It’s no secret that bees are important. They play a crucial role in our ecosystem, and without them, we would be in big trouble. But there’s a lot you may not know about these amazing creatures. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about bees.
10 Characteristics of Bees
1. All worker bees in a hive are female.
2. Worker bees live for around 6 weeks during the summer months but can live up to 6 months during the winter.
3. There is only one queen bee per hive and she can live for up to 5 years!
4. Worker bees have 2 stomachs – one for storing nectar from flowers and one for producing wax used to make honeycomb.
5. A bee can flap its wings up to 200 times per second!
6. A bee has 5 eyes – 3 small ones on top of its head that detect light and color, and 2 larger ones in the front that help the bee see where it’s going.
7. Bees communicate with each other by “dancing” – they do a special dance called the “waggle dance” to show other bees where they found good food sources.
8. Every flower has a different shape, and bees can tell which shape goes with which kind of pollen just by looking at them!
9. When a bee collects pollen from a flower, some of the pollen sticks to the hair on its legs and body. When the bee visits another flower, some of that pollen rubs off onto the pistil (the female reproductive organ) of the flower, fertilizing it so it can produce seeds.
10. Did you know that without bees, we wouldn’t have chocolate? That’s because bees pollinate cacao trees, which are used to make chocolate!
Also Read: How to Get Rid of Carpenter Bees?
10 more facts about bees
- Bees are social creatures and live in hives. A typical hive has three types of bees- the queen, the drones, and the workers.
- The queen bee is the only bee in the hive that can lay eggs.
- Drones are male bees whose job is to mate with the queen. Worker bees are females that do everything else including collecting nectar and pollen, making honey, and guarding the hive.
- Bees have five eyes! Three small eyes on top of their head and two larger ones in front. They also have very sensitive hair on their bodies which they use to collect pollen.
- Bees communicate with each other by dancing! The type of dance they do depends on what information they’re trying to communicate such as where food is or where they should build their hive.
- Bees are very important to our ecosystem because they help pollinate plants. This means that they help plants grow by transferring pollen from the male parts of a flower to the female parts.
- Without bees, we would not have many of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts that we enjoy today.
- Bees are also important for another reason- honey! Honey is made by worker bees from nectar they collect from flowers. It is then stored in the hive for the winter when there are no flowers blooming.
- Honey has many health benefits and can be used in a variety of ways such as a sweetener or a topical ointment.
- Bees are fascinating creatures, and we hope you learned something new about them today! Be sure to do your part in taking care of our planet so we can continue to enjoy all the benefits bees provide us with.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot more to bees than meets the eye! They are crucial for our ecosystem and provide us with many benefits such as honey and pollination. Next time you see a bee, take a moment to appreciate all they do for us!
