Monthly Archives: August 2010

1. We’ve heard about “killer bees,” what are they? A so called “killer bees” are in reality a variety of honey bee generally known as the African Honey. African Honey Bees (AHBs) look exactly like the common European Honey Bee … Continue reading →

Bee Alert! The best safety advice is to avoid an encounter with unfriendly honey bees. Be alert for danger. Don’t forget that honey bees sting to defend their colony, so be on the look out for honey bee swarms and … Continue reading →

African Honey Bees (AHBs)  and European Honey Bees (EHBs) are similar in that they – o  appear exactly the same. o  both sting in defense of themselves or their nest. o  can only sting one time. o  have the same … Continue reading →

African Honey Bees (AHBs) have spread through most of the Americas partly because of their tendency to move more frequently than other honey bees. Their biggest move, nonetheless, crossing the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil, was not done through their … Continue reading →

The term mimicry is commonly applied to the resemblance of one insect (called the mimic) to another (called the model) so that a third insect or other observer is deceived into confusing the two. In 1862 an entomologist conducting research … Continue reading →

Pollination is the movement of male pollen to the female part of the flower (stigma), the first step in successful seed and fruit production by the plant. Self-pollination is when pollen is transferred from the anther to the stigma within … Continue reading →

When a bee finds a bush covered with flowers, or a tree loaded with blossoms, it’s only a matter of time before a great number of bees arrive to gather pollen and nectar. Activity within the hive looks something like … Continue reading →

Smell Bees “smell” many things. Guard bees sit or hover near the hive entrance and “smell” other bees attempting to enter the honey bee hive. If the bees don’t have the correct odor of that particular hive they are expelled. … Continue reading →

Honey Bees live in big family groups called colonies. A full-sized honey bee colony at the height of the growing season contains an average of 60,000 individual bees. Honey Bees tended by beekeepers live in wood boxes called hives. Some … Continue reading →

Children are most likely to encounter honey bees that are feeding at flowers or foraging. Honey Bees may fly long distances (up to six miles) in search of food and may  be quite far from home when they’re seen in … Continue reading →