When people think of bees, they often think of the honeybee. Honeybees are important. They deserve a lot of buzz. But they are not native to America. Colonists brought the honeybee to Virginia in 1622. America's only native bee is the bumblebee, and there are 46 different kinds of bumblebee. Our bumblebees pollinate flowers of apples, plums, pears, almonds, peaches, and many more plants. They work twice as fast as honeybees, and they work for free to give us the fruits and vegetables that we love to eat.

 Native Pollinators: Bees is a good place to start learning about these American originals.