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi"]] ||
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 * ~ Bees ||


 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Osmia_ribifloris_bee.jpg/200px-Osmia_ribifloris_bee.jpg width="200" height="296" caption="external image 200px-Osmia_ribifloris_bee.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Osmia_ribifloris_bee.jpg"]] ||


 * = //[|Osmia ribifloris] // ||


 * ~ [|Scientific classification] ||


 * Kingdom: ||  || [|Animalia]  ||


 * Phylum: ||  || [|Arthropoda]  ||


 * Class: ||  || [|Insecta]  ||


 * Order: ||  || [|Hymenoptera]  ||


 * Suborder: ||  || [|Apocrita]  ||


 * Superfamily: ||  || [|Apoidea]  ||


 * (unranked): ||  || **Anthophila** ||


 * ~ Families ||

[|Apidae] [|Colletidae] [|Dasypodaidae] [|Halictidae] [|Megachilidae] [|Meganomiidae] [|Melittidae] [|Stenotritidae] ||
 * < [|Andrenidae]


 * ~ [|Synonyms] ||


 * < **Apiformes** ||

**Bees** are flying [|insects] closely related to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wasps] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ants], and are known for their role in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollination] and for producing <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beeswax]. Bees are a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|monophyletic] lineage within the superfamily**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apoidea] **, presently classified by the unranked taxon name **Anthophila**. There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families,<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]] though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Antarctica], in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|flowering plants]. Bees are adapted for feeding on <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nectar] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen], the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein] and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|larvae]. Bees have a long <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|proboscis] (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|flowers]. They have <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|antennae] almost universally made up of 13 segments in males and 12 in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Bees all have two pairs of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wings], the hind pair being the smaller of the two; in a very few species, one sex or caste has relatively short wings that make flight difficult or impossible, but none are wingless. The smallest bee is //Trigona minima//, a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stingless bee] whose workers are about 2.1 mm (5/64") long. The largest bee in the world is //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Megachile pluto] //, a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|leafcutter bee] whose females can attain a length of 39 mm (1.5"). Members of the family <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Halictidae], or sweat bees, are the most common type of bee in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Northern Hemisphere] , though they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. The best-known bee species is the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European honey bee], which, as its name suggests, produces<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey] , as do a few other types of bee. Human management of this species is known as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beekeeping] or apiculture. Bees are the favorite meal of //Merops apiaster//, the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bee-eater bird]. Other common predators are<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|kingbirds], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mockingbirds] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beewolves] , and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|dragonflies]. * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1 Pollination]
 * ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: black; display: inline; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">**Contents** ==


 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.1 Pollinator decline]


 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|2 Evolution]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|3 Eusocial and semisocial bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.1 Bumblebees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.2 Stingless bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.3 Honey bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.4 Africanized honey bee]

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Pollination == //See also: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|List of crop plants pollinated by bees] // Bees play an important role in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollinating] [|flowering plants], and are the major type of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollinator] in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ecosystems] that contain flowering plants. Bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand, especially in social species. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators. It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European honey bee] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Contract pollination] has overtaken the role of honey production for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beekeepers] in many countries. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Monoculture] and the massive <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|decline] of many bee species (both wild and domesticated) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|migratory] so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally varying high-demand areas of pollination. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 252px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey bee] (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] //) collecting pollen Most bees are fuzzy and carry an <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|electrostatic] charge, which aids in the adherence of pollen. Female bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|scopa], which is on the legs in most bees, and on the ventral <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|abdomen] on others, and modified into specialized <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen baskets] on the legs of honey bees and their relatives. Many bees are opportunistic foragers, and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, while others are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|oligolectic], gathering pollen from only one or a few types of plant. A small number of plants produce nutritious floral oils rather than pollen, which are gathered and used by oligolectic bees. One small subgroup of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stingless bees], called "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|vulture bees] ," is specialized to feed on <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carrion] , and these are the only bees that do not use plant products as food. Pollen and nectar are usually combined together to form a "provision mass", which is often soupy, but can be firm. It is formed into various shapes (typically <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|spheroid] ), and stored in a small chamber (a "cell"), with the egg deposited on the mass. The cell is typically sealed after the egg is laid, and the adult and larva never interact directly (a system called "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mass provisioning] "). In <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|New Zealand] scientists discovered that three genera of native bees have evolved to open flower buds of the native mistletoe //Peraxilla tetrapetala//. The buds cannot open themselves but are visited by birds such as the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tui] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bellbird] which twist the top of the ripe bud. That action releases a mechanism which causes the petals to suddenly spring open, giving access to the nectar and pollen. However, when observing the native bees in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Canterbury] province in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|South Island], the scientists were astonished to see the bees biting the top off the buds, then pushing with their legs, occasionally popping open the buds to allow the bees to harvest the nectar and pollen, and therefore aid in the pollination of the mistletoe which is in decline in New Zealand. Nowhere else in the world have bees demonstrated ability to open explosive bird-adapted flowers.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[2]] Visiting flowers can be a dangerous occupation. Many <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|assassin bugs] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|crab spiders] hide in flowers to capture unwary bees. Other bees are lost to birds in flight. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Insecticides] used on blooming plants kill many bees, both by direct poisoning and by contamination of their food supply. A honey bee <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|queen] may lay 2000 eggs per day during spring buildup, but she also must lay 1000 to 1500 eggs per day during the foraging season, mostly to replace daily casualties, most of which are workers dying of old age. Among solitary and primitively social bees, however, lifetime reproduction is among the lowest of all insects, as it is common for females of such species to produce fewer than 25 offspring. The population value of bees depends partly on the individual efficiency of the bees, but also on the population itself. Thus while <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bumblebees] have been found to be about ten times more efficient pollinators on <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cucurbits], the total efficiency of a colony of honey bees is much greater due to greater numbers. Likewise during early spring orchard blossoms, bumblebee populations are limited to only a few queens, and thus are not significant pollinators of early fruit. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Pollinator decline ** === <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Morphology] of a female <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey bee] From 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic reduction in the number of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|feral] honey bees in the US, which are now almost absent.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[3]] At the same time there was a significant though somewhat gradual decline in the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers. This decline includes the cumulative losses from all factors, such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|urbanization], pesticide use, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tracheal] and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Varroa] // mites, and commercial <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beekeepers] ' retiring and going out of business. However, in late 2006 and early 2007 the rate of attrition reached new proportions, and the term <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|colony collapse disorder] was coined to describe the sudden disappearances.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] After several years of research and concern, a team of scientists headed by Jerry Bromenshenk published a paper in October 2010 saying that a new DNA-based virus, invertebrate iridescent virus or IIV6, and the fungus //Nosema ceranae// were found in every killed colony the group studied. In their study they found that neither agent alone seemed deadly, but a combination of the virus and //Nosema ceraneae// was always 100% fatal. Bromenshenk said it is not yet clear whether one condition weakens the bees enough to be finished off by the second, or whether they somehow compound the other’s destructive power. "They're co-factors, that’s all we can say at the moment. They’re both present in all these collapsed colonies."<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[5]][|[6]][|[7]] Investigations into the phenomenon had occurred amidst great concern over the nature and extent of the losses.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[8]] In 2009 some reports from the US suggested that 1/3 of the honey bee colonies did not survive the winter,<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[9]] though normal winter losses are known to be around 25%.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[10]] Apart from colony collapse disorder, many of the losses outside the US have also been attributed to other causes. Pesticides used to treat seeds, such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Clothianidin] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Imidacloprid], have been considered prime suspects.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[11]] Other species of bees such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mason bees] are increasingly cultured and used to meet the agricultural pollination need.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[12]] Native pollinators include bumblebees and solitary bees, which often survive in refuges in wild areas away from agricultural spraying, but may still be poisoned in massive spray programs for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mosquitoes], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|gypsy moths] , or other insect <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pests]. Although pesticide use remains a concern, the major problem for wild pollinator populations is the loss of the flower-rich habitat on which they depend for food. Throughout the northern hemisphere, the last 70 or so years have seen an intensification of agricultural systems, which has decreased the abundance and diversity of<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wild flowers]. Legislation such as the UK's <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bees Act 1980] is designed to stop the decline of bees.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[13]] ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Evolution == Bees, like <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ants], are a specialized form of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wasp]. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Crabronidae], and therefore <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|predators] of other insects. The switch from insect prey to pollen may have resulted from the consumption of prey insects which were flower visitors and were partially covered with pollen when they were fed to the wasp larvae. This same <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|evolutionary] scenario has also occurred within the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|vespoid] wasps, where the group known as "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen wasps] " also evolved from predatory ancestors. Up until recently, the oldest non-compression bee fossil had been //Cretotrigona prisca// in New Jersey amber and of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cretaceous age], a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|meliponine]. A recently reported bee fossil, of the genus//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Melittosphex] //, is considered //"an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sister] to the modern bees"//, and dates from the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|early Cretaceous] (~100 mya).<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[14]] Derived features of its morphology (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|"apomorphies"] ) place it clearly within the bees, but it retains two unmodified ancestral traits (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|"plesiomorphies"] ) of the legs (two mid-tibial spurs, and a slender hind basitarsus), indicative of its transitional status. The earliest animal-pollinated flowers were pollinated by insects such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beetles], so the syndrome of insect pollination was well established before bees first appeared. The novelty is that bees are //specialized// as pollination agents, with behavioral and physical modifications that specifically enhance pollination, and are generally more efficient at the task than any other pollinating insect such as beetles, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|flies], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|butterflies] and pollen wasps. The appearance of such floral specialists is believed to have driven the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|adaptive radiation] of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|angiosperms], and, in turn, the bees themselves. Among living bee groups, the "short-tongued" bee family <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Colletidae] has traditionally been considered the most "primitive", and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sister taxon] to the remainder of the bees. In the 21st century, however, some researchers have claimed that the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Dasypodaidae] is the basal group, the short, wasp-like <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mouthparts] of colletids being the result of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|convergent evolution], rather than indicative of a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|plesiomorphic] condition.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]] This subject is still under debate, and the phylogenetic relationships among bee families are poorly understood. //See also: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|characteristics of common wasps and bees] // ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Eusocial and semisocial bees == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey bee] swarm Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. The most advanced of these are<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|eusocial] colonies<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[15]] found among the honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. Sociality, of several different types, is believed to have evolved separately many times within the bees. In some species, groups of cohabiting females may be sisters, and if there is a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|division of labor] within the group, then they are considered <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|semisocial]. If, in addition to a division of labor, the group consists of a mother and her daughters, then the group is called eusocial. The mother is considered the "queen" and the daughters are "workers". These castes may be purely behavioral alternatives, in which case the system is considered "primitively eusocial" (similar to many <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|paper wasps] ), and if the castes are morphologically discrete, then the system is "highly eusocial". There are many more species of primitively eusocial bees than highly eusocial bees, but they have rarely been studied. The biology of most such species is almost completely unknown. The vast majority are in the family <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Halictidae], or "sweat bees". Colonies are typically small, with a dozen or fewer workers, on average. The only physical difference between queens and workers is average size, if they differ at all. Most species have a single season colony cycle, even in the tropics, and only mated females (future queens, or "gynes") hibernate (called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|diapause] ). A few species have long active seasons and attain colony sizes in the hundreds. The <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|orchid bees] include a number of primitively eusocial species with similar biology. Certain species of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|allodapine] bees (relatives of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carpenter bees] ) also have primitively eusocial colonies, with unusual levels of interaction between the adult bees and the developing brood. This is "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|progressive provisioning] "; a larva's food is supplied gradually as it develops. This system is also seen in honey bees and some bumblebees. Highly eusocial bees live in colonies. Each colony has a single <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|queen], many <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|workers] and, at certain stages in the colony cycle, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|drones]. When humans provide the nest, it is called a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hive]. Honey bee hives can contain up to 40,000 bees at their annual peak, which occurs in the spring, but usually have fewer. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Bumblebees ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bumblebee] // <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bumblebees] (//Bombus terrestris//, //Bombus pratorum//, et al.) are eusocial in a manner quite similar to the eusocial <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Vespidae] such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hornets]. The queen initiates a nest on her own (unlike queens of honey bees and stingless bees which start nests via <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|swarms] in the company of a large worker force). Bumblebee colonies typically have from 50 to 200 bees at peak population, which occurs in mid to late summer. Nest architecture is simple, limited by the size of the nest cavity (pre-existing), and colonies are rarely <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|perennial]. Bumblebee queens sometimes seek winter safety in honey bee hives, where they are sometimes found dead in the spring by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beekeepers], presumably stung to death by the honey bees. It is unknown whether any survive winter in such an environment. Bumblebees are one of the more important wild pollinators, but have declined significantly in recent decades. In the UK, 2 species have become nationally extinct during the last 75 years while others have been placed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as priority species in recognition of the need for conservation action. In 2006 a new charity, the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bumblebee Conservation Trust], was established in order to coordinate efforts to conserve remaining populations through conservation and education. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Stingless bees ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Stingless bee] // <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Stingless bees] are very diverse in behavior, but all are highly <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|eusocial]. They practise mass provisioning, complex nest architecture, and perennial colonies. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Honey bees ** === <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European honey bee] extracts nectar from an //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Aster] // flower //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey bee] // The true honey bees (genus //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis] //) have arguably the most complex <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|social behavior] among the bees. The <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European (or Western) honey bee], //Apis mellifera//, is the best known bee species and one of the best known of all insects. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Africanized honey bee ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Africanized bee] // Africanized bees, also called killer bees, are a hybrid strain of //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] // derived from experiments by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Warwick Estevam Kerr] to cross European and African honey bees. Several queen bees escaped from his laboratory in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|South America] and have spread throughout the Americas. Africanized honey bees are more defensive than European honey bees. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Solitary and communal bees == Most other bees, including familiar species of bee such as the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Eastern carpenter bee] (//Xylocopa virginica//), <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|alfalfa leafcutter bee] (//Megachile rotundata//), <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|orchard mason bee] (//Osmia lignaria//) and the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hornfaced bee] (//Osmia cornifrons//) are solitary in the sense that every female is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. There are no //worker// bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beeswax]. They are immune from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|acarine] and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Varroa] // <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mites], but have their own unique <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|parasites] , pests and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|diseases] (see also<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|diseases of the honey bee] ). Solitary bees are important pollinators, and pollen is gathered for provisioning the nest with food for their brood. Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistency. Some solitary bees have very advanced types of pollen-carrying structures on their bodies. A very few species of solitary bees are being increasingly cultured for commercial pollination. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A solitary bee, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Anthidium florentinum] //(family <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Megachilidae] ), visiting //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Lantana] // Solitary bees are often <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|oligoleges], in that they only gather pollen from one or a few species/genera of plants (unlike honey bees and bumblebees which are generalists). No known bees are nectar specialists; many oligolectic bees will visit multiple plants for nectar, but there are no bees which visit only one plant for nectar while also gathering pollen from many different sources. Specialist pollinators also include bee species which gather floral oils instead of pollen, and male orchid bees, which gather aromatic compounds from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|orchids] (one of the only cases where male bees are effective pollinators). In a very few cases only one species of bee can effectively pollinate a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|plant] species, and some plants are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|endangered] at least in part because their pollinator is dying off. There is, however, a pronounced tendency for oligolectic bees to be associated with common, widespread plants which are visited by multiple pollinators (e.g., there are some 40 oligoleges associated with <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|creosote bush] in the US desert southwest,<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[16]] and a similar pattern is seen in<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sunflowers], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|asters] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mesquite] , etc.) Solitary bees create nests in hollow <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|reeds] or twigs, holes in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wood], or, most commonly, in tunnels in the ground. The female typically creates a compartment (a "cell") with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off. A nest may consist of numerous cells. When the nest is in wood, usually the last (those closer to the entrance) contain eggs that will become males. The adult does not provide care for the brood once the egg is laid, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males typically emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge. Providing nest boxes for solitary bees is increasingly popular for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|gardeners]. Solitary bees are either stingless or very unlikely to sting (only in self defense, if ever). While solitary females each make individual nests, some species are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, giving the appearance to the casual observer that they are social. Large groups of solitary bee nests are called //aggregations//, to distinguish them from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|colonies]. In some species, multiple females share a common nest, but each makes and provisions her own cells independently. This type of group is called "communal" and is not uncommon. The primary advantage appears to be that a nest entrance is easier to defend from predators and parasites when there are multiple females using that same entrance on a regular basis. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Cleptoparasitic bees == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> //Bombus vestalis//, a cuckoo bee parasite of the bumblebee <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bombus terrestris] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cleptoparasitic] bees, commonly called "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cuckoo bees] " because their behavior is similar to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cuckoo] birds, occur in several bee families, though the name is technically best applied to the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|apid] subfamily <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Nomadinae]. Females of these bees lack pollen collecting structures (the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|scopa] ) and do not construct their own nests. They typically enter the nests of pollen collecting species, and lay their eggs in cells provisioned by the host bee. When the cuckoo bee larva hatches it consumes the host larva's pollen ball, and if the female cleptoparasite has not already done so, kills and eats the host larva. In a few cases where the hosts are social species, the cleptoparasite remains in the host nest and lays many eggs, sometimes even killing the host queen and replacing her. Many cleptoparasitic bees are closely related to, and resemble, their hosts in looks and size, (i.e., the //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bombus] // subgenus //Psithyrus//, which are parasitic bumblebees that infiltrate nests of species in other subgenera of //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bombus] //). This common pattern gave rise to the ecological principle known as "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Emery's Rule] ". Others parasitize bees in different families, like //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Townsendiella] //, a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nomadine] [|apid], one species of which is a cleptoparasite of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|dasypodaid] genus //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Hesperapis] //, while the other species in the same genus attack <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|halictid] bees. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Nocturnal bees == Four bee families (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Andrenidae], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Colletidae] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Halictidae] , and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apidae] ) contain some species that are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|crepuscular] (these may be either the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|vespertine] or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|matinal] type). These bees have greatly enlarged <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ocelli], which are extremely sensitive to light and dark, though incapable of forming images. Many are pollinators of flowers that themselves are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|crepuscular], such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|evening primroses] , and some live in desert habitats where daytime temperatures are extremely high. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Flight == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Bee in mid air flight carrying pollen in<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen basket] In his 1934 French book //Le vol des insectes//, M. Magnan wrote that he and a M. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Saint-Lague] had applied the equations of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|air resistance] to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bumblebees] and found that their flight could not be explained by fixed-wing calculations, but that "One shouldn't be surprised that the results of the calculations don't square with reality".<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[17]] This has led to a common misconception that bees "violate aerodynamic theory", but in fact it merely confirms that bees do not engage in fixed-wing flight, and that their flight is explained by other mechanics, such as those used by helicopters.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[18]] In 1996 Charlie Ellington at <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cambridge University] showed that vortices created by many insects’ wings and non-linear effects were a vital source of lift;<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[19]] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|vortices] and non-linear phenomena are notoriously difficult areas of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hydrodynamics], which has made for slow progress in theoretical understanding of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|insect flight]. In 2005, Michael Dickinson and his <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Caltech] colleagues studied <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey bee] flight with the assistance of high-speed <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cinematography] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[20]] and a giant robotic mock-up of a bee wing.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[21]] Their analysis revealed that sufficient lift was generated by "the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes, a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction, and a very fast wing-beat frequency". Wing-beat frequency normally increases as size decreases, but as the bee's wing beat covers such a small <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|arc], it flaps approximately 230 times per second, faster than a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fruitfly] (200 times per second) which is 80 times smaller.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[22]] ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Bees and humans == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Bee larvae as food in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Java] Bees figure prominently in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|mythology] and have been used by political theorists as a model for human <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|society]. Journalist Bee Wilson states that the image of a community of honey bees "occurs from ancient to modern times, in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Aristotle] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Plato] ; in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Virgil] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Seneca] ; in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Erasmus] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Shakespeare] ; <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Tolstoy], as well as by social theorists <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bernard Mandeville] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Karl Marx] ."<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[23]] Despite the honey bee's painful sting and the stereotype of insects as pests, bees are generally held in high regard. This is most likely due to their usefulness as pollinators and as producers of honey, their social nature, and their reputation for diligence. Bees are one of the few insects regularly used on <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|advertisements], being used to illustrate honey and foods made with honey (such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey Nut Cheerios] ). In <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ancient Egypt], the bee was seen to symbolize the lands of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Lower Egypt] , with the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pharaoh] being referred to as "He of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Sedge] and Bee" (the sedge representing <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Upper Egypt] ). In <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|North America], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|yellowjackets] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hornets] , especially when encountered as flying pests, are often misidentified as bees, despite numerous differences between them. Although a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bee sting] can be deadly to those with allergies, virtually all bee species are non-aggressive if undisturbed and many cannot sting at all. Humans are often a greater danger to bees, as bees can be affected or even harmed by encounters with toxic chemicals in the environment (see also <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bees and toxic chemicals] ). In <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Indonesia] bee larvae are eaten as a companion to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|rice], after being mixed with shredded <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|coconut] "meat", wrapped in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|banana] leaves, and steamed. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> See also ==
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|4 Solitary and communal bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|5 Cleptoparasitic bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|6 Nocturnal bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|7 Flight]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|8 Bees and humans]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|9 See also]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|10 External links]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|11 References] ||
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Wikiquote-logo-en.svg/40px-Wikiquote-logo-en.svg.png width="40" height="40" caption="external image 40px-Wikiquote-logo-en.svg.png"]] ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;">[|Wikiquote] has a collection of quotations related to: //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Bees] **// ||

