Bees

The Topic:

Bees

Easier - Bees are four-winged, flower-feeding insects. They have enlarged hind feet, branched or feathered body hairs, and generally a stinger. Honeybees and bumblebees are the most common. Bumblebees are larger and stronger than honeybees. Bees are beneficial insects because they produce honey and pollinate crops.

The honeybee is very popular. It has been adopted by at least sixteen states as the state insect.

Harder - Honeybees (or hive bees) are in the animalia kingdom, the arthropoda phylum, the insecta class, the hymenoptera order and the apoidea family. Beekeepers are sometimes called apiarists. Honeybees and bumblebees (apidae subfamily) are social bees and live in colonies. Solitary bees make their own small family nests.

There are 10,0000 - 20,000 species of bee including many wasplike and flylike bees. Most bees are small from 2 mm (.08 inches) long to 4 cm (1.6 inches) long. Bees and wasps are closely related. The main difference is that bees provide their young with pollen and honey, while wasps eat animal food, insects, or spiders. In addition, wasps have unbranched hairs.

Honeybees live in hives or colonies. A small hive contains about 20,000 bees, while some larger hives may have over 100,000 bees. Hives include one queen, hundreds of drones, and thousands of worker bees. The worker bees are female, but they do not breed. The queen bee is female and creates all the babies for the hive. The drone bees are male and do not have stingers.

Bees communicate with each other about food sources using dances. The sounds from the movement of the bees is picked up by the tiny hairs on the bee's head. Bees use the sun in navigation.

The honeybee's hive has cells made of wax. This is where the queen bee lays her eggs. She can lay 1500 eggs in one day. When the larvae hatch, they are fed by the worker bees. The workers collect pollen and nectar from flowers. The pollen is used as a protein source and the nectar is an energy source. Some of the pollen lands on the pistils of the flower and results in cross-pollination. This is important for some crops and flowers. The relationship between the plant and the insect is called symbiosis.

Bees turn the nectar into honey. Workers must visit over four thousand flowers to make just a tablespoon of honey. Beekeepers must be very careful when they remove honey from the hive. They try not to hurt the bees. The beekeepers give sugar syrup to the bees to replace the honey that they take.

The "killer bee" is actually a type of African honeybee. In 1957, it was accidentally released in Brazil during a science experiment. It began to move north and reached Mexico in the 1980s. It can now be found in the southwestern US. These bees react very quickly, attack in large numbers, and swarm for long periods of time.

The BeeHive

http://www.xensei.com/users/alwine/beesite.htm

This website has information about honey bees and beekeeping. You can find lots of factual information about bees and beekeeping, particular types of bees, bees in different seasons, pollination, and information about life in the hive. It also contains games and other activities.

Bees and Honey

http://www.kohala.net/bees/

Explore information about bees and honey including honey composition and recipes, how to catch a hive, picture of honey bees, honey bee disease, products and health, and links to other resources. The pictures of bees page contains nice descriptions and pictures of bees.

Other General Bee Sites:

2) Carl Hayden Bee Research Center http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/

3) Of Bees, Beekeepers, and Food: A Primer About Pollinators http://member.aol.com/queenbjan/primbees.htm

Honey.com: Fun and Facts for Kids

http://www.honey.com/kids/index.html

Honey.com discusses bees and honey. The kid's section focus on honey bee facts, why do bees make honey, honey trivia, honey history, honey glossary, recipes, games, pollination, and ideas for teachers.

Similar Honey Websites:

2) All About Honey http://www.draperbee.com/info/honey.htm

3) Billy Bee Honey Products - Information Centre http://www.billybee.com/infocenter.html

4) See Bee Honey http://www.suebee.com/

5) Capilano Honey Limited http://www.capilano.com.au/honey/index.cfm

NOVA: Tales from the Hive

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/

This website was designed for use with the PBS special: Tales from the Hive. It contains sections on the anatomy of a hive, the buzz about bees, dances with bees, and the making of the bee video. Learn lots of bee facts as well as conducting bee science experiments.

Related PBS Websites:

2) NATURE: Alien Empire (all ages) http://www.wnet.org/nature/alienempire/multimedia/bee.html

Using the websites, complete the following activities:

Trace the History of Honey. Read The Story of Honey. What do you think is the most interesting thing about the history of honey? Create a honey timeline. Take the honey quiz.

