Honey Bee Facts
What is a Honey Bee
A honey bee is an insect and has a body in three parts, head, thorax, and an abdomen. It has three pairs of jointed legs, feelers or antennae, and usually two pairs of wings.
In addition it has:-
- a hard skeleton that is on the outside of its body (with holes for breathing)
- a small size (0.02cm to 11.5cm in length) which allows it to reproduce to easily
- it will hatch from an egg
- it will undergo metamorphasis as it grows (the insect's body changes from an adult form through a major change in its body tissues).
Honey bees have special extras:
- It has 5 eyes and can see ultra violet light.
- It uses the sun and other landmarks to find its way.
- It can dance to show other bees where to find food.
- It has special 'baskets' made of stiff, curving hairs on its back legs, to carry pollen back to the hive.
- It has a sting to defend itself - but the poor bee dies when it stings a human! However drone bees (males) don't sting and Queen bees only ever sting rival Queens.
- All the Worker bees are females! The Workers drive the Drones (males) out of the hive to die before the end of the summer.
- It is a social insect - it lives in a colony with other honey bees. Each bee works in co-operation with others, for the good of the colony as a whole.
- It feeds on flowers (nectar and pollen) and pollinates (fertilises) the flowers at the same time.
- It builds honeycomb nests and makes honey.
- It survives the winter by eating stored honey and keeping warm with the other bees.
Remember to tell your friends about honeybees - they are vital for the future survival of the human race!