|| || Wikimedia Commons has media related to: //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Apoidea] **// ||
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png width="30" height="40" caption="external image 30px-Commons-logo.svg.png"]]

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> External links == ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> References ==
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Apiology]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee and wasp stings]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey bee life cycle]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|International Union for the Study of Social Insects]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Pesticide toxicity to bees]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Schmidt Sting Pain Index]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Starr sting pain scale]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Proboscis extension reflex]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|All Living Things] Images, identification guides, and maps of bees
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee Genera of the World]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|Solitary Bees & Things] Solitary Bees in British gardens
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Scientists identify the oldest known bee, a 100 million-year-old specimen preserved in amber]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|North American species of bees at Bugguide]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Native Bees of North America]


 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">^ <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|//**a**//] [|//**b**//] Danforth BN, Sipes S, Fang J, Brady SG (October 2006). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology"] . //Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.// **103** (41): 15118–23.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1073/pnas.0604033103] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMC] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|1586180] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|17015826].
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Native Bees With New Tricks"] . New Zealand Science Monthly . Retrieved 16 June 2009 . [//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|dead link] //]
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Watanabe, M. (1994). "Pollination worries rise as honey bees decline". //Science// **265** (5176): 1170.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1126/science.265.5176.1170] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|17787573].
 * 4) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Honey Bee Die-Off Alarms Beekeepers, Crop Growers and Researchers"] . Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences. 2007-01-29.
 * 5) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery"]
 * 6) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"What a scientist didn't tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths"]
 * 7) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Colin B. Henderson, Charles H. Wick, Michael F. Stanford, Alan W. Zulich, Rabih E. Jabbour, Samir V. Deshpande, Patrick E. McCubbin, Robert A. Seccomb, Phillip M. Welch, Trevor Williams, David R. Firth, Evan Skowronski, Margaret M. Lehmann, Shan L. Bilimoria, Joanna Gress, Kevin W. Wanner, Robert A. Cramer Jr (06 Oct 2010). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Iridovirus and Microsporidian Linked to Honey Bee Colony Decline"] (in English). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PLoS ONE].
 * 8) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Honey bees in US facing extinction"], //Telegraph// 14 March 2007
 * 9) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe] . Alison Benjamin. The Observer, 2 May 2010.
 * 10) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Beekeepers Report Continued Heavy Losses From Colony Collapse Disorder"] . Sciencedaily.com. 2008-05-12 . Retrieved 2010-06-22.
 * 11) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|German Consumer Protection Agency Bulletin] June 9, 2008
 * 12) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|Mason bee from Everything.About] . Retrieved 10 March 2009.
 * 13) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Statute Law UK"] . Crown Copyright. March 1980 . Retrieved 2009-01-20.
 * 14) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Poinar GO, Danforth BN (October 2006). "A fossil bee from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber". //Science// **314** (5799): 614.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1126/science.1134103] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|17068254].
 * 15) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Engel, Michael S. (2001-02-13). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Monophyly and Extensive Extinction of Advanced Eusocial Bees: Insights from an Unexpected Eocene Diversity"] . //PNAS// (National Academy of Sciences) **98** (4): 1661–1664. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1073/pnas.041600198] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMC] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|29313] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|11172007].
 * 16) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Hurd, P.D. Jr., Linsley, E.G. (1975). "The principal //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Larrea] // bees of the southwestern United States.". //Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology// **193**: 1–74.
 * 17) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Ingram, Jay //The Barmaid's Brain//, Aurum Press, 2001, pp. 91-92.
 * 18) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Cecil Adams (1990-05-04). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Is it aerodynamically impossible for bumblebees to fly?"] . The Straight Dope . Retrieved 2009-03-07.
 * 19) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|Secrets of bee flight revealed], Phillips, Helen. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
 * 20) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[]
 * 21) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|Deciphering the Mystery of Bee Flight] Caltech Media Relations. Nov. 29, 2005. Retrieved 2007, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|4-7].
 * 22) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Douglas L. Altshuler, William B. Dickson, Jason T. Vance, Stephen P. Roberts, and Michael H. Dickinson (2005). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Short-amplitude high-frequency wing strokes determine the aerodynamics of honeybee flight"] . //Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.// **102**(50): 18213–18218. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1073/pnas.0506590102] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMC] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|1312389] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|16330767].
 * 23) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Wilson, Bee (2004). //The Hive: The Story Of The Honeybee//. London, Great Britain: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|John Murray (publisher)] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ISBN] [|0719565987].


 * ||  ||||||~ [<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|hide] ]   <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|v] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|d] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|e]    <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Heraldic creatures] ||

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 * > **Beasts** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Bear] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Boar] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Bull] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Dragon] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Dog] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Camelopard] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Chollima] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Hind] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Kangaroo] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Lion] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Ox] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Stag] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Tiger] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Wolf] (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Borz] ) ||   || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">|| [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Blason_agincourt_54.svg/50px-Blason_agincourt_54.svg.png width="50" height="55" caption="A heraldic lion" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blason_agincourt_54.svg"]] ||
 * A heraldic lion ||




 * > **Birds** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Cock] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Dove] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Eagle] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Pelican] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Rook]  ||

||


 * > **Legendary**
 * creatures** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Alce] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Basilisk] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Biscione] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Chollima] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Cockatrice] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Dragon] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Enfield beast] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Garuda] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Griffin] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Harpy] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Keythong] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Tikbalang] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Lindworm] **·**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Manticore] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Martlet] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Opinicus] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Phoenix] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Salamander] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Turul] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Unicorn] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Wyvern]  ||

||


 * > **Fish** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Dolphin] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Ged] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Lucy] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Scallop]  ||

||

|| ||
 * > **Others** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Bat] **·** ** Bee ** **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Crapaudy] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Emmet] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Serpent]  ||

[]

|| || Do you know... || that there are about 3,000 species of **potter wasps** worldwide? Click <span style="color: #f0f0f0; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-weight: 800; text-decoration: none;">here to find out more... ||  ||   || ||  ||
 * || ===<span style="color: #002a00; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800; text-align: center;">Bee ===
 * A picture of a Bee ||

Photo by: Dorling Kindersley Bee, common name for a winged, flower-feeding insect with branched body hairs.<span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Characteristics Bees are dependent on pollen as a protein source and on flower nectar or oils as an energy source. Adult females collect pollen primarily to feed their larvae. The pollen they inevitably lose in going from flower to flower is important to plants because some pollen lands on the pistils (reproductive structures) of other flowers of the same species, resulting in cross-pollination. Bees are, in fact, the most important pollinating insects, and their interdependence with plants makes them an excellent example of the type of symbiosis known as mutualism, an association between unlike organisms that is beneficial to both parties. Most bees have specialized branched or feathery body hairs that help in the collection of pollen. Female bees, like many other hymenopterans, have a defensive sting. Some bees produce honey from flower nectar. Honey bees and stingless bees commonly hoard large quantities of honey-a characteristic that is exploited by beekeepers, who harvest the honey for human consumption.

<span style="color: #f0f0f0; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 800; text-decoration: none;">|| || Photo by: Larry Crowhurst/Oxford Scientific Films There are about 20,000 species of bees worldwide. Some species may not yet have been discovered, and many are either not named or have not been well studied. Bees are found throughout the world except at the highest altitudes, in polar regions, and on some small oceanic islands. The greatest diversity of bee species is found in warm, arid or semiarid areas, especially in the American Southwest and Mexico. Bees range in size from tiny species only 2 mm (0.08 in) in length to rather large insects up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. Many bees are black or gray, but others are bright yellow, red, or metallic green or blue.<span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Social Structure and Nesting Habits Bees have diverse nesting and social habits. This diversity has provided scientists with a natural laboratory for the study of evolution and social behavior in insects. <span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 400;">//Solitary Bees// The primitive bees, like their relatives the wasps, are solitary. Each female makes her own burrow, in which she constructs earthen chambers to contain her young. She deposits pollen moistened with nectar or oil into individual cells until enough food has accumulated to provide for the young bee from egg hatching until the larva reaches full size. She then lays an egg on the pollen mass and seals the cell before going on to construct another cell. ||
 * Food-Gathering Behavior of Bees (click to enlarge) ||