Busy as a Bee. You've probably heard people say that they're "busy as a bee." What does this mean? This comparison of two unlike things is called a simile. It generally uses a comparison word such as "like" or "as". Write and illustrate your own simile.

Be a Bee. Learn about life inside a hive at the Anatomy of a Hive and Enter the Hive (animation - great for all ages) page. Write a story about a day in a hive. Include information about the jobs in the colony and what's happening in the hive. Use a picture from the Pictures of Bees or the Bumblebee Body page.

Build a Bee. Explore the anatomy of a bee, honey bee biology, and honey bee printout, then create your own picture and label the parts. Or, build a bee out of clay, pipe cleaners, paper rolls, cardboard, or other materials.

Check out the Bee Cam. Maybe you can't visit a real beekeeper, but you can do a virtual bee visit! Go to the Bee Alert site and check out the bee cam. Check out the graphs of the day's activities and the weather. You can also check out Draper's Bee Cam.

Defend a Bee. Some people love bees and others think they are a pest. Read the article Gardening for Native Bees in North America and Bee Garden. Create a poster that demonstrates the importance of bees. Include some of the favorite flowers of bees.

Create a Pollination Project. Check out the bee pollination map to see some of the fruits and vegetables pollinated by bees in the U.S. Read a simple page on pollination. Go to the The Birds and Bees: Pollination Exhibit, Bee Gallery, Plant Munchers page and choose a bee photo. Write about the process of pollination using the photo as an example. What happened before the photo and what will happen after the photo? Why?

Trace the Process. Read about How Bees Make Beeswax. Create a poster showing the process from bee to candlemaking. Or, trace honey from flower to store.

Create a Tessellation. A honey comb looks like a tessellation. Go to the 42eXplore: Tessellation page to learn more about tessellation. Look for other tessellations in nature or create your own picture using KidPix or another computer graphics package.

Make a Decision: Fear or Fantasy? You've probably heard about the africanized honey bees or "killer bees". Go to the Ag News page and read more about them. Are these really a threat to people in the US? Trace the evolution and movement of these bees on a map. Use Africanized Bees in the US, Attack of the Killer Bees, Africanized Honey Bees, and Battle of the Bees for ideas.

Identify Honey Elements. What's the composition of honey? Read about the honey and choose one of it's elements to explore. Create a pie chart showing the composition of honey.

Create a BeeKeeper Journal. Learn about a beekeeper's year. Write about the events that might take place in one season.

Use Honey in a Recipe. When cooking with honey instead of sugar, you need to know how much to use. Read about cooking with honey. Then, choose a recipe and rewrite it using honey instead of sugar.

Try Bee Games. Check out the Bee Alert kids section with jokes, trivia, coloring pages, and games. Try some bee and honey games.

Create Bee Trivia. Explore some bee trivia and basic facts sites such as the Bee Trivia, Buzz about Bees, Bees, Honeybees, Bumblebees, Honeybees, Facts and Fun for Kids, FAQs, Billy Bee Honey, Sue Bee Encyclobeedia, Bees, Honeybee, and Honeybee Website. Create a bee trivia game.

Create a Bee Dance. Explore the Dance with the Bees page or the What's the Buzz all About page to learn about how bees communicate through dance. Try the bee dance game. Create your own "human" dances as a form of communication.



Do a Bee Project. Pick a science project related to bees. Check out the FAQs School Project page.

Try a Honey Recipe. Try a honey recipe for kids or a honey recipe for adults.

Create a Skit. Read the Honeybee basics to learn about the function of the queen, drone, and worker bees. Create a short skit that shows the job of each creature.

Write a Song. Read Hey! A Bee Bit Me! to learn what to do if you get stung by a bee. Then, read about what you should do if you get stung and how to avoid getting stung. Write a short song about getting stung by a bee or avoiding a sting. Go to Stings, LanaKids and Bees and Wasps to learn more about bee stings.

Ask a Beekeeper. Brainstorm questions for a beekeeper. Use the Ask an Expert Page. There are thousands of beekeepers online. Use the beekeeper list to find one from another country.

Simulate Bee Populations. Try the WebBeePop simulation to study how honey bee population dynamics depends on the weather.
Simulate Rainforest Life. Try the River of Venom simulation. It's an online mystery about the rainforest and "killer bees."

Try a Treasure Hunt. Try an Internet Treasure Hunt on Beekeeping .

