33 Facts About Bees That Will Fascinate You About These Insects

The honey bee is among the living beings that are crucial to humanity.

It has spawned an entire industry that enjoys relative prosperity. This industry thus aids in protecting the honey bees and ensuring their well-being.

Taxonomy And Evolution

Here are bee facts about the taxonomy and the evolution of these pollinators.

The bee is an animal. It belongs to the group that is known as Animalia.

The rank that comes after Kingdom is Phylum. The name that is assigned is Arthropoda. The word Arthropoda is used to describe what are jointed legs. In addition to jointed legs, a bee also has an exoskeleton.

The class that a honey bee has been placed in is Insecta. Honey bees are in fact insects.

The honey bee is termed as a Hymenoptera, meaning membraned wings that allow them to fly similar to other insects such as ants, wasps, and sawflies.

Relationship With Humans

Bees have a very fascinating relationship with humans. Here are fun facts about it!

The honey bee was one of the bees species that were prominent in history. In several different myths, the honey bees would make honey that the gods would eat. The honey was found by a nymph, who offered the honey to the gods as food.

The bee maidens would be associated with the Greek god Apollo.

Philosophers and thinkers have long admired how bees live.

The way that a beehive operates and lives was thought to be an ideal way for human society to live. Thinkers and political theorists such as Karl Marx, as well as several authors like Shakespeare and Tolstoy have supported this idea.

The organization of the beehive, and how the bee society operates is truly a fascinating dynamic to look at. It has given rise to a popular expression, busy as a bee.

The relationship of the honey bee is one that is mutually beneficial. This has evolved into a huge industry that is known as bee-keeping.

Bee-keeping has been around for centuries. The bees have different purposes but are often used for the products they create such as honey and beeswax.

The honey bees collect nectar and store nectar, as well as pollen, beeswax, and honey in the hive. The beekeepers collect honey, pollen, nectar, beeswax as well as royal jelly.

While honey and beeswax are used for commercial products, the remaining three products are used for other purposes.

The pollen is used for the pollination of flowers, while the royal jelly, made from a special gland from a worker bee, is used for a young queen bee.

The first evidence of bee-keeping comes from the Egyptians, as there were jars of honey that were found in the tombs of pharaohs.

While bee-keeping has been around for quite a long time, humanity's fondness for the sweet treat that is honey goes farther back. Humans have long raided any hive they could find to get a taste of the delight that is honey.

Techniques at the time would use smoke in order to subdue the honey bees in the hive. Today, these honey bee hives are used by beekeepers in order to produce honey all over the world.

Interestingly, this makes the honey bee the only insect that produces food that humans eat.

Alternatively, some regions of the world also consider this insect a food delicacy.

People in some parts of the world cook this insect and eat bee species that do not have a sting, since eating bee stings can create issues. These bees are known to be high in terms of protein content, as well as carbohydrates.

Next, products that honey bees produce in the hive have also been used for creating medicinal products. Apitherapy uses honey bee products like raw honey, as well as bee venom.

On occasions, the honey bees or the bumble bees have been known for their stings. These bees use the sting to attack anything they deem a threat to the hive, and the bees that use their sting then die.

The sting itself is incredibly painful. However, if you are worried about honey bees stinging you, remember that it will only do so if you continue to bother it and present yourself as a threat.

Ecology

The bees live in their hive.

The reason behind the importance of bees as part of the environment is because of their roles as pollinators. The honey bees are crucial in transporting pollen between flowers. Honey bees work to transport pollen and are key figures in the pollination of flowers. Pollination is the process through which flowers reproduce.

What is fascinating to know is the fact that this entire act of gathering pollen is just a side result of the bee looking for its food in its ecosystem. When the worker bee looks for nectar from flowers, the pollen inadvertently gets stuck to the back of these honey bees, and thus pollination occurs.

Humans have understood how important the honey bees really are and have thus taken up bee-keeping, as well as other activities that aid in the preservation of bees.

The nectar that is scavenged by the worker bees is not only meant to create honey but stored to create food inside the honeycomb cells of the hive.

One queen bee gives birth to bee larvae in a hive. This queen bee is the honey bee at the top of the pyramid. Then come the worker bees, the larvae, and the drone bees. This structure is also seen within bumble bees.

Threats And Health

Here are some bee facts about threats that bees face!

There are several factors that pose a threat to a colony of bees.

Disease and sickness pose a huge problem to bees. This hinders their wings and thus the ability to fly. In the winters, these bees face a disease that damages their wings, limiting their ability to fly, and they are left to be frozen.

Additionally, mites may enter the system of bees, and their respiratory system is invaded. Over time, these mites inside the respiratory system may grow larger.

Similarly, pesticides can also kill a honey bee. While growing crops is difficult if pests keep destroying them, farmers should be more careful about using pesticides as it kills honey bees. Farmers must follow sustainable agricultural practices in order to pose less of a threat to bees.

Climate change also has been a contributing factor. The lower availability of flowers in early spring gives bees less nectar to consume. Furthermore, climate change leads to the destruction of the natural habitat of bees.

FAQs

Why do bees have five eyes?

The two eyes that are located on the side of their heads are used to locate and identify shapes and colors in the near surroundings. The other three eyes are used for orientation and navigation.

Do bees sleep?

Bees do sleep. Bees sleep when they are not working, meaning at night. However, there are species of bees that are nocturnal.

How to treat a bee sting?

The first thing to do is to remove the stinger. Next, you must wash it with soap and water. The third thing to do after washing with soap and water is to apply a cold compress, such as an ice pack.

How many eyes does a bee have?

A bee has five eyes. These eyes are utilized for different purposes and are useful for a variety of important purposes.

How many eggs does a bee lay?

During the lifetime of a queen bee, it may lay up to 2,000 eggs every single day.

What is the life cycle of a honey bee?

The life cycle of bees differs according to their role. The queen bee usually lives for two to three years, while a worker bee lives for five to six weeks.

What are the best pollens for honey bee nutrition?

Pollen is important for a honey bee. For a honey bee, the pollen known as Rubus is best as it is rich in protein.

Do bees have blood?

Bees have a liquid that moves inside their body which is a mix of blood and lymphatic fluid. This is known as hemolymph.