Honey Bees -- Members of the Family Hymenoptera
Honey Bees are communal insects of the Order Hymenoptera and Family Apidae. They are related to ants and wasps -- and can sting like them as well. Unlike ants and wasps, however, when bees sting, the stinger (which is barbed) and venom sac are ripped out of their bodies and the bee dies. The stinging organ has its own attached muscles and thus can continue injecting the venom into the victim after it has been ripped out of the bee.
Apitoxin, or honey bee venom, is an acidic (ph 4.5 to 5.5) bitter, colorless liquid, with an active portion consisting of a complex mixture of proteins. The apitoxin causes local inflammation and acts as an anticoagulant. The venom is produced in the abdomen of worker bees from a mixture of acidic and basic secretions. A honeybee can inject 0.1 mg of venom via its stinger. Apitoxin is similar to snake venom and nettle toxin. About 1% of the population is allergic to bee stings. Apitoxin can be deactivated with ethanol.
Honey bees are the only members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis. There are only seven recognized species of honey bee with a total of 44 subspecies. Honey bees represent only few of the about 20,000 known species of bees. Other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the genus Apis are true honey bees.
A beekeeper is also called an apiariest and the beehive is also called an apiary -- named after the genus name of the honeybee.
Keep Beezy Reading These Great References!
Did you know? If you can't find what you're looking for here, just click on one of the items below and then, once that webpage displays, enter some keywords in the search-box that further define the item. Chances are good that the special thing you've always wanted will appear on the screen (or perhaps a good selection of things that come close!).
.
The Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark L. Winston
From ancient cave paintings of honey bee nests to more...0 points
From ancient cave paintings of honey bee nests to modern science's richly diversified investigation of honey bee biology and its applications, the human imagination has long been captivated by the mysterious and highly sophisticated behavior of this paragon among insect societies. In the first broad treatment of honey bee biology to appear in decades, Mark Winston provides rare access to the world of this extraordinary insect.
In a bright and engaging style Winston probes the dynamics of the h...
0 points
The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum
This book isnÆt only a guide to beekeeping or a h more...0 points
Beautifully illustrated, The Backyard Beekeeper is perfect for the health conscious person who wants to sweeten up their life by saying no to processed sugars and yes, to eating organic, natural healthy food.
This book is the complete "honey bee" resource with general information on bees, a how-to guide to t...
0 points
Hive Management: A Seasonal Guide for Beekeepers by Richard E. Bonney
The beekeeper's year begins with a late winter hiv more...0 points
Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture by Ross Conrad
The various chemicals used in beekeeping have, for more...0 points
A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them by Sue Hubbell
"The real masterwork that Sue Hubbell has cre more...0 points
Sweetness and Light: The Mysterious History of the Honeybee by Hattie Ellis
"We have chosen to ?ll our hives with honey a more...0 points
Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation by Tammy Horn
Honey bees--and the qualities associated with them more...0 points
Bees in America is an enlightening cultural history of bees and beekeeping in the United States. Tammy Horn, herself a beekeeper, offers a varied social and technological history from the colonial period, wh...
0 points
Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey--The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World by Holley Bishop
Honey has been waiting almost ten million years fo more...0 points
To help navigate the worlds and c...
0 points
Bees with Two Yet to Be Sealed Honey Chambers in a Comb
How Much Do You Know About Bees?
Here's a Little True/False Test to See What You Know! (answers in a following module!)
1. Honeybees have yellow bodies with black stripes.2. Male bees go out to gather nectar from flowers and are the principle workforce inside the hive.
3. Worker bees select one job in the hive when they are young and do it for the rest of their lives.
4. Bees have no use for pollen themselves, but suck it up and spray it over flowers because they somehow know that pollination is important for the ecology.
5. If a colony of bees has enough honey to meet their needs, they will stop working.
6. Male bees have stingers
7. All the bees in a colony are cousins.
8. Beekeepers enslave the bees for their own profit. Their slogan is, "They make the honey, and we make the money."
9. Beekeepers use smoke to suffocate the bees.
10. Many people are petrified of bees.
Decorate With Bees (or Honey!) or Honeybees!
Honeybee 2.25" Button
Now that the innitial shock has worn off, people are starting to forget how important our bees are. Keep this issue in the forefront with these bee t-shirts, bee buttons and other bee related items.
Bee-Ware Cap
Bee-ware...be aware of the honey bees! save the bees let others know you care and are aware. Graphic bee in a circle for beekeeping beekeepers or just bee lovers. Bumblebee, honeybee or yellow jacket
Spring Bee Throw Pillow
New baby bumble bee - big, colorful and bold as spring itself - full of energy and ready for a first springtime adventure.
Honeybees with Their Honeycomb!
You Want Answers? We've Got Answers!
Don't Be Stung by the Answers, However!
2. False. Male bees, appropriately named "drones", do nothing at all except to fly out to look for and mate with a virgin queen (and die in the process). The rest of the time, they lounge around inside the hive, being fed and cared for by the females, who outnumber them about 200 to 1. In the fall, the females push them all outside, where they starve to death.
3. False. Worker bees, all sterile females, do many different tasks in the hive, depending on their age. Young worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. When their royal jelly producing glands begin to atrophy, they begin building comb cells. They progress to other within-colony tasks as they become older, such as receiving nectar and pollen from foragers, and guarding the hive. Later still, a worker takes her first orientation flights and finally leaves the hive and typically spends the remainder of her six-week life as a forager, gathering nectar and pollen from flowering plants.
4. False. Bees bring back pollen to the hive and convert it into "bee bread", their source of protein. Honey is their carbohydrate. They eat nothing else besides these two foods.
5. False. As long as there are enough flowers, enough workers, and enough room in the hive, bees will continue to make honey, even though it's too much for them to use. This is why beekeepers can take the surplus honey without depriving the bees.
6. False. Only female bees have stingers. The male bee's similar organ is for sex.
7. False. All the bees in a colony are sisters and brothers, the offspring of the queen bee.
8. False. Unlike cows, bees cannot be domesticated, contained, or trained. They will do whatever they want. The best that beekeepers can do is give them a decent home and fields of flowers and hope they'll stick around.
9. False. Smoke calms the bees and when used in moderation will not harm them.
10. True. One tiny insect, especially in a car, will make many folks go nuts.
Honeybees by the Bay... eBay, That Is!
Did you know? If you can't find what you're looking for here, just click on one of the items below and then, once that webpage displays, enter some keywords in the search-box that further define the item. Chances are good that the special thing you've always wanted will appear on the screen (or perhaps a good selection of things that come close!).
.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Not Too Beezy To Look Through Links? Check These Out!
- Bee Beard. The Name Says it All!
- This Squidoo lens describes the "bee-beard"... and provides some interesting information on it (and has some cool video clips). Of course, you must know that you shouldn't try this at home, or if you do, under the supervision of a trained professional.
Bees Count!
Have you ever heard of Count Bee-cula? Didn't think so...
I'm not sure how many fingers and toes they have, but they have 6 legs and two wings -- so you think that they'd be able to count to 8. However, scientists have discovered that bees can count to four. (Maybe they use only one side of their body?)
In an experiment cooked up by an Australian scientist from the University of Queensland and a Swedish researcher, they determined that bees can count, but no further than the number 4.
Of course, whether this is "real counting" or just "pattern recognition" (one stripe versus two stripes versus three stripes versus four stripes), is another question.
And the bees aren't talking.
If You're Not Beezy, Drop Some Notes Here!
Like this lens? Want to share your feedback, or just give a thumbs up? Be the first to submit a blurb!
