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Alexas Fotos (2023) Rose Bees [video] Pixabay

Welcome to the world of Bees

Bees are winged insects known for their roles in pollination and the production of honey. There are over 20,000 known species of bees spread across every continent on earth, except Antartica.

Bees range in size from 2mm stingless bee species, to the largest species of leafcutter
bees, whose females can get up
to 39mm in length. Bees feed
on nectar and pollen as sources
of energy, protein and food
for their larvae.

'The hum of bees is the voice of the garden'
– Elizabeth Lawrence

Elizabeth Lawrence (1976) Quote
USGS (2021) Triepeolus simplex [Image] Unsplash

Life Cycle

The life cycle of a bee involves the laying of an egg, the development through several moults of a legless larva, a pupation stage during which the insect undergoes complete metamorphosis, emerging as a winged adult. Solitary female bees can lay up to 8 eggs, however highly social bee species like the honey bee can lay more than a million eggs in their lifetime.

Adults or pupae emerge in spring when increasing numbers of flowering plants come into bloom. The males usually emerge first and search for females with which to mate.

After mating, a female stores the sperm, and determines which sex is required at the time each individual egg is laid, fertilised eggs producing female offspring and unfertilised eggs, males.

In most species, larvae are whitish grubs, roughly oval and bluntly-pointed at both ends. Over the course of a few days, the larva undergoes metamorphosis into a winged adult.

Floral Relationships

Most bees are polylectic meaning they collect pollen from a range of flowering plants, but some are oligoleges, in that they only gather pollen from one selected species of flora.

Bees are able to sense the presence of desirable flowers through ultraviolet patterning, floral odors, and electromagnetic fields.

Once landed, a bee then uses nectar quality and pollen taste to determine whether to continue visiting similar flowers.

By pollinating flowering plants, bees play a major role in many ecosystems.It is estimated that 1/3 of our food supply relies on pollination, most of which is done by bees.

On a single foraging trip, a worker bee
will visit between
50 and 100 flowers.

A single bee can carry
up to 35% of their body weight in pollen.

Inside

the

hive

A beehive is an enclosed structure where honey bees live and raise their young. The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Beehives serve several purposes. These include the production of honey, pollination of nearby crops, housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment, and trying to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder.

The humble honey bee is responsible for much more than the sweet, sticky, golden drizzle on your toast – in fact, the industry contributes an estimated $14.2 billion annually
to the Australian economy.

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (2023) The Importance of Bees Australian Honey Bee Industry Council.

140 bees are needed to produce one kilogram of macadamias.

69 bees help produce one kilogram
of almonds.

18 bees are required to pollinate one kilogram of avocados.

5 bees help grow one kilogram of pumpkin.

2 bees are needed for one kilogram of watermelon.

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (2023) The Importance of Bees Australian Honey Bee Industry Council.
Bee (2023). In Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee
Beehive (2023). In Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive