The bees are the most interesting. Interesting facts about bees

The convent in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Consolation and Consolation” in the village of Bolshaya Olshanka in the Kiev region has been operating since 2008 as a metochion of the Kyiv Trinity Ionian Monastery. Under the leadership of the confessor and builder, Bishop Jonah of Obukhov, the monastery is being built in the Byzantine style. All architectural features The Olshansky monastery complex has real prototypes on Holy Mount Athos.

Facts about bees

1. A bee lives for about a month

During the honey season, the insect works tirelessly and tirelessly. That’s why her life is so short: a maximum of 45 days.

If a bee hibernates and does not fly anywhere, then it lives for six months - practically from the end of the season (in early October) until the beginning of a new one (in March).

2. Each bee family has its own special honey.

Each hive contains special scout bees. With the onset of warmth, they fly out to study the situation, select certain areas to collect nectar, where other hard workers then fly, following the “instructions” of these trusted representatives.

Different bee colonies have different interests. Some people prefer buckwheat color, others - fruit trees, for some - something else, and for others - a little bit of everything. As a result, each hive produces unique honey, even if the apiary is located in one place.

Beekeeper nuns

3. A bee can travel up to 60 kilometers in a day

The bee obtains nectar within a radius of 2-3 km from the hive. Finds what she needs, loads herself up to capacity and carries the spoils to her house. A worker can make up to 10 such flights per day.

4. Everything from beekeeping products is useful. Even... the bees themselves!

It is known that the “assortment” of producers includes more than just honey. There is also pollen, beebread, royal jelly, honeycomb, wax, propolis and even the bees themselves! Dead bees - from insects that have outlived their usefulness, dried in a special way - have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and many other properties, help stabilize blood pressure, metabolism, heart and kidney function. It is consumed in dry form, and tinctures, ointments and other medicines are made from it.

Even the air around the hives, bee sounds and smells are useful. In order to obtain this benefit, special houses - sunbeds - are built above the hives. You can climb into a sun lounger, “rest” for a couple of hours for medicinal purposes and improve your health even better than in overseas resorts.

5. The hive consists almost entirely of “female” bees who live in a large happy family

Drones - bees of the opposite sex - are needed by the bee colony in rare moments. In particular, so that a new owner of the evidence appears - the uterus. In the winter, if the drones themselves do not want to fly away, the bees drive them out. Drones are large, eat a lot, but do not bring any benefit in winter.

It is interesting that bees clearly remember the trajectory of their flight, the terrain, and until the end of their little lives they remain faithful to their family and home. But it happens that they deliberately leave the hive - they swarm. When, for example, a family becomes crowded, but they are not “expanded” or resettled; when the head - the uterus - gets old, gets sick, or simply does not fulfill its functions; When bees have no work to do, they have nothing to collect, they begin to “idle and, as a result, swarm. The beekeeper must monitor all these and other factors carefully and prevent swarming in a timely manner.

By the way, last year, as a result of swarming, a family flew away from its owners and flew to our Olshanskaya apiary. A new shelter was quickly put together for the homeless and settled in. And this year, some family flew into an empty hive themselves, without waiting for an invitation.

The beekeeper must monitor the hives and prevent swarming in time

Facts about honey

1. Candied honey is not spoiled at all

Sugaring is a natural process of honey crystallization. There is nothing wrong with this, the sweet product does not lose its natural properties, on the contrary, it even improves them. Only liquid acacia honey is not candied.

2. Not all the honey is taken from the bees

Insect rights defenders can rest assured: the honey necessary for bees to live is left to its creators. About 20% of the honey is stored in the hive for the winter.

3. Honey is a completely natural product

There is no artificial sugar in real honey. Yes, before the end of the season, striped workers are given an additional dope - sugar syrup, so that they can better withstand the winter and maintain their strength. But before spring they drink it completely. The “bread” for bees is bee bread - pollen collected from flowers.

4. Not every flower produces honey.

It is little known that, for example, a bee is only interested in the color of linden trees when the air temperature at night is 18 degrees. If it is more or less, nectar is not released in the linden tree, and the bee simply flies by. That’s why, for example, last year there was no linden honey.

