Interesting Facts about the Amazing Honey Bee
The Three types of bees in Every Hive or Colony
1. The Queen Bee - One queen runs the whole hive. Her job is to lay the eggs that will spawn the next generation of bees.
2. The Worker Bee - These are all females, and their roles are to forage for food. They look for pollen and nectar from flowers. They also build and protect the hive, and clean and circulate air by beating their wings.
3. Drones - These are the male bees, and their purpose is to mate with the new queen. Several hundred live in each hive, during the Spring and Summer. But during the winter when the hive is in survival mode, the drones get kicked out.
Honey Bees are Fabulous Flyers
Honey bees fly at a speed of around 15.5 miles per hour, and beat their wings 200 times per second.
Honey Bees have a serious sense of smell
Each honey bee has 170 odorant receptors. They use this to communicate within the hive and to recognize different types of flowers when looking for food.
The Honey Bee can see Colors we cannot see.
Bees see in ultra violet. So bees can see colors a human can only imagine. So it is true that bees can see colors we can't see.
Color is a by product of sunlight. It stems from the fact that visible light contains all the colors of the rainbow.
But being a bee doesn't necessarily mean they live in a more colorful world.
Bees cannot see Red. To be a bee red looks Black.
Ultra Violet Patterns Guide The Honey Bee
Many flowers have ultra violet patterns in their petals. so bees can see these patterns. They use them as a visual guide. To a bee it is like a map planted in the flower directing them to the flowers store of nectar.
Bees See The Flowers Differently
Some flowers that appear none descriptor to us have strong ultra violet patterns.
Ultra Violet Flower
From The Eye Of The Honey Bee
Bees eyes are different from our eyes in other ways as well. For example honey bees can perceive movement that are separated by 1/300th of a second. So if a bee flew into a movie theater, it could differentiate each individual movie frame being projected.
Honey Bees Have Five Different Eyes
1. Three are simple eyes that discern light density.
2. Two are large compound eyes used to detect movement.
3. Each of the eyes contain almost 9000 lenses.
We Need The Honey Bee
Honey bees are amazing creatures we depend on for pollination. One out of four bites of food you eat is thanks to the honey bee.
The Precious Honey Bee
Love your Honey Bee and it will love you back.
Comments
I don't believe that science has determined that it is impossible for honeybees to fly, but they are remarkable creatures nevertheless!
Susan . . .nice work! Very interesting and easy to understand. I just happen to be a big bee fan and I have been so since I was a teenager. I also like hornets, wasps, and bumblebees, and as you know, they all have their place in the Grand Scheme of things.
I just wanted to leave you this comment and ask that you continue your fine work.