parent_taxon anthophora
Carpenter bees are species in the genus Xylocopa of the subfamily ___MASK71___ . The genus includes some 500 species in 31 subgenera . Members of the related tribe Ceratinini sometimes are called " small carpenter bees ". The common name " carpenter bee " derives from their nesting behavior ; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo . The main exceptions are species in the subgenus " Proxylocopa "; they dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil . A wasp is any insect of the order ___MASK76___ and suborder ___MASK26___ that is neither a bee nor an ant . The ___MASK26___ have a common evolutionary ancestor and form a clade ; wasps as a group do not form a clade , but are paraphyletic with respect to bees and ants . The ___MASK1___ are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae . Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees , although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini . It has over 750 species worldwide that were previously classified in the family Anthophoridae ; the vast majority of species are in the genera " Amegilla " and " Anthophora ". Mexico (, modern Nahuatl ), officially the United Mexican States , is a federal republic in the southern half of North America . It is bordered to the north by the United States ; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean ; to the southeast by Guatemala , Belize , and the Caribbean Sea ; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico . Covering almost two million square kilometers ( over 760 , 000 sq mi ), Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total ___MASK14___ and the 13th largest independent nation in the world . With an estimated population of over 120 million , it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish - speaking country in the world while being the second most populous country in Latin America . Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city . Other metropolises include Guadalajara , Monterrey , Puebla , Toluca , Tijuana and León . ___MASK17___ ( from Latin ', a calque of Greek ['], " cut into sections ") are a class of invertebrates within the arthropod phylum that have a chitinous exoskeleton , a three - part body ( head , ___MASK77___ and abdomen ), three pairs of jointed legs , compound eyes and one pair of antennae . They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet , including more than a million described species and representing more than half of all known living organisms . The number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million , and potentially represent over 90 % of the differing animal life forms on Earth . ___MASK17___ may be found in nearly all environments , although only a small number of species reside in the oceans , a habitat dominated by another arthropod group , crustaceans . Ants are eusocial ___MASK17___ of the family Formicidae and , along with the related wasps and bees , belong to the order Hymenoptera . Ants evolved from wasp - like ancestors in the Cretaceous period , about 99 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants . More than 12 , 500 of an estimated total of 22 , 000 species have been classified . They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node - like structure that forms their slender waists . The flowering plants ( ___MASK93___ ), also known as Angiospermae or ___MASK3___ , are the most diverse group of land plants , with 416 families , approx . 13 , 164 known genera and a total of c . 295 , 383 known species . Like gymnosperms , ___MASK93___ are seed - producing plants ; they are distinguished from gymnosperms by characteristics including flowers , endosperm within the seeds , and the production of fruits that contain the seeds . Etymologically , angiosperm means a ___MASK39___ that produces seeds within an enclosure , in other words , a fruiting ___MASK39___ . The term " angiosperm " comes from the Greek composite word (" angeion ", " case " or " casing ", and " sperma ", " seed ") meaning " enclosed seeds ", after the enclosed condition of the seeds . A bumblebee ( also written bumble bee ) is a member of the genus ___MASK5___ , part of Apidae , one of the bee families . This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini , though a few extinct related genera ( e . g ., " Calyptapis ") are known from fossils . Over 250 species of bumblebee are known . They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere , although they are also found in South America where a few lowland tropical species have been identified . European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania . The brood parasitic or cuckoo bumblebees have sometimes been classified as a subgenus or genus , " Psithyrus ", but are now usually treated as members of " ___MASK5___ ". Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred to the female reproductive organs of a ___MASK39___ , thereby enabling fertilization to take place . Like all living organisms , seed plants have a single major goal : to pass their genetic information on to the next generation . The reproductive unit is the seed , and pollination is an essential step in the production of seeds in all spermatophytes ( seed plants ). A crop is any cultivated ___MASK39___ , fungus , or alga that is harvested for food , clothing , livestock , fodder , biofuel , medicine , or other uses . In contrast , animals that are raised by humans are called livestock , except those that are kept as pets . Microbes , such as bacteria or viruses , are referred to as cultures . Microbes are not typically grown for food , but are rather used to alter food . For example , bacteria are used to ferment milk to produce yogurt . ___MASK92___ is a large genus of bees in the tribe ___MASK1___ . Several species have blue metallic bands on the abdomen , and are referred to as " blue - banded bees ". A pollinator is an ___MASK24___ that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female ___MASK35___ of a flower . This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains . A ___MASK87___ ( or honeybee ) is any bee member of the genus Apis , primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial , colonial nests from wax . Currently , only seven species of ___MASK87___ are recognized , with a total of 44 subspecies , though historically , from six to eleven species have been recognized . The best known ___MASK87___ is the Western ___MASK87___ which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination . Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20 , 000 known species of bees . Some other types of related bees produce and store honey , including the stingless honey bees , but only members of the genus " Apis " are true honey bees . The study of bees including honey bees is known as melittology . Stingless bees , sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines , are a large group of bees ( about 500 species ), comprising the tribe ___MASK88___ ( or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors ). They belong in the family Apidae , and are closely related to common honey bees , carpenter bees , orchid bees , and bumblebees . Meliponines have stingers , but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense . Meliponines are not the only type of " stingless " bee ; all male bees and many female bees of several other families , such as ___MASK36___ , also cannot sting . Bees are flying ___MASK17___ closely related to wasps and ants , known for their role in pollination and , in the case of the best - known bee species , the European ___MASK87___ , for producing honey and beeswax . Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily ___MASK41___ , presently considered as a clade Anthophila . There are nearly 20 , 000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families , though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher . They are found on every continent except Antarctica , in every habitat on the planet that contains insect - pollinated flowering plants . The superfamily ___MASK41___ is a major group within the Hymenoptera , which includes two traditionally recognized lineages , the " sphecoid " wasps , and the bees . Molecular phylogeny demonstrates that the bees arose from within the Crabronidae , so that grouping is paraphyletic . The bee genus ___MASK83___ is one of the largest in the family Apidae , with over 450 species worldwide in 14 different subgenera . They are most abundant and diverse in the Holarctic and African biogeographic regions . All species are solitary , though many nest in large aggregations . Nearly all species make nests in the soil , either in banks or in flat ground ; the larvae develop in cells with waterproof linings and do not spin cocoons . Males commonly have pale white or yellow facial markings , and / or peculiarly modified leg armature and hairs . ___MASK83___ individuals can be distinguished from the very similar genus ___MASK92___ by the possession of an arolium between the tarsal claws . Species include : ___MASK83___ curta ___MASK83___ dispar ___MASK83___ edwardsii ___MASK83___ urbana ___MASK83___ furcata ___MASK83___ plumipes Honey is a sugary food substance produced and stored by certain social hymenopteran ___MASK17___ . It is produced from the sugary secretions of plants or ___MASK17___ , such as floral nectar or ___MASK89___ honeydew , through regurgitation , enzymatic activity , and water evaporation . The variety of honey produced by honey bees ( the genus " Apis ") is the most well - known , due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption . Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose , and has about the same relative sweetness as granulated sugar . It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor that leads some people to prefer it to sugar and other sweeteners . Most microorganisms do not grow in honey , so sealed honey does not spoil , even after thousands of years . However , honey sometimes contains dormant endospores of the bacterium " Clostridium botulinum ", which can be dangerous to babies , as it may result in botulism . People who have a weakened immune system should not eat honey because of the risk of bacterial or fungal infection . Although some evidence indicates honey may be effective in treating diseases and other medical conditions , such as wounds and burns , the overall evidence for its use in therapy is not conclusive . Providing 64 calories in a typical serving of one tablespoon ( 15 ml ) equivalent to 1272 kj per 100 g , honey has no significant nutritional value . Honey is generally safe , but may have various , potential adverse effects or interactions with excessive consumption , existing disease conditions , or drugs . Honey use and production have a long and varied history as an ancient activity , depicted in ___MASK7___ , Spain by a cave painting of humans foraging for honey at least 8 , 000 years ago . A habitat is an ecological or environmental ___MASK14___ that is inhabited by a particular species of animal , ___MASK39___ , or other type of organism . The term typically refers to the zone in which the organism lives and where it can find food , shelter , protection and mates for reproduction . It is the natural environment in which an organism lives , or the physical environment that surrounds a species population . The Holarctic is the name for the biogeographic realm that encompasses the majority of habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world , combining Wallace ' s Palearctic zoogeographical region , consisting of North Africa and all of Eurasia ( with the exception of the southern Arabian Peninsula , Southeast Asia , and the Indian subcontinent ), and the Nearctic zoogeographical region , consisting of North America north of Southern Mexico . These regions are further subdivided into a variety of ecoregions . Many ecosystems , and the ___MASK24___ and ___MASK39___ communities that depend on them , are found across multiple continents in large portions of this realm . The continuity of these ecosystems results from the shared glacial history of the realm . The floristic Boreal Kingdom corresponds to the Holarctic realm . ___MASK59___ is the largest family within the superfamily ___MASK41___ , containing at least 5700 species of bees . The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees , including bumblebees and honey bees , but also includes stingless bees ( also used for honey production ), carpenter bees , orchid bees , cuckoo bees , and a number of other less widely known groups . Many are valuable pollinators in natural habitats and for agricultural crops .