What are bees?
Bees are fascinating creatures, playing crucial roles in our ecosystems. Bees have been buzzing around for quite a long time! They are believed to have originated around 100 million years ago. These amazing flying insects are related to wasps and ants and known for their ability to pollinate plants and produce honey and beeswax.
Here are some key facts about bees:
Species: There are around 20,000 known species of bees. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica. The United States has over 4,000 bee species. Minnesota has around 500 species.
Pollination: Bees are major pollinators, essential for the reproduction of many flowering plants, including numerous crops that humans depend on for food.
Social Structure: Many bee species, like honeybees and bumblebees, are social and live in colonies. A colony typically consists of a queen bee, worker bees, and drones. The queen is responsible for laying eggs, the workers take care of the hive, including collecting pollen and the drones mate with the queen.
Communication: Bees have intricate ways of communicating with each other, such as the famous "waggle dance," which helps them share information about the location of food sources.
Bees are truly remarkable insects with a significant impact on our environment and agriculture.
What are the benefits of bees?
Bees provide many benefits that are essential to our environment, agriculture, and even our economy. Here are some of the most significant ones:
Pollination: Bees are crucial pollinators for many plants, including a large portion of the crops we consume. They help in the reproduction of flowering plants, which then results in the production of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Without bees, many of our food sources would be severely diminished.
Biodiversity: By pollinating a wide variety of plants, bees contribute to the biodiversity of ecosystems. This biodiversity is essential for the resilience and health of ecosystems, ensuring that they can withstand and recover from environmental changes.
Food Production: Bees directly contribute to our food production by pollinating crops such as apples, almonds, blueberries, cucumbers, and more. The value of crop pollination by bees is estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually.
Honey and Other Products: Honeybees produce honey, which they create from the nectar of flowers, the honey serves as a food source for the hive. which is not only a delicious and natural sweetener but also has medicinal properties. Bees also produce beeswax, which is used in various products, including candles, cosmetics, and polishes, and propolis, a resinous substance with antimicrobial properties.
Environmental Indicators: Bees are sensitive to changes in their environment, making them excellent indicators of environmental health. A decline in bee populations can signal broader environmental issues, such as pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change.
Economic Benefits: Beyond food production, the products of bees (honey, beeswax, royal jelly, etc.) contribute to various industries, supporting livelihoods and generating economic value.
What does their actions tell us?
The actions of bees can tell us a great deal about the health of our environment and the state of ecosystems. Here are some key insights we can gain from observing bee behavior and populations.
Environmental Health: Bees are sensitive to changes in their environment. A healthy bee population typically indicates a healthy ecosystem. If bees are thriving, it suggests that there is an abundance of flowering plants and that the use of harmful pesticides is minimal.
Pollination Success: The presence and activity of bees can indicate successful pollination, which is crucial for the reproduction of many plants. This, in turn, affects food production and biodiversity.
Climate Change: Changes in bee behavior, such as altered foraging patterns or shifts in population distribution, can provide clues about the impacts of climate change. Bees are affected by temperature changes, availability of water, and seasonal shifts, making them useful indicators of how climate change is affecting ecosystems.
Extreme Weather Events: Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms can disrupt bee foraging patterns and reduce the availability of food sources. For example, droughts can dry up nectar and pollen sources, while heavy rains can limit the time bees can spend foraging.
Agricultural Practices: The health and activity of bees can reflect the sustainability of agricultural practices. For example, intensive monoculture (planting the same crops in the same area year after year) farming and excessive pesticide use can negatively impact bee populations. Conversely, sustainable practices that support pollinators can lead to healthier and more resilient bee populations.
Habitat Quality: The diversity and abundance of bee species in an area can give us information about the quality and availability of habitats. Bees need diverse habitats with a variety of flowering plants and nesting sites. A decline in bee diversity can signal habitat loss or degradation.
Overall, bees act as bioindicators, providing valuable insights into the state of the environment. By monitoring and understanding their behavior and populations, we can make informed decisions to protect and preserve our ecosystems.
What does their inactions tell us?
What are bees used for?
Beekeeping
Beekeeping has become a popular hobby for homeowners and a profitable business for commercial beekeepers.
The number of bees in a beekeeper's hive can fluctuate based on the season and the colony's health. During the summer, when the hive is at its peak, it typically houses between 20,000 to 80,000 bees. In contrast, during the winter months, the population decreases to around 10,000 to 20,000 bees as the colony conserves its resources.
