Honeybees are best known for the buzzing noise they make as they fly and for their production of honey. They play a very important role in the pollination of plants.
Hives
Bees live together in nests called hives. A hive may contain as many as 20,000 bees during the summer months, says the Great Plains Nature Center.
Every honeybee has a special job within the hive. Workers, who are sterile females, are responsible for tending the hive and finding food. Male bees are called drones. Their sole responsibility is to mate with a new queen. The hive contains only one queen bee. Her job is to lay eggs for the next generation of bees.
Honey
Honeybees use the nectar they gather from flowers to make honey. The honey they make in the summer helps them to stay alive through the cold winter.
Protection
The bright yellow and black coloring of the honeybee serves to warn off predators. Only female honeybees have a stinger, which is located at the end of her abdomen. If anyone bothers the hive, honeybees can swarm out together and use their stingers to attack.
Pollination
When a honeybee flies to a flower looking for nectar, pollen from the blossom sticks to the fuzzy hairs on her body. When she visits the next flower, the pollen rubs off, pollinating the flower. If it were not for honeybees performing pollination, many fruit trees would not produce fruit.
