Rose of Sharon Farm

The QUEEN bee may very well be the most important member in the beehive because she is the very lifeblood of the colony. Without the Queen to lay the eggs and exude her pheromones to keep the members of the hive working as a team there would not be a colony. The Queen is the largest of the bees in the hive and she rules over all. She is fed, pampered, groomed and protected non-stop from the moment she emerges from her special cell. She is truly Royal because she is the only female bee in the hive that can lay eggs and this means she has enormous work ahead of her for the 2 or 3 years she will be alive. The queen can lay as many as 1,500 eggs per day during the busiest part of the season. In the photo below the Queen is marked with a small stick on number at the bee yard where she was raised.

A Queen Bee Surrounded by Workers

Not all beekeepers have their Queens numbered like this, but many of us find it helpful in spotting her quickly on the frames.  I have asked for my Queens to be numbered so that when we take pictures to place on the website you will be able to find her among the hundreds of bees that will be on the frame.  The bees surrounding her are her ATTENDANTS . . .   they are members of the bee colony called WORKER bees that follow her every move and stay very close at all times.

One of the tasks they do for the Queen is to clean and prepare the cells that she will deposit her eggs into.   Notice how all the attendants circle around the Queen facing her.  The Queen emits subtle odors, called PHEROMONES that are part of the language that bees use to communicate.   The worker bees know who the Queen is by smell even in a totally dark hive.  As long as the Queen is alive and producing her scent the colony goes about its work in a calm and efficient manner.   If the Queen becomes sick, old or injured she produces less of her scent and the rest of the hive recognizes that there is a problem and often they become very agitated.

Worker bees are similar to the Queen in that they are all females, but the workers are not equipped to lay eggs in the hive.   The workers in a hive perform about 99% of all the daily chores that need to be accomplished to keep the colony alive.  The workers emerge from their cells and within seconds begin the tasks they are expected to do for their whole short lives.

Worker Bees

Whereas the Queen can often live for 2 or 3 years, the workers often live only 5-6 weeks and actually work themselves to death! Within a few seconds of her crawling out of her cell she begins by cleaning up her cell and preparing it to be used again for laying another egg.  The workers are probably the only bees you’ve ever seen because they are generally the only ones that go out into public where you might encounter one.  While the Queen has a stinger she only uses it when she fights with another Queen bee to see who will be the one to rule a colony.  The workers have stingers that they use in defense of the hive.  The Queen can use her stinger more than once but the worker bee that uses its stinger will soon die.  Bees are pretty reluctant to sting because it means their death and unless they are attacked or feel that the hive is in danger they will usually avoid a fight.  Notice the difference in the size and color of the workers from the Queen.  The workers are much smaller because they don’t have the long abdomen necessary for laying eggs.  Also, they have brighter colors and more pronounced stripes than the Queen.

The workers will spend their short life doing all the chores in the hive that need to be done.   They start out as housekeepers and cleaners, then they begin to feed larva and act as nurse bees, next they will become guard bees and learn to protect the hive from intruders.  For a time they will meet the foragers at the hive entrance where they take the pollen, water and nectar that the foragers bring in and transport it up into the hive where it can be stored and processed.

Another critical task of the entire colony of worker bees is temperature control which needs to be maintained at a constant 93-95 degrees.   In colder weather the bees contract their muscles to sort of “shiver” which generates considerable heat to keep the hive warm.  In warmer weather you can often find hundreds of bees on the porch of the hive or just inside the entrance fanning their wings to cool the hive.

The final job that the worker does is to become a forager.  She will do this for the last few weeks of her life and will actually work herself to death as she flies hundreds of miles to and from nectar, water, and pollen sources.   She will visit and pollinate thousands of flowers in the short time that she works outside the hive.   One day she will leave to gather food for the hive and simply not return.   The worker has a tough life; while outside the hive gathering food she can be eaten by birds or other insects, injured or fall out of the air because she has worn her wings to shreds and can no longer even fly.