5. Honey is “born” only in purity

When the honey harvest season arrives, the bees do not immediately go out hunting. Only after they clean up their hive. Over the course of a long winter (one can imagine!) a lot of different debris accumulates in the hive. Including the pestilence we mentioned.

A bee will not carry nectar into a dirty hive, so in order for honey collection to begin as early as possible, as soon as the air temperature reaches at least 15 degrees, the beekeeper must inspect the bee apartments and help the bees clean up.

The main secret of all beekeepers

It is simple: trust in God’s Providence. Every new honey season for beekeepers, especially beginners like us, is full of discoveries and surprises. What will the weather be like? Will anything bloom? Will bees swarm? Will they be able to collect something? Will there be any honey at all? Everything is under the control of the Lord.

This year, due to the cold at the beginning of the honey-bearing period, the bees had nothing to collect, so in the surrounding area some beekeepers had no honey at all, some collected it, but not enough. We, by the grace of God, sweet harvest even more than last season - about 230 liters. Thank God for everything!

Why should honey be blessed?

Why on August 14 honey is blessed in churches, why this is done and what it gives, comments the rector of the Archangel Michael Church in the village of Voloskoye, Dnepropetrovsk region, priest Andrey Pinchuk.

We always pray for the things that are most valuable to us. And from ancient times, people brought to the temple what was of great importance to them in order to consecrate and receive a blessing.

Honey in this regard, and indeed all beekeeping products, are unique. Honey is food. Honey is a drink - drinks made on its basis. This is health - medications from bee products. This is the light - wax candles. Name at least one more product that would fit all these categories at once.

Let's imagine what would happen if honey was removed from the life of an ancient Christian. This is the same as today being left without sugar and its derivatives, without electricity and pharmacies. So now let’s think about why our ancestors treated honey with such care and reverence.

Why bless honey?

Why do people consecrate anything at all? Since ancient times, the annual cycle of worship has been closely connected with agricultural work, because Christians sought to sanctify all stages of their work on earth. Beehives and wells, seeds and fields were blessed. Accordingly, the harvest was also blessed. The firstfruits, as it was called, were brought to the church - for sprinkling with holy water, thanking God. Part of it was left for the temple, the rest was taken home by people. After all, each of us, leaving the temple, carries holiness within us. And we try to extend this holiness to what surrounds us - to family, community, work, and so on.

After consecration in the temple, honey does not change its properties. Everything that is consecrated generally benefits only the person who perceives it reverently. But whoever doesn’t care, he can pour holy water on himself by the centners or eat blessed honey by the kilograms, nothing will change for him.

Prepared by Yulia Kominko
Photo: nun Nektaria (Tereshchenko)

Listed below are the most interesting facts about bees. Insects, which tirelessly produce a delicious treat and medicine - honey, are much more complex than we all think.

