The Biology Of
Honeybees
There's
approximately 20,000 species of honeybees throughout the world making them interesting to beekeepers who rely on
them to cross pollinate because when honeybees do that it changes not only the flowers they collect pollen from
creating new species of flowers, but it also changes the consistency of the honey the produce.
Beekeepers also track honeybees
when they cross breed with other species of honeybees and that's how they track their habits from mating to origin
of where they come from. Beekeepers will also track their honey production since different species of honeybees
will also produce different consistencies of honey.
Most honeybees originated from
places in Europe, Africa and some parts of Asia, but with the fact that many honeybees were brought over by
immigrants to the United States over the centuries. Bees are found on all continents except Antarctica. The
evolutions of honeybees are derived from wasps since they're cousins with the exception that wasps aren't
pollinating insects and their ability to be organized rivals wasps, beetles, flies, and butterflies. Honeybees are
also categorized in two social classes that are ideal for beekeepers to adapt their system of managing honeybees
and hives.
Most honeybees born are usually
female you have few males, and females will fight each other for control of the hive and colony. Now most people
when they hear about the African bee they think killer bees when in fact the Africanized honeybee is in fact not
dangerous as people make them out to be. It is this species of bee that is the most popular with beekeepers and the
beekeeping industry alike.
The African honeybee are the
most readily used when they produce clover honey which is the most used and produced honey. One reason that the
African bee is so popular is because they're not an aggressive species that will readily attack someone, but they
will attack when they're defending the hive and the Queen-who will go into permanent residence inside the hive
after she becomes pregnant and isn't seen ever again. Usually most beekeepers remove portions of the hive, but
leave the one that contains the queen where it's.
Honeybees are generally docile,
but they do get annoying when they fly around you during picnics because of the fact that their sense of smell will
direct them since they don't have very good eyesight. Their sense of smell is what helps them find flowers they
pollinate and sometimes with the food people eat in this world the smell can mimic flowers which can result in them
getting their scents mixed up. This is why you'll likely find bees swarming around trash because debris on food
wrappers can attract them because sweet scents resemble flowers and plants.
Beekeepers should be careful
about dispensing their trash because honeybees can smell sweet scents for long distances and what can be harmless
such as disposing trash can turn into a huge pest problem when they start gathering in places that isn't their
normal habitat.
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