For commercial use, bees get trucked around the country. Beekeepers load their hives onto flatbed trucks, typically during the cooler nighttime or early morning hours when the bees are less active. This helps minimize stress and keeps the bees calm. Each hive is carefully secured to prevent them from moving or tipping over during transit. Each semi can hold between 400-800 hives, this means a single semi truck can hold millions of bees. The trucks then embark on cross-country journeys, delivering the bees to farms where they're needed. Once they arrive, the hives are strategically placed throughout the fields, allowing the bees to start their pollination work right away. This migratory beekeeping ensures crops like almonds, blueberries, and apples get the necessary pollination to produce high yields.
The bees that are typically transported across the country for crop pollination are honeybees, specifically the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). These bees are favored for their efficiency in pollination and their ability to be managed in large numbers. They are highly social insects, living in well-organized colonies that can be easily transported and placed in new environments. The amount of honey produced by a beekeeper's hive can vary significantly based on factors like the hive's health, the local environment, and the availability of forage.
However, on average, a single hive can produce anywhere from 30 to 60 pounds (13 to 27 kilograms) of honey in a good season. Some hives in particularly favorable conditions can even exceed this range, producing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) or more of honey. Beekeepers often leave enough honey in the hive to sustain the bees through the winter months when nectar is scarce. Producing honey is a collective effort that involves thousands of worker bees. To make one gallon of honey, it takes approximately 22,700 worker bees. Here's a fascinating breakdown:
The Process:
Flight Distance: Collectively, worker bees fly around 55,000 miles, which is equivalent to circling the globe more than twice, to gather enough nectar to produce one gallon of honey.
Nectar Collection: To produce a gallon of honey, bees must visit around 2 million flowers. Each worker bee can visit several hundred flowers in a single day.
Honey Production: Each worker bee contributes only a small fraction of the total honey—about 1/12th of a teaspoon in her lifetime.
Below is a list of all the different crops that honeybees pollinate:
Fruits and Nuts: Apples, Pears, Cherries, Peaches, Plums, Apricots, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Blackberries, Kiwi, Avocados, Almonds and Walnuts.
Vegetables: Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Squash, Zucchini, Watermelons, Cantaloupes, Honeydew Melons, Eggplants, Bell Peppers, Chili Peppers and Tomatoes (some varieties).
Seeds and Herbs: Sunflowers, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Clover, Mustard seeds, Coriander (Cilantro), Fennel, Caraway, Dill, Coffee and Cotton.
Below is a list of all the states that raise honeybees:
California, Florida, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Minnesota, Georgia, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In summary, raising honeybees is crucial for food production, ecosystem health, economic stability, and environmental monitoring. It also has educational and cultural importance, making it a vital practice for our world.
Common bees of Minnesota
As I mentioned earlier in this article, Minnesota has over 500 bee species. Following is a list of some of the most common bees we see everyday in the great state of Minnesota.
The Honeybee: We covered the honeybee pretty extensive earlier in the article but here are some more interesting facts on this valuable insect.
Worker Bees: A healthy hive can have anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 worker bees during peak season. These female bees are the backbone of the colony, performing various tasks such as foraging for nectar and pollen, caring for the queen and larvae, and maintaining the hive. Their size is about 0.5 in. long, they weigh about 0.1 grams.
Summer worker bees lifespan: Approximately 6 to 8 weeks. Reason: These bees work tirelessly during the active season, foraging for nectar and pollen, which takes a toll on their bodies.
Winter worker bee lifespan: Several months, typically 4 to 6 months. Reason: During the winter, bees enter a state of reduced activity and focus on maintaining the hive's warmth and caring for the queen. Their longer lifespan helps ensure the colony's survival through the colder months.
After a honeybee drone mates with a queen, his role in the hive comes to a dramatic end. Here’s what happens:
Mating: Drones leave the hive to congregate in drone congregation areas, where they wait for virgin queens to fly by. During the mating flight, a drone will mate with a queen in mid-air. After Mating: The act of mating is fatal for the drone. After successfully mating, the drone's endophallus is left inside the queen, and the drone dies shortly afterward.
Importance:
Drones' primary purpose is to ensure the continuation of the hive by mating with queens from other colonies, contributing to genetic diversity.
It’s a short but crucial role that drones play in the lifecycle of honeybees. Their sacrifice helps to ensure the health and future of the colony.
Drones: Drones, the male bees, are far fewer in number compared to worker bees. A hive typically has a few hundred to a few thousand drones, depending on the season
and the colony's needs. Their primary role is to mate with a queen from another hive. Their size is about 0.6 in. long, they weigh about 0.2 grams.