Complete a Bee WebQuest. Explore one of the webquests below:

1) A Pollination Adventure (Grade 4) http://www.iwebquest.com/pollinate/pollinationadventure.htm

2) Bee a Pollinator (elementary) http://www.grandville.k12.mi.us/media/plants_webquest.html

3) Bee on a Quest (Kindergarten) http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/dpicard/webquest.htm

4) Buzz About Bees (elementary) http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/fellows/Elrod/BeeQuest/ceindex.html

5) Making a Mascot http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/INSTR/CURR/comed/MTAwebquest/MascotWebQuest/mascotquest.htm

6) Parts of the Bee (Grade 2) http://www.iona.edu/faculty/dgoldsby/portfolios/npalmieri/partsofthebee.htm

7) Save the Honey Bees (Grade 3-5) http://www.manteno.k12.il.us/webquest/elementary/Science/HoneyBees/Honey%20Bee%20Webquest/Honeybee%20Webquest.htm

Websites By Kids For Kids

Bees and Wasps

http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/wlr/studentwork/insect/Bees_%26_Wasps.html

This student web page talks about bees and wasps.

Bees: A Look Inside

http://library.thinkquest.org/19579/

This excellent Thinkquest project created by high school students provides information about bee history, the environment, bee benefits, and bee farming. It also contains a quiz and forum for discussion.

Pollination

http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3715/pollin5.html

This page is part of a ThinkQuest project. The page provides text and graphics related to bees and pollination.

Welcome to Our Bee Page

http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5382/

This page was created by students and contains information about bees and bee related information. Explore the history page to find out about the earliest bees, visit the life cycle page, find out about killer bees, learn about the different types of bees, and find out how bees are involved with pollination.

Additional Websites About Bees

Africanized 'Killer Bees' Index Page

http://www.stingshield.com/!ahbtitl.htm

This page provides lots of information about africanized bees including information, timelines, maps, and links.

Links to Related Website:

2) Attack of the Killer Bees http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/sep/stories/kbees.html

AgNews - Africanized Honey Bees

http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees/

This website discusses the identification, habitat, economics, stings, and frequently asked questions about the africanized honey bee. You can even "ask a beekeeper" your questions about africanized honey bees.

B-EYE: The World through the Eyes of Bees

http://cvs.anu.edu.au/andy/beye/beyehome.html

This website was developed to help you see what life would look like through the eyes of a bee.

Bee Alert: Kid's Section

http://biology.dbs.umt.edu/bees/kid.htm

This page contains bee jokes, trivia, beekeeper information, coloring pages, kid's links, and bee composition.

Beekeeping Tips

http://www.msstate.edu/Entomology/Beekeeping/Contents2.html

This website provides the basic information you need for creating your own beekeeping project. It includes information about how to get started, bee management, beekeeping equipment, nectar/pollen producing plants, and links to other websites.

Links Sites Related to Beekeeping

2) Beekeeping Links http://www.ent.iastate.edu/List/beekeeping.html

3) Beekeeper's Reference http://www.hive-mind.com/bee/

40 Beekeeping Topics (pdf files) http://MAAREC.cas.psu.edu/topics.htm

The Birds and Bees: Pollination Exhibit

http://www.toyen.uio.no/zoomus/engelsk/bird_and_bees/introduction.html

This virtual exhibit provides great photographs of birds and bees in the process of pollination. These photos would be great for writing projects.

Bumblebees

http://www.mearns.org.uk/mrssmith/bees/index.htm

This website features information about the bumblebee including basic information, the life cycle, body parts, identification, habitat, flower list, and economic benefits. You'll also find frequently asked questions and links to additional information.

Other Bumblebee Pages:

2) Bumblebees (advanced) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/bombus/

3) Bumblebee Body http://www.mearns.org.uk/mrssmith/bees/body.htm

4) Bumblebees of North East Scotland http://www.mearns.org.uk/mrssmith/bees/key.htm

5) Britannica Bumblebee http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=18327

6) Discover the Bumblebee http://hercules.users.netlink.co.uk/Bee.html

The Buzz on Bees

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/pfg/cycles/bees/

This page provides basic information about bees and pollination.

Other Websites at the Website:

2) Bees & Pollination http://mbgnet.mobot.org/pfg/cycles/bees/pollin.htm

3) How Do Bees Pollinate http://mbgnet.mobot.org/pfg/cycles/bees/how.htm

4) Training Bees http://mbgnet.mobot.org/pfg/cycles/bees/train.htm

Castes of the Honeybees

http://www.beemaster.com/honeybee/caste.htm

This page discusses the roles of bees and how they communicate with each other.

