The buzz on wild bees

"Say the word "bee," and most kids will think of honeybees or even bumblebees. But this is a book about wild, solitary bees. Think mason bees, mining bees, leafcutter bees, cuckoo bees or even oil-collecting bees. Never heard of them? Well, the fact is, wild solitary bees make up about 95 percent of the world's bee population. And for all their wildness, they're quite gentle little fuzz-buckets. Solitary bees have no hive or queen to protect, so they never swarm and most don't even sting (but if they do, it just feels like a pinprick). Not only that, we need these super pollinators for the health of our planet. Using a clear, concise language that keeps it light and engaging with plenty of silly word play, this introduction to the wide world of wild bees describes their life cycles, habitats, and behaviours -- some of which are weirder than others, such as the sweat bees that use their long tongues to lick salty sweat off animals, including humans, because pollen and nectar don't contain enough salt. It goes on to explain importance of wild solitary bees to all life on Earth (for instance, one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat depends on pollinating super powers of all bees, not just the honeybees), the challenges these bees face, and the things we can do to BEE part of the solution and help save all the bees! Includes a glossary, bibliography and full-colour endpapers displaying all the amazing-looking bees included in the book. And of course, June Stuebe's beautiful illustrations capture in detail the incredible variety of wild bees -- from the bright blue body of the blueberry bee to the black and white spots of the domino cuckoo bee"--