our friends the honey bees
DESCRIPTION
Our Friends the Honey Bees. Brought to you by the. Which one is a honey bee?. Identification. Why are honey bees important?. They pollinate flowers that lead to the production of fruits and vegetables. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Our Friends Our Friends the the
Honey BeesHoney Bees
Brought to you by the
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!