BUSY BUZZY BEES By Kim Scott

A sample bee hive. There are approximately 3000 bees in here!

Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera)

Honeybee Anatomy

Head: 1.Sensory Reception 2.Nectar, Pollen and Water Ingestion 3.Wax Chewing Thorax: 1.Movement 2.Respiration 3.Pollen Collection Abdomen: 1.Reproduction 2.Digestion 3.Respiration 4.Honey Production 5.Pheromone Production 6.Wax Production 7.Sting and Venom

There are different races of honeybees, just as there are different races of people.

Italian Honeybee Race Apis mellifera ligustica

Carniolan Honeybee Race Apis mellifera carnica

European or German Black Honeybee Race Apis mellifera mellifera

Russian Honeybee Hybrid Apis mellifera spp.

Africanized Honeybee Race Apis mellifera scutellata

Regions where Africanized Honeybees can be found in the United States.

There are 3 castes of Honeybees. A caste represents the different kinds of bees and the jobs they do in the hive.

Worker

Drone

“Her Highness”

Honeybee Castes

Pollen Collectors! Nectar Drinkers!

Bees collect nectar and pollen from flowers Both are stored in the hive. The nectar is used to make honey. The honey and the pollen are used to feed the bees in the winter. Why would the bees need to store food for the winter?.To learn more about bees click on the following site:

Pollen Basket

Fanning - Thermoregulation

Honeycomb 1.Strength 2.Volume M.P. = > 97 Degrees F

Queen Cells – Egg Fertilized + Royal Jelly

Development Time Of Honey Bee Castes Days After Laying Egg StageWorkerQueenDrone Hatching333 Cell Capped8810 Becomes A Pupa Becomes An Adult Emerges From Cell211624

Honeybee Communication Waggle DanceRound Dance

Honeybee Facts It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man. Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water. The honey bee's wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 22 miles per hour; it has to fly 90,000 miles - three times around the globe - to make one pound of honey (16 ounces).

Drones are male. They only live a few weeks. Do not work and are fed by worker bees. Their only function is to breed with queens. They cannot sting. The colony “kills” all drones before winter. The queen lives for about 2-3 years and is the only bee that lays haploid (male) or diploid (female) eggs. She lays up to 2500 eggs per day; 200,000 per growing season. She can sting

*THE AVERAGE HONEY BEE WILL ACTUALLY MAKE ONLY ONE TWELFTH OF A TEASPOON OF HONEY IN ITS LIFETIME. *IT TAKES ABOUT 556 WORKERS TO GATHER 1 POUND OF HONEY FROM ABOUT 2 MILLION FLOWERS. *IT TAKES ONE OUNCE OF HONEY TO FUEL A BEE’S FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD.

*A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip. *A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen at any one time, and can produce in excess of 200 lbs. of honey per year. *Worker honey bees are female, live 6 to 8 weeks and do all the work. They can sting stings are fatal in most mammals.