The colony of the honey bee
The honeybees are social insects living together in large group or family called a
colony. The bees' nest inside the hive consists of several wax combs each
containing many cells in which bees use for rearing their baby bees and to store
food. The bees organize their affairs so well in their dwelling and devote
themselves to the welfare and survival of their colony.
A bee colony is made of three different castes: A queen, worker bees who form
the great majority of the colony and the drones. The queen is the mother of the
colony whose only function is to lay eggs from which all bees develop. The sole
function of the drones is to fertilize the virgin queens, whereas the worker bees
perform all tasks that the colony needs. In summer the colony contains 40,000 to
80,000 worker bees and a few hundred drones and in winter about 10,000 to
20,000 worker bees and no drones. Bees born in spring or in summer live on the
average no more than six weeks, whereas those born in September or later live
six months and more. This seasonal variability in the life span of individuals is
due to the fact that spring or summer bees do much work with a lot of energy
spent, and that those emerge in autumn stay inactive within the hive huddled
together in a cluster during the wintertime and eat the stored food.
A worker bee, after emerging from her birth cell as a mature bee lives
approximately six weeks in summer, spending the first three weeks of her life
inside the hive and is termed a house bee or nurse bee. In this stage she cleans
cells, feeds the older and young bees, feeds the queen, builds wax combs, stores
nectar and seals the honey cells, removes debris and dead bees, ventilates the
hive and guards the hive entrance. After this period she becomes a field bee
(forager) and works the second half of her life outside the hive collecting nectar,
pollen, propolis and water.
Bees are vegetarians. They eat two kinds of food, honey and pollen; honey is
made from the nectar of the flowers and provides the bees with carbohydrate.
The pollen is derived from the anthers of flowers and is the source of protein,
vitamins and minerals.
colony. The bees' nest inside the hive consists of several wax combs each
containing many cells in which bees use for rearing their baby bees and to store
food. The bees organize their affairs so well in their dwelling and devote
themselves to the welfare and survival of their colony.
A bee colony is made of three different castes: A queen, worker bees who form
the great majority of the colony and the drones. The queen is the mother of the
colony whose only function is to lay eggs from which all bees develop. The sole
function of the drones is to fertilize the virgin queens, whereas the worker bees
perform all tasks that the colony needs. In summer the colony contains 40,000 to
80,000 worker bees and a few hundred drones and in winter about 10,000 to
20,000 worker bees and no drones. Bees born in spring or in summer live on the
average no more than six weeks, whereas those born in September or later live
six months and more. This seasonal variability in the life span of individuals is
due to the fact that spring or summer bees do much work with a lot of energy
spent, and that those emerge in autumn stay inactive within the hive huddled
together in a cluster during the wintertime and eat the stored food.
A worker bee, after emerging from her birth cell as a mature bee lives
approximately six weeks in summer, spending the first three weeks of her life
inside the hive and is termed a house bee or nurse bee. In this stage she cleans
cells, feeds the older and young bees, feeds the queen, builds wax combs, stores
nectar and seals the honey cells, removes debris and dead bees, ventilates the
hive and guards the hive entrance. After this period she becomes a field bee
(forager) and works the second half of her life outside the hive collecting nectar,
pollen, propolis and water.
Bees are vegetarians. They eat two kinds of food, honey and pollen; honey is
made from the nectar of the flowers and provides the bees with carbohydrate.
The pollen is derived from the anthers of flowers and is the source of protein,
vitamins and minerals.
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