The Honeybee
"There are an estimated 30,000 bee species worldwide. When one typically thinks of a bee, the species that typically comes to mind is the western honeybee, Apis mellifera. The genus Apis is comprised of eight species and Apis mellifera is comprised of 24 different races. The majority of bees that we see outside of a hive are workers (sterile females). A typical honeybee colony consists of about 50,000 to 60,000 sterile workers, 500 to 1000 drones (fertile males) and one queen, the only fertile female in the colony and mother of the entire population of the hive" (Stone).
"A colony of honey bees comprises a cluster of several to 60,000 workers (sexually immature females), a queen (a sexually developed female), and, depending on the colony population and season of year, a few to several hundred drones (sexually developed males). A colony normally has only one queen, whose sole function is egg laying. The bees cluster loosely over several wax combs, the cells of which are used to store honey (carbohydrate food) and pollen (protein food) and to rear young bees to replace old adults" (Honey Bee Biology).
"There are an estimated 30,000 bee species worldwide. When one typically thinks of a bee, the species that typically comes to mind is the western honeybee, Apis mellifera. The genus Apis is comprised of eight species and Apis mellifera is comprised of 24 different races. The majority of bees that we see outside of a hive are workers (sterile females). A typical honeybee colony consists of about 50,000 to 60,000 sterile workers, 500 to 1000 drones (fertile males) and one queen, the only fertile female in the colony and mother of the entire population of the hive" (Stone).
"A colony of honey bees comprises a cluster of several to 60,000 workers (sexually immature females), a queen (a sexually developed female), and, depending on the colony population and season of year, a few to several hundred drones (sexually developed males). A colony normally has only one queen, whose sole function is egg laying. The bees cluster loosely over several wax combs, the cells of which are used to store honey (carbohydrate food) and pollen (protein food) and to rear young bees to replace old adults" (Honey Bee Biology).
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Anatomy
The body of a bee consists of three regions, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The head houses two compound eyes, which are used for distance vision outside of the hive, as well as orienting the bee's flight relative to the sun; the eyes do not perceive shapes clearly but identify color well; bees recognize blue, yellow, white and black (Stone). The antennae receive and analyze substances that are responsible for odor and taste and also perceive vibrations and movement of air, sounds, temperature.
The thorax includes the legs and the wings. The forewing is always larger than the hind wing and the front and hind wings are held together by approximately 20 small hooks located along the front margin of the hind wing (Stone). These bee wings can beat nearly 200 times per second.
The body of a bee consists of three regions, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The head houses two compound eyes, which are used for distance vision outside of the hive, as well as orienting the bee's flight relative to the sun; the eyes do not perceive shapes clearly but identify color well; bees recognize blue, yellow, white and black (Stone). The antennae receive and analyze substances that are responsible for odor and taste and also perceive vibrations and movement of air, sounds, temperature.
The thorax includes the legs and the wings. The forewing is always larger than the hind wing and the front and hind wings are held together by approximately 20 small hooks located along the front margin of the hind wing (Stone). These bee wings can beat nearly 200 times per second.
Life Stages
Bees exhibit complete development or complete metamorphosis, this means that the young and the adults look very different and the diet of the young and the adults typically differ, preventing the parents from competing with their offspring for resources (Langston). The life stages are egg, larva, pupa and adult. Development from egg to new worker typically takes two to three weeks and hatching takes place three days after egg laying (Stone).
"The larval stage lasts eight to nine days. For the first two days, all larvae are fed a diet of royal jelly. Beginning the third day, worker larvae are fed honey, pollen and water, while the larvae destined to become queens continue to receive royal jelly throughout their larval lives. Regardless of whether the larva is male or female, it molts five times during its larval stage. Larval stage durations vary: 5.5 days for queens (fertile females), 6 days for workers (sterile females), and 6.5 days for drones (fertile males).
The pupal stage is a stage of massive reorganization of tissues. Organs undergo a complete reorganization, while body changes from the wormlike larval body shape to the adult body shape with the three distinct body regions mentioned above. Pupation periods vary: queens require up to 7.5 days, drones require 14.5 days, while workers require 12 days" (Honey Bee Biology)
The Hive
The honey bee hive is comprised of three different types of honey bees: the queen, the drone, and the worker bees. The queen and the workers are all females, and the only males are the drones. A typical honeybee colony consists of 50,000 to 60,000 sterile workers, 500 to 1000 drones (fertile males) and one queen, the only fertile female in the colony and mother of the entire population of the hive (Stone). The worker bees provide mostly all of the efforts and requirements to maintain function within the hive. During the latter part of their life, each will travel up to two miles in search of pollen, nectar and water (Langston). Each worker typically goes on ten food gathering journeys per day, each lasting approximately one hour (Stone). Due to these long hours traveled, the workload causes the workers to live for approximately a month before wearing out.
