How long have bees been around?

The earliest bees evolved from a wasp-like insect well over 100 million years ago. A piece of amber containing an insect bearing features of modern bees and wasps has been found, and scientists have dated it to be 100 million years old.

Fossils of bees pretty well indistinguishable from modern bees have been found dating back to over 35 million years ago.

In a cave near Valencia, Spain there is a wall painting, which is around 15,000 years old, showing men collecting honey from wild bees.