Pollination refers to the transfer of pollen granules from flower to flower. It's a delicate process that plants rely on to reproduce, and bees and other insects play a crucial role as pollen transporters.

As an enticement to bees, plants secrete nectar, a sweet substance bees use as food. As the worker bee makes her way from plant to plant, pollen accumulates on her body and in special "baskets" on her legs. The pollen then rubs off as she flits from flower to flower. Workers also bring pollen back to the colony where it is used as food.

As a result of pollination, the plant produces seeds, which then turn into fruits, vegetables, nuts, or flowers. Without insect pollination, about one-third of all of our food would not exist.

• Approximately 90 crops are dependent on insect pollination. Bees are responsible for about 80% to 90% of this activity, making them nature's most important pollinator. Here's a list of some of the crops pollinated by bees from the University of Delaware.
• The value of major US crops dependent on pollination is about $14.6 billion today, up from $9.3 billion in 1989. What is the percent increase in the value of insect-pollinated crops from 1989 to today?
• Bees for hire: Read how a creative Colorado bee farmer keeps his bees busy in "Colorado honey maker also offers pollination services," an article from the Environmental News Network.
• Vanishing Pollinators is a Smithsonian National Zoo exhibit that has toured the country. You can look at the exhibit's photographs online, which "portray the beauty and grace of flowering plants and their threatened insect pollinators."
• Urban development and increased use of pesticides have taken their toll on the honeybee and other pollinators. Read this CNN article about how the decline in the honeybee population affects the world's food supply. You can also visit the Oxford Bee Company, which is trying to increase bee populations in England.
• Read "What You Can Do About the Pollination Crisis" from the National Wildlife Federation.

The Social Buzz
Between 4,000 and 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, and functions much like a well-run factory, with various bees being assigned different jobs.

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.
• During mating flights, the queen mates with up to 17 drones (male bees). 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. How many eggs might she produce in her lifetime?

Worker bees are underdeveloped females that comprise about 85% of the colony. Workers have stingers but don't sting unless provoked or threatened. Worker bees live about one month.

• Young workers act as "maids" to the queen, cleaning the cells of the hive, and nursing the young larvae.
• Middle-aged workers build and repair the comb, store nectar, and maintain the temperature (92-93 °F) inside the hive.
• Older workers search for nectar and make the enzymes necessary to convert it to honey.

The sole purpose of the drones is to mate with the queen. They are stingerless, pampered (they are assisted out of their cells at birth), and spoiled (they don't do any work around the hive). But a drone's life isn't all that easy. They are usually forced from the colony when food runs low or when cold weather approaches. And those who mate with the queen pay with their lives.

• Tales from the HIVE is the online companion to the PBS NOVA program that was broadcast in 2000. With this companion Web site, you can take a look inside a beehive.
• Read the fascinating story of a Boston attorney who became captivated by bees — he now keeps 300,000 of them — in the recent Boston Globe story, "Honey of a Hobby."

Bee-ware
The most common honeybee in America is the European honeybee (EHB), a relatively harmless species that has flourished in North America since its introduction during Colonial times. But not all bees are known for their docile behavior.

"Killer" bees, or Africanized honeybees (AHB), were first sighted in the United States in Texas in 1990, but have since migrated to New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada. The AHB looks very similar to the EHB, but their behavior sets them apart. Africanized bees:

• nest in unusual places including utility boxes, abandoned cars, or on porches
• appear sensitive to vibrations and noise
• respond to danger in greater numbers
• go after potential intruders for greater distances

• "These boogers, they just swarm you, they're very aggressive," says Texan beekeeper Andre Clowers of African honeybees. Read about the problem with the AHB in Texas in "Africanized Bees Continue Onslaught," an article from last week's Washington Post.
• Read "Battle of the Bees," an ABC News article that describes how mild-mannered honeybees sometimes outwit killer bees.
• Read the articles "Killer bees hit L.A." from CNN.com and "Elderly woman is stung more than 500 times by killer bees" from The Augusta Chronicle.
• What should you do if you get stung by a bee? Find out in our pop-up guide.
• For your teacher: The University of Arizona's Africanized Honeybee Education Project has excellent lesson plans on the AHB for all grades.