MOUNTAIN BROTHERS/SHUTTERSTOCK
THEY
AREN’T
AFRAID
OF
HARD
WORK.
Colony
bees
have
jobs.
In
each
one,
there’
sone
queen
bee.
Her
only
responsibility
is
to
lay
eggs
to
populate
the
hive.
W
orker
bees
ar
eall
female,
and
they’re
expected
to
make
honey
,pollinate
plants
(make
them
able
to
repr
oduce)
and
car
efor
the
queen
bee.
Finally
,ther
ear
e
drone
bees.
They’r
ethe
male
bees
that
mate
with
the
queen.
THEY DO A LITTLE DANCE.Bees do a jig to let the rest of their hive know when they’ve found food. If they dance in a round motion,
they’re telling their buds food is close by. A waggling
dance means a snack is farther away.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE
DREAM WORK.
When it comes to making honey, that’s definitely true! Worker bees collect a sugary juice called nectar from the flowers they visit and store it in a special place known as their honey stomach (they have a stomach for eating, too!). They fly back to their hive where multiple bees chew the liquid until it slowly
turns into honey.
WE NEED THEM.
Bees are the only insect that make foods that humans eat! They bring pollen from plant to plant (this is known as pollination). When they do this, they fertilize eggs inside the plants, which
creates seeds. The seeds develop into foods that we eat every day, like almonds, apples, cherries,
lettuce, raspberries and so many more fruits and veggies. Experts estimate that we have bee pollination to thank for 1/
of the food we eat. 3
DON’T BUG THEM, AND THEY WON’T
BUG YOU.
Bees aren’t naturally aggressive insects.
They usually sting when they feel threatened or attacked. Interestingly,
only female bees can sting. Male bees don’t have an ovipositor, the organ
females use to lay eggs and sting. There’s also a group of bees known
as stingless bees, but they’re native to
tropical countries, like Australia.
THEY NEED OUR HELP.
Many bee species are on the verge of
extinction. If you want to help them, there’s one easy thing you can do: Plant flowers. Daffodils, bluebells and sweet peas are some
of the best plants for bees.
