Bees are anthophilous insects, which means that they love flowers and feed on certain substances obtained from them. They are also in charge of a very important task, the pollination process that allows the production of new flowers and plants.
The bee is important for many flowers and plants to flourish, which is why research on bees has concluded that the extinction of these insects would have devastating consequences for the natural environment.
THE BEE
Bees live in groups or colonies, or in structures called hives, which are made by beekeepers. Beekeepers or beekeepers are responsible for the care and maintenance of bees, due to their importance in pollination, honey, and wax production. In the hive, they can form their own honeycomb, which consists of a structure with wax cells, which is used to store larvae and honey, and is practically where the bees live.
In the group of bees, there are three categories, firstly the queen bee, followed the workers, and the drones. The production of future bees is in charge of the queen bee. The drone only mates with the queen to fertilize her eggs and when winter arrives they are expelled by the other bees. The workers are in charge of obtaining food, maintaining the hive, and protecting it. They do not have a functional apparatus for fertilization, so they cannot become queens, which on the contrary are very fertile.
Its body is usually brown or black, with yellow stripes on the abdomen. The two front legs have a pair of suckers for a better grip, wings to fly, antennae to identify smells and changes in the environment, and also a good sense of sight. Its stinger is located in the lower part of the abdomen and when it bites it comes off, embedding itself in the skin of the victim; by ripping off this part of the abdomen, the bee quickly dies.
BEE FEEDING
The diet of bees is based on pollen, nectar, and honey. The pollen, in addition to transporting it to another flower, also serves as a source of protein and carbohydrates for the larvae. Honey is obtained from the nectar, which will later serve as food for the colony.
In the case of beekeeping, the managers remove the honey from the hives and the bees are left without the necessary food, so another source of food is needed. Artificial feeding is based on glucose syrups, cane sugar, beet, or corn syrup.
In addition to honey, there is also another food source, royal jelly. It is a type of mass with an acidic, viscous and yellow taste that comes from the glands present in the head and the mixture of stomach enzymes of the workers. Only the queen bee and the larvae that will be queens in the future consume the royal jelly. In fact, royal jelly is what makes a good reproductive system develop, that’s why the pre-queen larvae are fed with this substance.
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