Honey bees change professions throughout their lives.. At first they feed the larvae along with the queen. When wax glands develop, they build honeycombs. Then they work as garbage collectors. Then they become soldiers and guard the entrance. Afterwards the bees collect honey, and in their old age they bring water to the hive.
IN beehives a complex access system works. Hives smell differently; furry workers have a special depression in their body where the smell is stored. Approaching the entrance, the bee opens the hole, like a pass. Humans cannot detect these odors, but soldier bees will not allow a stranger into their territory.
All bees have five eyes. They need three simple eyes to look at nearby objects. Two compound eyes are responsible for vision during flight, helping to navigate through the air.
These insects see ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet is a common color in natural environment, so bees’ vision is able to detect it. In addition, insects distinguish between yellow, blue, blue-green and purple colors. But orange and pure green are perceived by them as yellow.
Aging and stress do not threaten them. Elderly individuals themselves choose what to do in the hive, and the choice is reflected in their body. During work, which is typical for young people, the structure of proteins in the brains of old people changes and the body begins the reverse process. Old bees become younger and help the rest. In addition to aging, insects’ brains are also blocked by stress.
Honeycomb - standard architectural structure . The whole secret lies in their shape: regular hexagons provide strength to the structure. The walls of the structure are very thin. Therefore, bees use very little wax to build honeycombs.
Bees don't fly far from home. Long-distance flights exhaust them and affect their life expectancy. Therefore, they collect honey close to the hive, but at such a distance that their enemies do not discover their home. Two or three kilometers is enough for this.
They consolidate their efforts to get rid of enemies. Scientists were surprised to discover this feature. Thus, in Japan, beehives suffer from attacks by Asian hornets. One such hornet is capable of destroying 30 winged workers at a time, so Japanese bees have developed special tactics. When the hornet approaches, it is surrounded, forming a living ball. Active muscle work heats the air inside the ball, and the enemy simply dies from overheating.
Hives are not for everyone, some prefer solitude. In addition to “family” bees, there are also solitary bees. They do not make honey or wax, and build nests in trees or burrows in the ground.
Bees often perform ritual dances. When a honey bee finds a place with nectar, it returns to the hive and dances. The angle of the abdomen tells others the direction, and the frequency of wagging indicates the distance to the object.
There are so-called cuckoo bees. Such individuals place their larva in the hive, which hatches and eats food supplies, and kills other larvae. Sometimes they even replace the queen and lay their own eggs in the hive.
In case of fire, the first thing they do is save honey.. Beekeepers use smoke to simulate a fire. At this time, insects desperately consume honey to stock up for the journey, and can no longer sting.
They reproduce on the fly. In one species of bees, males, when mating, rise into the air after the female. The entire sexual act lasts only a few seconds.
Bees are able to recognize the shapes of objects that they encounter in nature.. They can easily identify flowers and the number of petals. Some scientists are even convinced of their ability to distinguish human faces.
These insects can work as sappers. Thin receptors on their paws detect explosives. And if you train them correctly, they will swarm exactly in those places where the bomb is planted.

So, let's begin our amazing journey into the world of little working bees...

Do you know, dear reader, that the first bees appeared on our Earth about 70 million years ago! There are 21 thousand species of these amazing insects. The most interesting for us are, of course, honey bees. For 15 thousand years, people have known about the existence of incredibly tasty and healthy honey! Today, you won’t surprise anyone with a jar of the viscous amber delicacy – honey is known in all countries of the world. Nevertheless, you will probably be interested in learning something new about him. For example, how many kilometers do honey bees need to fly to get 100 grams of a natural product? Or how people used honey instead of refrigerator! But the hives floating along the Nile River are, in general, a different story. So, let's begin our journey into the history of the most unusual and sweet delicacy in the world!

Why do bees make honey?

In fact, honey is, first of all, the food of the bees themselves. However, the person also found it suitable (and very tasty!) for himself. To ensure existence in autumn- winter period, the bees work without sparing their wings all spring and summer. They collect nectar, fertilizing flowers along the way, then process it and carefully place it in honeycombs. When the honeycomb is full, it is sealed with wax. This is how natural honey ripens!

With the onset of cold weather, bees need high-calorie nutrition, because now their task is to be alive... “ventilators”! To maintain the same temperature in the hive, they flap their wings, regulating proper air circulation. This is necessary in order to protect the larvae and laid eggs from cooling or, conversely, overheating.

Bee families are very large and friendly. They are home to, on average, from 15,000 to 80,000 individuals! At the same time, each bee fulfills its purpose. For example, there are “cleaners” who monitor the cleanliness of the combs and “nurses” who provide the uterus with special royal jelly. There are “nannies” who feed the larvae, and there are “builders” who build honeycombs. Nectar collection also follows a clear pattern. Each bee knows its duties: some fly around flowers (which are also called honey plants), and some are engaged in “receiving goods”... It is interesting to observe how some bees seem to comb their sisters, carefully smoothing their pile with the brushes of their legs. These are “hairdressers” who monitor the appearance of members of the entire family. You can’t do it, of course, without “guards” - bees standing guard near the hive. Few people know that there are even “scout girls”! These bees are responsible for searching best flowers and, if necessary, they look out for a new place for the family’s nest.

