Fact Files

Animals

Insects & Arachnids

Vulnerable

Sofia Quaglia

Brilliant bee facts

Professor in Biology at Cornell University

Thomas Dyer Seeley 

How many types of bees are there?

Where do bees come from?

What's the difference between a bee and a wasp?

What's the difference between a bee and a honeybee? 

Where do bees live?

Are bees social animals?

Why do bees swarm? 

Do all bees live in beehives?

What do bees eat? 

How do bees pollinate flowers? 

Why is bee pollination important? 

Why do honeybees waggle dance? 

How do honey bees make honey? 

How do bees make wax and honeycombs? 

How are some bees parasites? 

How big can bees get? 

What colours can bees be? 

How fast can a bee fly? 

How do bees sense their surroundings? 

How long do bees live?

Zoologist and Ethologist 

 Lars Chittka

Are bees smart?

Do all bees sting? 

Which animals eat bees and honey? 

Are bees under threat?

How we know this

Insecta

People

When he left military service in 2005, Eric Grandon was showing signs of Gulf War syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. He took up farming and was drawn to bees and beekeeping, which has helped him with his PTSD.

The man whose life was saved by honey bees

North America

Insects

The perceived scourge of any picnic, the humble bumblebee has acquired an unwarranted reputation as a pest.

The plight of the bumblebee

More like this 

With their long napes and lanky legs, giraffes are literally head and shoulders above the rest – towering over the arid African savannahs, they are the tallest mammals roaming the Earth.

Giraffe Facts

Giraffe

The elephant is the largest living land animal. This giant, plant-eating mammal lives in family groups with complex social orders and is capable of remarkable feats of memory – they do say elephants never forget!

Elephant Facts

Elephant

The horse is a four-legged herd animal. Various breeds of the animal have been domesticated and are used for work, riding and as a source of food and milk. Historically, the domestication of horses helped humans to spread across the world and also improved their ability to farm.

Horse Facts

Horse

The lion is the second biggest big cat after the tiger. Unlike most big cats, the lion is social, and lives in family groups called prides. This ferocious apex predator works together with its companions to take down sizeable prey like water buffalo, which are much larger than a single lion.

Lion Facts

Lion

Sharks are often characterised as vicious killers, but in reality, they’re a diverse and endangered group of creatures that add tremendous value to marine ecosystems.

Shark Facts

Shark

Inspiration 

Coasts

Deserts

Forests

Freshwater

Grasslands

Jungles

Mountains

Plains

Subterranean

Urban

Animalia (Animals)

Hymenoptera

Arthropoda

20,700+

Honeybees and bumblebees are the iconic representatives of this busy and buzzy insect, but there are actually more than 20,000 different species of bee.

Bee Facts