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Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea. They are currently considered a clade, called Anthophila. There are over 20,000 known species of bees in seven recognized biological families. Some species – including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees – live socially in colonies while most species (>90%) – including mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees – are solitary.

Bees are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants. The most common bees in the Northern Hemisphere are the Halictidae, or sweat bees, but they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies. Bees range in size from tiny stingless bee species, whose workers are less than 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long, to the leafcutter bee Megachile pluto, the largest species of bee, whose females can attain a length of 39 millimetres (1.54 in).

Bees feed on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for their larvae. Vertebrate predators of bees include primates and birds such as bee-eaters; insect predators include beewolves and dragonflies.

Bee pollination is important both ecologically and commercially, and the decline in wild bees has increased the value of pollination by commercially managed hives of honey bees. The analysis of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species across Britain from 1980 to 2013 found the insects have been lost from a quarter of the places they inhabited in 1980.

Human beekeeping or apiculture (meliponiculture for stingless bees) has been practised for millennia, since at least the times of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Bees have appeared in mythology and folklore, through all phases of art and literature from ancient times to the present day, although primarily focused in the Northern Hemisphere where beekeeping is far more common. In Mesoamerica, the Mayans have practiced large-scale intensive meliponiculture since pre-Columbian times

Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. Eusociality appears to have originated from at least three independent origins in halictid bees. The most advanced of these are species with eusocial colonies; these are characterised by cooperative brood care and a division of labour into reproductive and non-reproductive adults, plus overlapping generations. This division of labour creates specialized groups within eusocial societies which are called castes. In some species, groups of cohabiting females may be sisters, and if there is a division of labour within the group, they are considered semisocial. The group is called eusocial if, in addition, the group consists of a mother (the queen) and her daughters (workers). When the castes are purely behavioural alternatives, with no morphological differentiation other than size, the system is considered primitively eusocial, as in many paper wasps; when the castes are morphologically discrete, the system is considered highly eusocial.

True honey bees (genus Apis, of which eight species are currently recognized) are highly eusocial, and are among the best known insects. Their colonies are established by swarms, consisting of a queen and several thousand workers. Africanized bees are a hybrid strain of A. mellifera that escaped from experiments involving crossing European and African subspecies; they are extremely defensive.

Many bumblebees are eusocial, similar to the eusocial Vespidae such as hornets in that the queen initiates a nest on her own rather than by swarming.

Most other bees, including familiar insects such as carpenter bees, leafcutter bees and mason bees are solitary in the sense that every female is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. There is no division of labor so these nests lack queens and worker bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor beeswax. Bees collect pollen to feed their young, and have the necessary adaptations to do this. Solitary bees are important pollinators; they gather pollen to provision their nests with food for their brood. Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistency.

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[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 23 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

New Megathread nerds!

og-hex-bear

remember nerds, if you want to be in the nerd call you can always ask

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No current struggle session discussion here on the new general megathread, i will ban you from the comm and remove your comment, have a good day/night :meow-coffee:

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[-] BigBoyKarlLiebknecht@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago

Diane Abbott’s description of dating Jez is amazing, he’s one of us:

In the summer of 1979 we went on a camping holiday in the south of France. We travelled by motorbike and, Jeremy being Jeremy, it was a socialist motorbike, an East German model. It broke down regularly on our trip south, which I found rather irritating, but lovingly repairing his motorbike by the side of the road was Jeremy’s happy place. When we reached the campsite I perked up. As well as enjoying the French countryside, I was looking forward to some delicious Gallic cuisine. I was horrified when Jeremy unpacked his motorbike saddlebags to reveal a week’s supply of instant macaroni and other processed foods.

Around that time I began to realise that, realistically, ours was not a match made in heaven. We were too different. I had a range of interests and enjoyed reading and the theatre, but Jeremy was 99% absorbed in party politics. The only other thing I remember him spending time on was growing vegetables in his back garden. Once, after I lamented our lack of social activity as a couple, he pondered it for a few days and told me we were going out. Feeling excited, I dressed up nicely and we bundled into the car. I had no idea where we were going – perhaps a nice wine bar? It turned out Jeremy’s idea of a social outing was to drive me to Highgate cemetery and proudly show me the tomb of Karl Marx.