All these duties are performed by worker bees. But the main thing is, of course, the queen bee! She is considered a real queen! It is the uterus that lays eggs (about 200,000 per year), thanks to which the family line continues. After all, bees born in the spring live about 40 days. Therefore, it is very important that new individuals are constantly born. Real royal apartments are built for the queen - separate cells in honeycombs. She is constantly looked after by worker bees, and when she leaves the hive, her “retinue” certainly flies next to her - several bees responsible for Her Majesty’s food! But drones are male individuals, they do not work on an equal basis with working bees, but are only responsible for the reproduction of offspring. There are very few of them in the family - several hundred.

This is how the life of bee families works. They perform their duties very diligently, so they usually store honey in excess for the winter. It is precisely this surplus that man has learned to produce. And, the history of beekeeping itself is extremely interesting...

History of beekeeping

Beekeeping developed gradually. So, in ancient times, people did not think about breeding bees, but were engaged in ordinary hunting for honey. It happened as follows. First, they looked for wild bee families that could settle in rock crevices or ordinary tree hollows. And then they broke out the honeycombs, of course, destroying the nest itself. Honey collected in this way was, of course, very tasty. Yes, only bees died in large numbers...

The man began to think about how to get a treat and not offend the bees. And he decided that he would no longer break anything, but would begin to take only part of the honey from the hollow. Bees began to live quite amicably with people. But you can’t tell insects where to build a “house,” right? And, walking all over the forest looking for families of “your” bees is not very convenient. Then it was decided to cut out hollows for the bees ourselves and place them in one place! A new direction of human activity has emerged, called beekeeping (“bort” is a hollow). The beekeeper (beekeeper) himself chose the clearing he liked, fenced it off, and moved the bees’ nests cut out of the trees. He even moved some families to new “houses” that he built himself.

Only after this apiary beekeeping arose. An apiary is a special place, usually near human habitation, where honey bees are bred. Insects live in special beehives - artificial nests made by human hands from various materials(wood, straw, and even polyurethane!) At first, the hives were made non-dismountable. These were ordinary logs or sapets woven from straw, which were usually coated with clay. They also hollowed out simple nest boxes, made boxes from boards... But it was impossible to get honey from a non-dismountable hive without destroying it! Only in 1814, beekeeper Pyotr Ivanovich Prokopovich invented the frame system of hives. Now there was no need for the bees to build after each honey collection new house. Collapsible (opening) hives appeared, in which special frames were placed. After filling them with honey, the frames could be safely taken out.

Now almost every beekeeper uses collapsible hives. They can even be transported from one place to another when nectar needs to be collected from different colors.

Nomadic beekeeping in ancient Egypt

This is really where honey was collected in an original way! In Ancient Egypt, the golden delicacy was highly respected. Papyrus scrolls (about 5 thousand years old) that talk about beekeeping have survived to this day. Interestingly, the working bee herself was even chosen as a symbol of Lower Egypt.

So, residents Ancient Egypt they loaded the hives onto rafts and lowered them down the Nile, starting the voyage from the place where the honey collection period had already begun. Slowly floating down the river, the hives moved further and further... Meanwhile, the bees managed to fly around the many flowers growing near the shore, and then returned to the raft. This trick allowed Egyptian beekeepers to collect honey for much longer. By the time honey collection ended in one part of the Nile, it had already begun in another part of the river!

Beekeeping in Rus'

In our country, beekeeping appeared in the 10th-11th centuries and went through all stages of development. Peasants were engaged in beekeeping until the 17th century, when the first apiaries began to appear. By the way, some families in Rus' had more than 500 logs of bees in their apiaries! But in our area, as you know, there is another honey lover. Bear! It was from him that our ancestors needed to protect their farm. Traps were built for the uninvited guest. For example, if a bee family lived in a hollow, then special beaters or even logs were hung from the tree on ropes. They prevented the bear from climbing the tree, he got angry and pushed them away with his paw. This caused the logs to swing even more and hit the thief on the nose. The bear fell to the ground, but the honey remained untouched.

By the way, in Rus' this healthy delicacy was the only sweetener for drinks and food until the beginning of the 18th century, until we had sugar...

