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John,
Bees weren't always pollinators. And early flowers? They lacked color, scent and nectar.
For 100 million years and counting, flowers and bees enjoyed a beautiful evolutionary partnership. Flowers adapted to attract bees as bees adapted to pollinate flowers.[1]
Let's learn a bit more about the surprising way bees and flowers evolved together:
The bees we know and love today were once predatory, insect-eating wasps.[2] But at some point, some of these wasps began visiting the first flowering plants.
As they transitioned from eating insects to eating nectar, early bees underwent a series of physical changes. Their body hairs morphed into effective pollen traps. Their tongues lengthened to reach deep inside flowers. Some bees even adapted to have pollen-carrying baskets on their legs.
Their senses evolved, too. Whereas their vision improved to detect specific wavelengths of light, their hairs became sensitive to the electrostatic fields of flowers. Perhaps most importantly, their brains developed to remember foraging patterns and landmarks.
Bees also began engaging in social behaviors. They learned to work together to create complex nests for storing pollen. They foraged cooperatively and divided hive labor so their colonies could better defend their pollen-filled nests, too.[3]
Roughly 100 million years ago, Earth's plant life was mostly green and wind-pollinated. Grasses, ferns and conifers dominated the landscape. Flowers were a new up-and-comer, having just recently emerged 30 million years prior, but they still mostly lacked color, scent and nectar.[4]
They weren't trying to attract attention, because there was no one around to pay attention.
Then came bees.
Green plants adapted to tempt bees with vibrant colors -- and especially in shades of blue and purple, which bees see best. Flowers also attracted bees with strong scents and sweet nectar to entice bees to come back for more.
Without this slow-growing relationship between bees and flowers, flowering plants may never have spread. Fruits, vegetables and the vast food webs we depend on today may never have formed.
Thanks to their symbiotic partnership that benefited both bees and flowers, there are more than 20,000 known bee species in the world today.[5] Bees have been adapting for millions of years, and we -- along with untold numbers of other species -- have adapted to the world bees helped create.
That's precisely why it would be devastating to the natural world to lose them now. If bee species start going extinct, it could take another 100 million years to replicate this beautiful partnership between bees and flowers.
Today's bees are facing an uphill battle for survival. Pesticides, climate change and habitat loss pose a triple threat to native bees. That's why Environment Colorado and our national network are working to convince corporate, state and national leaders that limits on the worst bee-killing pesticides are desperately needed.
Thank you,
Ellen Montgomery
P.S. We can't wait for millions of years to save bee species from extinction. You can help protect bees by donating right now.
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1. Steve Blackledge, "The surprising evolution of bees," Environment America, June 18, 2025.
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2. "Evolution & Fossil Record of Bees," Paleontological Research Institute, last accessed August 28, 2025.
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3. Steve Blackledge, "The surprising evolution of bees," Environment America, June 18, 2025.
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4. Steve Blackledge, "The surprising evolution of bees," Environment America, June 18, 2025.
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5. "How many species of native bees are in the United States?" U.S. Geological Survey, last accessed August 28, 2025.
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