Honey bees in a fight for survival

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Honey bees in a fight for survival

We take them for granted and depend on them for much of our food. Now they and we may be in serious trouble.
When I grew up, European honey bees and dozens of species of native bees used to be very common. I even remember stepping on some while running through a patch of clover. The bees didn’t like that too much. Neither did my feet. Bee stings are a bit painful!
Many scientists think that the European honey bee populations are declining rapidly. As well as populations of our native bee species. Disease, mites, strong and over-applied pesticides and herbicides and other contributing negative factors are decreasing their numbers quickly and dramatically.


Some scientists believe that a trending problem called Colony Collapse Disorder is causing a significant decrease in European honey bee populations.
So, is this significant? When you stop and think about all the plants that bees pollinate, including many of them that provide us with food, the decline of the honey bee is very important. Less available food could result in possible food shortages and higher prices at the local grocery store.
European honey bees are not native to the United States. It is believed they were brought over by early explorers. They found North America to be a good place to live.
A colony of bees can consist of up to 60,000 bees. They have a regimented social structure. One ruling queen, thousands of workers (all females) and several dozen drones (males).
The female bees do all the work. (OK, ladies, I can hear your comments about your spouses now!)  The “house bees” clean the hive. “Field bees” visit flowers to gather nectar to make honey. In the process, they also gather pollen and pollinate plants. The queen’s “court” guard, clean and feed the queen bee. Usually, the “court” consists of about a dozen bees.
The queen can live to up to about 4 years of age.  Female workers and the male drones live about 8 weeks.
It takes visiting about 1,000,000 flowers to make a pound of honey.  That is a lot of work done by the busy worker bees.  Another little-known fact is that a bee’s wings beat up to 250 times per second. 


Worker field bees actually dance to let other bees know in what direction and how far to find pollen-rich flowers. They have at least two different dances. The round dance and the abdomen wiggle dance. This applies to the female bees only. Like many of their human counterparts, male bees don’t dance. Yep, I would definitely be a male bee except when no one is looking!
Also, if you are stung by a honey bee, it will be a female that does so. Remember, the female workers leave the hive to gather pollen.  The male drones are hanging around the queen in the hive.  When a female bee stings you, it is fatal to the bee as a part of the bee’s internal organs leave the body attached to the stinger.  
So the next time you see a bee visiting a flower, take a moment to appreciate what they do for us in pollinating food crops. A single bee is part of a complex social structure within the amazing culture of a colony of thousands of bees. They are quite amazing insects!
So, the next time you see a European honey bee, consider yourself lucky.  If we lose them all we will all be in serious trouble. Do whatever you can to assist them in their struggle to stay alive. Consider attending a local beekeeper club meeting to learn more about our amazing and beneficial bees.
Did you know? There are literally hundreds of species of bees in the world.  Not all live in large groups or colonies. Some are called solitary bees. They live alone.
Enjoy your Leon County nature trails.

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