"Armor" of beekeepers

Beekeepers are undoubtedly very brave people. They work next to tens of thousands of bees, while we are in a hurry to get away from even one bee! But despite their courage, beekeepers must respect certain rules security. For example, they use a smoker, an instrument that emits a stream of smoke. The bees do not like him, so they quickly fly away from the person.

Well, the “armor” for beekeepers is, first of all, a protective hat with a mesh for the face and a special suit made of durable fabric. All clothes should be light colors - bees do not like dark colors, and may begin to behave aggressively! Of course, you should also protect your hands by wearing mittens or regular medical gloves. But, some professionals prefer to work without them. They say that they have become friends with bees and are not afraid of them at all!

Although it is impossible to know absolutely everything about bees, beekeepers know them like no one else. Perhaps this is one of the most interesting professions!

White or yellow? Thick or liquid?

How varied is the range of honey! Which one to choose? Firstly, you need to know that absolutely any natural honey is very useful for adults and children (if they are not allergic to it). And, secondly, honey comes in so many different tastes that the best thing to do is try each variety and choose the one you like the most!

The vitamins and nutrients contained in honey help the human body cope with many diseases. Even a book is not enough to tell about all its beneficial properties! And yet, why is honey so different?.. In fact, it all depends on what flowers the bees collected it from, how it was processed, and in general, in what part globe there is an apiary. Honey can be garden, meadow, steppe, mountain, field... It can be sold directly in sealed wax honeycombs, or it can be pre-pumped out with a special apparatus (called a honey extractor) and packaged in jars. And, of course, it is important to know what honey plants were used by bees. For example, to the most the best varieties include white acacia honey. It has a subtle aroma and looks almost transparent!

There is so-called stone honey. It is collected by wild bees that make their nests in the crevices of the cliffs. This honey in the comb is more like hard candy! This variety is also called “Abkhazian”.

There are also dark honey lovers. For example, buckwheat. This variety has a very bright aroma and taste. Burdock honey, blueberry honey, and even rowan honey can be dark in color.

And, the most amazing thing is the variety of dishes and drinks that can be prepared using honey! You just need to remember that honey should never be boiled, otherwise all of it will disappear. beneficial features. In Rus', housewives made incredibly tasty honey kvass. They also prepared sbiten - a decoction of fragrant herbs (for example, sage or St. John's wort) with honey, pepper and ginger. Now it is difficult for us to imagine the taste of this drink, but a thousand years ago our ancestors drank it with great pleasure several times a day - instead of the usual tea or coffee... They also baked honey cakes and gingerbread cookies. They seasoned the porridge with honey. And, there’s nothing to say about honey pies - it was the most delicious food! Modern housewives also know many recipes. And, of course, we should not forget that this sweet beekeeping product is the first assistant in times of illness. All you have to do is brew herbal tea and drink a cup, eating aromatic honey, and the cold will disappear, as if it never existed at all!

What other beekeeping products are there besides honey?

Pollen

Bees collect pollen in special “baskets” located on their hind legs. Pollen looks like small grains and can vary in shape and color if collected from different flowers. This is truly one of the richest products in vitamins and microelements! Pollen is used to treat many diseases and for general strengthening of the body.

Perga

Perga is the real “bread” for bees! Even the word “breadbread” itself is translated from Old Slavonic as “bread”. Little honey-bearing workers love to feast on not only honey, but also beebread. Oh, they do it like this... The bees process the pollen brought from the fields and meadows with the help of their salivary glands, then pack it tightly into honeycombs and fill it with a small amount of honey. After this, the honeycombs are sealed, and after three weeks the bee bread is considered ready. Besides bees, people also use it for medicine!

Propolis

Propolis is a resin-like substance that bees process by collecting it from various plants. With its help, tiny “builders” repair the hive, covering up the cracks in it. Who would like drafts in the house?! Oh, and propolis is an excellent antibacterial agent, so it is used to treat the honeycomb cells in which the queen will lay eggs.

