Things You May Not Know About Honey Bees
As far as bees go, there may not be any quite as intriguing as honey bees. Many people do not realize how much we, as humans, rely on these amazing creatures. Let's dig in and take a closer look at this industrious insect.
Little Known Facts
In the scientific world, they are known as Apis mellifera. They are made up of six legs, two eyes, two wings, a stomach, and a nectar pouch. Honey bees can be found living in hives of up to 60,000 bees. There will be worker bees, drones, and one queen. The queen does nothing but lay eggs. The drones are made up of the male population and their sole responsibility is to mate with the queen. The female bees are the worker bees that produce the honey. Their tiny buzzing wings can carry them six miles at up to fifteen miles per hour.
These female honey bees will leave the hive and collect honey from various types of flowers. In one trip, they will collect from between 50 and 100 different flowers. They will typically live between six and eight weeks, and each bee will produce only a fraction of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. It's easy to see why there are so many bees needed to perform this process. The queen is responsible for keeping the population up. She will lay around 2500 eggs every day. The lifespan of a queen is between two and three years.
As many of us are aware, honey bees do sting, but only the females. The drones have no stingers because they never leave the hive. The female worker bees will sting if they are provoked or are trying to protect the hive. After a female honey bee stings, it dies. The queen also has a stinger, but since they never leave the hive, they do not use it.
Honey bees use a method of dancing movements to communicate with one another. They also have a unique way of distinguishing their hive from other honey bee hives. Each one has a specific odor that is used for identification.
Another interesting fact is that honey bees are the only ones that produce something that is eaten by humans. The honey they produce is used for a number of different purposes. This is why we need to do whatever we can to protect these insects. It's also the reason that so many people are getting into bee keeping.
