Most people associate bees with those fuzzy black-and-yellow insects we find all around, but bees come in all forms and sizes.
Queen bees typically live up to five years. Her male counterparts, known as drones, mate once and are then expelled from the hive.
They’re born twice
Life of a bee can be both fascinating and complex. Much like many animals, bees form ordered societies where there’s an alpha bee with dominion over all others – not to mention queens and drones!
One of the fascinating aspects of bees is their transformation from eggs into something completely different – their starting point determining their role within a colony. Bees can be divided into three castes – drone, worker and queen. Each has distinct roles which help the hive run efficiently.
All three castes begin life in honey comb cells as eggs laid by female bees, hatching three days later into tiny larvae. Nurse bees come along and provide royal jelly food that stimulates their rapid development into adults.
As newly hatched larva, bees face a critical decision: to remain within their colony and accept their duties or break away with half of its population and form another colony – bees tending towards greater democracy over autocracy here. Should they choose to remain, queen bees typically embark on several mating flights where she collects semen from 10-20 drone bees before depositing it in her spermatheca for storage as she lives a long and prosperous lifespan.
Queen bees must ensure the survival of their colony by laying numerous eggs. As time goes on, however, their bodies begin to break down; when egg laying drops significantly over time it signals to her colony that it’s time for replacement.
Superimposition is then followed by an expansion process called superimposition, during which more hexagonal cells will be created to facilitate procreation and house the brood of young bees in the hive. Once complete, this comb is sealed off with beeswax; this entire process usually takes up to one month.
They’re a city of activity
Social and bumblebee bees pollinate up to one-third of our crops each year, contributing honey, beeswax, royal jelly and propolis as food and medicine products from their hive products as well as playing an integral part in maintaining global ecosystems. Bees are not only important pollinators; they play an essential role in maintaining planet health through pollination services.
Bees pollinate plants across a wide variety of habitats, from marshes and sand dunes to soft cliffs and heathlands. Bees play an integral role in pollinating wild flowers as well as seventy-five percent of global crop species – yet these pollinators face numerous threats that threaten their continued existence on our planet’s natural ecosystems.
One of the greatest threats to bees is lack of safe habitat. As cities expand into rural areas, they encroach on bees’ natural living spaces. Many people view bees as pests and try to eliminate them from residential areas near homes causing stress that leads to disease transmission. Climate change also poses risks, with drought, wildfires and increased weather events unsustainable for habitats; such changes also increase parasites and diseases which cause further strain for bees already struggling under stress.
There are a variety of things people can do to aid bees and other pollinators in thriving, starting with planting gardens that are bee-friendly. Choose native flowers, shrubs, trees and vegetables that pollinators like to feed on; it doesn’t take up much space – window boxes, flower pots or mixed into vegetable gardens would work just fine. Picking local, native plants is especially crucial, since bees have coevolved with them over time in their region – nectar sources help pollinators survival!
One way to support bees is through reduced use of harmful agricultural chemicals. Chemicals like neonicotinoids have been linked with brain disorders in humans and may have detrimental impacts on bee health as a whole, potentially making illness and death more likely for bees.
They’re optimistic
Visit any beehive, and it will become clear: bees are incredibly optimistic creatures. Their homes are packed with honey and pollen for sustenance for themselves as well as nectar sources for future generations – something bees have much cause to celebrate, which contributes to our own happiness as humans.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London conducted a simple experiment in which bees were given sugar water treats before being released into a chamber with blue and green portals, each promising 30% sugar water rewards if they visited it while green ones did not. Researchers discovered that those bees that had already received rewards flew straight towards blue portals while those not yet given anything seemed more reluctantly towards their destination.
At work here is that bees who were given sugar were in a more positive brain state, making them quicker at seeking rewards and recovering from scares. Scientists have observed this same pattern among other animals including humans: when we experience something positive we become more confident and fearful.
These experiments were part of an even broader picture scientists are creating of bees. Professor Buchmann’s book, What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories and Personalities of Bees draws from multiple studies to create an astonishing portrait of bee psychology. For instance, his experiments demonstrate how bees are capable of complex emotions such as optimism, frustration and playfulness – typically associated with mammals – while others demonstrate they exhibit posttraumatic stress disorder-like symptoms when sleeping and even dream.
Sighting all these facts about bees has left people more optimistic about their role in our world, yet also raising serious ethical concerns over whether agriculture and scientific research can continue without harming bees, and whether our dominant culture accepts the concept that even small creatures possess emotions.
They’re a team
People often mistake the queen bee as the leader of her hive; in actuality, however, her job is more like that of a servant! Her role is to lay eggs to ensure its future by working as part of a team – so if you need inspiration on creating high-performing teams look no further than bees!
Each bee serves a vital function and complements its fellow workers beautifully, from queen bee to worker bee and drone – there are over 10 distinct jobs within a beehive: foragers, builders, cleaners, nectar collectors, pollen collectors, temperature controllers and guards!
Bees are remarkable communicators. When forager bees find an abundant food source, they return to the colony and perform a special dance that notifies all their fellow bees of its location and quality – this figure-of-eight dance is called a waggle dance. Through it they exchange vital information regarding location, direction, and quality with fellow bees.
Communication is central to beehive success and should also apply in business environments. All team members need to be able to effectively exchange ideas while having their roles and responsibilities clearly identified so they know exactly what’s expected of them.
Bees have an established structure within their hives, and aren’t afraid to alter it when necessary. For instance, they’ll swap job titles, switch responsibilities with another bee or take on roles such as cool bees (who help keep it cool by flapping their wings to create airflow). Bees understand their roles within society as a whole, which allows them to adjust when necessary.
While it can be tempting to create the ideal working environment for your employees, a business can only achieve its goals with a team working collaboratively towards that end. Achieved through open communication, trust and respect amongst team members – which Creatif’s acoustic furniture helps support by creating an office environment which promotes privacy while minimising noise pollution.