. HONEY BEE

Honey Bee

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important as pollinators of many flowering plants and are thus important for many kinds of crops. They also provide us with honey and beeswax. Honey bees collect nectar and pollen as food for their colonies, and pollinate plants as a consequence of their activities. Nectar is stored in the bees special "honey stomach", which is in front of their true stomach. The nectar is passed from worker to worker bee, water is lost, and it changes to honey. It is then stored in cells in the hive and fanned by the bees so that is evaporates further and becomes thicker, then it is sealed in with a wax cap.
I used to keep bees, and to harvest the honey I cut the caps off the honeycomb and let the honey drip out. The empty honeycomb can then be returned to the beehive to be filled again. Bees use several senses to locate nectar, find their hive again, and communicate with each other, and they are capable of learning. Some people are afraid of bees because of their.
Honey Bees are a easily identifiable species in, not only North America, but worldwide as well. Their large and complex groups of workers are a sight to behold especially during the spring and summer months in open fields and lush gardens.

Honey Bees break down in Male "drones", female "workers" and the Queen Bee. Male drones are distinguishable by the large set of compound eyes. Female worker bees are the sterile females of the hive and is generally the smallest occupant. Queen Bees have a small set of compound eyes but are easily noticeable by the large abdomens.

Identifying colors of Honey Bees include the traditional orange-to-yellow and black striped abdomen covered in dense hair. The darker parts of the body are generally red-to-brown or true black.

During their busy seasons, workers are sent out to recover stores of nectar found throughout gardens, meadows and flowers. All adult Honey Bees will "drink" the nectar of said sources (or eat wild honey straight up) while the new-born larva back at the hive will grow strong from consuming a white pasty-like substance that is secreted by the caring worker bees.

The social behavior of Honey Bees can be traced entirely to the survival of the Queen Bee. The Queen Bee, herself, has been known to last up to 5 full years and can produce massive colonies of Honey Bees numbering up to 80,000.

Worker bees are vital to the survival of the hive, nursing the young, collecting and producing honey and general maintenance of the structure. Workers are also responsible for feeding the Queen Bee directly with what is known as "Royal Jelly". Larvae will also feed on Royal Jelly in their early stages but move on to a honey/pollen mixture commonly known as "bee bread".

Existing Queen Bees will depart with a handful of Worker Bees to found a new colony elsewhere when a new queen is produced at the existing colony. This new queen will generally kill all existing queens in the existing hive so it is most beneficial for the existing queen to make a hasty exit in this fashion.

New Queens can be seen outside of the hive in these early stages of their lives, undergoing a type of "orientation" in their flying capabilities. The Queen Bees can also be seen apart from the hive in the first 1 - 2 weeks flying about trying to mate with Drone Bees.

Drones serve the "least respected" of the Honey Bee roles in that the Queen Bee can choose to mate with them to which they will die from that action. Otherwise, if not chosen to mate and die, existing Drones are left to starve and eventually die on their own.


Honey Bees are a favored breed of beekeepers and are a most beneficial insect to humankind. Historically, Honey bees were a product of 17th Century North American settlers which then were used to produce honey surplus and pollinate crop holdings. They do share some visual similarities with their Bumblebee and traditional Bee counterparts and are generally sorted apart through the vein arrangements on their wings. Needless to say, Honey bees present a most admirable and respected insect grouping.

The diet of the Honey Bee is reported to include honey, nectar, royal jelly, white paste.

The North American reach for the Honey Bee includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.




User Comment about the Honey Bee
I search the information for my lesson plan. The website is helpful and useful. Thanks.

~ Left by Anonymous from Anonymous on 10/15/2007




User Comment about the Honey Bee
I will not mow my pastures until the honey bees go in for the night. I could never harm this most admirable insect. I hope to keep bees following my graduation from college. I've already put the word out to my family. My grandfather kept honey bees.

~ Left by Susan from Virginia on 7/7/2007




User Comment about the Honey Bee
I love Honey Bees! They make me think of summertime and everything that there is to like about insects and how we benefit from them.

~ Left by Sally Major from Virginia on 3/31/2007