Wax

This is a waste product of bees. It stands out on their abdomen. Wax is necessary for the construction of honeycombs. People have learned to use it for their own purposes. Candles are made from wax, which then smell very delicious. It is even used as a thickener for cosmetic creams, and the main ingredient in the production of lipsticks! Cheeses are sometimes coated with wax to prevent them from losing moisture. In general, this beekeeping product is now used everywhere!

Royal jelly

Royal jelly is produced by nurse bees and serves to feed first the larvae of the queen bee, and then the adult queen. This is a very valuable substance that is used by humans in cosmetology and medicine.

In ancient times, residents of southern countries smeared meat carcasses with ordinary honey and then buried them in the ground. This was the only way to protect food from spoilage until refrigerators became widespread.
To collect just one hundred grams of honey (this is only a third of a glass), working bees have to overcome a huge distance equal to the length of the equator - more than 40 thousand kilometers!
And, for one teaspoon of honey, a bee needs to collect nectar from tens of thousands of flowers...
It is also known that as many as two hundred bees must work on thirty grams of the sweet delicacy, collecting nectar all day long!
One bee flies about 1000 flowers a day, and works 12 hours a day. During her work shift, she manages to make 10 flights (each lasting an hour).
There are now about 50 million bee colonies around the world, which annually produce about a million tons of honey.
Bees are very precise designers! The honeycombs they build always have the correct shape and exact dimensions. Moreover, they chose the most optimal shape for its honeycombs - a hexagon, at the bottom of which there is a trihedral pyramid of inverted rhombuses. Because of this, the fragile structure of the honeycomb becomes very strong, since the cells fit together as closely as possible. Yes, and this “projection” saves a lot of space. Ancient Greek scientists who studied honeycombs came to the conclusion that a bee cell is the most durable and economical vessel in terms of material consumption!
Bees stay awake for only six months - from March to October, and then go to rest. It is noteworthy that out of six “working” months they collect nectar no more than thirty days. The rest of the time, hardworking insects are busy “repairing” the honeycombs, cleaning the hive and storing the honey itself.
It is impossible to use the bees living there to produce honey in Africa! It's all about the climate. Bees do not stock up on sweet treats because they are not at all afraid of the onset of cold weather. So Africans have to bring bee colonies from Europe. However, they too quickly realize that the winters here are warm. So beekeeping in Africa is a troublesome business!
A honeybee can smell the scents of flowers more than a kilometer away, and even recognize which ones contain more nectar! The sense of smell of these amazing insects is developed a thousand times better than that of humans.

Natalia Klimova

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Bees have attracted the interest of people since ancient times. Virgil, Pliny and Aristotle described amazing facts about bees in their works. Since the 17th century, a whole science has been studying these insects - apidology. Why are they unusual?

Experts in the exact sciences

One of the most amazing facts about bees is that these insects are rightfully considered excellent architects, engineers and mathematicians.

The hexagonal honeycombs they build are among the most rationally designed geometric shapes vessels created by nature. All cells turn out absolutely identical, without any errors. The impeccable designs have precise dimensions with equal angles cells. It is also surprising that workers spend only a little more than 1 g of wax to build 100 cells.

This honeycomb structure is optimal for saving the produced product: when minimum thickness walls it provides maximum strength. In addition, hexagonal “containers” are capable of holding more volume than their four- or three-sided counterparts made of the same material. building material– wax.

The results of observations carried out by Chinese scientists showed that insects initially build round cells, sealing the gaps between the joints of the walls with wax. The transformation process is triggered by the heat generated by the workers.

At a temperature of +45°C, the wax begins to melt and slowly drain. Under force surface tension the walls bend, and the wax is pushed out of their joints. As a result: the cells take the shape of regular hexagons.

Clear family hierarchy

Epidologists, in the process of studying the way of life of these insects, identified another amazing fact about bees. They live only in families, the number of which can reach about 60-120 thousand individuals. If one of the individuals is separated from his family, then after some time he dies.