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|| || Do you know... || that there are about 75,000 species of **wasps** are known? Click <span style="color: #f0f0f0; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-weight: 800; text-decoration: none;">here to find out more... ||  ||   || <span style="color: #f0f0f0; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 800; text-decoration: none;">||  || Photo by: Dorling Kindersley <span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Social Bees Some bees are communal. They are like solitary bees except that several females of the same generation use the same nest, each making her own cells for housing her eggs, larvae, and pupae. A few kinds of bees are semisocial-they live in small colonies of two to seven bees of the same generation, one of which is the queen, or principal egg layer; the others are worker bees. About 1000 species of bees live in small colonies consisting of a queen and a few daughter workers. In these colonies, the differences in appearance and behavior between workers and queens are scarcely distinguishable. Such species, called primitively eusocial, form temporary colonies that die out in autumn, and only the fertilized queens survive the winter. Bumble bees are familiar examples.The eusocial, or truly social, bees live in large colonies consisting of females of two overlapping generations: mothers (queens) and daughters (workers). Males play no part in the colony's organization and only mate with the queens. Larvae are fed progressively-that is, cells are opened as necessary or are left open so that workers can tend the larvae. Highly eusocial bees, a few hundred species, form permanent colonies in which the queen and worker castes are markedly different in structure, each specialized for its own activities and unable to survive without the other. Colonies of eusocial bees are complex, highly coordinated societies. Individual bees may have highly specialized functions within the colony. The tasks of defense, food collection and storage, reproduction, and many other activities are regulated by the colony's response to environmental conditions inside and outside the hive. Individuals communicate by means of chemical messages, touch, sound, and, in the case of honey bees, a symbolic dance language. The nests of many eusocial bees are very elaborate and may be constructed partially of wax secreted by the bees. <span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Parasitic Bees Parasitic, or cuckoo, bees are those that do not forage or make nests themselves but use the nests and food of other species of bees to provide for their parasitic young. Parasitic bees are of two types: cleptoparasitic bees and social parasites. Cleptoparasitic bees invade the nests of solitary bees, hide their eggs in the brood chambers before the hosts lay theirs, and close the chambers. The young of the parasitic bees then feed on the food that was stored in the chamber by the host female. The eggs or young larvae of the host bee are killed either by the parasitic female or by her larvae. Social parasites are bees that kill the resident queen, lay their own eggs in the host's cells, and then force the host's workers to raise the young parasitic bees. Females of parasitic bees lack such special features as pollen baskets or pollen brushes since they do not forage for food for their young.
 * || ===<span style="color: #002a00; display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800; text-align: center;">More about Bees ===
 * Cross Section of Hive (click to enlarge) ||

|| ||
 * A picture of a Stingless Bee in Amber ||

Photo by: Dorling Kindersley <span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Families There are 11 families of bees. Scientists distinguish between them by subtle differences in wing veins and by the fine structure of the mouthparts and other microscopic characteristics. However, the bees in each family have other interesting descriptive features, including their size, nesting and foraging behaviors, and easy-to-see body features such as body hair, the length of the tongue, and the form of the pollen-carrying structure.Cellophane bees are relatively hairless bees with short, forked tongues. They resemble wasps more so than other bees; hence they are considered the most primitive bees. They line their nest tunnels and larval cells (chambers for the young) with a secretion that hardens into a cellophane-like membrane. They carry pollen on leg hairs or internally in a stomachlike crop. Mining bees are a large group of bees that make soil nests of many branching chambers, each ending in one or more cells. They are either solitary or communal, living in separate but nearby nests. They carry pollen on body and leg hairs. Sweat bees are generally small, dark-colored bees with little hair. They, too, usually nest in the ground but may live in societies in which related individuals help each other. Pollen is carried on brushy areas near the base of the legs and on body hairs. Leafcutter bees and mason bees belong to a family of long-tongued bees that have specialized pollen-carrying hairs on the underside of the abdomen. They often make their nests in preexisting cavities and may live in groups of individual nests. Some are used in agriculture to pollinate crops. Digger bees are fast-flying, fuzzy bees that may nest in the ground solitarily or in dense clusters or may excavate nests in wood. They have long tongues and are excellent pollinators of many plants. They carry their pollen on brushy areas near the middle of the hind leg. Carpenter bees are also in the digger bee family. The most familiar bees are the honey bees and their close relatives. In this family are bees that make intricate nests and live in complex societies. The pollen-carrying structure in these bees is a smooth, bristle-surrounded area on one segment of the hind leg. This structure is known as a pollen basket, or corbicula. This group is divided into four tribes: the orchid bees, the bumble bees, the stingless bees, and the honey bees. <span class="g" style="color: #002a00; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 800;">Scientific classification: Bees make up a superfamily known as the Apoidea. Cellophane bees make up the family Colletidae, mining bees make up the family Andrenidae, sweat bees make up the family Halictidae, the leafcutter and mason bees and their relatives make up the family Megachilidae, the digger bees make up the family Anthophoridae, and honey bees and their relatives make up the family Apidae. Contributed by: Charles D. Michener ||

[]

=<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.1em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">Honey bee =

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia //For other uses, see <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey bee (disambiguation)] .// //This article refers collectively to all true honey bees; for the "common" domesticated honey bee, see <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European honey bee] //.

Temporal range: Oligocene–Recent <span style="border-bottom: 1px solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-top: 1px solid; clear: both; display: block; height: 18px; margin: 4px auto 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; width: 220px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 0px; padding-left: 5px; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; width: 208px;">[|PreЄ] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 36px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 18px;">[|Є] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 54px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 15px;">[|O] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 69px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 9px;">[|S] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 79px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 19px;">[|D] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 98px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 20px;">[|C] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 118px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 16px;">[|P] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 135px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 17px;">[|T] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 152px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 18px;">[|J] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 170px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 27px;">[|K] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; font-size: 80%; height: 18px; left: 197px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 14px;">[|�3967�Pg�7145�] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; height: 18px; left: 212px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 6px;">[|�3970�N�7149�] <span style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; display: block; height: 8px; margin: 0px auto; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: -4px; width: 220px; z-index: 100;"> ||
 * ~ Honey bees


 * = <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Apis_mellifera_flying.jpg/220px-Apis_mellifera_flying.jpg width="220" height="147" caption="external image 220px-Apis_mellifera_flying.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apis_mellifera_flying.jpg"]] ||


 * = <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|European honey bee] carrying pollen back to hive ||


 * ~ <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Scientific classification] ||


 * Kingdom: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Animalia]  ||


 * Phylum: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Arthropoda]  ||


 * Class: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Insecta]  ||


 * Order: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hymenoptera]  ||


 * Family: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apidae]  ||


 * Subfamily: ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apinae]  ||

<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Latreille], 1802 ||
 * Tribe: ||  || **Apini**

<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Linnaeus], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|1758] ||
 * Genus: ||  || //**Apis**//


 * ~ Species ||

* <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis andreniformis] //
 * < * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Subgenus //Micrapis//:

* <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis breviligula] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis florea] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Subgenus //Megapis//:

* <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Subgenus //Apis//:

**Honey bees** (or **honeybees**) are a subset of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bees] in the genus //Apis//, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honey] and the construction of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|perennial], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|colonial] nests out of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|wax]. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus //Apis//. Currently, there are only seven recognised species of honey bee with a total of 44 subspecies,<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]] though historically, anywhere from six to eleven species have been recognised. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees. Some other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the genus //Apis// are true honey bees. * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1 Origin, systematics and distribution]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis indica] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis koschevnikovi] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] //
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis nigrocincta] // ||
 * ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: black; display: inline; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">**Contents** ==


 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.1 Micrapis]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.2 Megapis]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.3 Apis]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.4 Africanized bee]


 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|2 Beekeeping]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|2.1 Colony collapse]


 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|3 Life cycle]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.1 Winter survival]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.2 Pollination]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.3 Honey]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.4 Beeswax]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.5 Pollen]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.6 Propolis]

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Origin, systematics and distribution  == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Morphology] of a female honey bee Honey bees as a group appear to have their centre of origin in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|South] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|South East Asia] (including the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Philippines] ), as all but one of the extant species are native to that region, notably the most <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|plesiomorphic] living species (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis florea] // and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis andreniformis] //).<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[2]] The first //Apis// bees appear in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fossil record] at the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Eocene] –<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Oligocene] boundary, in European deposits. The origin of these prehistoric honey bees does not necessarily indicate that Europe is where the genus originated, only that it occurred there at that time. There are few known fossil deposits in the suspected region of honey bee origin, and fewer still have been thoroughly studied. There is only one fossil species documented from the New World, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis nearctica] //, known from a single 14-million-year old specimen from Nevada.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[3]] The close relatives of modern honey bees –- e.g. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bumblebees] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stingless bees] –- are also social to some degree, and social behavior seems a plesiomorphic trait that predates the origin of the genus. Among the extant members of //Apis//, the more <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|basal] species make single, exposed combs, while the more recently evolved species nest in cavities and have multiple combs, which has greatly facilitated their domestication. Most species have historically been cultured or at least exploited for honey and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beeswax] by humans indigenous to their native ranges. Only two of these species have been truly <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|domesticated], one (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] //) at least since the time of the building of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Egyptian pyramids] , and only that species has been moved extensively beyond its native range. Today's honey bees constitute three <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|clades] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]][|[4]] <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata] // on //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Tribulus terrestris] // in<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hyderabad, India] ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** //Micrapis// ** === //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis florea] // and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis andreniformis] // are small honey bees of southern and southeastern Asia. They make very small, exposed nests in trees and shrubs. Their stings are often incapable of penetrating human skin, so the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hive] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|swarms] can be handled with minimal protection. They occur largely <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sympatrically] though they are very distinct <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|evolutionarily] and are probably the result of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|allopatric speciation], their distribution later converging. Given that //A. florea// is more widely distributed and //A. andreniformis// is considerably more aggressive, honey is –- if at all –- usually harvested from the former only. They are the most ancient extant lineage of honey bees, maybe diverging in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bartonian] (some 40 million years ago or slightly later) from the other lineages, but among themselves do not seem to have diverged a long time before the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Neogene] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** //Megapis// ** === There is one recognised species in subgenus //Megapis//. It usually builds single or a few exposed combs on high tree limbs, on cliffs, and sometimes on buildings. They can be very fierce. Periodically robbed of their honey by human "honey hunters", colonies are easily capable of stinging a human being to death when provoked. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata] // on comb ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** //Apis// ** === **Eastern species** <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Eastern honey bee] (//Apis cerana//) from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hong Kong] These are three or four species. The reddish Koschevnikov's bee (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis koschevnikovi] //) from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Borneo] is well distinct; it probably derives from the first colonization of the island by cave-nesting honey bees. //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana] //, the Eastern honey bee proper, is the traditional honey bee of southern and eastern Asia, kept in hives in a similar fashion to //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] //, though on a much smaller and regionalised scale. It has not been possible yet to resolve its relationship to the Bornean //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana nuluensis] // and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis nigrocincta] //from the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Philippines] to satisfaction; the most recent hypothesis is that these are indeed distinct species but that //A. cerana// is still <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|paraphyletic], consisting of several good species.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] **European/Western/Common honey bee** //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] // //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] //, the most commonly domesticated species, was the third insect to have its <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|genome] mapped. It seems to have originated in eastern tropical <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Africa] and spread from there to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Northern Europe] and eastwards into <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Asia] to the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Tien Shan] range. It is variously called the European, Western or Common honey bee in different parts of the world. There are many <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|subspecies] that have adapted to the local geographic and climatic environment, and in addition, hybrid strains such as the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Buckfast bee] have been bred. Behavior, color and anatomy can be quite different from one subspecies or even strain to another. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> European honey bee originated from eastern Africa. This bee is pictured in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Tanzania]. Regarding <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|phylogeny], this is the most enigmatic honey bee species. It seems to have diverged from its Eastern relatives only during the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Late Miocene]. This would fit the hypothesis that the ancestral stock of cave-nesting honey bees was separated into the Western group of E Africa and the Eastern group of tropical Asia by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|desertification] in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Middle East] and adjacent regions, which caused declines of foodplants and trees which provided nest sites, eventually causing <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|gene flow] to cease. The diversity of subspecies is probably the product of a largely <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Early Pleistocene] [|radiation] aided by climate and habitat changes during the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|last ice age]. That the Western honey bee has been intensively managed by humans since many millennia – including hybridization and introductions – has apparently increased the speed of its <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|evolution] and confounded the DNA sequence data to a point where little of substance can be said about the exact relationships of many //A. mellifera// subspecies.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] There are no honey bees native to the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Americas]. In 1622, European colonists brought the dark bee (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|A. m. mellifera] //) to the Americas, followed later by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Italian bees] (//A. m. ligustica//) and others. Many of the crops that depend on honey bees for pollination have also been imported since colonial times. Escaped swarms (known as "wild" bees, but actually <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|feral] ) spread rapidly as far as the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Great Plains], usually preceding the colonists. Honey bees did not naturally cross the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Rocky Mountains] ; they were carried by ship to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|California] in the early 1850s. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Africanized bee ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Africanized bee] // Africanized bees (sometimes misnamed //"killer bees"//) are hybrids between European stock and one of the African subspecies //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|A. m. scutellata] //; they are often more aggressive than European bees but are more resistant to disease and are better foragers but do not create as much of a surplus as European bees. Originating by accident in Brazil, they have spread to North America and constitute a<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pest] in some regions. However, these strains do not overwinter well, and so are not often found in the colder, more Northern parts of North America. On the other hand, the original breeding experiment for which the African bees were brought to Brazil in the first place has continued (though not as intended). Novel hybrid strains of domestic and re-domesticated Africanized bees combine high resilience to tropical conditions and good yields. They are popular among beekeepers in Brazil. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Beekeeping  == //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Beekeeping] // Two species of honey bee, //A. mellifera// and //A. cerana//, are often maintained, fed, and transported by beekeepers. Modern hives also enable beekeepers to transport bees, moving from field to field as the crop needs pollinating and allowing the beekeeper to charge for the pollination services they provide, revising the historical role of the self-employed beekeeper, and favoring large-scale commercial operations. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Colony collapse ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Colony collapse disorder] // <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Frame] removed from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Langstroth hive] Beekeepers in Western countries have been reporting slow declines of stocks for many years, apparently due to impaired protein production, changes in agricultural practice, or unpredictable weather. In early 2007, abnormally high die-offs (30-70% of hives) of European honey bee colonies occurred in the U.S. and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Québec] ; such a decline seems unprecedented in recent history. This has been dubbed "Colony collapse disorder" (CCD); it is unclear whether this is simply an accelerated phase of the general decline due to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stochastically] more adverse conditions in 2006, or a novel phenomenon. Research has so far failed to determine what causes it, but the weight of evidence is tentatively leaning towards CCD being a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|syndrome] rather than a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|disease] as it seems to be caused by a combination of various contributing factors rather than a single <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pathogen] or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|poison], though the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Israel acute paralysis virus] has recently emerged as a significant candidate.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[6]] Recent research (2009) has found that an indicator for an impaired <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein] production is common among all bees affected by CCD. It is conjectured that <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Dicistroviridae] like the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|IAPV] may influence the genetic material of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ribosomes], which are responsible for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein production] of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cells] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[7]][|[8]] ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Life cycle  == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|queen bee] : a coloured dot, in this case yellow, is added to assist the beekeeper in identifying the queen. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Honey bee eggs shown in cut open wax cells <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Pupae drones <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Emergence of a black bee (//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera mellifera] //) <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Eggs and larvae As in a few other types of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|eusocial] bees, a colony generally contains one <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|queen bee], a fertile female; seasonally up to a few thousand <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|drone bees] or fertile males;<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[9]] and a large seasonally variable population of sterile female <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|worker bees]. Details vary among the different species of honey bees, but common features include: 1. Eggs are laid singly in a cell in a wax <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honeycomb], produced and shaped by the worker bees. Using her <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|spermatheca], the queen actually can choose to fertilize the egg she is laying, usually depending on what cell she is laying in. Drones develop from unfertilised eggs and are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|haploid], while females (queens and worker bees) develop from fertilised eggs and are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|diploid]. Larvae are initially fed with <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|royal jelly] produced by worker bees, later switching to honey and pollen. The exception is a larva fed solely on royal jelly, which will develop into a queen bee. The larva undergoes several moltings before spinning a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cocoon] within the cell, and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pupating]. 2. Young worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. When their royal jelly producing glands begin to atrophy, they begin building comb cells. They progress to other within-colony tasks as they become older, such as receiving nectar and pollen from foragers, and guarding the hive. Later still, a worker takes her first orientation flights and finally leaves the hive and typically spends the remainder of her life as a forager. 3. Worker bees cooperate to find food and use a pattern of "dancing" (known as //the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bee dance or waggle dance] //) to communicate information regarding resources with each other; this dance varies from species to species, but all living species of //Apis// exhibit some form of the behavior. If the resources are very close to the hive, they may also exhibit a less specific dance commonly known as the "Round Dance". 4. Honey bees also perform <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tremble dances] which recruit receiver bees to collect nectar from returning foragers. 5. Virgin queens go on mating flights away from their home colony, and mate with multiple drones before returning. The drones die in the act of mating. 6. Colonies are established not by solitary queens, as in most bees, but by groups known as "<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|swarms] ", which consist of a mated queen and a large contingent of worker bees. This group moves //en masse// to a nest site that has been scouted by worker bees beforehand. Once they arrive, they immediately construct a new wax comb and begin to raise new worker brood. This type of nest founding is not seen in any other living bee genus, though there are several groups of<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Vespid] wasps which also found new nests via swarming (sometimes including multiple queens). Also, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stingless bees] will start new nests with large numbers of worker bees, but the nest is constructed before a queen is escorted to the site, and this worker force is not a true "swarm". ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Winter survival ** === In cold climates honey bees stop flying when the temperature drops below about 10 °C (50 °F) and crowd into the central area of the hive to form a "winter cluster". The worker bees huddle around the queen bee at the center of the cluster, shivering in order to keep the center between 27 °C(80 °F) at the start of winter (during the broodless period) and 34 °C (93 °F) once the queen resumes laying. The worker bees rotate through the cluster from the outside to the inside so that no bee gets too cold. The outside edges of the cluster stay at about 8-9 °C (46-48 °F). The colder the weather is outside, the more compact the cluster becomes. During winter, they consume their stored honey to produce body heat. The amount of honey consumed during the winter is a function of winter length and severity but ranges in temperate climates from 30 to 100 lbs.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[10]] <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Foragers coming in loaded with pollen on the hive landing board ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Pollination ** === //Main articles: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pollination management] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|List of crop plants pollinated by bees] // Species of //Apis// are generalist floral visitors, and will pollinate a large variety of plants, but by no means //all// plants. Of all the honey bee species, only //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] // has been used extensively for commercial pollination of crops and other plants. The value of these pollination services is commonly measured in the billions of dollars. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Honeycombs ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Honey ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey] // Honey is the complex substance made when the nectar and sweet deposits from plants and trees are gathered, modified and stored in the honeycomb by honey bees as a food source for the colony. All living species of //Apis// have had their honey gathered by indigenous peoples for consumption, though for commercial purposes only //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis mellifera] // and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana] // have been exploited to any degree. Honey is sometimes also gathered by humans from the nests of various<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stingless bees]. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Beeswax ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Beeswax] // Worker bees of a certain age will secrete <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beeswax] from a series of glands on their <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|abdomens]. They use the wax to form the walls and caps of the comb. As with honey, beeswax is gathered for various purposes. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A forager collecting pollen ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Pollen ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pollen] // Bees collect pollen in the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen basket] and carry it back to the hive. In the hive, pollen is used as a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein] source necessary during brood-rearing. In certain environments, excess pollen can be collected from the hives of //A. mellifera// and //A. cerana//. It is often eaten as a health supplement. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Propolis ** === //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Propolis] // <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Propolis] or bee glue is created from resins, balsams and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tree saps]. Those species of honey bees which nest in tree cavities use propolis to seal cracks in the hive. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Dwarf honey bees] use propolis to defend against ants by coating the branch from which their nest is suspended to create a sticky moat. Propolis is consumed by humans as a health supplement in various ways and also used in some cosmetics. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Defense  == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana japonica] // forming a ball around two <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hornets]. The body heat trapped by the ball will overheat and kill the hornets. All honey bees live in colonies where the worker bees will sting intruders as a form of defense, and alarmed bees will release a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pheromone] that stimulates the attack response in other bees. The different species of honey bees are distinguished from all other bee species (and virtually all other<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hymenoptera] ) by the possession of small barbs on the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sting], but these barbs are found only in the worker bees. The sting and associated <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|venom] sac are also modified so as to pull free of the body once lodged (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|autotomy] ), and the sting apparatus has its own musculature and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ganglion] which allow it to keep delivering venom once detached. The worker bee dies after the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stinger] is torn out of its body. It is presumed that this complex apparatus, including the barbs on the sting, evolved specifically in response to predation by vertebrates, as the barbs do not usually function (and the sting apparatus does not detach) unless the sting is embedded in fleshy tissue. While the sting can also penetrate the flexible exoskeletal joints in appendages of other insects (and is used in fights between queens), in the case of //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis cerana] // defense against other insects such as predatory wasps is usually performed by surrounding the intruder with a mass of defending worker bees, who vibrate their muscles so vigorously that it raises the temperature of the intruder to a lethal level.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[11]] It was previously thought that the heat alone was responsible for killing intruding wasps, but recent experiments have demonstrated that it is the increased temperature in combination with increased carbon dioxide levels within the ball that produces the lethal effect.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[12]][|[13]] This phenomenon is also used to kill a queen perceived as intruding or defective, an action known to beekeepers as //balling the queen//, named for the ball of bees formed. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Communication  == //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee learning and communication] // Honey bees are known to communicate through many different chemicals and odours, as is common in insects, but also using specific behaviours that convey information about the quality and type of resources in the environment, and where these resources are located. The details of the signalling being used vary from species to species; for example, the two smallest species, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis andreniformis] // and //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis florea] //, dance on the upper surface of the comb, which is horizontal (not vertical, as in other species), and worker bees orient the dance in the actual compass direction of the resource to which they are recruiting. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Symbolism  == //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee (mythology)] // Both the //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Atharva Veda] //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[14]] and the ancient Greeks associated lips anointed with honey with the gift of eloquence and even of prescience. The priestess at <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Delphi] was the "Delphic Bee". A community of honey bees has often been employed throughout history by political theorists as a model of human society: > "This image occurs in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Aristotle] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Plato] ; in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Virgil] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[15]] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Seneca] ; in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Erasmus] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Shakespeare] ; in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Marx] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Tolstoy] ."<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[16]] Honey bees, signifying immortality and resurrection, were royal emblems of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Merovingians], revived by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Napoleon] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[17]] The bee is the heraldic emblem too of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Barberini]. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> See also  ==
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|4 Defense]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|5 Communication]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|6 Symbolism]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|7 See also]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|8 References]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|9 Further reading] ||
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata] //, the giant honey bee, is native and widespread across most of South and Southeast Asia.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata binghami] //, the Indonesian honey bee, is classified as the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Indonesian] subspecies of the giant honey bee or a distinct species; in the latter case, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|A. d. breviligula] // and/or other lineages would probably also have to be considered species.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[5]]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis dorsata laboriosa] //, the Himalayan honey bee, was initially described as a distinct species. Later, it was included in //A. dorsata// as a subspecies<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]] based on the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|biological species concept], though authors applying a genetic species concept have suggested it should be considered a species.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] Essentially restricted to the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Himalayas] , it differs little from the giant honey bee in appearance, but has extensive behavioral <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|adaptations] which enable it to nest in the open at high altitudes despite low ambient temperatures. It is the largest living honey bee.
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png width="30" height="40" caption="external image 30px-Commons-logo.svg.png"]] ||  || Wikimedia Commons has media related to: //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Apis (insect)] **// ||

