We take a look at the difference between honey bees and bumblebees. This is quite an interesting set of questions to ask, as it shows how small problems with materials science can limit our options in life.
There are a lot of species of bees out there. Some are solitary others are social, and then some are highly social. Solitary bees just work on their own as the name implies.
Bumblebees have seasonal colonies. A queen starts the nest in spring. She forages, gathers pollen, starts the nest up and her daughters help her expand it to around 50 individuals by the end of summer. For a brief look at problems with bumblebee nests visit here.
Honeybees have the ability to store enough honey to survive winter or a dry spell. They can consequently build up hive numbers of 50-60 or more thousand bees.
Honeybees have a clever technology that they employ to make wax that melts at higher temperatures. They mix two components that then react. So the two base components are semi-liquid at the temperature in the hive.