HONEY BEES! BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The Honey Bee Insect A honey bee colony large organized Hymenoptera or winged insect Term hymenoptera refers to… Hymen-referring to membrane…..ptera referring to wing Largest order of insects Sawflies, wasps, bees, and ant bees

Hymenoptera Complete development Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult Third largest order of insects world wide Hymenoptera only insects beside isopteran (Termite) to have evolved complex social system with division of labor

Hymenoptera Most hymenoptera have unspecialized mouth parts with exception to honey bee maxillae and labium are modified into a proboscis that works like a tongue to collect nectar from flowers mandibles are used to gather or manipulate pollen and wax. Adults have two pairs of wings Front and hind wings linked together by hooks (Hamuli) Operate in unison

Hymenoptera Females develop from fertilized eggs Males develop from unfertilized eggs Females control weather or not an eggs is fertilized they can regulate the sex ratio of their offspring Only insects that can sting

Life Cycle Worker Bees Worker Bees Develop from fertilized eggs Females, has stinger can defend the hive Develops in twenty one days Lives for four to six weeks in warmer months and six to eight weeks in cooler months Make up ninety percent of the colony population Have a stinger and can defend the hive Scout bees Forager Nurse bees Guard bees Can lay unfertilized eggs (lays Drone eggs) If worker lays eggs she will often lay more then one eggs per cell

Life Cycle Drone Bees Drone Bees Mate with the Queen Do not have stinger and cannot defend the hive Develops in 24 days Develops from unfertilized eggs Larger eggs, requires larger cells for development Dies off in larger numbers in cold months

Life Cycle Queens There are three castes of bees: Queen, Worker, Drone Mates with Drones Lays eggs singly in hexagon cells Develop from unfertilized eggs Larger bees, require larger cells to develop Develop in 15 ½ days Fed by worker bees during development Only one queen is present in hive usually Virgin Queen mates during nuptial flight, mates with several Drones during flight Queen lives three to five years

What honey bees can see Bees see “primary colors” as blue, green and ultraviolet They can distinguish yellow, orange, blue-green, violet, purple, as combinations of their three primary colors. Humans see “primary colors” as red, blue, and green We can distinguish about 60 other colors as combinations of our three primary colors.

HOW HONEY BEES HEAR The honey bees antennae Bee’s nose and tounge Detects smell and taste Can hear by detecting movement of particles in the air

What honey bees can see. Honey bees cannot distinguish the color red They can distinguish shades of light and dark Very good at seeing edges and lines as well as corners Have difficulty seeing circles or round shapes Can use odor clues to seek out flowers in short distances Flowers evolve to attract insect pollinators Flowers have ultraviolet patterns attractive to bees Behavior experiments used with bees thanks to Michael Simone-Finstrom, a postdoctoral researcher in NC State’s apiculture program,

How do bees see and what do they see How do bees see and what do they see? Honey bees cannot see the same spectrum of light that humans can see. Honey bees see the ultraviolet spectrum that humans cannot see.

How honey bees can see. Honey bees have compound eyes and simple eyes Composed of many small plates covered with hair Hair aides in determining wind speed and direction when bee is flying Each plate sends an image to brain and then combines images Bee see in extreme detail Locks on to fast moving objects Simple (3) Eyes…Ocelli Single lens Top of head Can see ultraviolet light Aides in navigation WWW.KEEPING-HONEY-BEES.COM

EYES A---COMPOUND EYES…………B---SIMPLE EYES References: http://www.uni.illinois.edu/~stone2/Bee_anatomy.html http://www.squidoo.com/kidsinvestigatebees?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/insects-arachnids/bee1.htm http://www.michiganbees.org/ http://www.pestworldforkids.org/bees.html