|| || Look up //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|honey bee] **// in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;">[|Wiktionary], the free dictionary. ||
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg/37px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png width="37" height="40" caption="external image 37px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png"]]


 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Apiology]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Bees and toxic chemicals]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey bee life cycle]
 * <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee sting]

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> References  ==

> Maria C. Arias & Walter S. Sheppard (2005). "Corrigendum to “Phylogenetic relationships of honey bees (Hymenoptera:Apinae:Apini) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data” [Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 37 (2005) 25–35]". //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution] // **40** (1): 315.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.002].
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">^ <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|//**a**//] [|//**b**//] [|//**c**//] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Michael S. Engel] (1999). "The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: //Apis//)". //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Journal of Hymenoptera Research] // **8**: 165–196.
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Deborah R. Smith, Lynn Villafuerte, Gard Otisc & Michael R. Palmer (2000). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 18px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Biogeography of //Apis cerana// F. and //A. nigrocincta//Smith: insights from mtDNA studies"] (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PDF] ). //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Apidologie] // **31** (2): 265–279. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1051/apido:2000121].
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Michael S. Engel, I. A. Hinojosa-Diaz & A. P. Rasnitsyn (2009). "A honey bee from the Miocene of Nevada and the biogeography of//Apis// (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apini)". //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences] // **60** (3): 23–38.
 * 4) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">^ <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|//**a**//] [|//**b**//] [|//**c**//] [|//**d**//] [|//**e**//] Maria C. Arias & Walter S. Sheppard (2005). "Phylogenetic relationships of honey bees (Hymenoptera:Apinae:Apini) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data". //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution] // **37** (1): 25–35. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1016/j.ympev.2005.02.017] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|16182149].
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Nathan Lo, Rosalyn S. Gloag, Denis L. Anderson & Benjamin P. Oldroyd (2009). "A molecular phylogeny of the genus //Apis//suggests that the Giant Honey Bee of the Philippines, //A. breviligula// Maa, and the Plains Honey Bee of southern India, //A. indica// Fabricius, are valid species". //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Systematic Entomology] // **35** (2): 226–233. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1111/j.1365-3113.2009.00504.x].
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Connor Lanman (2008). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|//Plight of the Bee - The Ballad of Man and Bee//] . Viovio. p. 82. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ISBN] [|978-0615251332].
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Genomic study yields plausible cause of colony collapse disorder"] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Science Daily] . August 25, 2009.
 * 4) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Reed M. Johnson, Jay D. Evans, Gene E. Robinson & May R. Berenbaum (2009). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Changes in transcript abundance relating to colony collapse disorder in honey bees (//Apis mellifera//)"] .//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences] // **106** (35): 14790–14795. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1073/pnas.0906970106] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMC] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|2736458] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|19706391].
 * 5) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** James L. Gould & Carol Grant Gould (1995). //The Honey Bee//. Scientific American Library. p. 19. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ISBN] [|9780716760108].
 * 6) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[]
 * 7) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** C. H. Thawley. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Heat tolerance as a weapon"] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Davidson College] . Retrieved June 1, 2010.
 * 8) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Michio Sugahara & Fumio Sakamoto (2009). "Heat and carbon dioxide generated by honeybees jointly act to kill hornets".//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Naturwissenschaften] // **96** (9): 1133–6. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|10.1007/s00114-009-0575-0] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|19551367].
 * 9) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Victora Gill (July 3, 2009). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Honeybee mobs overpower hornets"] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|BBC News] . Retrieved July 5, 2009.
 * 10) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** "O Asvins, lords of brightness, anoint me with the honey of the bee, that I may speak forceful speech among men! //Atharva Veda//91-258, quoted in Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (Anthea Bell, tr.)//The History of Food//, 2nd ed. 2009:14.
 * 11) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Virgil, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Georgics] //, book IV.
 * 12) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Bee Wilson (2004). //The Hive: The Story Of The Honeybee//. London: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|John Murray] . p. 14. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ISBN] [|0719565987].
 * 13) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"The symbols of empire"] . Napoleon.org . Retrieved June 1, 2010.

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Further reading  ==
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Engel, Michael S.] & <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Grimaldi, David] (2005): //Evolution of the Insects//. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cambridge University Press].
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Kak, Subhash C. (1991): The Honey Bee Dance Language Controversy. //The Mankind Quarterly// Summer 1991: 357-365. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|HTML fulltext]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Lindauer, Martin (1971): //Communication among social bees//. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Harvard University Press].
 * ||  ||||~ [<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|hide] ]   <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|v] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|d] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|e]    ** Honey bee ** types and characteristics ||




 * > **Bee Castes** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Queen bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Worker bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Laying worker bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Drone]  ||

||


 * > **Lifecycle** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Beehive] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Honey bee life cycle] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Brood] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Bee learning and communication] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Swarming]  ||

||


 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Western honey bee] subspecies and breeds** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Buckfast bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Carniolan honey bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|European dark bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Italian bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Maltese honey bee] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Africanized bee] **·**//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Apis mellifera scutellata] // **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Honey bee race]  ||

||


 * > **Cultivation** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Beekeeping] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Apiology] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Apiary] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Beehive] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Langstroth hive] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Top-bar hive] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Beeswax] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Honey] **·**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Honey extraction] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Honey extractor]  ||

||

|| ||
 * > **Lists** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Topics in beekeeping] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Diseases of the honey bee]  ||

[]

<span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Formal436 BT'; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">**Bees and Wasps**


 * [[image:http://www.greensmiths.com/images/bee_hive_border_md_wht.gif width="108" height="96" align="center" caption="bee_hive_border_md_wht.gif (4290 bytes)"]] ||
 * bee_hive_border_md_wht.gif (4290 bytes) ||


 * The insects most beneficial to humans are found in the large insect order Hymenoptera. Not only are the bees and many of their relatives pollinators of flowering plants, including fruits and vegetables, but thousands of species of small wasps are parasites of other arthropods including pest insects. Without these parasites that limit the growth of insect populations, pests would overtake most crops. **




 * The urban pests of the order Hymenoptera are the stinging insects. Although the first image to come to mind implies danger to humans, these yellowjackets, hornets, and wasps sometimes serve our interest: They feed their young largely on flies and caterpillars. **


 * Many of these stinging insects are social. They live in colonies with a caste system or a division of labor and overlapping generations -- all offspring of one individual reproductive. Some of these colonies persist for many years (ants, honey bees) and others, like stinging wasps, start anew each year. **


 * THE AFRICANIZED BEE **


 * The Africanized bee is the same species as the European honey bee kept by beekeepers all over the United States. Introduced into Brazil from southern Africa, it is adapted to longer warm seasons than are northern honey bees. **


 * It is thought that this bee will advance as far into the northern temperate region as it has into the southern temperate region. If this is true, Africanized bees will be distributed north in a line that will reach from southern Pennsylvania, west to Seattle, Washington. **


 * Africanized bees do not store as much honey to take them through the winter as honey bees do. They have smaller colonies and tend to swarm more often. Smaller swarms allow colony development in smaller cavities. In South and Central America, Africanized swarms settle in hollow trees like northern honey bees; they also colonize in rubber tires, crates and boxes, wall voids, abandoned vehicles and other protected places that abound in urban areas. Worker bees tend to mob intruders. The urbanized Africanized honey bee presents a new management challenge not only to beekeepers but to urban pest management technicians. **


 * CARPENTER BEES (Xylocopa) **


 * Carpenter Bees are not social insects; they live only one year. The most common Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica, is distributed throughout the eastern half of North America. This bee is a large insect with a hairy yellow thorax and a shiny black abdomen. Superficially, it resembles yellow and black female bumble bees, which are social and more closely related to honey bees. Western Carpenter bees are also large, shiny, sometimes metallic, and are shaped like bumble bees. **


