The Honey Bee
Honey bees are extremely important to humans . Bees are pollinators . They collect pollen and nectar from flowering trees and plants and transfer pollen from flower to flower . Bees pollinate 95 different crops . Honey bees use the nectar they gather from flowers to make honey , which is the only commercial food produced by insects that is eaten by humans on a wide scale .
Anatomy of a Worker Bee
Honey bees are social insects and live in groups called colonies . Within each colony are three types or castes of honey bee : a queen , worker bees , and drones . Members of each caste have a slightly different body depending on the tasks performed .
The queen bee is the largest of the honey bees . She has a longer abdomen , a shiny thorax , and does not have pollen baskets on her legs . The queen has a stinger , which she uses to fight off other queens . She may sting multiple times without dying .
Worker bees are the smallest of honey bees . They have long proboscises used to suck up nectar from flowers . Worker bees ' hind legs are fringed with stiff hairs that form pollen baskets . Workers have a stinger and a poison gland at the tip of their abdomen . Typically , worker bees can only sting once because their stingers and internal organs are pulled out when they sting and they die .
1 . head __________________ 2 . compound eye _________ 3 . simple eyes ____________ 4 . antennae ______________ 5 . proboscis _____________ 6 . mandibles _____________ 7 . thorax ________________ 8 . wings _________________ 9 . legs ___________________ 10 . pollen basket _________ 11 . abdomen ____________ 12 . stinger _______________ 13 . honey sac ____________ 14 . wax glands ___________ a . a stomach-like organ used to store nectar
b . the middle region of the bee that contains the flight muscles , 4 wings , and 6 legs
c . the front region of the bee that contains 2 compound eyes , 3 simple eyes , 2 antennae , mandibles , and the proboscis
d . a collection of hairs where pollen is stored for transport
e . movable feelers that detect smells and movement
f . the rear region of the bee that contains organs for digestion , reproduction , and respiration as well as the stinger and wax glands
g . glands that form and excrete wax
Drones , the male members of the colony , are somewhat larger than the workers . They have rounded abdomens , huge compound eyes , and powerful wings . Drones do not have a long proboscises and must be fed by worker bees . They also do not have stingers and therefore cannot defend themselves . Drones do not have wax secreting glands . The drones only purpose is to mate with the queen . Mating takes place in the air .
Activity : Match the description with the correct part of the bee by writing the corresponding letter on the appropriate line below .
h . used for walking , dusting antennae , brushing pollen off body hairs , and storing pollen
i . beat 250 times per second allowing the bee to fly
j . made up of tiny lenses that allow the bee to see ultraviolet light and visible light with the exception of red
k . jaw-like structures used to knead wax and to chew honey and pollen
l . have a thick lens that can sense changes in brightness
m . a straw-like tongue used to suck nectar or honey
n . barbed and has an attached venom pouch ; used for defense
4 - Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom Source : Honey Bees : A Pollination Simulation ( https :// www . agclassroom . org / matrix / lesson / 84 /)