Expanding knowledge on Bees

Bees have four wings, flower - feeding insects.They have enlarged hind feet, branched or feathered body hairs, and generally a stinger. Honeybees and bumblebees are the most common.

Bumblebees are larger and stronger than honeybees. Bees are beneficial insects because they produce honey and pollinate crops.

Honeybees and bumblebees (apidae subfamily) are social bees and live in colonies.

The worker bees are female, but they do not breed. The queen bee is female and creates all the babies for the hive. The drone bees are male and do not have stingers.

Bees communicate with each other about food sources using dances. The sounds from the movement of the bees is picked up by the tiny hairs on the bee's head. Bees use the sun in navigation.

The honeybee's hive has cells made of wax. This is where the queen bee lays her eggs.

The workers collect pollen and nectar from flowers. The pollen is used as a protein source and the nectar is an energy source. Some of the pollen lands on the pistils of the flower and results in cross-pollination. This is important for some crops and flowers. The relationship between the plant and the insect is called symbiosis.

Bees turn the nectar into honey. Workers must visit over four thousand flowers to make just a tablespoon of honey

General information for Bees. Look more at the pollen and nectar, types of bees and link them to the different type of honey. There is also a few facts like worker bees need to visit 4000 flowers to produce a tablespoon of honey. It would also bee interesting to look at how bees communicate with each other and symbiosis