 * Carpenter bees bore in wood and make a long tunnel provisioned with pollen and eggs. They prefer to enter unpainted wood and commonly tunnel in redwood and unpainted deck timber. They will also go into painted wood especially if any type of start hole is present. New females reuse old tunnels year after year; they are also attracted to areas where other females are tunneling. Egg laying and tunnel provisioning occurs in the spring. Males hover around the tunnel entrance while the female provisions the nest and lays eggs. **


 * Males dart at intruders belligerently but they can do no harm; they have no stingers. Since these bees are not social, there is no worker caste to protect the nest. Stings of females are rare. **


 * New adults emerge after the middle of summer and can be seen feeding at flowers until they seek overwintering sites, sometimes in the tunnels. **


 * Habitat Alteration and Pesticide Application **


 * Carpenter bees drill into the end grain of structural wood or into the face of a wooden member, then turn and tunnel with the grain. **


 * Dust tunnels or inject with pressurized liquid insecticide. Insert a dusted plug of steel wool or copper gauze in the tunnel; fill the opening with caulk, wood filler, or a wooden dowel. [A dusted plug stops new adults who otherwise would emerge through shallow caulking.] Caution should be taken, especially if technicians are working on ladders and if they are not experienced with these rather harmless bees. **


 * CICADA KILLER WASPS **


 * Cicada killers are very large yellow and black relatives of mud daubers, however they do not look like mud daubers. More than one inch long, they look like "monster" yellowjackets. **


 * Pest Management **


 * Cicada killers can be ignored by those who accept an explanation of their harmless nature. Each wasp, being a female, has a stinger; each can sting. Due to their size and fierce looks, however, stings are extremely uncommon. When there is undue worry about these huge wasps, open soil burrows can be dusted individually; the female will be killed when she returns. **


 * HONEY BEES (Apis mellifera) **


 * The honey bee was introduced into the United States in Colonial America. Honey bees are highly social insects and communicate with each other, relaying direction and distance of nectar and pollen sources. Bees make combs of waxen cells placed side by side that provide spaces to rear young and to store honey. The bee colony lives on the stored honey throughout winters, and therefore, can persist for years. **



** Drones are male bees and they have no stingers. Drones do not collect food or pollen from flowers. Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen. If the colony is short on food, drones are often kicked out of the hive. **
 * When colony populations are high, the queen may move part of the colony to new harborage. Bees swarm at this time, usually finding hollow trees to begin their new colony, but they occasionally work their way into building wall voids. **
 * Workers, which are the smallest bees in the colony, are undeveloped females. A colony can have up to 60,000 workers. The life span of a worker bee depends upon the time of year. Her life expectancy can be as long as 35 days. **
 * Workers feed the queen and larvae, guard the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. Worker bees also collect nectar to make honey. In addition, honey bees produce wax comb. The comb is composed of hexagonal cells which have walls that are only 2/1000 inch thick, but support 25 times their own weight. **
 * Honey bees' wings stroke over 11,000 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz. **


 * A honey bee colony in a house wall can cause major problems. The bees can chew through the wall and fly inside. Their storage of large amounts of honey invites other bees and wasps. Their detritus (e.g., dead bees, shedded larval skins, wax caps from combs and other material) attracts beetles and moths. **


 * When a bee colony is found in a building wall, it must be removed. Removal can be accomplished by contacting a local bee keeper in your area. Your local Agriculture Agent has names of all bee keepers close to you. Look in the blue pages of you phone book for his number. **


 * After the colony is moved you can safely remove the nest. If the nest is not removed, the wax combs -- normally cooled by the bees -- will melt and allow honey to flow down through the walls. Honey stain can never be removed; the walls will have to be replaced. As well, the freed honey attracts robber bees and wasps. The comb wax will attract wax moths that may persist for several years. **



** Close up of honey bee head. **

**Finally, after the colony is moved the entrance hole should be caulked or repaired to prevent further bee infestation. For safe removal you should contact a professional and not attempt this yourself. Here are some helpful bee removal services:**

**Adkins Bee Removal -** []


 * Master Pest Control in Sacramento, CA**. - [|http://www.beecontrolsacramento.com]


 * Pro Pacific Bee Removal -** [|http://www.propacificbeeremoval.com]

** Bee Stings vs. Wasp Stings **

** Wasp venom changes depending upon the type of wasp. Most have similar ingredients to the bee but the make up is different in the percentages of each ingredient. One of the main differences between the wasp sting vs. the bee sting is the way the two inject their venom. ** **The wasp thrusts his shaft into the victim and the lancets move rapidly backwards and forwards (sliding along the stylet) in a sawing action. The lancets are barbed, meaning, they have small backward-pointed hooks along their edges. As the shaft penetrates further into the victim's body, the barbs allow anchorage against the flesh until the alternate lancet moves forward and 'claws' the shaft deeper into the wound. The movement of the lancets also enables a pumping action to take place at the abdomen end of the shaft. This causes the poison sac to pump venom down through a central poison canal, between the lancets and out through the shaft tip into the wound. Both Bees and Wasps sting their victims using a similar process but there is an essential difference, especially important when the victim being stung is a human-being. Bee lancets have larger barbs than wasps. The bee is unable to rip the shaft back out through the wound due to the barbs' resistance against the firmness of human flesh. The wasp stinger has lancets with very small barbs, more like fine serrated edges. A wasp can extract the shaft and fly off contented with having executed a nasty attack on the hapless victim. On the other hand the poor old bee ends up having his entire stinging apparatus, poison sac and all, wrenched out of its abdomen. The bee will later die due to the damage caused.** ** MUD DAUBER WASPS (Family Sphecidae) **
 * Honey bee venom contains almost 20 active substances. Melittin, the most prevalent substance, is one of the most potent anti-inflammatory agents known. It is 100 times more potent than hydrocortisol. Adolapin is another strong anti-inflammatory substance, and inhibits cyclooxygenase, also creating analgesic activity as well. Apamin inhibits complement C3 activity, and blocks calcium-dependent potassium channels, thus enhancing nerve transmission. Other substances, such as Compound X, Hyaluronidase, Phospholipase A2, Histamine, and Mast Cell Degranulating Protein (MSDP), are involved in the inflammatory response of venom, with the softening of tissue and the facilitation of flow of the other substances. There are also measurable amounts of the neurotransmitters Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Seratonin. **


 * Mud Dauber wasps are not social wasps like Paper wasps. They are in a different family. Many paralyze spiders to provision mud cells built to enclose eggs, larvae and pupae. The mud cells form long clay tubes or large lumps. The wasps are slender; they are shiny black or brown, orange or yellow, with black markings. Many have long slender thread waists. **


 * Like Carpenter bees there is no protective worker caste; these wasps are not aggressive; they will not sting unless pressed or handled. Mud Daubers place their mud nests in protected places like electric motors, sheds, attics, against house siding and under porch ceilings. So many wasps congregate at the same site to construct the mud nests that later removal of the nests and repainting is often expensive. **
 * Habitat Alteration and Pesticide Application **


 * Mud daubers are killed easily with aerosol contact sprays. Scrape away mud nests, and cover problem areas with a good quality smooth paint. Nesting should be discouraged on porticos and high porches of historically important buildings. **
 * HORNETS, WASPS, AND YELLOWJACKETS **


 * In parts of the United States, particularly in the eastern states, yellowjackets, wasps, hornets and bees are all called bees by the general public. Of course the general public is principally focused on one attribute these insects have in common -- their stingers. **




 * Knowledge of the behavior of these pests is essential to their management; effective communication with frightened or, at best, fearful clients is an important skill technicians must develop. **


 * Nests of stinging pests are usually the target for control. Understanding nesting and the make-up of the colony is essential. **


 * NESTS AND COLONIES **


 * Yellowjackets, hornets and paper wasps are all in the same insect family, Vespidae. The common Paper wasp with its umbrella shaped nest or single comb best demonstrates the basic building pattern of a colony. **


 * THE GIANT HORNET (Vespa crabro) **


 * Technically, this wasp is the only hornet in North America, but it did not originate here; it was introduced from Europe. It is found in the northeastern quarter of the United States; it ranges as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee with scattered sightings extending west of the Mississippi River. **


 * The Giant hornet is reddish-brown and yellow and almost an inch long. It builds its nest mainly in hollow trees, and in wall voids of barns, sheds and sometimes houses. An open window or door is an invitation to hornet workers, and they frequent buildings under construction. Their large combs and envelope are constructed of partially decomposed wood and, like the Eastern yellowjacket, are very brittle. Workers of the Giant hornet capture a variety of insects including bees and yellowjackets to feed their young. Workers also have a habit of stripping bark back from some shrubs -- especially lilac. As they girdle the branches, they lick the sap from the torn edge. They will sting humans, and the sting is painful. **


 * PAPER WASPS **


 * Paper wasp queens, like other Vespid nest mothers, is the lone female reproductive, who begins her nest by attaching a thick paper strand to an overhanging structure. She then builds hollow paper cells by chewing wood or plant fibers (cellulose) mixed with water and shaped with her mouthparts. **


 * When a half dozen cells or so are hanging together, the Queen lays an egg near the bottom of each one. The little white grubs that hatch from the egg glue their rear ends in the cell and begin receiving nourishment in the form of chewed up bits of caterpillars provided by their mother. When they grow large enough to fill the cell cavity, they break the glued spot and hold on their own by their stuffed fat bodies, hanging head down. **


 * Mature larvae, then, spin silk caps, closing off the cell, and molt into pupae. This same larval behavior pattern is followed by yellowjackets and hornets also. All are females. Other than their white color, these Vespid pupae look like adults; they develop adult systems, then shed their pupal skins, chew through their silk cell cap, pump out their wings, and take their place as worker assistants to their mother. (Paper wasp queens and workers are the same size; yellowjacket and hornet queens are larger than their daughters.) **


 * From Spring on, the queen lays eggs and the daughter workers feed larvae and expand the comb or nest. They do not eat the protein (insect) food they gather for the larvae but get their energy from flower nectar. Later in the season, some of the larvae develop into males and others will become next year's queens. **


 * The new males and females mate with those of other colonies, and the fertilized females find hiding places under tree bark or in logs and wait out the winter until they can begin their new colony in the spring. **


 * The male Vespids die in winter, likewise the nest disintegrates and will not be used again. **


 * MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF PAPER WASPS (Polistes) **


 * Paper wasps nests are often found near doorways and other human activity areas without occupants being stung. Colonies can become problems, but when they do, Paper wasps can be controlled easily. **


 * When attracted to fallen ripe fruit, these wasps sting people who venture into the same area. Colonies in trees, out buildings, hollow fence posts and other protected places are not as easy to control as those from nests on structures. **


 * Habitat Alteration **


 * •Remove old nests and scrape the point of attachment. [This spot is often selected by new queens for attachment of new combs.] **


 * •Remove ripe fallen fruit as often as possible. **


 * •Caulk openings in attics, window frames, and around wall penetrations to keep overwintering females out of unused rooms and spaces. **


 * Pesticide Application **


 * •Use pressurized sprays that propel spray for 8-12 feet or use aerosols on extension poles especially manufactured for aerosol cans. **


 * •If a ladder is needed wear a bee suit and veil. Proceed cautiously. **


 * YELLOWJACKETS **


 * Yellowjacket (with eighteen species in North America) colonies begin with a large fertilized queen; she develops smaller daughter workers and later reproductives just as the Paper wasps, but the nest structure is not the same. Some yellowjacket nests hang in trees and shrubs, and some are developed underground. **


 * Aerial Nesters **


 * Several yellowjackets make the aerial football- shaped paper nests, commonly called hornets nests. Two of these yellowjackets are common: the Aerial yellowjacket, Dolichovespula arenaria, and the Bald Faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata. **


 * The Aerial yellowjacket is found in the west, Canada, and east ( but not in the central and southern states). This species begins its nest in March or April and is finished and no longer active by the end of July. Their nests, usually attached to building overhangs are smaller and more round than those of other species. **


 * The Bald Faced hornet is larger than the other yellowjackets and is black and white -- not black and yellow. It lives along the west coast, across Canada, and in all of the states in the eastern half of the country. **


 * On warm spring days, the large Aerial nesting queen develops a small comb, like the Paper wasp with a dozen or so cells, but she encloses it in a round gray paper envelope. The daughter workers later take over the nest duties, and by mid summer, when the worker population is growing and food is plentiful, the nest is expanded to full size. A full-sized Bald Faced hornet nest consists not of a single umbrella comb like the Paper wasp, but four to six wide circular combs -- one hanging below the other and all enclosed with an oval paper envelope consisting of several insulating layers. Bald faced hornets not only gather flies, but are large enough to kill and use other species of yellowjackets for larval food. They attach their nests to low shrubs or high in trees or on buildings. Although Aerial colonies can have four to seven hundred workers at one time, their food gathering habits do not routinely bring them in contact with humans. Large nests are often discovered only after leaves have fallen and the nests are exposed -- both to view and to nature's elements that finally bring about their disintegration. **


 * Underground Nesters **


 * The stinging wasp, often identified as a yellowjacket, is black and yellow. Primarily yellow bands cover a dark abdomen. These species are in the genus Vespula. **


 * They begin their nests like the aerial nesters -- with an enveloped small comb made of wood fiber paper. Only these nests are started in soil depressions, rodent burrows, or in any small hole in the ground that will give protection until workers can develop. **


 * Once workers begin nest care, they enlarge the entrance hole and expand the nest. Combs are placed in tiers, one below the other. They can be very large; they have firm support from the soil surrounding the external envelope. Several species of Vespula make their nests in building wall voids, attics, hollow trees and other enclosed spaces as well as the ground. **


 * Both Aerial and Ground Nesters **


 * Of the thirteen species in North America, only a few require pest management. These few species have certain characteristics and habits that put them on a collision course with people: **


 * •They can live in what might be called disturbed environments (areas that have been changed to suit human activities in urban settings) such as yards, golf courses, parks, and other recreation areas. **


 * •They have large colonies -- some will develop thousands of workers. **


 * •Their habits do not restrict them to a specific kind of prey. Foraging workers capture insects for their larvae and nectar and other sweet carbohydrates for themselves where they can find it. Essentially, they are scavengers and work over garbage cans and dumpsters. They especially enjoy picnics and football games. **


 * One can easily see that these habits put a large number of foraging stinging insects into close association with large populations of humans. **


 * THE COMMON YELLOWJACKET **
 * Vespula vulgaris **


 * V. vulgaris ranges across Canada and the northeastern United States. Common in higher elevations, it nests in shady evergreen forests around parks and camps in the western mountains and the eastern Appalachians. This species also is one of the most important stinging insects in Europe. **


 * THE EASTERN YELLOWJACKET (Vespula maculifrons) **


 * This common ground nesting yellowjacket is distributed over the eastern half of the United States. Its western border is from eastern Texas north to eastern North Dakota. Workers are slightly smaller than most yellowjackets, but colony size can number around 5,000 or more individuals. The nest of V. maculifrons is dark tan, made of partially decomposed wood and is quite brittle. The Eastern yellowjacket sometimes nests in building wall voids. **


 * Most yellowjackets have very slightly barbed stingers but the sting will not set in the victim's tissue like the barbed stinger of the honey bee. The stinger of V. maculifrons, however, often sticks and when the insect is slapped off, the stinger may remain. **


