{"id":7414,"date":"2022-03-19T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2022-03-19T22:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beekeepingfornewbies.com\/?p=7414"},"modified":"2022-09-11T17:20:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T21:20:32","slug":"what-are-honey-bees-a-beginners-guide-to-the-honey-bee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beekeepingfornewbies.com\/what-are-honey-bees-a-beginners-guide-to-the-honey-bee\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Honey Bees? A Beginner’s Guide To The Honey Bee"},"content":{"rendered":"
Updated on September 11th, 2022<\/p>\n
Bees are flying insects that feed on pollen and nectar from flowers. There are about 20,000 different bee species worldwide. Only eight of these species are classified as honey bees, none of which are native to North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honey bees are flying insects that live in complex social organizations called colonies. They build wax comb in nests to raise young and store food. Adult bees are either male or female. Females consist of two castes: queen bees and workers. Honey bees divide labor and work collectively for the benefit of the colony.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While some other bees and animals also make honey, humans have domesticated some bees that produce surplus honey for harvesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common honey bee is the western, or European, honey bee (Apis mellifera<\/em>) maintained by beekeepers in Europe and the Americas. The other major domesticated honey bee is the eastern, or Asian, honey bee (Apis cerana).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article is a guide to the western honey bees for beginning beekeepers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the U.S. Department of the Interior<\/a>, \u201cThere are over 20,000 known bee species in the world, and 4,000 of them are native to the United States. They range from the tiny (2 mm) and solitary Perdita minima, known as the world\u2019s smallest bee, to kumquat-sized species of carpenter bees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Europe is home to \u201cabout 10% of worldwide bee diversity, although the continent only represents 7% of global terrestrial habitats.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n No existing honey bee species is native to North America. They were originally imported from Europe in the 17th century. Honey bees now help pollinate many U.S. crops like fruits and nuts. In a single year, one honey bee colony can gather about 40 pounds of pollen and 265 pounds of nectar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: 2009, a \u201croughly 14-million-year-old fossil unearthed in Nevada preserves what\u2019s clearly a member of the honeybee, or Apis, genus\u2026” This no-longer-existing honey bee is classified Apis nearctica<\/em>.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Honey bees are flying insects exhibiting “eusocial” organization. Other eusocial insects include wasps and ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eusociality is characterized by cooperative behavior among individuals of the same species through reproductive division of labor, the overlap of generations, and colonial nesting.1 [3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Species of bees exhibit different types of social organization. For example, in contrast to honey bees, mason bees are solitary.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As eusocial insects, individual honey bees perform specific tasks. However, in undertaking these tasks, the colony acts as a single organism. Thus, a honey bee colony is often referred to as a superorganism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honey bees go through three stages of development \u2013 egg, larva, and pupa \u2013 before finally emerging as either a male or female adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more!<\/em><\/strong> Read our article about <\/em>the honey bee life cycle<\/em><\/strong><\/a> <\/em>for more information about a honey bee\u2019s stages of development.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As insects, honey bees have three distinct body areas (head, thorax, and abdomen) and six legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honey bees have an exoskeleton, a hard outer body. The exoskeleton provides support (and protection) for the bee\u2019s internal body parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Branched hairs and regular body hair cover the exoskeleton. Branched hairs are excellent for trapping pollen, shown in the image below. Hairs also provide sensory feedback, help regulate temperature, keep the exoskeleton clean.3<\/p>\n\n\n\n Close-up of feathery hairs on a honey bee, which are well adapted to collect pollen. (Photo courtesy Zachary Huang, Michigan State University). Available from: https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/figure\/Close-up-of-feathery-hairs-on-a-honey-bee-which-are-well-adapted-to-collect-pollen_fig4_280884049<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The head includes a bee’s primary sensory organs, such as the eyes, antennae, and mouthparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honey bees have five eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three small eyes called ocelli are simple eyes. Their exact use is unknown, but they act as light receptors and help bees \u201cmaintain stability and navigate.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two compound eyes have nearly 7,000 facets each. These facets provide an overlapping, mosaic-like view of the world that changes as the bee moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bees see color much like humans but on a different spectrum range that includes ultraviolet.<\/p>\n\n\nAbout Bees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Are Honey Bees?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Does A Honey Bee Look Like? | Honey Bee Anatomy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Honey Bee\u2019s Head<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n