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Anthophila, more commonly known as BEES are best known for their hard working nature and as the makers of sweet... sweet honey.
We are losing BEES at an alarming rate due to reasons such as loss of flower meadows, mites that feed on their blood, pesticides etc.
They are an important factor in the food chain and for the survival of most of the species of plants and animals.
Here are 10 facts that you may or may not know about BEES:
They are the main pollinators.
they pollinate 70 of the around 100 crop species that feed 90% of the world. Honey BEES are responsible for $30 billion a year in crops.
- What if Bees Went Extinct?, BBC.com
A Queen is the largest BEE in the hive and can lay around 1,500 eggs in a day (that's twice her own body weight!).
To make 1 lb. of honey, BEES usually have to fly over 55,000 miles (over 88,500 kms). Now that's hard work!
Honey BEES can fly at speeds of up to 15 miles/hr! That is rather slow when you compare it to the other bugs in the bug kingdom, but you have to take into account that their bodies are pretty large and they do have to carry all of that pollen along for the ride.
Each HONEY BEE colony has a unique odor for the purpose of identification.
Only the worker BEES sting. They sting only when they are threated. Once they sting, they are unable to pull their barbed stinger out and part of their nerves, muscles, abdomen and digestive tract get separated from them when they leave their stingers behind. This leads to their death.
Drones are the only male HONEY BEES in a colony. They die after mating with the Queen, as that is their only purpose to the colony.
When BEES change jobs, they also need to change their brain chemistry. This is because each BEE is hardwired to do a particular job.
BEES have two stomachs - ones for eating and one for storing nectar.
BEES are the only insect in the world that make food that humans can eat. What's more? Honey is the only food that contains everything necessary to sustain life, like enzymes, vitamins, minerals and water.
a. All WORKER BEES are female.
b. Drones do not have stingers.
c. Honey has natural preservatives, so bacteria can't grow in it.
d. The popular saying - "Honey is BEE vomit" is a myth. Nectar is stored in the "honey stomach" which is part of the BEE's esophagus.
We would certainly love to hear your animal stories too.
@animalcentral