There is another member of the Colony that has a very specialized job, like the Queen.  Meet the DRONE.  The drone is the only male bee in a hive and they do one job and one job only.   Apart from mating with the Queen, one time, they have absolutely no value to the colony.  You see, the drone is unable to do any work in the hive, he gathers no food, cannot defend the hive because he has no stinger, he simply lies around on the couch eating potato chips and watches bee football.  OK, not really.  He does only one thing of any importance at all, every day at sunrise he and all his drone buddies fly out of the hive and go to places called drone assembly areas.  There they just fly around waiting for an unmated Queen to fly by then they attempt to mate with her.  If they are successful at mating with the Queen they die immediately afterwards.  Most drones however, never get a chance to mate with a Queen and simply die without ever really doing anything except looking to find a mate.

A Drone

The drone is built differently than either the Queen or the workers.  Notice the extremely large eyes of the drone.  One of his special abilities is to see better than any other bees.  His job is to see an unmated Queen while she fly’s around.  His eyesight is critical.  Also, he is much larger than the workers and almost the same size as the Queen.  His legs lack the special equipment necessary to gather food, remember, he has no stinger either.

As winter gets closer, the time when the Queen might need to mate is passed and the drone bees in the hive are evicted by the workers and either killed on the front porch of the hive or kicked out into the grass to starve or freeze.  Not much of a life is it?  Still every bee has their duty to perform if the colony is to survive.

In the opening sentence of this lesson I mentioned that the Queen bee might very possibly be the most important member of the colony.  I’d like you to consider that she is only ONE member of the colony, and is unable to exist alone.  The Queen can lay the life giving eggs but cannot feed herself or the newly emerged bees.  The Worker performs all the work in the hive and ultimately is the one who gives her life on behalf of the colony but since she can’t lay eggs she cannot continue the life of the hive.  The Drone does almost nothing of any value in or on behalf of the colony except mate, one time, if he’s lucky with the queen.  He might be considered the least important member of the colony, yet without him there is no colony.  The beehive is the perfect example of the interdependence that all colony members have with one another.  Each has distinct roles and tasks to perform yet none is more important than the other.

