THE ANDEAN BEES.

Bees (Apoidea) are found in all regions of the Earth outside of the extreme arctics, and their greatest abundance and diversity is in warm-temperate areas. Recently, it has been pointed out that among the least known bee faunas in the World is that of the higher tropical Andes, from Bolivia to Venezuela.
The first inhabitants of South America, in their long voyages 10,000 years ago, carried with them seeds of plants that are now considered the ancestors of many that today grow everywhere. Bees at that time pollenized the plant flowers allowing the birth of the hybrid plants that the Andean ancestral class ate and that eventually led to the modern version of those plants.
The Andes are divided into 3 mountain ranges: Occidental with elevations of up to 3,900m, Central with the highest peaks at 5,432m, and the Oriental and the longest and widest range with elevations reaching 5,400m. Each region have several varieties of the same species of domesticated plant. In the case of the coca plant that was consumed by the Inca, during the time of the Inca empire, its handling was restricted to the ruling class only. It was brought from the warm valleys of intermediate altitude East of the Andes and was used as a mind stimulant in a very rigid process in order to obtain protection against the dark forces acting in the unseen world. The Universe was understood as world made of infinite particles of energy holding everything together and at the same time keeping it apart.
In the Lake Titicaca of Peru there are many ancient sites called "Chullpa Towers." They were made by the Incas probably as meeting places, defensive structures, funerary rituals, or as a place of connection with the unseen world, and the presence of bones does not necessarily means that the Chullpa were made for interring the dead. The interior contains a bee hive like construction. The stone is extremely tight fitting and the outer wall is megalithic. Earth energies in the form of currents have been found that they still act in them. The currents are primarily geomagnetic which are induced by changes in the outer part of the Earth's magnetic field, which are usually caused by interactions between our solar system and the rest of the vast universe.
Most Andean bee species occur in the cloud forest between 2,400m / 3,300m, and only a few species, such as the sting-less bees (Apidae) can thrive in the higher altitudes of the paramo and puna, a high mountain grassland occurring between 3,500 / 4,100m. As a result, pollination at these higher elevations is mainly carried out by true flies or butterflies.
Many Andean bee species have cope with large, daily changes in weather conditions, which have a serious effect on their flight and foraging activity. This process of adaptation varies strikingly over its range showing the condition under which it lives. The variation involve not only color and details of structure, but also social behavioral attributes. An example of structural difference of some importance is tongue length which varies according to its geographical scenario. Tongue length influences types of flowers which bees use, some tubular corollas being to deep for bees with short tongues. In fact, many Andean plants have prolonged flower longevity -a strategy evolved with the purpose of increase their chances of pollination.
The Peruvian black bumblebee (Bombus atratus) can often be found around disturbed cloud forest habitats at above 2,000m. Its nests are active year-round, and can contain up to 8 active queens and more than 80 workers. Bumblebees have round bodies covered in soft hair making them appear and feel fuzzy. Like their relatives the honeybees, bumblebees feed on nectar, using their long hairy tongues to lap up the liquid which is folded under the head during flight.
The Andean flower bee (Anthophora walteri) nests in flat ground or small banks in semi-arid montane habitats.
Several species of sand or digger wasps (genus Ammophila) inhabit the paramo and puna. These wasps paralyse caterpillars and inter them in excavated tunnels as sources of fresh food for their larvae.