Each bee occupies its specific place in the hierarchy and strictly obeys the functions of the family:

The uterus is the largest individual, leading a calm and measured lifestyle, and performs the function of reproducing a new generation. The Queen is surrounded by a retinue of 20 servants. Through the release of hormones, it affects its fellow tribesmen, regulating their physiological and behavioral processes. The queen feeds exclusively on royal jelly, which is the richest product in microelements. A queen bee can live from 3 to 8 years, but is most productive only in the first 2 years of life.
Drones are male individuals whose main function is to mate with the queen for the purpose of fertilization. They are not able to earn their own food and eat honey produced by female workers. Adults do not live more than 5-6 months, because during mating they lose their reproductive organs and die. A huge number of drones also find their death in the struggle for possession of the queen. If the drone fails to fertilize the queen bee or dies in the struggle for possession of her, it is expelled from the nest, where it dies from the cold or from being eaten by birds.
Workers are female individuals whose main task is to create the necessary conditions for the life of the whole family. They collect nectar and process it into honey, build honeycombs, guard and ventilate the entrance to the hive. Their life expectancy directly depends on the conditions and time of year: the April litter lives only 22 days, the May litter lives up to 35 days, and the July litter lives up to 50 days. Bees that leave the hive in early autumn are considered to be long-lived. They live up to 3 months.

A bee will not be able to confuse its own hive with someone else’s, but it is easy for a bee to consciously fly into its neighbors. The reason for this may be the desire to rob a weaker family, provided that the area is currently bad with bribes. She may try to enter someone else's house even if she is unable to return to her family due to the late time of day or unfavorable weather conditions. To get permission from the guards flying at the entrance, the stranger takes a pose of submission.

Amazing abilities of insects

Legends are made about the sense of smell of these Hymenoptera. Research confirms that insects can distinguish a thousand times more odors than we can. The ability to distinguish odors, catching them at a distance of thousands of meters, is necessary for them to search and collect pollen. Unlike other hymenoptera, bees communicate with each other. They do this through produced pheromones and special body movements.

When going on a “hunt,” a bee is able to fly kilometers of distance. It reaches speeds of up to 65 km/h, performing up to 440 wing beats every second. She makes up to 10 such flights a day and finds her way home every time. During the day, each individual is able to explore an area of 12 hectares.

When a source of nectar is discovered, in order to attract the attention of its fellows, the scout begins to perform a special dance, making circular rotations around its axis and wagging its belly. The intensity of movements indicates the distance to food.

Amazing facts about bees in numbers:

In order to collect nectar to produce 1 kg of honey, insects have to fly around over 8 million flowers;
daily to create a sweet thick substance in the amount of 1 tbsp. 200 working women have to work.
a medium-sized bee colony is capable of producing up to 10 kg of aromatic, viscous product;
within one year, a large bee colony can eat about 25 kg of honey;
The maximum honey yield record recorded per season from one hive is 420 kg of honey.

Scientists are also amazed by the incredible endurance of insects. They are capable of lifting loads many times greater than their own weight. For example: the weight of an average-sized individual is 0.1 g, the carrying capacity with a portion of nectar reaches 0.035 g, and with honey it is even 0.06 g.

Behavior in emergency situations

Contrary to popular belief, striped workers do not hibernate in winter. In cold weather, they feed and warm their queen. Heat is released due to the vibration of the wings. Therefore, the lower the temperature outside the hives, the more intense the vibrations inside the nest.

If the bee colony feels that the queen is sick and has become worse at coping with the task assigned to her, the workers begin to fatten the new one. After this, they kill the old queen bee without regret and appoint a new “mistress” for themselves.

Under unfavorable conditions and in the event of a shortage of honey, workers sacrifice themselves and die. Confirmation that these insects are able to control their lives is the fact that if it is necessary to preserve the family, they are able to prolong it 5-6 times.

The instinct of self-preservation in insects also manifests itself during a fire. During this period, they begin to intensively stock up on the product of their production, without paying attention to anyone. Knowing this, beekeepers, if necessary to inspect the hives, use the technique of lighting, blowing streams of smoke onto the nest. The main thing in this matter is not to overdo it. Too much smoke can make bees angry.