[-] Commiejones@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago

waow-based

The only other thing I remember him spending time on was growing vegetables in his back garden

just like me fr fr

[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

he sounds adorable but also like someone i absolutely would also not enjoy dating lmao

[-] MF_COOM@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

Lmao that's great che-smile

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[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago

any1 fw a straight-w/-bi-vibes white boy w/ a gentle spirit and a slightly spooky and haunted aesthetic? who feels loss quite acutely & has a bit of venom & righteous anger mixed up w/ the delicate nature of their soul?

anybody...? doomer

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[-] DragonBallZinn@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The reason progressivism never took root in the gaming community is because gamers see themselves not as exploited nerds, but as temporarily embarrassed jocks.

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[-] novibe@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Bees are one of the only animals we observed to understand the concept of 0. They can do algebra. They can communicate complex ideas to each other, like the relative position of the sun accounting for the passage of time.

And for silly facts, carpenter bees don’t have stingers. They live in procreating pairs. The males usually defend the nest. But without stingers, what can they do? Well they fly around their nest and “bump” their heads into threats. Over and over. Until the threat leaves, feeling threatened by the little bee.

If you’ve never gotten a little bumblebee headbutt, you feel really special. Like “wow little guy, thanks for saying I’m big and scary”.

Bees are cool. Some might say they are the bees knees even!

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[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago

The Kamala campaign seems to be revealing something troubling about the belief that party leadership has: Biden was too far to the left. I feel like their shared shitty stance on Gaza has detracted from the fact that she's seemingly to the right of Biden on everything. I guess he's the next FDR not in policy but in the sense that he's handing off the torch to a reactionary turn of his party.

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[-] AmericaDelendaEst@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago

be me

proletarian dictatorship supervisor

in charge of making sure the proletarian dictatorship is, in fact, proletarian

occasionally have to go down there and check if the proletarian dictatorship is still proletarian

one day i go down there and the proletarian dictatorship is no longer proletarian

the dictatorship of the proletarian dictatorship is now just a regular dictatorship

distress.jpg

ask my boss what to do

he says “just make it proletarian again”

i say “how”

he says “i don’t know, you’re the supervisor”

rage.jpg

quit my job

become a regular dictatorship supervisor

first day on the job, go to the new dictatorship

its proletarian

[-] peppersky@hexbear.net 17 points 1 month ago

Someone or something took all of my dopamine and ran away with it. Please come back I need this stuff

[-] Wertheimer@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

It's dopa-mine, not dopa-yours.

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[-] Grownbravy@hexbear.net 17 points 1 month ago

i think it benefits communists to get into Monster Trucks. Dont ask me how it'll work, I just know it.

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[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 17 points 1 month ago

Normalize saying 'this is what Actually Existing Socialism looks like' before sending nudes

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[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My addiction is any youtube short that is like "5 things you notice as a foreigner living in Japan". It's always white people seething that the locals hate them, but doing it while maintaining their reverence for Japan and the positive influencer tone. Perfect content, always unintentionally hilarious.

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[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago
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[-] viva_la_juche@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago
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[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Im watching tiktok and i keep getting videos about the consequenses for the people thay did the chase bank money glitch, like how they will never have a credit card again, wont be able to find places to rent or get a job, or pay utilities, and i keep thinking

Isnt this like how people describe china's social credit?? But its done by private corps instead of the goverment. Just a thought i got.

Also this whole thing reminds me of that 4chan story of getting people to make homemade mustard gas

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[-] LocalOaf@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

I have once again touched grass, please clap

Had a nice walk in the woods, saw an eagle but couldn't get a pic before it flew off

alcohol cessation, drugs/legal herbal supplements, mental healthBeen real agitated and antsy lately and think I might have a hypomanic episode

Been sober for a month about and feel like I've turned a corner in staying dry for the foreseeable future, something clicked mentally and even when I get the urge to drink, the feeling of disgust of contempt with myself strongly outweighs wanting to get fucked up

Have some shitty family stuff going on and have been really stressed and frustrated about it and really irritable and needed something to mellow me out a bit and don't react well to weed, so I gave kratom a shot again for the first time in years

Had an iffy experience with it in the past of it just making me kind of nauseous and a little loopy, but the blend I got today is really nice

Got a nice body high and relaxed mood and feel like a good amount of the ambient muscle tension I have and back pain are dulled and relaxed and I still feel mentally like I'm completely on top of my faculties instead of anxious or fuzzy headed, this might be how NT people feel normally?

