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The Honeybee

In: Other Topics

Submitted By JacksonHodges
Words 1441
Pages 6
Norwood Hodges

Mr. Connell English 9

14 February 2014

The Astonishing Creature

There are tons of astounding creatures in this world. Ones of different size, shape, and color. Yet, the one most humans do not think about is the honeybee. A quick Google search of honey bee defines the insect as, “a stinging winged insect that collects nectar and pollen, produces wax and honey, and lives in large communities. The honeybee was domesticated for its honey and usually lives in hives.” While researching information about the honeybee I realized just how helpful and interesting the insect is. However, they can be a huge burden. My goal in this paper is to state accurate information and inform a reader about the unique creature, the honeybee.

Honeybees are important to our wold. Not only are they one of the biggest pollinators, they also provide some people with food and a source of income. They live in large colonies called hives. In those hives there are millions of bees, called worker bees. Worker bees are female honeybees that are not sexually developed. It takes approximately twenty days for an egg to hatch. After the first three days of being birthed the egg turns into larvae. They older and mature worker bees take care of the larvae, feeding it royal jelly, pollen, and honey. Royal jelly is the leakage of the bees that provides the larvae with the nutrients they need. The worker bees tend to larvae and forage for food. They forage for three main types of food: honey, propolis, and nectar. Propolis is a sap type mixture that is used for sealing small holes in the honeycombs. They collect propolis form trees, the most common of which is the conifer. When the temperature is cold enough, the propolis becomes hard and brittle which makes it perfect for protecting the hive. Also, the worker bees feed and take care of the queen bee and the drones. Basically,

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