I know this isn't exactly marine mammal related,however bees are very important to the sea..and also fucking cool so i wanted to talk about them. (It will get marine life related in a bit wait.)
Bees,also known as Anthophila, are a monophyletic Clyde within the family of Apoidea (a bit group with is a major group of over 30,000 species within the Hymenoptera, which includes two the "sphecoid" wasps, and the bees.) with over 20.000 species within their family.
Certain species of bees,such as honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees,are social insects living in colonies, whereas over 90% of bee species,for example mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees,are solitary.
Bees,unlike their close relatives (ants and wasps who are carnivores and omnivores),are herbivores. They specifically feast upon nectar (for carbohydrates for their metabolisms) and pollen (for protein and other nutrients.) some bees however do not consume either. The vulture bees in the genus of Trigona, eat carrion and the immature stages of wasps, making meat into a honey-like substance.
Bees can be found on every single continent and place,aslong as it has insect-pollinated flowered plants, except for Antarctica. There are some bees in the northern hemisphere,which are most commonly the halictidae, but they're too small and often get mistaken for for wasps instead.
Speaking of their sizes,bees have a variety of sizes that go from from small stingless bee species, whose workers are less than 2 millimeters long, to the leafcutter bee Megachile pluto which is the largest species of bee, whose females can attain a length of 39 millimeters.
The things that mostly hunt bees are birds such as bee-eaters (shocker,i know.),beewolves,dragonflies,and primates.
Bees are most well-known for their important stole ecologically, and the fact that they produce honey,which is basically a regurgitated and dehydrated viscous mixture of partially digested monosaccharides which is kept as food storage of the bee colony.
Back in the 1930s, calculations based on the aerodynamics of fixed wings appeared to show that insect flight was,or should be,impossible. The author of the study said that "one should not be surprised that the results of the calculations do not square with reality," but this comment was later taken out of context and that's how the popular myth that "the bumblebee should not be able to fly." Comes from.
Studies later showed that bees and many other insects produce lift through swirling vortices that form along the leading edge of the wing.
Both solitary and social bees at some point of their lives (if they're female) lay an egg. Every bee goes through the process of the development through several moults of a legless larva, a pupa in which the insect undergoes complete metamorphosis, and the inevitable event of a winged adult.
Bees are a haplodiploidhe species,which means that the sex of a bee is determined by whether or not the egg is fertilized. It's all up to the female workers,and the sex of a bee is "planted" strategically. Ater mating, a female stores the sperm, and determines which sex is required at the time each individual egg is laid, fertilized eggs producing female offspring and unfertilized eggs producing males.
Solitary bees lay each egg in a separate cell of the comb with a supply of mixed pollen and nectar next to it, however social bees provision progressively. What i mean by that is that they feed the larva regularly while it grows. The nest varies from a hole in the ground or in wood, in solitary bees, to a substantial structure with wax combs in bumblebees and honey bees.
Females are the ones who work and do everything. The queen is the only one who can lay eggs. So if you see a bee outside, it's most likely a female one. Also bees have been recorded to have a tendacy to kick out bees who come back drunk but don't quote me on that. (Bees can get drunk by drinking fermented nectar, sap, or juices from overripe fruit that contain ethanol.)
There's obviously a LOT to say about bees,however this is all i can say at the moment. You can ask me anything and I'll awnser tho.
And this is where i say "okey, that's cool and all,but how can i include marine life with this? I mean,yea sure bees are ecologically very important especially to the sea but—"
OKEY WELL HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE BEES OF THE OCEAN?? No??? Let me talk a bit !..again.
The "bees of the ocean" are small marine animals (specifically crustaceans like amphipods, isopods, and microscopic invertebrates) that transfer pollen or reproductive cells between underwater plants and algae just like bees do on land. (They got their nickname because of that, obviously. Do they share any DNA or any kind of relation in that way?...no. but i had to have a lead up in order to talk about it.)
Small teeny tiny crustaceans crawl over male seagrass flowers or red seaweed to eat a sticky substance (pollen or spermatia) and as they move from frond to frond for food and shelter, their bodies pick up and carry these reproductive cells to female plants. Kinda like how,oh i don't know,bees go from flower to flower and throw around whatever pollen has gotten stuck to the bodies? See where the similarities are...
Anyway. Research from scientists has shown that fertilization rates are up to 20 times higher in tanks with these mobile crustaceans compared to water exclusive movement, proving that animal assisted fertilization happens successfully underwater
Source : Wikipedia. Sorry for bad English, it's not my first language,and feel free to correct me if i got anything wrong.
