Nama : Okti Nian Dini
No : 22
10 Facts About The Honey Bee
There are approximately 20,000 known species of bees. Only seven of
those are recognised as species of honey bee, although there is a total
of 44 subspecies. They are distinguished by the production and storage
of honey, along with the construction of perennial, colonial nests made
from wax.
1. Honey bees appear to originate from South and South East Asia, as all but one of the species are native to that region. Most species of honey bee have been cultured for their production of honey and beeswax, with only two species being truly domesticated.
2. There is only one documented fossil species of honey bee – ‘Apis Nearctica’; a single 14 million year old specimen found in Nevada.
3. There are no honey bees that are native to North or South America. European colonists brought the dark bee to the Americas, followed later by the introduction of Italian bees.
4. Africanized honey bees are better known colloquially as ‘killer bees’. They are hybrids between European stock and one of the African subspecies. They are more resistant to disease and are better foragers. Small swarms of Africanized honey bees take over European honey beehives by invading the hive, killing the queen and installing their own queen.
5. Two species of bee are used by beekeepers – ‘A. Mellifera’ and ‘A. Cerana’. They are maintained, fed and transported by the beekeepers from field to field as the crops need pollinating.
6. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the name given to the abnormally high die-offs of the European honey bee colonies. Research evidence suggests this is a ‘syndrome’, rather than a ‘disease’, as it is caused by a combination of factors – including impaired protein production in cells.
7. A colony of bees consists of only one queen bee, along with a few thousand fertile, male drone bees and a seasonally variable population of sterile, female worker bees.
8. The queen bee can choose whether to fertilize the egg she is laying – usually dependent on what cell she is laying the egg in. Unfertilized eggs develop into Drones, whilst fertilized eggs develop into female worker or Queen bees.
9. Larvae are initially fed with royal jelly. This is produced by worker bees and secreted from glands in their pharynx. Later this is switched to pollen and honey, except in the case of larvae destined to become Queen bees – they are fed on royal jelly throughout their growing life.
10. Young worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. As they get older they progress onto other within-colony tasks, including guarding the hive before eventually spending the rest of her life as a forager.
1. Honey bees appear to originate from South and South East Asia, as all but one of the species are native to that region. Most species of honey bee have been cultured for their production of honey and beeswax, with only two species being truly domesticated.
2. There is only one documented fossil species of honey bee – ‘Apis Nearctica’; a single 14 million year old specimen found in Nevada.
3. There are no honey bees that are native to North or South America. European colonists brought the dark bee to the Americas, followed later by the introduction of Italian bees.
4. Africanized honey bees are better known colloquially as ‘killer bees’. They are hybrids between European stock and one of the African subspecies. They are more resistant to disease and are better foragers. Small swarms of Africanized honey bees take over European honey beehives by invading the hive, killing the queen and installing their own queen.
5. Two species of bee are used by beekeepers – ‘A. Mellifera’ and ‘A. Cerana’. They are maintained, fed and transported by the beekeepers from field to field as the crops need pollinating.
6. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the name given to the abnormally high die-offs of the European honey bee colonies. Research evidence suggests this is a ‘syndrome’, rather than a ‘disease’, as it is caused by a combination of factors – including impaired protein production in cells.
7. A colony of bees consists of only one queen bee, along with a few thousand fertile, male drone bees and a seasonally variable population of sterile, female worker bees.
8. The queen bee can choose whether to fertilize the egg she is laying – usually dependent on what cell she is laying the egg in. Unfertilized eggs develop into Drones, whilst fertilized eggs develop into female worker or Queen bees.
9. Larvae are initially fed with royal jelly. This is produced by worker bees and secreted from glands in their pharynx. Later this is switched to pollen and honey, except in the case of larvae destined to become Queen bees – they are fed on royal jelly throughout their growing life.
10. Young worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. As they get older they progress onto other within-colony tasks, including guarding the hive before eventually spending the rest of her life as a forager.
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