Did You Know

 - The queen is the largest bee in the hive and can be distinguished by her elongated abdomen.

- She is the only fertile female in the colony and has the important role of laying eggs.

- The queen bee can live for several years, while worker bees typically live for 4-6 weeks.

- She can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day, which is essential for the hive's survival and growth.

- The queen bee emits pheromones that help maintain the social structure and harmony within the hive.

- If the queen bee dies or becomes less productive, the worker bees will raise a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a special diet called royal jelly.

- The queen bee has attendants called worker bees that groom her, feed her, and remove waste from the hive.

- Despite her significant role, the queen bee does not control the hive's activities or make decisions. Those tasks are carried out collectively by the worker bees.

- The queen bee will mate only once in her lifetime during a nuptial flight, and she stores the sperm from that mating to fertilize eggs throughout her life. It is estimated during this flight she mates with 10-20 drones. The multiple drones ensure genetic diversity within the colony. 

- If the queen bee becomes weak or old, the worker bees may decide to replace her by creating a new queen through a process called supersedure.

 - Worker bees are the female bees that do most of the work in the hive.

- They are smaller in size compared to the queen bee but outnumber her significantly.

- Worker bees have various roles throughout their lifespan, including nursing larvae, cleaning the hive, building honeycomb, collecting nectar and pollen, guarding the hive, and foraging for food.

- They communicate with each other through a complex dance language called the waggle dance to share information about food sources.

- Worker bees have specialized body parts for collecting nectar and pollen, such as pollen baskets on their hind legs and a long proboscis for sipping nectar from flowers.

- They have a barbed stinger that they use as a defense mechanism. When a worker bee stings a threat, the barbed stinger gets lodged in the target, causing the bee to die shortly after.

- Worker bees undergo a series of tasks as they age, starting as nurse bees caring for larvae, then transitioning to hive maintenance duties, and eventually becoming foragers as they mature.

- They can fly at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour and visit hundreds of flowers in a single foraging trip.

- Worker bees have a lifespan of a few weeks during the summer season when they are highly active, but can live longer during winter months when the hive is less active.

- The combined efforts of worker bees result in the production of honey, beeswax, and the overall survival and growth of the hive.

 - Drones are male bees, and their primary purpose is to mate with a queen bee from another colony.

- They do not have stingers, pollen baskets, or the ability to collect nectar or pollen like worker bees.

- Drones are larger in size compared to worker bees, but smaller than the queen bee.

- Their eyes are exceptionally large and well-suited for detecting queens during mating flights.

- Drones have a single task in their short lifespan: to mate with a queen from another colony.

- They are usually expelled from their own hive during the winter months when resources are scarce, as they do not contribute to the hive's survival.

- Drones are recognizable by their stout bodies and large eyes, which help them navigate and locate queens during mating flights.

- They do not have a barbed stinger and are unable to defend the hive or themselves.

- Drones typically gather in drone congregations, also known as drone congregation areas, where they wait for queen bees to arrive for mating.

- After mating, drones die as their reproductive organs are ripped from their bodies during the process.

- The presence of drones in a hive is an indication of a healthy and thriving colony.