 * THE GERMAN YELLOWJACKET (Vespula germanica) **


 * In Europe, German yellowjacket nests are subterranean, but in North America the vast majority of reported nests are in structures. This yellowjacket is distributed throughout the northeastern quarter of the United States. Nests in attics and wall voids are large, and workers can chew through ceilings and walls into adjacent rooms. The nest and nest envelope of this yellowjacket is made of strong light gray paper. Colonies of this yellowjacket may be active in protected voids into November and December when outside temperatures are not severe. **


 * MANAGEMENT OF YELLOWJACKETS **


 * Problems with yellowjackets occur mainly when: **


 * •Humans step on or jar a colony entrance. **


 * •A colony has infested a wall void or attic and has either chewed through the wall into the house or the entrance hole is located in a place that threatens occupants as they enter or leave the building. **


 * •Worker yellowjackets are no longer driven to feed larvae in the late summer months, and they wander, searching for nectar and juices -- finding ripe, fallen back yard fruit, beer, soft drinks and sweets at picnics, weddings, recreation areas, sporting events and other human gatherings. **


 * Yellowjackets are sometimes responsible for injections of anerobic bacteria (organisms that cause blood poisoning). When yellowjackets frequent wet manure and sewage they pick up the bacteria on their abdomens and stingers. In essence, the stinger becomes a hypodermic needle. A contaminated stinger can inject the bacteria beneath the victim's skin. Blood poisoning should be kept in mind when yellowjacket stings are encountered. **


 * Inspection **


 * Sting victims often can identify the location of yellowjacket nests. Where the nest has not been located look in shrubbery, hedges, and low tree limbs for the Bald Faced hornet. Soil nests are often located under shrubs, logs, piles of rocks and other protected sites. Entrance holes sometimes have bare earth around them. Entrance holes in structures are usually marked by fast flying workers entering and leaving. Nests high in trees should not be problems. Be sure to wear a bee suit or tape trouser cuffs tight to shoes. **


 * Habitat Alteration **


 * •Management of outdoor food is very important. **


 * •Clean garbage cans regularly and fit them with tight lids. **


 * •Empty cans and dumpsters daily prior to periods of heavy human traffic at zoos, amusement parks, fairs and sporting events. **


 * •Remove attractive refuse, such as bakery sweets, soft drink cans, and candy wrappers, several times a day during periods of wasp and yellowjacket activity. **


 * •Locate food facilities strategically at late summer activities so that yellowjackets are not lured to dense crowds and events. [The National Park Service in their IPM programs, found that stings were dramatically reduced when drinks are served in cups with lids.] **


 * •Clean drink dispensing machines; screen food dispensing stations, and locate trash cans away from food dispensing windows. **


 * •To limit yellowjacket infestations in wall voids and attics, keep holes and entry spaces in siding caulked; screen ventilation openings. **


 * Pesticide Application **


 * When possible, treat ground and aerial nests after dark [Workers are in the nest at that time]. More often than not, because of traditional work schedules, treatment will be scheduled for the daytime. **


 * Begin with the entrance hole in view and a good plan in mind. **


 * •Wear a protective bee suit. Unless these insects can hold on with their tarsal claws, they cannot get the leverage to sting. Bee suits are made with smooth rip-stop nylon which does not allow wasps and bees to hold on. A bee veil and gloves are part of the uniform. Wrist and ankle cuffs must be taped or tied to keep the insects out of sleeves and pant legs. **


 * •Move slowly and with caution. Quick movements will be met with aggressive behavior. Move cautiously to prevent stumbling or falling onto the colony. **


 * •Have equipment handy so one trip will suffice. **


 * Application **


 * •Insert the plastic extension tube from a pressurized liquid spray or aerosol generator in the entrance hole; release the pesticide for 10 to 30 seconds. Resmethrin is most effective. **


 * •If the pressurized liquid spray includes chemicals that rapidly lower nest temperature (freeze products), be aware that it will damage shrubbery. **


 * •Plug the entrance hole with dusted steel wool or copper gauze. Dust the plug and area immediately around the entrance. [Returning yellowjackets cue on entrance holes using surrounding landmarks and seeing the shadowed opening. They will land at the entrance and pull at the plug picking up toxic dust. Any still alive inside will also work at the dusted plug. **


 * Aerial Nests **


 * •Cut aerial nests down and seal them in a plastic bag. [The queen and workers inside will be dead, and larvae will fall out of their cells and die from either insecticide poisoning or starvation. Pupae in capped cells may escape the treatment, however, and emerge later.] **


 * •Be especially cautious when using ladders to get at aerial nests or wall void nests. Set the ladder carefully and move slowly. **


 * Wall Voids **


 * •Approach the entrance hole cautiously; stay out of the normal flight pattern. **


 * •Watch first. Observe whether yellowjackets entering the nest go straight in or to one side or the other. **


 * •Insert the narrow diameter plastic tube in the hole in the observed direction of entrance and release pesticide for 10-30 seconds. **


 * •Dust inside the entrance and plug it as with underground nests. **


 * •Remember, German yellowjacket nests may remain active into December. **


 * •Use care not to contaminate food surfaces. **


 * Spraying trash cans and the outside of food stands will reduce or repel yellowjackets at sporting events; the treatment will not last more than one day. Honey bees are also killed with this control measure. Remember, do not contaminate food surfaces. **


 * Follow-up **


 * Ongoing monitoring throughout the active yellowjacket season is essential when a pest management program is in place at parks, recreational areas, zoos and other outdoor activity areas. **

**Additional Pictures** ** Greensmiths is excited to introduce our photography friends to our web site. Mr. Mike Ash is a photographer from Tampa, FL and he is sharing many of his personal favorite pictures for our web site. Megan Freeborn is our newest photo friend and we're looking forward to any new work she can share with us. We encourage Students, Teachers and Professionals to feel free to use these pictures for training and learning purposes. **
 * None of his pictures may be used on any other website or for sale or profits without the written permission of Greensmiths, Inc. We wish to thanks Mike and Megan for their great work and these wonderful images and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. **

[|Bald-faced Hornets] / [|Cicada Killer]

[|Digger Bees] / [|Five-banded Tiphiid]

[|Giant Hornet] / [|Honey Bees]

[|Hungry Wasps] (not the real name, just a great picture)

[|Paper Wasps] / [|Red-tailed Ichneumon]

[|Sandhills Hornet] / [|Short-tailed Ichneumon]

[|Thread-waisted Wasp] / [|Yellow Jacket]

[]

=<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.1em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">Flower =

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia <span style="color: #7d7d7d; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1.4em 1em; width: auto;"> //For other uses, see <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Flower (disambiguation)] .// <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; display: none; margin-right: -10px; position: absolute; right: 55px; text-decoration: none; top: -2em;"> <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 332px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A poster with twelve species of flowers or clusters of flowers of different families A **flower**, sometimes known as a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bloom] or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|blossom], is the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|reproductive] structure found in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|flowering plants] (plants of the division <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Magnoliophyta] , also called angiosperms). The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from different individuals in a population) or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower). Some flowers produce <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|diaspores] without fertilization (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|parthenocarpy] ). Flowers contain sporangia and are the site where gametophytes develop. Flowers give rise to fruit and seeds. Many flowers have evolved to be attractive to animals, so as to cause them to be vectors for the transfer of pollen. In addition to facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants, flowers have long been admired and used by humans to beautify their environment but also as objects of romance, ritual, religion, medicine and as a source of food.
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Padlock-silver.svg/20px-Padlock-silver.svg.png width="20" height="20" caption="Page semi-protected" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Protection_policy#semi"]] ||
 * Page semi-protected ||

* <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|1 Morphology]
 * ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; color: black; display: inline; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto;">**Contents** ==
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.1 Floral formula]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|1.2 Inflorescence]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|2 Development]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|2.1 Flowering transition]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|2.2 Organ development]


 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|3 Floral function]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|3.1 Flower specialization and pollination]


 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|4 Pollination]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|4.1 Attraction methods]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|4.2 Pollination mechanism]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|4.3 Flower-pollinator relationships]

