What is a bee? In this article, you can find all the details you need to know about bee varieties and bee care. How is the Morphological Structure of Bees? How does bee make honey? How come is the best bee honey? Bee belongs to the hymenoptera team (insect team which endowed with, four thin and transparent wings.), its scientific name is Anthophila, and this name is the name given to all insect species that make up the Apoidea family. They form an indispensable step for the continuation of the food cycle.
History of Bees
Bees are estimated to have been on earth since the formation of animal life. The exact years of emergence are unknown. They have multiple types. Honey bees are the most important of these for humanity. Honey bees were a member of an insect-eating family in the past. Then they evolved and stopped eating insects. In addition to the honey bee, there are species named wasps, hornets, carpenter bees and bumblebees.
General Information’s About Bees
The body of bees consists of three parts. These parts are the head, chest and abdomen. Their bodies are covered with a dense hairs. These hairs are soft hairs. The color of the hairs varies from species to species. Bees fly thanks to 4 thin and transparent wings with veinlets inside. This is the reason of bees counting as a hymenoptera team. A honey bee colony consume 15-75 kg of pollen per year. In addition, a colony consumes 8 kg of honey every day in order to survive and produce 1 kg of honey. The daily water requirement of a honey bee colony is 200 grams.
Types of Bees
Queen bee species such as honey bee, wasp, hornets, carpenter bee and bumblebee are divided into different varieties in itself and many species appear. Caucasian bee, Cyprus honey bee, Anatolian bee are some of them. Honey bees produce honey, which is one of the most useful food sources of humans. Honey bees have a furry structure. They prefer to do their nests, in the hollow trees, wall cavities or between the roofs. Most of their bodies are black, other parts are dark yellow (colors may vary by type). A honey bee colony can consist of 30,000 honey bees. Honey bees species is threatened. Bumblebees look like honeybees, but they are larger than honeybees. They do their nest in small wall cavities, under the hangar and in the holes in the floors. Wasp, is the most common one to see between bee species. They consist of light yellow and black colors. Depending on the species, their sizes and colors may vary. İt is also know that there are very large wasps. Young females of wasps survive throughout the winter. Young females emerge in early spring to lay eggs and begin nest building. In early autumn, newborn female and male bees mate. Then, when winter comes, worker bees and male bees die. The hornets, which are another species of bees, are generally black, but their colors may vary. It is a predatory animal, they feed on insects. Although they are generally large, there are also hornets of very small size.
Morphological Structure of Bees
The head part; this part includes bees’ eyes, sense organs and mouths. The head part is tied to the chest with a rather thin neck. The thinness of this neck allows them to move their heads much faster. Bees have 5 eyes, one of them are a pair of compound eyes and the others are 3 simple eyes.
Chest part; Bees have three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings in the chest. The bees’ breasts are their movement center.
Abdomen; the abdominal regions of the bees are the regions with the most complex structure. This area includes the stomach, intestine, reproductive organ, wax glands and needle.
Bees and Nature
Bees have vital benefits to nature and the food chain. Bees by emitting pollen and provide pollination, allowing vegetation to spread and reproduce. The spread of vegetation means the survival of many other living creatures. Bees keep nature alive with these characteristics rather than honey production. It is known that famous scientist Einstein constantly emphasizes that “if bees disappear, humanity will disappear” due to these features of bees.
Bee Honey and Human
Honey produced by bees has been a very important food source since the existence of humans. The healing power of honey for many diseases and its serious benefits to the body has carried honey to an indispensable point in human life. In addition to their contribution to the food chain, bees are the biggest supporter of the human species with their honey. Honey is also used in many drugs today.
Bee Poison
In the past, bees were thought to be poisonous and they thought this poison would kill people over time. But later it was understood that even the venom of bees was a source of healing. Honey bee venom is a highly effective remedy against rheumatic pain and inflammation and has benefited positively in every patient. Bee venom is considered one of the strongest antibiotics. In addition, bee venom is also very effective in killing germs. As a result of the experiments, a microscopic living creature called Paramecium, Died Instantly in 100 ppm bee venom solution and in 20 ppm solution died in 30 seconds. The supply of bee venom is very difficult, therefore the prices are very high. 1 gram of bee venom is sold for approximately 500 $.