The Bee: Queen, Worker, Drone, and Rick
The QUEEN bee may very well be the most important member in the beehive because she is the very lifeblood of the colony. Without the Queen to lay the eggs and exude her pheromones to keep the members of the hive working as a team there would not be a colony. The Queen is the largest of the bees in the hive and she rules over all. She is fed, pampered, groomed and protected non-stop from the moment she emerges from her special cell. She is truly Royal because she is the only female bee in the hive that can lay eggs and this means she has enormous work ahead of her for the 2 or 3 years she will be alive. The queen can lay as many as 1,500 eggs per day during the busiest part of the season. In the photo below the Queen is marked with a small stick on number at the bee yard where she was raised. A Queen Bee Surrounded by Workers Not all beekeepers have their Queens numbered like this, but many of us find it helpful in spotting her quickly on the frames. I have asked for my Queens to be numbered so that when we take pictures to place on the website you will be able to find her among the hundreds of bees that will be on the frame. The bees surrounding her are her ATTENDANTS . . . they are members of the bee colony called WORKER bees that follow her every move and stay very close at all times. One of the tasks they do for the Queen is to clean and prepare the cells that she will deposit her eggs into. Notice how all the attendants circle around the Queen facing her. The Queen emits subtle odors, called PHEROMONES that are part of the language that bees use to communicate. The worker bees know who the Queen is by smell even in a totally dark hive. As long as the Queen is alive and producing her scent the colony goes about its work in a calm and efficient manner. If the Queen becomes sick, old or injured she produces less of her scent and the rest of the hive recognizes that there is a problem and often they become very agitated. Worker bees are similar to the Queen in that they are all females, but the workers are not equipped to lay eggs in the hive. The workers in a hive perform about 99% of all the daily chores that need to be accomplished to keep the colony alive. The workers emerge from their cells and within seconds begin the tasks they are expected to do for their whole short lives. Worker Bees Whereas the Queen can often live for 2 or 3 years, the workers often live only 5-6 weeks and actually work themselves to death! Within a few seconds of her crawling out of her cell she begins by cleaning up her cell and preparing it to be used again for laying another egg. The workers are probably the only bees you’ve ever seen because they are generally the only ones that go out into public where you might encounter one. While the Queen has a stinger she only uses it when she fights with another Queen bee to see who will be the one to rule a colony. The workers have stingers that they use in defense of the hive. The Queen can use her stinger more than once but the worker bee that uses its stinger will soon die. Bees are pretty reluctant to sting because it means their death and unless they are attacked or feel that the hive is in danger they will usually avoid a fight. Notice the difference in the size and color of the workers from the Queen. The workers are much smaller because they don’t have the long abdomen necessary for laying eggs. Also, they have brighter colors and more pronounced stripes than the Queen. The workers will spend their short life doing all the chores in the hive that need to be done. They start out as housekeepers and cleaners, then they begin to feed larva and act as nurse bees, next they will become guard bees and learn to protect the hive from intruders. For a time they will meet the foragers at the hive entrance where they take the pollen, water and nectar that the foragers bring in and transport it up into the hive where it can be stored and processed. Another critical task of the entire colony of worker bees is temperature control which needs to be maintained at a constant 93-95 degrees. In colder weather the bees contract their muscles to sort of “shiver” which generates considerable heat to keep the hive warm. In warmer weather you can often find hundreds of bees on the porch of the hive or just inside the entrance fanning their wings to cool the hive. The final job that the worker does is to become a forager. She will do this for the last few weeks of her life and will actually work herself to death as she flies hundreds of miles to and from nectar, water, and pollen sources. She will visit and pollinate thousands of flowers in the short time that she works outside the hive. One day she will leave to gather food for the hive and simply not return. The worker has a tough life; while outside the hive gathering food she can be eaten by birds or other insects, injured or fall out of the air because she has worn her wings to shreds and can no longer even fly. There is another member of the Colony that has a very specialized job, like the Queen. Meet the DRONE. The drone is the only male bee in a hive and they do one job and one job only. Apart from mating with the Queen, one time, they have absolutely no value to the colony. You see, the drone is unable to do any work in the hive, he gathers no food, cannot defend the hive because he has no stinger, he simply lies around on the couch eating potato chips and watches bee football. OK, not really. He does only one thing of any importance at all, every day at sunrise he and all his drone buddies fly out of the hive and go to places called drone assembly areas. There they just fly around waiting for an unmated Queen to fly by then they attempt to mate with her. If they are successful at mating with the Queen they die immediately afterwards. Most drones however, never get a chance to mate with a Queen and simply die without ever really doing anything except looking to find a mate. A Drone The drone is built differently than either the Queen or the workers. Notice the extremely large eyes of the drone. One of his special abilities is to see better than any other bees. His job is to see an unmated Queen while she fly’s around. His eyesight is critical. Also, he is much larger than the workers and almost the same size as the Queen. His legs lack the special equipment necessary to gather food, remember, he has no stinger either. As winter gets closer, the time when the Queen might need to mate is passed and the drone bees in the hive are evicted by the workers and either killed on the front porch of the hive or kicked out into the grass to starve or freeze. Not much of a life is it? Still every bee has their duty to perform if the colony is to survive. In the opening sentence of this lesson I mentioned that the Queen bee might very possibly be the most important member of the colony. I’d like you to consider that she is only ONE member of the colony, and is unable to exist alone. The Queen can lay the life giving eggs but cannot feed herself or the newly emerged bees. The Worker performs all the work in the hive and ultimately is the one who gives her life on behalf of the colony but since she can’t lay eggs she cannot continue the life of the hive. The Drone does almost nothing of any value in or on behalf of the colony except mate, one time, if he’s lucky with the queen. He might be considered the least important member of the colony, yet without him there is no colony. The beehive is the perfect example of the interdependence that all colony members have with one another. Each has distinct roles and tasks to perform yet none is more important than the other.
	There is one last kind of bee . . . but I’ll bet you’ve never seen one like it before. In the picture to the left you’ll see a bee so scary you might scream. Sometimes we do! It’s our BROTHER bee, Rick. He’s kind of weird but we love him anyway. Kids, if you see a bee like this you might want to run away. Love ya, Buddy!