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Morphology == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 402px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Diagram showing the main parts of a mature flower A stereotypical flower consists of four kinds of structures attached to the tip of a short stalk. Each of these kinds of parts is arranged in a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|whorl] on the receptacle. The four main whorls (starting from the base of the flower or lowest node and working upwards) are as follows: Although the arrangement described above is considered "typical", plant species show a wide variation in floral structure. These modifications have significance in the evolution of flowering plants and are used extensively by botanists to establish relationships among plant species. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Christmas Lily (//Lilium longiflorum//). 1. Stigma, 2. Style, 3. Stamens, 4. Filament, 5. Petal The four main parts of a flower are generally defined by their positions on the receptacle and not by their function. Many flowers lack some parts or parts may be modified into other functions and/or look like what is typically another part. In some families, like <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Ranunculaceae], the petals are greatly reduced and in many species the sepals are colorful and petal-like. Other flowers have modified stamens that are petal-like, the double flowers of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Peonies] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Roses] are mostly petaloid stamens.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[1]] Flowers show great variation and plant scientists describe this variation in a systematic way to identify and distinguish species. Specific terminology is used to descried flowers and their parts. Many flower parts are fused together; fused parts originating from the same whorl are **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|connate] **, while fused parts originating from different whorls are **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|adnate] **, parts that are not fused are **free**. When petals are fused into a tube or ring that falls away as a single unit, they are sympetalous (also called **gamopetalous.**) Petals that are connate may have distinctive regions: the cylindrical base is the tube, the expanding region is the throat and the flaring outer region is the limb. A sympetalous flower, with bilateral symmetry with an upper and lower lip, is **bilabiate**. Flowers with connate petals or sepals may have various shaped corolla or calyx including: campanulate, funnelform, tubular, urceolate, salverform or rotate. Many flowers have a symmetry, if the perianth is bisected through the central axis from any point, symmetrical halves are produced—the flower is called regular or actinomorphic, e.g. rose or trillium. When flowers are bisected and produce only one line that produces symmetrical halves the flower is said to be irregular or zygomorphic. e.g. snapdragon or most orchids. Flowers may be directly attached to the plant at their base (sessile--the supporting stalk or stem is highly reduced or absent). The stem or stalk subtending a flower is called a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|peduncle]. If a peduncle supports more than one flower, the stems connecting each flower to the main axis are called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pedicels]. The apex of a flowering stem forms a terminal swelling which is called the//torus// or receptacle. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Floral formula ** === A //floral formula// is a way to represent the structure of a flower using specific letters, numbers, and symbols. Typically, a general formula will be used to represent the flower structure of a plant <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|family] rather than a particular species. The following representations are used: **Ca** =calyx (sepal whorl; e. g. Ca 5 = 5 sepals)**Co** =corolla (petal whorl; e. g., Co 3(x) = petals some multiple of three ) **Z** =add if //zygomorphic// (e. g., CoZ 6 = zygomorphic with 6 petals)**A** =//androecium// (whorl of stamens; e. g., A ∞ = many stamens)**G** =//gynoecium// (carpel or carpels; e. g., G 1 = monocarpous) //x//: to represent a "variable number" ∞: to represent "many" A floral formula would appear something like this: **Ca 5 Co 5 A 10 - ∞ G 1 **  Several additional symbols are sometimes used (see <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Key to Floral Formulas] ). ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Inflorescence ** === <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 252px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> The familiar <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|calla lily] is not a single flower. It is actually an <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|inflorescence] of tiny flowers pressed together on a central stalk that is surrounded by a large petal-like <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bract]. //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Inflorescence] // In those species that have more than one flower on an axis, the collective cluster of flowers is termed an //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|inflorescence] //. Some inflorescences are composed of many small flowers arranged in a formation that resembles a single flower. The common example of this is most members of the very large composite (Asteraceae) group. A single <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|daisy] or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sunflower], for example, is not a flower but a flower //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|head] //—an inflorescence composed of numerous flowers (or florets). An inflorescence may include specialized stems and modified leaves known as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bracts]. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Development ==  A flower is a modified <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stem] tip with compressed internodes, bearing structures that are highly modified <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|leaves] .<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[2]] In essence, a flower develops on a modified shoot or //axis// from a determinate apical <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|meristem] (//determinate// meaning the axis grows to a set size). ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Flowering transition ** === The transition to flowering is one of the major phase changes that a plant makes during its life cycle. The transition must take place at a time that is favorable for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fertilization] and the formation of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|seeds], hence ensuring maximal <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|reproductive] success. To meet these needs a plant is able to interpret important endogenous and environmental cues such as changes in levels of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|plant hormones] and seasonable <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|temperature] and<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|photoperiod] changes.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[3]] Many perennial and most biennial plants require <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|vernalization] to flower. The molecular interpretation of these signals is through the transmission of a complex signal known as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|florigen], which involves a variety of genes, including CONSTANS, FLOWERING LOCUS C and FLOWERING LOCUS T. Florigen is produced in the leaves in reproductively favorable conditions and acts in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|buds] and growing tips to induce a number of different physiological and morphological changes.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[4]] The first step is the transformation of the vegetative stem primordia into floral primordia. This occurs as biochemical changes take place to change cellular differentiation of leaf, bud and stem tissues into tissue that will grow into the reproductive organs. Growth of the central part of the stem tip stops or flattens out and the sides develop protuberances in a whorled or spiral fashion around the outside of the stem end. These protuberances develop into the sepals, petals, stamens, and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carpels]. Once this process begins, in most plants, it cannot be reversed and the stems develop flowers, even if the initial start of the flower formation event was dependent of some environmental cue.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[5]] Once the process begins, even if that cue is removed the stem will continue to develop a flower. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Organ development ** === <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> The ABC model of flower development The molecular control of floral organ identity determination is fairly well understood. In a simple model, three gene activities interact in a combinatorial manner to determine the developmental identities of the organ primordia within the floral <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|meristem]. These gene functions are called A, B and C-gene functions. In the first floral whorl only A-genes are expressed, leading to the formation of sepals. In the second whorl both A- and B-genes are expressed, leading to the formation of petals. In the third whorl, B and C genes interact to form stamens and in the center of the flower C-genes alone give rise to carpels. The model is based upon studies of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|homeotic] mutants in //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Arabidopsis] thaliana// and snapdragon, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Antirrhinum majus] //. For example, when there is a loss of B-gene function, mutant flowers are produced with sepals in the first whorl as usual, but also in the second whorl instead of the normal petal formation. In the third whorl the lack of B function but presence of C-function mimics the fourth whorl, leading to the formation of carpels also in the third whorl. See also <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|The ABC Model of Flower Development]. Most genes central in this model belong to the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|MADS-box] genes and are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|transcription factors] that regulate the expression of the genes specific for each floral organ. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Floral function == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> An example of a "perfect flower", this//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Crateva religiosa] // flower has both stamens (outer ring) and a pistil (center). The principal purpose of a flower is the reproduction of the individual and the species. All flowering plants are //heterosporous//, producing two types of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|spores]. Microspores are produced by meiosis inside anthers while megaspores are produced inside ovules, inside an ovary. In fact, anthers typically consist of four microsporangia and an ovule is an integumented megasporangium. Both types of spores develop into gametophytes inside sporangia. As with all heterosporous plants, the gametophytes also develop inside the spores (are endosporic). In the majority of species, individual flowers have both functional carpels and stamens. These flowers are described by botanists as being //perfect// or //bisexual//. Some flowers lack one or the other reproductive organ and called //imperfect// or //unisexual// If unisex flowers are found on the same individual plant but in different locations, the species is said to be //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|monoecious] //. If each type of unisex flower is found only on separate individuals, the plant is //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|dioecious] //. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Flower specialization and pollination ** === //Further information: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pollination syndrome] //  Flowering plants usually face selective pressure to optimize the transfer of their <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen], and this is typically reflected in the morphology of the flowers and the behaviour of the plants. Pollen may be transferred between plants via a number of 'vectors'. Some plants make use of abiotic vectors — namely wind (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|anemophily] ) or, much less commonly, water (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|hydrophily] ). Others use biotic vectors including insects (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|entomophily] ), birds (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ornithophily] ), bats (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|chiropterophily] ) or other animals. Some plants make use of multiple vectors, but many are highly specialised. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cleistogamous flowers] are self pollinated, after which they may or may not open. Many Viola and some Salvia species are known to have these types of flowers. The flowers of plants that make use of biotic pollen vectors commonly have glands called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nectaries] that act as an incentive for animals to visit the flower. Some flowers have patterns, called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nectar guides], that show pollinators where to look for nectar. Flowers also attract pollinators by scent and color. Still other flowers use mimicry to attract pollinators. Some species of orchids, for example, produce flowers resembling female bees in color, shape, and scent. Flowers are also specialized in shape and have an arrangement of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stamens] that ensures that pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the pollinator when it lands in search of its attractant (such as nectar, pollen, or a mate). In pursuing this attractant from many flowers of the same species, the pollinator transfers pollen to the stigmas—arranged with equally pointed precision—of all of the flowers it visits. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Anemophilous flowers] use the wind to move pollen from one flower to the next. Examples include grasses, birch trees, ragweed and maples. They have no need to attract pollinators and therefore tend not to be "showy" flowers. Male and female reproductive organs are generally found in separate flowers, the male flowers having a number of long filaments terminating in exposed stamens, and the female flowers having long, feather-like stigmas. Whereas the pollen of animal-pollinated flowers tends to be large-grained, sticky, and rich in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein] (another "reward" for pollinators), anemophilous flower pollen is usually small-grained, very light, and of little nutritional value to animals. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Pollination ==  //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pollination] // <span style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; display: block; font-size: 12px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Grains of pollen sticking to this bee will be transferred to the next flower it visits  <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; display: block; font-size: 12px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Tip of a tulip stamen. Note the grains of pollen The primary purpose of a flower is <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|reproduction]. Since the flowers are the reproductive organs of plant, they mediate the joining of the sperm, contained within pollen, to the ovules — contained in the ovary. Pollination is the movement of pollen from the anthers to the stigma. The joining of the sperm to the ovules is called fertilization. Normally pollen is moved from one plant to another, but many plants are able to self pollinate. The fertilized ovules produce seeds that are the next generation. Sexual reproduction produces genetically unique offspring, allowing for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|adaptation]. Flowers have specific designs which encourages the transfer of pollen from one plant to another of the same species. Many plants are dependent upon external factors for pollination, including: wind and animals, and especially <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|insects]. Even large animals such as birds, bats, and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pygmy possums] can be employed. The period of time during which this process can take place (the flower is fully expanded and functional) is called //anthesis//. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Attraction methods ** === <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Bee orchid] has evolved over many generations to better mimic a female bee to attract male bees as pollinators. Plants cannot move from one location to another, thus many flowers have evolved to attract animals to transfer pollen between individuals in dispersed populations. Flowers that are insect-pollinated are called //entomophilous//; literally "insect-loving" in Greek. They can be highly modified along with the pollinating insects by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|co-evolution]. Flowers commonly have glands called//nectaries// on various parts that attract animals looking for nutritious<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nectar]. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Birds] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bees] have color vision, enabling them to seek out "colorful" flowers. Some flowers have patterns, called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nectar guides], that show pollinators where to look for nectar; they may be visible only under<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ultraviolet] light, which is visible to bees and some other insects. Flowers also attract pollinators by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|scent] and some of those scents are pleasant to our sense of smell. Not all flower scents are appealing to humans, a number of flowers are pollinated by insects that are attracted to rotten flesh and have flowers that smell like dead animals, often called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Carrion flowers] including //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Rafflesia] //, the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|titan arum], and the North American<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pawpaw] (//Asimina triloba//). Flowers pollinated by night visitors, including bats and moths, are likely to concentrate on scent to attract pollinators and most such flowers are white. Still other flowers use mimicry to attract pollinators. Some species of orchids, for example, produce flowers resembling female bees in color, shape, and scent. Male bees move from one such flower to another in search of a mate. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Pollination mechanism ** === The pollination mechanism employed by a plant depends on what method of pollination is utilized. Most flowers can be divided between two broad groups of pollination methods: //Entomophilous//: flowers attract and use insects, bats, birds or other animals to transfer pollen from one flower to the next. Often they are specialized in shape and have an arrangement of the stamens that ensures that pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the pollinator when it lands in search of its attractant (such as nectar, pollen, or a mate). In pursuing this attractant from many flowers of the same species, the pollinator transfers pollen to the stigmas—arranged with equally pointed precision—of all of the flowers it visits. Many flowers rely on simple proximity between flower parts to ensure pollination. Others, such as the //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Sarracenia] // or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|lady-slipper orchids], have elaborate designs to ensure pollination while preventing <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|self-pollination]. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Anthers detached from a Meadow Foxtail flower. <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> A grass flower head (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Meadow Foxtail] ) showing the plain coloured flowers with large anthers. //Anemophilous//: flowers use the wind to move pollen from one flower to the next, examples include the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|grasses], Birch trees, Ragweed and Maples. They have no need to attract pollinators and therefore tend not to be "showy" flowers. Whereas the pollen of entomophilous flowers tends to be large-grained, sticky, and rich in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|protein] (another "reward" for pollinators), anemophilous flower pollen is usually small-grained, very light, and of little nutritional value to<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|insects], though it may still be gathered in times of dearth. Honeybees and bumblebees actively gather anemophilous corn (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|maize] ) pollen, though it is of little value to them. Some flowers are self pollinated and use flowers that never open or are self pollinated before the flowers open, these flowers are called cleistogamous. Many Viola species and some Salvia have these types of flowers. ===<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; color: black; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;">** Flower-pollinator relationships ** === Many flowers have close relationships with one or a few specific pollinating organisms. Many flowers, for example, attract only one specific species of insect, and therefore rely on that insect for successful reproduction. This close relationship is often given as an example of<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|coevolution], as the flower and pollinator are thought to have developed together over a long period of time to match each other's needs. This close relationship compounds the negative effects of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|extinction]. The extinction of either member in such a relationship would mean almost certain extinction of the other member as well. Some <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|endangered plant species] are so because of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|shrinking pollinator populations]. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Fertilization and dispersal ==  //Main article: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|biological dispersal] // <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Cassia Fistula]. A hermaphrodite flower showing both male and female parts. Some flowers with both stamens and a pistil are capable of self-fertilization, which does increase the chance of producing seeds but limits genetic variation. The extreme case of self-fertilization occurs in flowers that always self-fertilize, such as many <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|dandelions]. Conversely, many species of plants have ways of preventing self-fertilization. Unisexual male and female flowers on the same plant may not appear or mature at the same time, or pollen from the same plant may be incapable of fertilizing its ovules. The latter flower types, which have chemical barriers to their own pollen, are referred to as self-sterile or self-incompatible (see also: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Plant sexuality] ). ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Evolution ==  //Further information: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Evolution of flowers] // <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Archaefructus liaoningensis] //, one of the earliest known flowering plants <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|//Amborella trichopoda//], the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sister group] to the rest of the flowering plants While land plants have existed for about 425 million years, the first ones <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|reproduced] by a simple adaptation of their aquatic counterparts: <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|spores]. In the sea, plants—and some animals—can simply scatter out genetic <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|clones] of themselves to float away and grow elsewhere. This is how early plants reproduced. But plants soon evolved methods of protecting these copies to deal with drying out and other abuse which is even more likely on land than in the sea. The protection became the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|seed], though it had not yet evolved the flower. Early seed-bearing plants include the<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ginkgo] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|conifers]. The earliest fossil of a flowering plant, //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Archaefructus liaoningensis] //, is dated about 125 million years old.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[6]] Several groups of extinct gymnosperms, particularly <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|seed ferns], have been proposed as the ancestors of flowering plants but there is no continuous fossil evidence showing exactly how flowers evolved. The apparently sudden appearance of relatively modern flowers in the fossil record posed such a problem for the theory of evolution that it was called an "abominable mystery" by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Charles Darwin]. Recently discovered angiosperm fossils such as//Archaefructus//, along with further discoveries of fossil gymnosperms, suggest how angiosperm characteristics may have been acquired in a series of steps. Recent <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|DNA] analysis (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|molecular systematics] )<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[7]][|[8]] shows that <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|//Amborella trichopoda//], found on the Pacific island of New Caledonia, is the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sister group] to the rest of the flowering plants, and morphological studies<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[9]] suggest that it has features which may have been characteristic of the earliest flowering plants. The general assumption is that the function of flowers, from the start, was to involve animals in the reproduction process. Pollen can be scattered without bright colors and obvious shapes, which would therefore be a liability, using the plant's resources, unless they provide some other benefit. One proposed reason for the sudden, fully developed appearance of flowers is that they evolved in an isolated setting like an island, or chain of islands, where the plants bearing them were able to develop a highly specialized relationship with some specific animal (a wasp, for example), the way many island species develop today. This symbiotic relationship, with a hypothetical wasp bearing pollen from one plant to another much the way <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fig wasps] do today, could have eventually resulted in both the plant(s) and their partners developing a high degree of specialization. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Island genetics] is believed to be a common source of<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|speciation], especially when it comes to radical adaptations which seem to have required inferior transitional forms. Note that the wasp example is not incidental; bees, apparently evolved specifically for symbiotic plant relationships, are descended from wasps. Likewise, most <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fruit] used in plant reproduction comes from the enlargement of parts of the flower. This fruit is frequently a tool which depends upon animals wishing to eat it, and thus scattering the seeds it contains. While many such <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|symbiotic relationships] remain too fragile to survive competition with mainland organisms, flowers proved to be an unusually effective means of production, spreading (whatever their actual origin) to become the dominant form of land plant life. While there is only hard proof of such flowers existing about 130 million years ago, there is some circumstantial evidence that they did exist up to 250 million years ago. A chemical used by plants to defend their flowers, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|oleanane], has been detected in fossil plants that old, including <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|gigantopterids] ,<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[10]] which evolved at that time and bear many of the traits of modern, flowering plants, though they are not known to be flowering plants themselves, because only their stems and prickles have been found preserved in detail; one of the earliest examples of<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|petrification]. The similarity in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|leaf] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stem] structure can be very important, because flowers are genetically just an adaptation of normal leaf and stem components on plants, a combination of genes normally responsible for forming new shoots.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[11]] The most primitive flowers are thought to have had a variable number of flower parts, often separate from (but in contact with) each other. The flowers would have tended to grow in a spiral pattern, to be <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|bisexual] (in plants, this means both male and female parts on the same flower), and to be dominated by the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ovary] (female part). As flowers grew more advanced, some variations developed parts fused together, with a much more specific number and design, and with either specific sexes per flower or plant, or at least "ovary inferior". Flower evolution continues to the present day; modern flowers have been so profoundly influenced by humans that many of them cannot be pollinated in nature. Many modern, domesticated flowers used to be simple weeds, which only sprouted when the ground was disturbed. Some of them tended to grow with human crops, and the prettiest did not get plucked because of their beauty, developing a dependence upon and special adaptation to human affection.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[12]]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|5 Fertilization and dispersal]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|6 Evolution]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|7 Symbolism]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|8 Usage]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|9 See also]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|10 References]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">[|11 External links] ||
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Calyx] //: the outermost whorl consisting of units called //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sepals] //; these are typically green and enclose the rest of the flower in the bud stage, however, they can be absent or prominent and petal-like in some species.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Corolla] //: the next whorl toward the apex, composed of units called //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|petals] //, which are typically thin, soft and colored to attract animals that help the process of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollination].
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Androecium] // (from Greek //andros oikia//: man's house): the next whorl (sometimes multiplied into several whorls), consisting of units called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stamens] . Stamens consist of two parts: a stalk called a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|filament], topped by an <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|anther] where <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen] is produced by meiosis and eventually dispersed.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">//<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Gynoecium] // (from Greek //gynaikos oikia//: woman's house): the innermost whorl of a flower, consisting of one or more units called <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carpels] . The <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carpel] or multiple fused carpels form a hollow structure called an ovary, which produces ovules internally. Ovules are megasporangia and they in turn produce megaspores by meiosis which develop into female gametophytes. These give rise to egg cells. The gynoecium of a flower is also described using an alternative terminology wherein the structure one sees in the innermost whorl (consisting of an ovary, style and stigma) is called a pistil. A pistil may consist of a single carpel or a number of carpels fused together. The sticky tip of the pistil, the stigma, is the receptor of pollen. The supportive stalk, the style, becomes the pathway for <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pollen tubes] to grow from pollen grains adhering to the stigma.

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Symbolism ==
 * <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Liliumbulbiferumflowertop.jpg/220px-Liliumbulbiferumflowertop.jpg height="201" caption="external image 220px-Liliumbulbiferumflowertop.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liliumbulbiferumflowertop.jpg"]] <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png width="15" height="11" caption="external image magnify-clip.png" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liliumbulbiferumflowertop.jpg"]] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Lilies] are often used to denote life or resurrection ||


 * <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Ambrosius_Bosschaert%2C_the_Elder_04.jpg/220px-Ambrosius_Bosschaert%2C_the_Elder_04.jpg height="175" caption="external image 220px-Ambrosius_Bosschaert%2C_the_Elder_04.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrosius_Bosschaert,_the_Elder_04.jpg"]] <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png width="15" height="11" caption="external image magnify-clip.png" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrosius_Bosschaert,_the_Elder_04.jpg"]] Flowers are common subjects of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|still life] paintings, such as this one by <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder]  ||


 * <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 222px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Jade_ornament_with_grape_design.jpg/220px-Jade_ornament_with_grape_design.jpg height="165" caption="external image 220px-Jade_ornament_with_grape_design.jpg" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jade_ornament_with_grape_design.jpg"]] <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;">[[image:http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png width="15" height="11" caption="external image magnify-clip.png" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jade_ornament_with_grape_design.jpg"]] Chinese <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Jade] ornament with flower design, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Jin Dynasty] (1115-1234 AD),<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Shanghai Museum] . ||

