Around 20,000 species of bees populate the earth, 696 of which have been documented in Austria.

The honey bee, which many people know as "the bee", is just one of them, but one that has become very common thanks to human support.

In addition, 43 bumblebee, around 140 sand bee, around 100 furrow bee and 43 mason bee species also live in Austria, not to mention fur, masked, wool bees and many others. They are between 4 and almost 40 mm in size and, depending on the species, nest in open areas of the ground, in beetle holes in dead wood, in pithy plant stems, in rotten wood or even in empty snail shells.

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What they all have in common is that they live exclusively on nectar and pollen. Bees are "vegetarian wasps" that feed their larvae exclusively with pollen as a source of protein instead of meat. When they collect nectar and pollen, they also carry out the pollination that is essential for the survival of flowering plants.

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Most bee species are solitary, which means they do not form a colony. A female creates a nest cell, brings in nectar and pollen and closes the cell. Over the course of a lifetime, she can provide for 5 to 15 cells. The larvae eat the pollen, pupate and fly out the next year, and the cycle begins again.

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Some bee species form annual colonies, such as bumblebees and some furrow bees. A "queen" establishes a colony all by herself. But the first animals to hatch act as workers. At the end of the nest cycle, young queens and males hatch. After mating, the young queens overwinter alone and the cycle begins again next year.

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The honey bee alone has large, persistent colonies. It is therefore a fascinating special case of bees that manages to overwinter as a colony of 10,000 animals by accumulating large quantities of honey. Not all bees are active collectors. Around 1/3 of bee species are "cuckoo bees" that let their host species raise their offspring. Incidentally, the large number of bee species is a guarantee that every plant species will find its pollinator. Honey bees alone would be overwhelmed.