Honey bees are popularly known as eusocial insects and are famed for their various products and contributions to the ecosystem. Amazingly, all honeybee products are used by humans, and their quality and nutritional profile are unmatched.  

They contribute immensely to pollination. Research reveals that about 80% of the pollination of crops and fruits in the USA is carried out by honey bees. They dwell in colonies. A colony can contain up to 60,000 bees and is divided into three castes: drones, worker bees, and a queen. Their roles vary.  

The queen bee lays eggs to ensure continuity of colony, worker bees perform all the necessary tasks in a nest, while the male bee mates with virgin queens. 

Honey bees are captivating in so many ways; read on to discover. 

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Honey Bees are One of Top Studied Insects

Due to their undeniable contribution to humanity, they have given researchers sleepless nights as they continue to uncover their intricate lifestyles and abilities. They are always on the move to unearth something fresh honey bees!

They Have Five Eyes

It may seem ridiculous; however, honey bees are endowed with five eyes. These are separated into two: two enormous, conspicuous compound eyes on the sides of the head and three smaller ones that appear as three small dots situated at the middle of the skull separating the other two. 

The two sets of eyes help them perform their duties and help them navigate and find their way back to the hives. Unlike our eyes, honey bees’ eyes possess receptors that allow them to see ultraviolet light. However, the color red is not visible to their eyes.

Tough Skin Protection for Busy Bees

Bees have a hard outer covering called an exoskeleton. It’s like armor that keeps them safe from bumps and scratches. Their exoskeleton also helps keep them from getting too dry.

How Bees Grab Their Food

Bees have special tools for eating. They have a long tongue called a proboscis for sipping nectar from flowers. They also have jaws called mandibles for picking up pollen grains from flowers.

Bee Wings Are Like Magic

Bees have four wings that they use to fly around. Their wings are thin and covered in tiny veins, like a delicate web. With their wings, bees can zip through the air, visiting flowers and finding their way home.

Bee’s Body Parts

A bee’s body has three main parts: the head, the middle part called the thorax, and the back part called the abdomen. Each part has a special job, like thinking, moving, or storing food.

Making Important Stuff for the Hive

Bees have special glands inside their bodies that make important things for the hive. They make wax for building honeycomb, royal jelly to feed baby bees, and pheromones to talk to each other.

There is Only One Queen in a Bee Territory

She gets exceptional favors in the nest and is only fed on royal jelly, as her name is. Interestingly she can live up to 5 years and lay up to 2000 eggs in a day in the peak season. 

Once a Honey Bee Stings it Dies 

Ever thought of the outcome of a honey bee that stung you? Once it stings, it perishes. Its stinger is usually barbed or spiked, and once it stings, it can’t pull it back.  It leaves the stinger behind and part of its digestive system, nerves, venom sac, and muscles. Such a horrible death!

They Carry Pollen with Their Legs 

This is how our amazing friends carry pollen: on their foraging errand, pollen sticks on its hairy body. To transport it to the nest, they gather it into pollen sacs, also known as corbiculae. These structures are situated on the back legs of female bees. Honey bees Use an Amazing dance to Alert others of a Food Source.

These Super amazing creatures communicate to their fellow sisters using a waggle dance. Once a worker bee finds a location with abundant pollen and nectar, she doesn’t keep to herself. On returning to the hive, she performs a waggle dance that describes the exact location and the distance. 

This teamwork enables them to gather food resources in the shortest time possible. The dancing bee has the same odor as the flowers and gives the observers some nectar to taste. Taste and smell guide the foragers to the right flowers. 

If a Queen Bee Dies, She is Replaced  

If for various reasons, a queen dies, the colony works swiftly to get a replacement by emergency queen rearing. The workers realize she is absent when they fail to detect her pheromones. It takes a short time to discover the absence. They identify potential larvae and start to nurture them to be queens.

Male Bees Die After Mating

Once a drone mates with a queen, he dies since his genitals and some abdominal parts are cut off. 

They are Excellent Fliers

When going on a foraging errand, they fly at a speed of between 20 and 28kmph, but on their return journey, since they are loaded, they move at a slower rate of 11 to 17 kmph. The buzzing sound audible to humans’ ears results from the rapid beating of wings (about 11,400 times in a minute).

A forager Visits up to 100 Flowers in a Trip.

A worker can collect nectar and pollen from 100 flowers in a single foraging errand. It may seem like a lot of work, but she goes for other trips after emptying it in the nest. 

A QueenBee  Mates Once in Her Entire

Queens mate within the first and second week of their adult life and keep a sperm stock for a lifetime. To fill the sperm sac, she usually mates with about 10 to 20 drones. 

They Cluster Together in Winter

What happens to our incredible friends during winter?  Unlike many other insects and animals, honey bees cluster together in the nest to keep warm. Amazingly, their effort in the active seasons ensures they have enough food reserves in the cold season. This is what we steal and enjoy as humans. 

They can Smell Fear in Humans

When you are anxious, there is a higher risk of welcoming a bee sting than when you are not. They don’t smell the fear per se but the hormones you generate when in that condition. These hormones alert them of impending danger. 

Only a Female bee can Sting

Male bees lack a stinger. When you are stung, just be informed that you were dealing with a worker bee. A queen bee can also sting, but the probability of even seeing her is nearly zero. 

Young workers secrete beeswax

 Young worker bees make wax with secretions from special wax glands. The substance is liquid immediately after production but hardens into wax once exposed to air. The nurse bees consume a lot of honey to secret wax. 

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The Queen Bee Dictate the Sex of the Brood

When there is a need for male bees in a nest, the queen releases unfertilized eggs while she fertilizes all the eggs destined to be workers with sperm from her sperm sac. The brood cells of drones and workers also differ in size, and she inspects the cells before laying an egg.

Other Facts About Honey Bees

• A worker bee in her lifetime produces only a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey.
• A worker bee has two tummies; one for normal digestion and another one to carry nectar.
• Foragers can travel up to 5 miles in search of nectar.
• A honey bee can use its tongue, antennae, jaw or front feet to taste. 
• A tip of a honey bee antenna contains more than 300 taste receptors.
• Honey bees can be used to diagnose sickness in humans.
• A bee must consume about 20 pounds of honey to secrete 1 pound of beeswax. 
• A colony maintains a temperature of around 93 degrees Fahrenheit in cold and warm seasons.

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