Honey Bees Flashcards
queen bee
mother to all in hive
only one per hive
fully reproductively functional female
larger than workers
long life, several years
only bee to lay eggs
drone bees
bigger and wider
male bees
no stinger, short tongue, very good antennae
only function is to look for virgin queen to mate with
killed in the fall by workers
develop by parthenogenesis
parthenogenesis
development of organism from unfertilized egg
haploid egg spontaneously develop
fertilized egg becomes worker, unfertilized egg becomes drone
result: males multiply and deliver queen’s genetic material, perfect copy of queen’s DNA
bee reproduction
workers feed royal jelly to queen
mature queen leaves hive on mating flight
brood
bee larvae
worker bees
smallest bee
most abundant
female (from fertilized egg) but undeveloped because weren’t given royal jelly
can’t reproduce
pollen sack
yellow thing on side of bee
pollen used as protein source
worker bee duties
wax secretion
brood rearing
attending to queen
guarding hive entrance
nectar and pollen collection
worker bee lifespan
if born in summer, will live for about a month
if born in late fall, will live through winter
queen excluder
keeps comb honey free of larvae
propolis
bee glue
sticks everything together, plugs up holes in hive
need hive tool to open
swarming
way to create new hive, proliferate species
can cause overcrowded hives
virgin queen, young drones and workers
bee communication
dance outside hive, dance patterns communicate where to go for food
use pheromones to tell if bee doesn’t belong in hive
colony collapse disorder
no specific cause found
