Jataí bee
The jataí bee is a tiny bee, only about 4 to 5 millimetres long. It lives in big families and makes lots of tasty honey, so people in Central and South America keep it in little wooden boxes.
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Fun facts
The guards are very good at telling family members from strangers.
It makes its nest in holes it finds, like hollow tree trunks, cracks in walls or old ant nests.
When a family splits, the young queen moves to a new home nearby. The old nest keeps sending food and wax for up to six months.
It is one of the most widespread bees in the warm parts of the Americas.
Most asked questions about Jataí bee
?How big is the jataí bee?
It is tiny, only about 4 to 5 millimetres long.
?Does the jataí bee make honey?
Yes, lots of it. That is why beekeepers keep it in wooden hives.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Tetragonisca angustula
- Group
- Bees and bumblebees
- Family
- Apidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Jataí, Yatei, Angelitas
Where the facts come from
- Tetragonisca angustula (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Demeter. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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