The Honey Bee
The Honeybee (Apis mellifera), belongs to a group of social and harmonious insects. Honey Bee is a common name for several different species including the European honey bee, the Indian honey bee, the dwarf honey bee, etc. The European honey bee is very familiar and is most important for is value to agriculture and nature through its pollination. It is native to Asia and the Middle East and was brought to America from European Settlers (7). In present day, European honey bees are found on every continent except Antarctica and are among the most studied and recognized insect.
Types of Honey Bees
Honey bees can only survive in a community which consists of three different types of bees with various roles in the colony. The Queen, The Worker Bee, and The Drone Bee all play vital roles in the success of a colony. There is usually only one Queen in a hive and her main role is to lay eggs (6). The Queen’s daily output of eggs usually surpasses 1500 (7). She is the only one in the hive that is sexually productive. However, if she were to die, other bees will choose a new female and begin feeding her “royal jelly” which allows her to become fertile and produce chemicals that direct the behavior of bees within a hive (6). Worker bees are the second type of bee in the colony. They are the other females in the hive that are responsible for collecting pollen and nectar for food. Some of their other responsibilities include building a protecting the hive, clean and circulate air by moving their wings, as well as other societal functions (6). There are definitely more worker bees than any other bee in the colony. On average, a healthy bee community will have approximately 80,000 worker bees (7). The last type of bee within a colony is known as the Drone Bee (drones). These are male bees that are only present during the spring and summer. Only a couple drones inhabit the hive at any one time during these months. Drones serve only one purpose – to mate with new queens. Otherwise, they are completely defenseless; unable to feed themselves or sting for protection (7).
The Honeybee (Apis mellifera), belongs to a group of social and harmonious insects. Honey Bee is a common name for several different species including the European honey bee, the Indian honey bee, the dwarf honey bee, etc. The European honey bee is very familiar and is most important for is value to agriculture and nature through its pollination. It is native to Asia and the Middle East and was brought to America from European Settlers (7). In present day, European honey bees are found on every continent except Antarctica and are among the most studied and recognized insect.
Types of Honey Bees
Honey bees can only survive in a community which consists of three different types of bees with various roles in the colony. The Queen, The Worker Bee, and The Drone Bee all play vital roles in the success of a colony. There is usually only one Queen in a hive and her main role is to lay eggs (6). The Queen’s daily output of eggs usually surpasses 1500 (7). She is the only one in the hive that is sexually productive. However, if she were to die, other bees will choose a new female and begin feeding her “royal jelly” which allows her to become fertile and produce chemicals that direct the behavior of bees within a hive (6). Worker bees are the second type of bee in the colony. They are the other females in the hive that are responsible for collecting pollen and nectar for food. Some of their other responsibilities include building a protecting the hive, clean and circulate air by moving their wings, as well as other societal functions (6). There are definitely more worker bees than any other bee in the colony. On average, a healthy bee community will have approximately 80,000 worker bees (7). The last type of bee within a colony is known as the Drone Bee (drones). These are male bees that are only present during the spring and summer. Only a couple drones inhabit the hive at any one time during these months. Drones serve only one purpose – to mate with new queens. Otherwise, they are completely defenseless; unable to feed themselves or sting for protection (7).
Honey Bee Nutrition
In Blake Shelton’s chart-topping single “Honey Bee,” the line “You be my Honeysuckle, I’ll be your Honey Bee” explains how bees use Honeysuckles as a food source and bees help pollinate the flower in return. Just like humans, honey bees require a variety of nutrients for survival. An essential diet includes carbohydrates (sugars in nectar or honey), amino acids (protein from pollen), lipids (fatty acids, sterols), vitamins, minerals (salts), and water (8). During the winter months, bees survive on stored honey and pollen.
In Blake Shelton’s chart-topping single “Honey Bee,” the line “You be my Honeysuckle, I’ll be your Honey Bee” explains how bees use Honeysuckles as a food source and bees help pollinate the flower in return. Just like humans, honey bees require a variety of nutrients for survival. An essential diet includes carbohydrates (sugars in nectar or honey), amino acids (protein from pollen), lipids (fatty acids, sterols), vitamins, minerals (salts), and water (8). During the winter months, bees survive on stored honey and pollen.
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The Making of a Queen
The queen of a colony is in complete control of the sex of her offspring. Once an egg moves through her ovary to her oviduct, she determines whether or not the egg is fertilized with sperm. If the egg is fertilized, it becomes a female honey bee (worker or queen) and if it is unfertilized, it becomes a male honey bee (drone) (7).
Eggs from the queen are laid in downward-pointed cells, where the eggs attach to the ceiling, which are then infused with royal jelly – for food and stabilization. Worker bees are only fed royal jelly the first two days in the larval stage compared to queens who are fed it throughout their entire time as larva (7). The development of the various types of honey bees varies between each other. Queen bees take 16 days to reach full development, worker bees take 21 days, and drones take 24 days (7).
The queen of a colony is in complete control of the sex of her offspring. Once an egg moves through her ovary to her oviduct, she determines whether or not the egg is fertilized with sperm. If the egg is fertilized, it becomes a female honey bee (worker or queen) and if it is unfertilized, it becomes a male honey bee (drone) (7).
Eggs from the queen are laid in downward-pointed cells, where the eggs attach to the ceiling, which are then infused with royal jelly – for food and stabilization. Worker bees are only fed royal jelly the first two days in the larval stage compared to queens who are fed it throughout their entire time as larva (7). The development of the various types of honey bees varies between each other. Queen bees take 16 days to reach full development, worker bees take 21 days, and drones take 24 days (7).
![Picture](/uploads/3/0/1/1/30110695/235346939.jpg?284)
"The queen can lay for up to five years using sperm stores from only 1 or 2 mating flights that occur early in her life!"
(9)
(9)
Honey Bees are found on every continent except for Antarctica.