Recently, to my delight, I observed a female blue banded bee (Amegilla) burrowing into soft dirt near the veggie patch in my backyard. She was either looking for, or making, a nesting site. Blue banded bees, as their name suggests, have distinctive bands of metallic blue across their black abdomens. […]

Honey bees are critically important to humans. Without bees to pollinate plants, we wouldn’t be able to produce food on a large enough scale to support our substantial population. But is the ever-important honey bee a dangerous creature? Can they kill you? And will they attack or sting you for

All around the world humans enjoy eating honey that is harvested from the hives of the hardworking honey bee. We use it in our tea, on our bread, and in our cooking. In some cultures, honey is also highly valued because of its medicinal qualities. However, our benefit is not

Honey bees are fascinating creatures. Like all insects, they have a very different anatomy from humans. Take noses, for example. Humans have them – bees don’t. As humans, we use our noses to smell, which helps us make decisions every day… whether that be deciding if milk has spoilt, or

Unlike humans, bees don’t have ears, but they can hear! They do this with the help of a special type of organ, called Johnston’s Organ, which picks up vibrations traveling in the air. Can Bees Hear? Yes, they can! Only they detect sound differently from other animals and us humans.

Like humans, honey bees need to drink water. Not only will bees drink directly from pools, but they will also collect water and carry it back to their hive. However, it is quite common for bees to get stuck in water and drown while doing so. If you have a

We know (and fear) animals that bite to protect themselves from potential predators, like some reptiles for example. We are also aware that many insects bite either to feed or defend themselves. But what about honey bees? It’s well known that bees sting if they perceive a threat to themselves

Lungs are essential for human beings. Our lungs take the oxygen we breathe and transfer it to the bloodstream, which in turn carries it around to the other parts of our bodies. But not all living things breathe in the same way we do. In fact, many creatures have developed

Honey bees have 6 legs or 3 pairs of legs attached to their thorax. Bees’ legs are segmented into coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, tarsus (which contains the basitarsus and 3 tarsomeres), and the pretarsus. Bees use their legs for a variety of tasks besides walking. Some of these additional functions