The honey bee

Bees, well known for their honey making and it's buzzing sound. Having it's scientific name to be Apis. Let's learn more about it.

WHAT IS A BEE? 

A bee is a eusocial flying insect. This means that they are organized in a certain way in which a single female produces the offspring and non-reproductive individuals co-operate in caring for the young. The honey bee is of kingdom animalia of phylum Anthropoda, family Apidae and order Hymenoptera. A bee starts as an egg, the it turns to a larva (first stage) and then the larva (second stage), then it turns to a pupa and then an adult bee.

HOW IS THE COLONY ORGANIZED?

The colony is made up of three kinds of adult bees: the workers,the drones and then the queen.

First let's talk about the workers.

The workers are female bees that are not capable of reproduction. They usually do all the work in the hive, they also control what goes on on the inside of the hive. Their work involves taking care of the queen, doing the job of a care taker or a house keeper, collecting pollen and nectar and making the wax.

Next let's talk about the drones.

Well the main work of the drones is to mate with the queen. They don't really do any work. They don't make honey,they don't even sting as a defence. For some, they don't even get the chance to mate with the queen.

Now let's talk about the queen.

The queen is the largest in the colony. It measures about 2cm in length. This is twice the length of a worker bee.

WHAT IS THE LIFE SPAN OF THE HONEY BEE?

Well they don't live that long. The queen lives on average 1- 2 years, workers live for about 15-38 days during summer and then 150-200 days in the winter. The drones live for about 55 days. 

HOW DOES THE QUEEN MATE?

Well, the queen flies to a place where male honey bees are waiting, she then mates with many males in flight. During this a male will insert his endophallus this ejaculating semen. After many matings the queen may store up enough sperm to lay eggs for the rest of her life.

WHY IS THE STINGER USED FOR DEFENCE DANGEROUS?

When a bee stings you it releases venom. That venom contains that affect the skin cells and the immune system which can cause pain and swelling at the place stung. For some who have bee sting allergies, it could be much worse. This is because the bee sting may have more dangerous effect on the immune system.

WHAT ARE THE OTHER WAYS BEES PROTECT THEMSELVES?

Bees don't just sting as defence, they employ other means. An example is the Japanese honey bee. They defend themselves from Hornets by surrounding the predator and vibrating their muscles, heating the predator to about 45°C.

HOW IS THE HONEY PRODUCED?

It all starts as nectar from flowers. This nectar gets broken down into simple sugars. These are then stored inside honeycombs that are made of wax. Later as a result of the flapping of wings of the bees, it evaporates resulting in the sweet substance we see as and call honey.

 The bee is an awesome insect.