Is a bee an insect?

A bee is an insect, and insects are arthropods. All arthropods have three pairs of legs, exoskeletons and segmented bodies. Honeybees have a special set of legs with pockets to hold pollen as the bee travels to different flowers.

Arthropods are in the class of Insecta, which contains 29 orders of insects grouped into families. The superfamily of the bee is classified as Apoidea, in the order of Hymenoptera. Different types of bees include bumblebees, honeybees, communal bees and stingless bees. Bees are large producers of honey and beeswax, and their most common insect relatives include the wasps and ants.