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Picture of the day - July 26, 2005
A Honeybee In Flight
Photo courtesy of PD Photo.
Today's picture features a honeybee in flight as it approaches
some pretty flowers. As any gardener will tell you, honeybees love to hang
around flowers and gather the sweet nectar from their blossoms.
While most people are afraid of bees in general (and rightly so), honeybees actually serve a
very important purpose in nature: they help pollinate the plants and trees that
we humans and the animal kingdom depend on for our food and shelter. If all the
honeybees were to suddenly disappear, life on earth would become very difficult
in a very short period of time.
The Latin name for the variety of honeybees that are typically raised by apiculturists (beekeepers) for the production of honey is
apis mellifera. Honeybees are members of a group of bees called social bees because
large numbers of them work together and live together in colonies. They build honeycombed nests (called
combs) out of wax, then store the honey they create in the
combs' cells for use at some point in the future.
Every honeybee in a hive has a specific job to do:
- The Queen is the largest bee in the hive, and she is responsible for laying eggs-
her only job as long as she is alive.
- Thousands of Worker Bees (all females) do all the heavy lifting.
They build the hive, gather nectar, make
honey, keep the hive clean, protect it from intruders and fan their wings to keep
it well ventilated.
- Several hundred Drones (fertile males) are always on hand to mate with the Queen
and help ensure the perpetuation of the colony.
As you can see, honeybees are very interesting and beneficial insects. They help
us humans out tremendously, so the next time you see one working on a flower
blossom perhaps you'll have a newfound appreciation for the work they do!
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