Many flowers have important <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|symbolic] meanings in Western culture. The practice of assigning meanings to flowers is known as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|floriography]. Some of the more common examples include: Flowers within art are also representative of the <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|female genitalia], as seen in the works of artists such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Georgia O'Keeffe] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Imogen Cunningham] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Veronica Ruiz de Velasco] , and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Judy Chicago] , and in fact in Asian and western classical art. Many cultures around the world have a marked tendency to associate flowers with <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|femininity]. The great variety of delicate and beautiful flowers has inspired the works of numerous poets, especially from the 18th-19th century <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Romantic] era. Famous examples include <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|William Wordsworth] 's //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud] // and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|William Blake] 's //Ah! Sun-Flower//. Because of their varied and colorful appearance, flowers have long been a favorite subject of visual artists as well. Some of the most celebrated paintings from well-known painters are of flowers, such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Van Gogh] 's <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sunflowers] series or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Monet] 's water lilies. Flowers are also dried, freeze dried and pressed in order to create permanent, three-dimensional pieces of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #ba0000; text-decoration: none;">[|flower art]. The Roman goddess of flowers, gardens, and the season of Spring is <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Flora]. The Greek goddess of spring, flowers and nature is <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Chloris]. In <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hindu] mythology, flowers have a significant status. Vishnu, one of the three major gods in the Hindu system, is often depicted standing straight on a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|lotus] flower.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[13]] Apart from the association with Vishnu, the Hindu tradition also considers the lotus to have spiritual significance.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[14]] For example, it figures in the Hindu stories of creation.<span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|[15]] ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> Usage == <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: #cccccc 1px solid; border-left: #cccccc 1px solid; border-right: #cccccc 1px solid; border-top: #cccccc 1px solid; clear: left; display: block; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; min-width: 100px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; text-align: center; width: 172px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Flower market, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Detroit] 's<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Eastern Market]. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;"> <span style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; display: block; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4em; padding-bottom: 3px !important; padding-left: 3px !important; padding-right: 3px !important; padding-top: 3px !important; text-align: left;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; border-bottom-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; color: #0645ad; display: block; float: right; text-decoration: none;"> Female hand spreading flowers over a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Lingam] temple in<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Varanasi] In modern times, people have sought ways to cultivate, buy, wear, or otherwise be around flowers and blooming plants, partly because of their agreeable appearance and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|smell]. Around the world, people use flowers for a wide range of events and functions that, cumulatively, encompass one's lifetime: People therefore grow flowers around their homes, dedicate entire parts of their living space to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|flower gardens], pick wildflowers, or buy flowers from <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|florists] who depend on an entire network of commercial growers and shippers to support their trade. Flowers provide less food than other major plants parts (<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|seeds], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|fruits] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|roots] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|stems] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|leaves] ) but they provide several important foods and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|spices]. Flower vegetables include <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|broccoli], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cauliflower] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|artichoke]. The most expensive spice, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|saffron], consists of dried stigmas of a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|crocus]. Other flower spices are <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cloves] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|capers]. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hops] flowers are used to flavor <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|beer]. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Marigold] flowers are fed to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|chickens] to give their egg yolks a golden yellow color, which consumers find more desirable. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Dandelion] flowers are often made into wine. Bee <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Pollen], pollen collected from bees, is considered a health food by some people. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Honey] consists of bee-processed flower nectar and is often named for the type of flower, e.g. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|orange] blossom honey, <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|clover] honey and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tupelo] honey. Hundreds of fresh flowers are edible but few are widely marketed as food. They are often used to add color and flavor to salads. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Squash] flowers are dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. Edible flowers include<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|nasturtium], <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|chrysanthemum] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|carnation] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cattail] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|honeysuckle] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|chicory] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|cornflower] , <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Canna] , and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sunflower]. Some edible flowers are sometimes candied such as <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|daisy] and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|rose] (you may also come across a candied <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|pansy] ). Flowers can also be made into <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|herbal teas]. Dried flowers such as chrysanthemum, rose, jasmine, camomile are infused into tea both for their fragrance and medical properties. Sometimes, they are also mixed with <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|tea] leaves for the added fragrance. ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> See also == ==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> References  ==
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">Red <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|roses] are given as a symbol of love, beauty, and passion.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Poppies] are a symbol of consolation in time of death. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate soldiers who have died in times of war.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Irises] /<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Lily] are used in burials as a symbol referring to "resurrection/life". It is also associated with stars (sun) and its petals blooming/shining.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Daisies] are a symbol of innocence.
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">For new births or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Christenings]
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">As a <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|corsage] or <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|boutonniere] to be worn at social functions or for holidays
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">As tokens of love or esteem
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">For wedding flowers for the bridal party, and decorations for the hall
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">As brightening decorations within the home
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">As a gift of remembrance for bon voyage parties, welcome home parties, and "thinking of you" gifts
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">For <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|funeral] flowers and expressions of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|sympathy] for the grieving
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">For worshiping goddesses. in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Hindu] culture it is very common to bring flowers as a gift to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|temples].
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Gardening]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Garden]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|List of garden plants]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Plant evolutionary developmental biology]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Plant sexuality]
 * <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Sowing]


 * 1) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Reynolds, Joan; Tampion, John (1983). //Double flowers: a scientific study//. London: [Published for the] Polytechnic of Central London Press [by] Pembridge Press. p. 41. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|ISBN] [|978-0-86206-004-6].
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Eames, A. J. (1961) Morphology of the Angiosperms McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
 * 3) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Ausín, I., //et al.// (2005). "Environmental regulation of flowering". //Int J Dev Biol// **49** (5-6): 689–705. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|10.1387/ijdb.052022ia] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|16096975].
 * 4) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Turck, F., Fornara, F., Coupland, G. (2008). "Regulation and Identity of Florigen: FLOWERING LOCUS T Moves Centre Stage".//Annual Review of Plant Biology// **59**: 573–594.<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092755] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|18444908].
 * 5) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** Searle, I., //et al.// (2006). <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"The transcription factor FLC confers a flowering response to vernalization by repressing meristem competence and systemic signaling in Arabidopsis"] . //Genes & Dev.// **20** (7): 898–912. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|10.1101/gad.373506] .<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMC] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|1472290] . <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|PMID] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|16600915].
 * 6) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Flowers Modern & Ancient"] . Pbs.org . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 7) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"First Flower"] . Pbs.org. 2007-04-17 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 8) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Amborella not a "basal angiosperm"? Not so fast"] . Amjbot.org. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|doi] :<span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|10.3732/ajb.91.6.997] . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 9) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"South Pacific plant may be missing link in evolution of flowering plants"] . Eurekalert.org. 2006-05-17 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 10) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Oily Fossils Provide Clues To The Evolution Of Flowers"] . Sciencedaily.com. 2001-04-05 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 11) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Age-Old Question On Evolution Of Flowers Answered"] . Unisci.com. 2001-06-15 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 12) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Human Affection Altered Evolution of Flowers"] . Livescience.com . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 13) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"Vishnu"] . Bbc.co.uk. 2009-08-24 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 14) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"God's Favorite Flower"] . Hinduism Today . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
 * 15) <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|^] ** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|"The Lotus"] . Theosociety.org . Retrieved 2010-08-30.

==<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom: #aaaaaa 1px solid; color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0.17em; padding-top: 0.5em; width: auto;"> External links ==
 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;">Esau, Katherine (1965) //Plant Anatomy// (2nd ed.) John Wiley & Sons, New York.
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Wikiquote-logo-en.svg/40px-Wikiquote-logo-en.svg.png width="40" height="40" caption="external image 40px-Wikiquote-logo-en.svg.png"]] ||  || <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;">[|Wikiquote] has a collection of quotations related to: //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Flowers] **// ||

|| || Look up //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|flower] **// in <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none;">[|Wiktionary], the free dictionary. ||
 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg/37px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png width="37" height="40" caption="external image 37px-Wiktionary-logo-en.svg.png"]]


 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png width="30" height="40" caption="external image 30px-Commons-logo.svg.png"]] ||  || Wikimedia Commons has media related to: //**<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|flowers] **// ||


 * <span style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; url: image/png;"> [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png width="12" height="16" caption="external image 12px-Commons-logo.svg.png"]] Media related to <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[|Flowers] at <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;">[|Wikimedia Commons]
 * <span style="background-position: 100% 50%; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Native Plant Information Network]
 * <span style="background-position: 100% 50%; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Garden Guide UK - Information on Flowers and Colours]
 * <span style="background-position: 100% 50%; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #3366bb; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; url: image/png;">[|Israeli researchers bring scent back to our flowers [VIDEO]]
 * ||  ||||||~ [<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|hide] ]   <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|v] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|d] <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 11px;">**·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; color: #3366bb; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px !important; text-decoration: none; url: image/png; white-space: nowrap;">[|e]    <span style="background-image: none; backgroundclip: initial; backgroundorigin: initial; color: #0645ad; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Botany] ||

||

|| <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">|| || ||
 * > **Subdisciplines of botany** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Ethnobotany] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Paleobotany] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant anatomy] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant ecology] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant evo-devo] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant morphology] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant physiology]  ||
 * 1859-Martinique.web.jpg ||



||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Evolutionary history of plants] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Algae] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Bryophyte] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Pteridophyte] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Gymnosperm] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Angiosperm] ||
 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plants] ** ||

||

||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;">** Flower ** **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Fruit] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Leaf] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Meristem] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Root] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Stem] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Stoma] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Vascular tissue] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Wood] ||
 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant parts] ** ||

||

||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Cell wall] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Chlorophyll] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Chloroplast] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Photosynthesis] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant hormone] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plastid] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Transpiration] ||
 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant cells] ** ||

||

||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Alternation of generations] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Gametophyte] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant sexuality] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Pollen] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Pollination] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Seed] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Spore] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Sporophyte] ||
 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant reproduction] ** ||

||

||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Botanical name] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Botanical nomenclature] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Herbarium] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|IAPT] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|ICBN] **·** //<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Species Plantarum] // ||
 * > **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Plant taxonomy] ** ||

||


 * > **Glossaries** ||  ||< <span style="display: block; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0.25em; padding-right: 0.25em; padding-top: 0em;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Glossary of botanical terms] **·** <span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Glossary of plant morphology terms]  ||

||

|| ||
 * = **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Category] ** **·** **<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[|Portal] ** ||

[]

=<span style="border-bottom: #999999 1px dashed; clear: both; color: #a1be53; display: block; font-family: Tahoma; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 15px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">[|FLOWERS] = <span style="margin: 5px 0px 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A flower is a part of a plant that forms pollen or seeds or both. Only seed-bearing plants have true flowers. Other plants like the algae, fungi, and mosses have none. And, only those parts of a plant which have to do with the forming of seeds are parts of the flower. The bright colors, sweet smell, and nectar are necessary to attract insects. The insects are needed to help the flower make seeds that will grow into a new plant. A person, who thinks of a flower simply as something brightly colored which grows on a plant, may be led far astray. The brilliant scarlet poinsettia blossoms which one sees at Christmas are not true flowers, but simply brilliantly colored leaves which surround the small and dull flowers at the tip of the cluster. Similarly, the large creamy “petals” of the lovely dogwood “blossoms” that bloom in spring are not petals at all but simply brightly colored bracts surrounding the small inconspicuous flowers. In the callas that are used so much at Easter, the great white sheath is not a single flower but a bract or leaf which surrounds and protects a club-shaped mass on which many small flowers are tightly crowded together. Thus, many of the bright, showy parts of plants which are commonly called “flowers” are not true flowers in the strict sense. On the other hand, there are many true flowers which are seldom noticed at all, or if they are, not considered as flowers. For example, the bearded tufts at the tips of grasses, the heads of cattails, the unripe ears of corn and the small tassels that somewhat resemble certain caterpillars and hang from birches and alders early in spring, are all clusters” of real flowers. The flower is a branch with very special kinds of leaves. The outermost ones are called sepals. They are usually green; sometimes they are separate one from another, sometimes they are not separate and form a cup. When the flower buds are small, they serve as a protective covering. All together, they are known as the calyx. Next inside the sepals are the petals, known all together as the corolla. The petals may be separate from one another, as in the buttercup, or they may be partially united, as in the tomato, or form a broad flaring trumpet, as in the petunia. Petals are the brightest parts of most flowers. The most important parts, however, are not the brightly colored petals, but the pistils and stamens. Many flowers contain both—the pistil or pistils in the center, surrounded by the stamens. Pistils are often greenish in color. In an enlarged part at the lower end of the pistil (the ovary) are the ovules. In the sweet pea the ovary is long and hairy; in it are ten or more ovules arranged in two rows. Each ovule may grow into a seed. The most important part of an ovule is a tiny egg cell, which can be seen only under a microscope. From this egg cell a new plant may grow. Some plants have more stamens than others. Each stamen is made of a pollen sac (anther) at the end of a stalk (filament). Before they are ripe they are smooth. Later they open by slits or tiny holes and release the pollen, which they contain as a fine dust, usually yellow. These pollen grains are just as important as the ovules in the production of seed. They produce the sperm cells which unite with the egg cells in the ovules. After a sperm cell has united with an egg cell, the product is called an embryo. From this embryo the new plant will grow. But before an embryo can be formed, the pollen grains must be transferred from the anthers to the pistil, and eventually to the egg. This transfer of pollen is called pollination. [] =<span style="border-bottom: #999999 1px dashed; clear: both; color: #a1be53; display: block; font-family: Tahoma; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin: 15px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">[|TYPES OF FLOWERS] =

|| ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Petunia] __ ** || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Heliotrope] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Pitcher plant] __ ** || || || || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Rose] __ ** || || || || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Mistletoe] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Tuberose] __ ** || || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Violet] __ ** || || N ||  || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Water Lily] __ ** || || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Orchid] __ ** || || || __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|**Yucca**] __ || || || || Z || || __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|**Zinnia**] __ || || || ||
 * A || G || P ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Acacia] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Gardenia] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Poinsettia] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Ageratum] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Gentian] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Poppy] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Amarylis] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Geranium] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Protea] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Anemone] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Ginger] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Pussy willow] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Annual] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Ginseng] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Passionflower] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Anthurium] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Gladiolus] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Peony] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Arbutus] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Goldenrod] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Periwinkle] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Artichoke] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Asparagus] __ ** || H || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Phlox] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Aster] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Heath] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Pink] __ ** ||
 * B || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Hollyhock] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Plantain] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Baby’s-breath] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Honeysuckle] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Bachelor’s-button] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Hyacinth] __ ** || Q ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Belladonna] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Hydrangea] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Queen Anne’s Lace] __ ** ||
 * __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|**Bindweed**] __ ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Blazing star] __ ** || I || R ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Bougainvillea] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Iris] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Rhododendron] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Broom] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Buckwheat] __ ** || J || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Rose of Sharon] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Bugbane] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Jack-in-the-pulpit] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Bulb] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Jasmine] __ ** || S ||
 * || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Jonquil] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Safflower] __ ** ||
 * C ||  || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Saint-John’s-wort] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Calla] __ ** || L || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Snakeroot] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Candytuft] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lady’s-slipper] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Snapdragon] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Canna] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Larkspur] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Snowball] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Canterbury bell] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lavender] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Sorrel] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Caper] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Licorice] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Spiraea] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Carnation] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lilac] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Spring-beauty] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Carnivorous plants] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lily] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Star-of-Bethlehem] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Cashew] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lily Of The Valley] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Static electricity] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Catkin] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lime] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Strawflowers] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Chrysanthemum] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Loosestrife] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Sunflower] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Coreopsis] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Lotus] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Sweet Pea] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Cowslip] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Crocus] __ ** || M || T ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Cumin] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Mignonette] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Thistle] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Cyclamen] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Mint] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Trillium] __ ** ||
 * D || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Moonflower] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Tulip] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Daffodil] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Morning Glory] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Dahlia] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Mullein] __ ** || V ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Daisy] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Mustard] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Verbena] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Dandelion] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Myrtle] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Viburnum] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Day Lily or Hemerocallis] __ ** ||
 * E || __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|**Narcissus**] __ || W ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Easter lily] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Eucalyptus] __ ** || O || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Wild carrot] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Everlasting] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Oleander] __ ** || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Wistaria] __ ** ||
 * F || ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Oxalis] __ ** || Y ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Fennel] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Flax] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Flowering maple] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Forget-Me-Not] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Forsythia] __ ** ||
 * ** __<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Foxglove] __ ** ||

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