I read about bees to prepare for this workbook and fell in love!

Did you know…

  • Bees see a more expanded color spectrum than us and are especially attracted to blue – which caused flowers to evolve with more blue and purples petals.
  • When bees check out a new hive location, they enter at the bottom and search for a secure foundation at the top. Bees’ hives are built from the top down, contrary to other builders.
  • Successful beekeepers form relationships with their hives.
  • The bees themselves intuitively decide if more females or males are needed. Building slightly larger cells stimulates the queen to place a male egg; smaller cells receive female eggs.
  • Bees are prehistoric! They shared space with dinosaurs. And are still here!
  • Honeybees were man’s first domestic species.
  • Bees are deaf. What? I SAID, BEES ARE DEAF but you don’t have to yell, they do ‘feel’ sound.
  • They also don’t have bones, but they have a rigid exoskeleton which is water tight.
  • Bees with multiple personalities:
    • Inside the hive, bees are called a colony.
    • When they are outside the hive and foraging, they are called sisters.
    • When the hive divides, they are called a swarm.
    • Inside the hive in the winter, they are called a cluster and share body warmth to heat the entire hive.
    • When killing to protect the hive, they are called a ball of bees.

Talk about community!

Bees are individual creatures, but more important, they are part of a colony and the colony is crucial. They cannot survive without the colony. Being part of a healthy community is crucial for them – and it’s crucial for us too.