Idk I know kratom can be addictive for some people and you can develop a tolerance, but considering how bad my drinking could get I feel like this is a massive improvement, this shit kinda rocks rn

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[-] ghosts@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

The difference between the $1 tin and the $1.50 tin of sardines is outrageous. No wonder I didn't like sardines LMAO

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[-] Cowbee@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

To continue my theory grind, I love how Lenin absolutely hates Kautsky, and brings him up all the time to shit on him. Lenin is such a petty debatelord, it's great back-to-me-shining

[-] stigsbandit34z@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

Actually really fascinating to me (and makes me even more of a godless commie) how a lot of the athletes today are just the children of athletes who thrived, became extremely wealthy and were able to get their children the best training possible

Generational wealth is a scourge on the planet.

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[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Cut my work coffee consumption in half and found a way to keep eating at work even if it's too busy to blast a quick meal. Instead of coffee I'm drinking fucking SOUP. Gonna bring a big mug in tomorrow and fill er up, keep it under a heat lamp and be the cook who is eating soup all shift

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[-] viva_la_juche@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I know this is kinda a pro musk thing but lol

[-] FuckyWucky@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

She used fake passports in Communist Brasil lula-bars

[-] Yeat@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago

Correct me if I’m wrong but am I to understand that conservatives think Harris is some communist for pushing Reagan’s capital gains tax policy?

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[-] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

TWO little dogs in my house right now and NO ONE greeted me when I came home from work walter-breakdown cri

[-] Mindfury@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago
[-] CrispyFern@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

Yeah, they just ~~hate me~~ were asleep and woke up to greet me when I began cooking dinner

[-] Cowbee@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

Love you all, thanks for welcoming me and making a space that's welcoming for people like me! heart-sickle

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[-] blight@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

this is one of the most dialectical images of all time

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[-] Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago

Sometimes I wonder if the ruling class is ruining the internet on purpose.

[-] Mindfury@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

legitimately feel like the latest 'lib wandering in to brainlessly post about ukraine before running off to complain about us to the lemmitors' event was a great bonding moment for the website

seeing some good posting in good spirits made me feel nice inside

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[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

not my public servant ass working on a Saturday disgost couldn't be me, i am chilling at home enjoying my weekend sicko-wistful

[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

my empty shell do be shedding me, it's tru torment

[-] LocalOaf@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

These adorable little buttheads won't let me get up to go pee ooooooooooooooh

Send help pls

[-] ashinadash@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

Putting all my obnoxious hot takes in the mega

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[-] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

What I want: cook something nice that I can pick away at for five days, with a few other people having a meal or two.

What I get: if it's nice, it disappears instantly. If it's mid, I get bored of it very quickly and no one else eats any. I still wind up doing the dishes.

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[-] Cowbee@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

Been grinding through theory lately, I fear my hair will start thinning soon lenin-rage

[-] GVAGUY3@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

I still have no courage to do an evil playthrough in any game

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[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

oh hey visceral reminder of my inevitable death and gut punch awareness of the fragility of this physical vessel for my consciousness that i call Myself, how's it going buddy long time no see sicko-wholesome

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[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
[-] Commiejones@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

Its sounds like he is saying he will murder every Jewish person who doesn't live on the reservation.

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[-] BigNerd@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago

Trying my best not to read posts about lonely people, don't wanna go into echo chamber spirals but hard not to everyone I know by now has found someone.

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[-] AmericaDeserved711@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

listening to what sounded like a street race that turned into a high speed police chase. hope these dipshits don't get anyone killed

[-] ComradeSpahija@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

Yesterday I took three trains. On the one hand, TRAINS!!!!! aubrey-happy On the other hand, I was in and out of trains for 12 HOURS desolate

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this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2024
76 points (98.7% liked)

earth

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Socialism is the only path out of the global ecological crisis.

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