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Honey & Bee Facts
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Honey is a thick liquid produced by certain
types of bees from the nectar of flowers. While many species of
insects consume nectar, honeybees refine and concentrate nectar
to make honey. Unlike most insects, honeybees remain active
through the winter, consuming and metabolizing honey in order to
keep from freezing to death. |
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Honeybees are
social insects. In the wild, they create elaborate nests called hives
containing up to 20,000 individuals during the summer months. Domestic
hives may have over 80,000 bees. They work together in a highly
structured social order. Each bee belongs to one of three specialized
groups called castes. The different castes are: queens, drones and
workers.
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Queen Bee |
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There is only one queen in a hive
and her main purpose in life is to make more bees. She can lay
over 1,500 eggs per day and will live two to eight years. She is
larger (up to 20mm) and has a longer abdomen than the workers or
drones. She has chewing mouthparts. Her stinger is curved with
no barbs on it and she can use it many times. |
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The central feature of the bee hive is the honeycomb. This
marvel of engineering consists of flat vertical panels of
six-sided cells made of beeswax. Beeswax is produced from glands
on the underside of the abdomens of worker bees when they are
between 12 and 15 days old. |
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