Insects use their poisonous weapon in the form of a piercing sting only in emergency situations, when they see the object as a threat to the family or the honey collected through hard work. A strong smell can also make a bee angry. Instability of mood is manifested by the insect and the period of weather changes or the season of strong winds.

The fact that an insect stings only in extreme cases is explained by the fact that along with the sting it loses its life. He simply does not have enough strength to remove the sting that has penetrated the skin back. When trying to pull out the sting, the insect only harms itself, which leads to death.

And finally, one more amazing fact about bees. According to the research of paleontologists, in the form in which they are presented to the world today, these insects existed 40 million years ago.

Bees are colorful honey-bearing insects. Few people know, but there is even a science that studies bees - apiology. And this is not surprising, because bees live on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

What does a bee look like? It is unlikely that any of you will ask such a question, but for curious kids who every day want to know more and more about the world around them, you can tell a little about appearance these “biting” insects, and not only.

The bee's body has a very beautiful striped yellow-black color. The insect has wings and an elongated proboscis - “spout”. It uses it to suck nectar from plants and turn it into honey. This is probably one of the distinctive features these insects from others - bees give honey - useful and very tasty treat not only for humans, but also for some animals and other insects.

What do bees eat?

Bees feed on plant pollen and nectar. From them insects obtain energy and nutrients. Bees that live next to humans, in apiaries, also feed on sugar syrups specially prepared for them.

How do bees live?

Bees, like ants, live in large friendly families - from 10 to 70 thousand individuals. Each member of the family has his own responsibilities, for example, the queen - this is a kind of queen bee mother - lays eggs. And by the way, yes, bees come from eggs, like many other insects. Be sure to tell your child about this interesting fact. He will probably be surprised that not only birds and chicks emerge from eggs, but also bees. Of course, insect eggs look a little different. Another rank of the bee family is the worker bee, the honey producer. Worker bees not only collect nectar, but also clean the territory, protect their home and feed their children. There are large bee families and completely useless bees that do not bring any benefit to the family. They are called drones. However, they still have one task - they help the family acquire offspring.

Where do bees live?

In nature, bees live wherever they please, that’s why they are wild. Most often they live in the hollows of old trees or in crevices in the ground.

However, people have long noticed the benefits of the products that bees make (wax, honey) and decided to start breeding them. Thus, one of the oldest occupations appeared - beekeeping. A person who breeds bees is called a beekeeper or beekeeper, the place where he breeds bees is called an apiary, and the houses that he makes specifically for bees are called hives.

Tell the kids that the honey that bees give is not only sweet for tea, but also very useful product, which is used in the treatment of many diseases.

Invite your child to try a spoonful of honey and describe its taste. But, attention!

If your baby has already tried honey and has not had an allergic reaction to it, prepare some dish using it. For example, or the traditional Bashkir treat “Chak-chak”.

Tell your child that these undoubtedly hardworking, intelligent, honey-bearing insects can bite in defense. Their bite is quite painful and in some cases can even be dangerous to humans, so you should not touch the insect with your hands. At the time of the bite, the bee leaves a sting and a vial of poison in the human body, which gradually flows into the wound. The bite site swells a little and goes numb. However, having stung a person and being left without its weapon, the bee dies. A bee swarm, as a family of bees living in the same hive is called, can be deadly to humans if attacked. But this does not mean at all that when you see a bee, you need to run as fast as you can, bees don’t just attack. You just need to be a little more careful with them than with other insects.

For children 4-5 years old, ask them to do.

And now a few more facts about bees that will be of interest not only to children, but also to their parents:

A beekeeper or beekeeper can easily enter the hive using a special device that disperses smoke. Having smelled the smoke, the bees collect a strategic supply of honey, and with their bellies full they can no longer release their stingers;

To tell the family about a new source of pollen, bees use a special dance: a circular dance if the clearing is nearby, and a figure-of-eight dance if they fly far away;

Insects can fly 8 kilometers from their home and find their way back without any problems;

Honeybees can carry loads more than 300 times their own weight;

To get one spoonful of honey, 200 bees need to work all day, and the same number of workers will be employed in the hive to process and seal the honey in the combs.

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