If you want to celebrate a World Bee Day by learning about bees, these are five facts you should note about them
Did you know that May 20 is a World Bee Day? Even though bees produce a lot of nutrients for humans, most humans have minimal understanding of bees. If you want to learn about those insects in celebration of World Bee Day 2023, here are some interesting facts about bees that you should know. 1. Five eyes
Like many other insects, such as dragonflies, wasps and grasshoppers, bees have five eyes — two large ones and three small ones. The two large eyes are called “compound eyes,” which are located on the sides of bees’ heads. Compound eyes consist of multiple lenses, or “facets,” which help bees intake information in a big picture and navigate their pathway. On the other hand, the three small “ocelli” or simple eyes are made up of a single lens and organized in triangles. Ocelli eyes, located between compound eyes, help bees absorb light and navigate as well. Depending on the species and when they are active during the day, bees might vary on the size of their ocelli eyes.
2. Waggle dance
One of the main ways bees interact with each other is “waggle dance,” which is often obtained by observing trained bees. This special means of communication allows bees to communicate information about resources – distance, direction and quality. While the length of the repeated move called “waggle run” represents the distance to the resource, the angle at which the bees dance represents the direction. When they are dancing in circles, it indicates that a flower patch is somewhere close to their hive. When the bees find a good nectar, they not only dance but also bring up a nectar from their stomach and share it with their nest mates to help them find the right nectar.
3. Smelly feet
Another important feature of bees that help them find food is their scent. Researchers from the University of Bristol discovered that bumblebees leave smelly footprints whenever they touch a surface. These marks allow not only themselves and their nest mates but also and stranger bees to recognize flowers that have already been taken of nutrients. Moreover, these bees can also determine which family member the flowers were visited by, which makes them smarter when looking for food.
4. Matriarchy
Bees are organized in a strictly matriarchal structure led by a queen and assisted by an entirely female workforce. The queen bee does not leave the hive, and her most important job is to mate with male bees within the colony and lay eggs. Right below the queen bee are female workers, whose jobs include protecting the queen, building new honeycombs and keeping the hive under ideal conditions. Below these female workers are male bees, which regulate the hive temperature. When the temperature is stable, the male bees’ only main job is to wait for mating with the queen. Soon after mating, the male bees die.
5. Sting
Even though many people believe that all bees can sting them, only female bees can. This is because the stinger comes from an egg-laying mechanism, which only female ones possess. Even female bees of many species, including honey bees, solitary bees and bumblebees, are unlikely to sting unless they feel threatened because they want to use the stinger for the nest. Some species like honey bees die immediately after stinging because once the stinger gets stuck with human skin, the bee’s body will tear as it tries to retrieve the stinger.
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