our friends the honey bees

Our Friends Our Friends the the

Honey BeesHoney Bees

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Which one is a honey bee?

Identification

Why are honey bees important?

• They pollinate flowers that lead to the They pollinate flowers that lead to the production of fruits and vegetables.production of fruits and vegetables.

• About 1 mouthful of every 3 bites we About 1 mouthful of every 3 bites we eat is food that honeybees have helped eat is food that honeybees have helped to produce – not counting honey!to produce – not counting honey!

Honey bees…

produce honey & beeswax gather pollen & propolis

Wasps and bumble bees are important to the environment!• Wasps and bumble bees provide

pollination.

• Wasps provide insect control.

Beekeepers

• Beekeepers keep Beekeepers keep honeybees in bee honeybees in bee hives; a bee hive hives; a bee hive gives the bees a gives the bees a place to live.place to live.

Beehives have ~50,000 bees

Workers, Drones, & Queen

Worker Bees (females)

• gather nectar from flowers with their tongues.

• collect nectar to make honey and pollen to feed baby bees.

• carry pollen in baskets on their rear legs.

• can and do sting when threatened.

Short Life of the Worker Bee

Drones (males)

• Drones do no work within the hive. As a result, they get “kicked out” of hive in the autumn.

• Drones have no stinger and cannot sting.

Queen

• The queen bee lays eggs, as many as 2,000 eggs per day during the spring.

• A beehive will have only one queen.

Honey Bees are Our Friends

• While honey bees will sting, they do so only to protect their hives and themselves.

• Beekeepers who know what they are doing rarely get stung by bees even when opening a hive! Some beekeepers even “grow” bee beards!