Approximately 90 crops are dependent on insect pollination. Read this CNN article about how the decline in the honeybee population affects the world's food supply. The Social Buzz Between 4,000 to 5,000 species of bees exist in the United States. Most are solitary, but some of the more familiar species, such as the bumblebee or honeybee, live in colonies. A large colony numbers between 20,000 to 80,000 bees.
Bees living in colonies function much like a well-run factory.
Each colony has one queen, a mature female who is responsible for laying eggs and repopulating the colony. Bees choose the queen from developing larvae and feed her a special sugar-rich substance called royal jelly that helps her attain her larger size. From these matings, she has enough sperm to last her entire lifetime, and she does not mate again. The queen lays up to 1,500 eggs per day and may live as long as three years. Bees communicate with one another very effectively.