Queens can be distinguished from workers by their longer abdomens and their greater size in general. Queens have the longest lifespan of all of the bees within the hive. Their major role centers around egg laying to insure the vast numbers of individuals required to maintain a hive (Honey Bee Biology). Drones are the male bees within a hive and they can be distinguished by their large size, rectangular abdomens, large conspicuous eyes, and noisy flight. All drones lack a sting, and have more eye facets than a worker.
Habitat and Diet
Researchers believe that the original habitats of the honey bee are tropical climates and heavily forested areas (Habitat of a Honey Bee). Honey bees in temperate climates store larger amounts of honey than other subspecies because they need to maintain a certain temperature inside the nest to survive during winter. Honey bees have an interesting way of surviving the cold winters by consume honey and use their metabolic heat to provide warmth to all the bees within a colony. Honey bees use the liquid from stored nectar as an evaporative coolant during warmer seasons (Habitat of a Honey Bee). These methods and tactics help the bees so that seasonal changes do not affect their environment within the hive.
The diet of a honey bee can consist of anything such as pollen, nectar, honey, water, sugar syrup, and dry syrup. These various ingredients help the honey bee grow and develop so that eventually it can produce honey.
Bees exhibit complete development or complete metamorphosis, this means that the young and the adults look very different and the diet of the young and the adults typically differ, preventing the parents from competing with their offspring for resources (Langston). The life stages are egg, larva, pupa and adult. Development from egg to new worker typically takes two to three weeks and hatching takes place three days after egg laying (Stone).
"The larval stage lasts eight to nine days. For the first two days, all larvae are fed a diet of royal jelly. Beginning the third day, worker larvae are fed honey, pollen and water, while the larvae destined to become queens continue to receive royal jelly throughout their larval lives. Regardless of whether the larva is male or female, it molts five times during its larval stage. Larval stage durations vary: 5.5 days for queens (fertile females), 6 days for workers (sterile females), and 6.5 days for drones (fertile males).
The pupal stage is a stage of massive reorganization of tissues. Organs undergo a complete reorganization, while body changes from the wormlike larval body shape to the adult body shape with the three distinct body regions mentioned above. Pupation periods vary: queens require up to 7.5 days, drones require 14.5 days, while workers require 12 days" (Honey Bee Biology)
The Hive
The honey bee hive is comprised of three different types of honey bees: the queen, the drone, and the worker bees. The queen and the workers are all females, and the only males are the drones. A typical honeybee colony consists of 50,000 to 60,000 sterile workers, 500 to 1000 drones (fertile males) and one queen, the only fertile female in the colony and mother of the entire population of the hive (Stone). The worker bees provide mostly all of the efforts and requirements to maintain function within the hive. During the latter part of their life, each will travel up to two miles in search of pollen, nectar and water (Langston). Each worker typically goes on ten food gathering journeys per day, each lasting approximately one hour (Stone). Due to these long hours traveled, the workload causes the workers to live for approximately a month before wearing out.
Queens can be distinguished from workers by their longer abdomens and their greater size in general. Queens have the longest lifespan of all of the bees within the hive. Their major role centers around egg laying to insure the vast numbers of individuals required to maintain a hive (Honey Bee Biology). Drones are the male bees within a hive and they can be distinguished by their large size, rectangular abdomens, large conspicuous eyes, and noisy flight. All drones lack a sting, and have more eye facets than a worker.
Habitat and Diet
Researchers believe that the original habitats of the honey bee are tropical climates and heavily forested areas (Habitat of a Honey Bee). Honey bees in temperate climates store larger amounts of honey than other subspecies because they need to maintain a certain temperature inside the nest to survive during winter. Honey bees have an interesting way of surviving the cold winters by consume honey and use their metabolic heat to provide warmth to all the bees within a colony. Honey bees use the liquid from stored nectar as an evaporative coolant during warmer seasons (Habitat of a Honey Bee). These methods and tactics help the bees so that seasonal changes do not affect their environment within the hive.
The diet of a honey bee can consist of anything such as pollen, nectar, honey, water, sugar syrup, and dry syrup. These various ingredients help the honey bee grow and develop so that eventually it can produce honey.