Hey! A Bee Bit Me!

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/aches/bee.html

This page discusses the different types of bees and wasps, what to do if you get stung, and how to avoid getting stuck by a bee. It's pretty easy to read with nice pictures.

Additional Bee Sting Websites:

2) LanaKids http://www.lanakids.com/beeware.html

Honeybee Lab

http://beelab.cas.psu.edu/

The honeybee lab is a great starting point for information about honeybees. It provides research information, bee biology fact sheets along with a gallery of pictures and a multimedia section.

Other General Bee Informational Websites:

2) FAQ Page http://beelab.cas.psu.edu/FAQ.html

3) Bees http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/bees.htm

4) Britannica Honeybee http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=41838

5) Columbia Encyclopedia http://www.bartleby.com/65/be/bee.html

6) Encarta http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=018B4000

7) Lycos Bees http://versaware.animalszone.lycos.com/template/getPage.asp?page=049000175.html

8) Honey bee http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/honeybee.html

9) Honey Bee Rap Sheet http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/~kunkel/wanted/mugs/9241-rap.html

10 ) Animal Fact Sheet: Honeybee http://www.zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/bee/bee.htm

11) Bees and Wasps http://www.winnipeg-bugline.com/bee.html

Insecta Inspecta World - Honey Bees

http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/bees/honey/index.html

This web page contains good, basic information about bees. It contains a great drawing of a bee with the parts labelled. Learn about honey, royal jelly, bees wax, propolis, and pollination.

Also At This Site:

2) Killer Bees http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/bees/killer/index.html

Science World - Bees

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/science_world/english/exhibits/bees/

This web page provides a nice introduction to bees, their jobs, and related websites.

See Bee Encyclobeedia

http://www.suebee.com/encyclobeedia.html

This page contains information about the anatomy and biology of a bee, glossary, honey production, life of a bee, products using honey, types of honey, and interesting facts.

Websites For Teachers

A Day in the Life of a Bee (Grades 4-6)

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/lsn22.html

This lesson plan provides a simple look at the life of a bee.

Africanized Honey Bees on the Move

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/

Through activities for various grade levels, these lesson plans explore honey bees and bee safety issues. The website provides information as well as activity sheets.

Bees

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/bees/bees.htm

This website for teachers contains activity ideas for bee songs, snacks, art, science, games, and other ideas.

Bees and Ants (Ages 3-6)

http://entowww.tamu.edu/academic/ucourses/ento489/lessons/bees.html

In this lesson, students identify the basic needs of ant and bees and give examples of the interdependence of life.

Bees Buzz... and More: An Integrated Bee Unit

http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/mrouthier/bees.hp.claris.html

This unit is designed for grades 4 through 8 and contains information about types of bees, bees and humans, making honey, and physical characteristics of bees, It also have bee games, quiz, and resources.

The Body of a Honeybee

http://130.70.46.129/k12act/data/honeybee.html

This lesson focuses on the anatomy of the honeybee. Students construct a honey bee, and compare and contrast bee body parts and human body parts.

Other Bug Body Websites:

2) Insects - Body Parts http://www.orchardproject.org/Insects--Body%20parts.htm

Expedition Panama: Bee Lines

http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/4_class/44_guides/guide_801/4481_bee.html

This Scientific American lesson explores the methods bees use to find their way around.

Other Scientific American Frontiers Lessons:

2) How Do Bees Fly? http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/4_class/44_guides/guide_904/4494_bees.html

Farm to supermarket to your dinner table...

http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/ic/lesson/index.html

This page contains a lesson on pollination.

FAQ School Projects

http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/Solitary_Bees/School.htm

This page contains lots of great ideas for integrating bee activities in a club as well as class projects.

Newton's Apple - Bee Stings

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/newtons/14/beesting07.html

This lesson plan answers the questions: Why do bees sting? How are bee societies organized? What actually happens when a bee stings you?



colony queen worker honey hive drone

nest honey comb comb bee dance solitary bees honeybees

bumblebees pollination mason bees royal jelly bees wax propolis

killer bees anther bee keeper apiarist crystallization extractor

hexagon nectar pistil pollen swarms symbiosis



Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 1/99

Updated, 4/01.