Honey Bees


It is summertime and the honeybees are busy at work. They have a job to do, and they do it well. Only, it is difficult to understand their position when we seem to be attacked by them during our summer activities. They invite themselves to our picnic’s, barbeque, and bother us while we are playing outside enjoying the sunshine.

We can eliminate a lot of stress and anxiety this summer if we know a little more about these amazing insects.

NOTE: All insects have the characteristics of having six legs and three body sections.

Children become frightened of bees through two ways: our fear of them as an adult, which transpires to them through us, or by the experience of being stung by one. Actually, a third may exist, and that is a fear of the unknown. We are more likely to fear something we are not familiar with.

Have you ever wondered how we become afraid of animals or insects? The concept is easy; we are rarely taught about the many insects and animals that surround us, including their habitat and food source, even their motive for wanting to scare us. Just like when we are taught from an early age that there are different types of people we need to steer away from. Well, the same applies to wildlife. Unfortunately, as parents, we are not knowledgeable enough in this field (unless you watch a lot of the Discovery Channel with your children).

So, let me see if I can enlighten you on the honeybee and also identify some other bee species. These incredibly organized flying insects live as a colony. There are three main players: the queen, the drone, and the worker bee.

The queen bee is the largest honeybee, she has a long abdomen and a shiny thorax (see vocabulary list below). She also is the only bee that has an inexhaustible stinger. That’s right, the queen bee can sting many times without dying. She uses her stinger to fight off other queens.

The drone bees are the male members of the colony. They are slightly larger than the worker; they have rounded abdomens, huge compound eyes, and powerful wings. Drones to not have long proboscises, which means they need to be fed by the worker bee. They also have no stinger (see, the odds are looking better already) therefore, they cannot sting. The sole purpose of the drone bee is to mate with the queen. Mating takes place in the air.

The worker bees are female. They are the smallest of honeybees. They have a long proboscises used to suck up nectar from flowers. Worker bees have hind legs fringed with stiff hairs that form pollen baskets. These bees have a stinger and a poison gland at the tip of their abdomen. Since worker bees have a barbed stinger, they will die by having their internal organs pulled out when stinging humans or animals with thick skin.
The honeybees are a working class insect, like you and I, they work hard to survive and have daily chores and jobs. If we can understand them just a little more, perhaps we can live in a harmonious relationship sharing our natural resources peacefully.

Below is some insect identification tips. This may help you to identify some of the other furry black and yellow critters:

Bumblebees are big, hairy, and yellow and black, square-shaped bees. They live in a nest in the ground and generally live in colonies of only a few hundred. Bumblebee colonies last for just a few months, and all the bees die at the end of the summer except the new queen. All female bumblebees can sting more than once but are relatively non-aggressive.

Carpenter bees are large and resemble bumblebees. Females are completely black and have a shiny upper abdomen. Males are blonde or tan colored and does not have stingers. Carpenter bees have strong jaw muscles they use to bore tunnels into dead trees or wooden buildings. These bees are pretty solitary insects and unlikely to sting unless handled.

I have carpenter bee that lives in my fence post. I sit on my step in the early afternoon and watch them go back and forth into there bored holes. They are amazing to watch close up. If you are still, they will proceed with their work while you watch diligently. I have had Mr. Wood bee, this is the name I have given him, approximately four inches from my eyes. I didn’t want to breathe because he was so beautiful to look at. Since carpenter or wood bees have generations that continue to nest in the same hole year after year, I have given them a formal plaque to hang over the post that says “the home of Mr. Wood bee”.

Leafcutter bees live alone. They cut off pieces of leaf and roll them up to make their cells. They usually make their nests in hollow twigs or other openings about the diameter of a pencil.

Sweat bees are also solitary bees and are metallic blue or green. They nest in soil where the females can lay their eggs on pollen balls. Sweat bees are known for licking sweat from people and animals (yuck!).

Paper wasps are brightly colored black and yellow and are somewhat shiny. Paper wasps build their nests out of paper made from plant fiber or wood. Their nests are found in trees or under the eaves of a house. They are predators and eat spiders and insects. The female paper wasp can sting repeatedly and are very aggressive.

Yellow jackets are a type of short, stocky wasp. They have a cross-banded black and yellow abdomen. Female yellow jackets can sting repeatedly and are quick to attack when disturbed. They nest underground in old animal burrows or in weedy bush areas on the ground.

The best way to avoid these aggressive bees is to give them space. Do not swat at them or they will be irritated causing reason to sting. Bees like brightly colored clothes and sweet scents so the next time you are at a family picnic save the perfume for a night out on the town.


Vocabulary Words of Honey Bee Anatomical Characteristics

Proboscis or tongue - A straw-like structure used for sucking nectar or honey.

Pollen basket - A smooth, somewhat concave surface of the outer hind leg that is fringed with long curved hairs that hold the pollen in place.

Stinger - Found in a chamber at the end of the abdomen (in female honeybees only) and is used to defend against intruders.

Compound eye - An eye made up of thousands of tiny lenses that allow a honey bee to see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the human eye, as well as visible light (except red).

Thorax - The middle section of the honeybee’s three sections that contains the flight muscles, the wings, and six legs.



Cool Websites to Check Out:

www.ultranet.com/~jkimball/biologypages

www.ag.arizona.edu

www.honey.com

 

Letter from Nature Knowledge Author

If you have a question or would like for me to discuss a specific animal, tree, insect, etc., you can e-mail me at Judi@ChildCareMagazine.zzn.com  and put “Nature & Children Request” in the subject area. Also, comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.