BEES

Anthophila

Bees are a family of small flying insect. They are known worldwide for producing the sweet, syrupy substance called honey. The bees are also known for their ability to sting, which may be as mild as a small pinch, or fatal. Each bee has a task. There are four types of bee. Queen, drone, worker, and nurse. The queen is in charge of the whole hive, and is able to sting multiple times, unlike the other bees whose stingers have barbs that hook into the skin of an animal. This is however a disadvantage, if a bee tries to fly away, the stinger will get pulled out and unfortunately kill the bee. The drone isn’t really good for anything but assisting other bees, and eating relentlessly. Their stingers aren’t as painful either. The worker helps prepare honey, and put it into storage. The bees swallow nectar, and process it inside their body. They then spit it into the honeycombs for storage to be eaten later. The nurses take care of the larvae and keep them fed. If another another queen bee reaches a mature age, the reigning queen has to leave and find another hive. She is escorted by other bees. If she finds a suitable hive, she will battle the hive’s queen, in a battle of stingers. When one queen finally gives in, she leaves. Bees produce much more honey than they actually need. Beekeepers store colonies in artificial nests. When the bees start to make honey, the farmers will use a special smoke gun. The smoke does not hurt the bees, but puts them into a drowsy state. The farmer pulls out a tray where the bees store the honey and scrapes it into buckets. Once filtered and jarred, the honey is distributed across the country.