We haven’t seen or we don’t even know about the majority of these things, unless we devoted our entire life studying the plants and living things around us.
One incredible being on planet are bees; without them, we would be lost.
The more we know about what goes on inside of the hive, the better awareness and support we can become for bee protection. However most people still don’t actually know much about it at all…
The following 10 facts about bees and the lives they have, will give you an appreciation for these hardworking insects.
The Queen once had a male name
But the Dutch scientist Jan Swammerdam took responsibility to dissect one and found ovaries. He wanted her named appropriately so he changed it from King to Queen.
Male bees live only to mate with the queen
Once they’ve done their job, they die and are kicked out of the hive for food shortages so worker bees can survive longer.
Worker Bees Are Willing To Die For Their Sisters
The bees are willing to give their lives for the safety of other members in the hive. Bees work together as a team and protect each other at all costs, even if it means death.
The undertaker bee’s job is to remove the dead from inside of a bee-hive
They are able to identify that there has been death in the hive by smelling it, and they have an insatiable drive which makes them want to get rid of this smell no matter what. The space must always stay open so new bees can come into their home easily!
New Queen Bees Must Fight Each Other To The Death
After a reigning queen dies, workers raise new ones who must then battle it out until only one is left alive.
Bee wings are incredibly fast
The bees wings beat so fast at 230 times per second that they produce a vibration. This is why the bee can fly even when carrying heavy loads and flying conditions are not ideal.
Bees can recognize human faces
Have you ever been stung by a bee? If so, it’s because that insect has identified an enemy. In fact, bees have the ability to recognize and remember faces long after they’ve seen them once before! Bees can even identify human enemies from other members of their own species.
The queen only mates once
During the mating process, a queen bee can mate with around 70 male bees. Yet this only happens once in her life and she uses sperm from these males for the rest of her days as queen!
Honey Bees are not the only bee type
Did you know that there are over 20,000 different species of bees? The honey bee isn’t the only one. Additionally, not all varieties live in hives as social insects. Many others are independent creatures.
Bees are not the original pollinators
When bees were first evolving, they used to pollinate flowers alongside other insects. As time went on and both the flower’s scent became more appealing to attract these insects as well as the bee evolved into a better pollen collector, this relationship grew even closer between them.