When people think about bees there are a few things that come to mind. First you probably think about bee stings. Bee stings can be painful and if you are allergic it can cause a serious health problem. If you have been stung by a bee you likely remember the experience. The next thing people think about is honey. Most people incorrectly assume that all bees make honey. The truth of the matter though is that only a small percentage of bees are honey bees.
Honey Bee Identification
Honey bees belong to the genus Apis. They belong to the class Insecta and the subfamily Apinae. They are the only surviving group of bees from the Apini tribe. Honey bees are known for producing and storing honey. In addition to making honey they are also known for building large nests. Honey bees are different in color than other species of bees. Most bees are oval shaped with a yellow color and brown bands. Honey bees range in color from light brown to mainly black. Most honey bees have light and dark stripes on them. They are about ½ inch long on average. They have stingers, legs, antenna, three segments of thorax, and six visible segments of abdomen.
How Do Honey Bees Smell?
All honey bees have 170 odorant receptors. They actually use their antenna to smell. This means that they have an extremely amazing sense of smell. Their incredible sense of smell lets them communicate within the hive. They also are able to recognize different types of flowers when they are looking for food.
Honey Bee Caste Determination; Queen, Drone & Worker Bees
Most people are aware that honey bees live in hives. They are divided into three different types within their hives.
• First up is the queen bee. Each hive has only one queen in their colony. The queen’s job is to lay eggs so that the colony can continue to exist. Queen bees can live for up to five years. During the summer months queen bees can lay up to 2,500 eggs per day.
• All other female bees are workers. The worker bees get food in the form of pollen and nectar from flowers and build and protect the hive. Only worker bees are seen flying around outside the hive. The beating of their wings helps clean and circulate the air for the hive. Worker bees do not live very long. They live about five or six weeks. They only produce about one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey during their lives. It takes thousands of bees to make enough honey to amount to much.
• Male honey bees are called drones. Their purpose is to mate with the new queen. During the spring and summer several hundred of the drones live in each hive. When winter comes the hive goes into survival mode and the drones are kicked out of the hive.
Stinging Insect Pest Inspections, Control Treatments, Removal & More in Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville, Cedar Park & Austin Texas
If you have a honey bee hive on your property there are some dangers that may be concerning you. The possibility of getting stung clearly rises if you have one on your property. Here at A-Tex Pest Management we can recommend a local beekeeper for honey bee hive relocation services. This will allow the honey bee colony to stay intact while also keeping your family safe.