Since 1992, the honey bee has been the state insect of Oklahoma, largely because honey bees perform a very important job in agriculture. The honey bee and its contributions to our world date back thousands of years and continue to be by far one of the most extraordinary creatures in existence. Honey bees and the products they emit have many diverse uses in cultures around the world. Today, bees are used in research to detect drugs, bombs and cancer. Additionally, in the development of treatments for a wide range of infirmities in humans, but this is only part of the many things that bees have brought to the human world. Of all the things that honey bees have contributed to our world, pollination is the most essential thing to humans. Honey bees are responsible for 80% of all insect pollination. They pollinate more than ninety fruit and vegetable crops around the world. If the bee disappeared from the world, it would leave us with limited food selection and possibly worse. Albert Einstein once said, “If honey bees disappear, humanity will follow within four years.” » To better understand how vital the honeybee is to our world, we must first better understand the bee itself. Honey bees have existed before recorded history, dating back over 40 million years, and have remained physically and socially unchanged for 30 million years. Honey bees are not native to North America and are believed to have originated in tropical Africa. They are believed to have been brought here by Spanish and English settlers. Honey bees live together in a community called a colony. A colony consists of a queen bee, hundreds of male bees called drones, and thousands of female bees called workers. Honey bee colonies can number up to 80,000...... middle of paper .......Hammond, G. and M Blankenship. Apis Mellifera. 2009. the web. March 3, 2014. .>.Kevin, Hackett J. “Benefits of Bees for Agriculture.” Agricultural research. 2004. electronic library. February 17, 2014. Khot, Anna. National Security of the Humble Bee. October 1, 2010. article. February 25, 2014. .Layton, Julia. How to train bees to detect bombs? 2006 November 2006. article. February 26, 2014. .Mercola, Dr. Joseph. The latest weapon in the war against cancer: bees. November 24, 2012. the web. February 24, 2014.More, Daphne. The Book of Bees: the history and natural history of the domestic bee. New York: Universe Books, 1976. Print. Winston, Mark. Bee biology. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987. Print.