Bee: interesting facts about bees. Wild and domestic bees

Unfortunately, in the modern world circumstances often develop in such a way that we cease to pay attention to the surrounding nature. Coming somewhere (say, to Africa or Australia), we are amazed at the diversity of local flora and fauna, but in our own state we do not notice any plants, birds or animals. But in vain. Take, for example, such an amazing insect as a bee. Interesting facts about it can not help attracting attention even the most uninvited.

This article aims to interest the reader by telling him in a simple and understandable language about well-known only in narrow circles nuances. For example, many are actually curious to find out where the bees live in the winter, how and what they eat in the warm and cold The time of the year, how to multiply and build their homes.

Section 1. Characteristics of insects

Bees, interesting facts about which recently literally flooded the media, have webbed wings, short and elongated abdomen.

The body of males is sometimes densely pubescent, and they have direct tendrils, but in females they are bent, consisting of 12-13 segments. Eyes are glabrous, sometimes covered with cilia, oral organs refer to a gnawing type.

All bees have a proboscis and an enlarged first segment of hind legs - the key elements for collecting pollen from flowers and nectar. By the way, the latter are collected by the sucking proboscis into the crab with a valve that blocks the access of nectar to the gastric tract. Abdomen often covered with hairs. On the hind legs there is a "basket" - especially for collecting pollen. By the way, not everyone knows that only females have a sting.

Section 2. Hierarchy of bees

These insects are quite highly organized insects: they search for food, water, arrange housing, honeycomb, take care of the uterus and offspring together, and together they are protected from enemies. That is why breeding bees, as a rule, does not require as much effort as it might seem at first glance.

The most advanced public education of this species is the eusocial colony, where honey bees live together, so-called "bezzhalnye" and bumblebees. If we consider that they have a clearly marked division of labor, then this group may well be called semi-public.

In the case when, in addition to all the above, the swarm consists of the uterus and its offspring-females, the group is called public. In a similar structure, the mother-bee is usually called a uterus, and her daughters are called workers.

Section 3. How long does the bee live?

The lifespan of these insects depends directly on the total strength of the family. In a weak group, a working bee can live in spring about 4 weeks, in a strong group, 5-7 weeks. And all depends on the total number of the family, as well as the egg-laying of the uterus.

However, not everyone knows that bees are able to regulate their life expectancy. Most likely, they have some kind of secret to the renewal of the organism, if there is no opportunity to grow a new generation of bees. For example, if the family suddenly lost the uterus, then their life span may increase to 200 days or more.

The life of the majority of worker bees is also prolonged at a time when the family decided to swarm or prepare for wintering. The overwintered insects live for about 7 months and work for about a month for the benefit of their colony. That is, winter individuals live 5-7 times longer than summer ones. Thus, the summer life of a bee averages a little more than a month, and a winter life - about 200 days.

Section 4. What does it consist of and how is bees nectar formed?

The bee scoops a droplet of floral nectar, released by plants (weight 40-50 mg), and enriches it with its saliva, in which there are many enzymes. In addition, in its cinders there is a process of splitting sucrose, as a result of which nectar becomes honey.

Upon returning to the hive, the bee picker transmits a droplet of nectar to the bee-receiver, which continues biochemical processing, and then adds the nectar to the honeycomb cells, where it too undergoes chemical treatment - "ripening".

At this time, intensive evaporation of water occurs , settling of tannins, etc. The content of bees in this period requires special attention and care.

Section 5. The Worker

It's hard to imagine that to get just one spoonful of honey for a whole day, 200 worker bees need to actively collect nectar. But that's not all. Approximately the same number of individuals should be engaged in the reception of nectar, further processing it in a hive. Plus, a part of the bees ventilate the socket for faster evaporation from the excess product brought from the water.

And in order to seal honey in 75 bee cells, workers need to allocate 1 gram of wax. To create 1 kg of honey, the bees must carry out approximately 4,500 sorties, collect nectar from 10 million flowering plants.

In principle, a strong family can collect 5-10 kg of honey per day or 10-20 kg of nectar. These insects are able to fly away from their hive for 8 km in search of such prey.

What a bee loves, it is difficult to imagine. These insects are able to collect nectar from absolutely different flowering plants. That is why some owners of the apiary prefer to export their hives to collect honey from a certain type of plant, for example, with acacia, rapeseed or linden.

Section 6. Characteristic features of these honey-bearing insects

It would seem, well, what could be unusual in such a fairly common insect as a bee? Interesting facts, however, indicate quite the opposite. Despite the fact that in the warm season we can observe them quite often, not everyone knows what they live and how their laborious work is organized.

Of course, the professional content of bees requires special skills, but an ordinary person will be curious to learn that the honeybee families are clearly defined social colonies, where each individual performs its function, determined by its biological age.

Thus, young insects (up to 10 days old), it turns out, feed the uterus and larvae. Somewhere from the 7-day age on the lower abdomen of the bee-builders, special wax glands begin to work, so they switch to various construction work in the nest.

By 14-15 days, the bee, interesting facts about which can not but cause curiosity, loses its productivity, the productivity of the wax glands drops significantly, and insects begin to engage in other activities related to nest care - cell cleaning and garbage disposal.

When bees are 20 days old, they ensure ventilation of the nest and its protection. Individuals older than 22 days are engaged in honey collection. And those who are older than 30 days are responsible for collecting water for the needs of the family.

By the way, adult bees remain in the hive in winter, and for this period their life seems to freeze, however, insects do not die, as it is mistaken to assume.

Section 7. How to recognize the killer?

Such an insect as a bee, interesting facts about which at first glance, as a rule, seem very unlikely, can pose a mortal danger to a person. And we are not going to talk about poor allergy sufferers, a simple bite in which causes a terrible reaction of the body, and even choking. Everyone and us can become a victim, however, for this we need to go to South America.

Not everyone knows that bee killers are hybrids of honey bees. They are more aggressive, they can attack a person, pets, very seriously sting.

According to statistics, since 1969, more than 200 people have died in Brazil, and several thousand people have been severely hit by bee-killer bites. These individuals attack 30 times faster, and sting 10 times more often than ordinary honey.

At the slightest alarm, they attack with a whole swarm of all who appear within a radius of 5 m from their hive, and can pursue the victim for about 1.5 km. And if you consider that a bee of such a variety of shady places, for example, parks, squares or forests, it turns out that you can easily meet her on a walk.

Recently in the foreign press there was information that throughout America these insects killed about a thousand people. A terrible death usually comes because of anaphylactic shock.