The lifespan of a honeybee drone is relatively short compared to other bees in the hive. On average, drones live for about 4 to 8 weeks. Their primary purpose is to mate with a queen from another hive, and they typically die shortly after mating. If they do not mate, they may live for several weeks within the hive. During times when resources are scarce, such as the late fall and winter months, worker bees may expel drones from the hive to conserve resources, as drones do not contribute to foraging or other hive activities. Drones do not live through the winter months. honeybee drones cannot sting. Unlike worker bees, which are female and have stingers, drone bees are male and don't have the necessary anatomy to sting.
Queen
There is usually only one queen in a hive. Her primary role is to lay eggs and produce pheromones, which are chemical signals that bees produce and release to communicate with each other that help regulate the hive's activities. The size of the queen is about 0.8 to 1.0 in. long, she weighs about 0.3 grams, making her the largest and heaviest bee in the colony. A honeybee queen has a significantly longer lifespan compared to worker bees and drones. On average, a queen can live for 2 to 5 years. Her longevity depends on factors such as genetics, environmental conditions, and the overall health of the hive. The queen's primary role is to lay eggs, and she can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day during peak seasons. If a queen honeybee dies, the hive quickly takes action to replace her, as the queen is essential for laying eggs and producing pheromones that maintain social order.
Emergency Response:
Worker bees recognize the absence of the queen's pheromones within a few hours. They begin an emergency response to rear a new queen as quickly as possible.
Selecting Larvae:
Worker bees select several young larvae (less than three days old) and start feeding them a special diet of royal jelly, a nutrient-rich substance that enables the development of a new queen. (The Royal Jelly process is explained below).
Queen Cells:
The selected larvae are raised in larger cells called queen cells, which allow them to grow into queens. These cells are more elongated and hang vertically from the comb.
Emergence of New Queen:
The new queen will emerge from her cell after about 16 days. Multiple queen cells may be developed simultaneously, resulting in the emergence of several potential queens.
Queen Rivalry:
Once the new queens emerge, they will fight to the death until only one remains. The surviving queen will become the new leader of the hive.
Mating Flight:
The newly emerged queen will take a mating flight, during which she will mate with multiple drones. This allows her to gather enough sperm to fertilize eggs for the rest of her life.
Continuation of laying Eggs:
After mating, the new queen returns to the hive and begins laying eggs, ensuring the continuity and growth of the colony.
This balance of worker bees, drones, and the queen ensures that the hive functions efficiently and effectively. The worker bees handle most of the daily tasks, while the drones' role is focused on reproduction.
Royal Jelly process:
Honeybees produce royal jelly through a fascinating process. Royal jelly is a nutritious substance that plays a vital role in the development of queen bees. Here's how it's made:
The Production Process:
Worker Bees: Specifically, the nurse bees (young worker bees) produce royal jelly. These bees are between 5 to 15 days old and have highly active hypopharyngeal glands located in their heads.
Gland Secretion: The nurse bees secrete royal jelly from their hypopharyngeal glands. This secretion is a creamy, milky-white substance rich in proteins, vitamins, lipids, sugars, and amino acids and other nutrients.
Feeding the Larvae: The nurse bees deposit royal jelly into cells within the hive. All larvae are fed royal jelly for the first few days of their development. However, larvae destined to become queens receive an exclusive diet of royal jelly throughout their entire larval stage.
Queen Development: The constant consumption of royal jelly triggers the development of the larvae into a queen bee. The high nutritional content of royal jelly allows
the queen to grow larger, live longer, and develop her reproductive organs fully.
Composition of Royal Jelly:
Royal jelly is composed of water, proteins, sugars, lipids, vitamins, and trace minerals. It contains a variety of beneficial components, including:
Proteins and peptides B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B12), Fatty acids, Amino acids, and minerals (such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium)
Importance of Royal Jelly:
Royal jelly is crucial for the development and maintenance of the queen bee. It ensures that the queen remains fertile and healthy, allowing her to fulfill her role of laying eggs and producing pheromones that regulate the hive's activities
There are 49 species of bumblebees in the United States. 24 of these species can be found in Minnesota with the main species being the Common Eastern Bumblebee:
Bumblebees play a crucial role in pollination, which is vital for the health of ecosystems and agriculture. Here are some main reasons why bumblebees are important for pollination.
Efficient Pollinators: Bumblebees are highly effective pollinators due to their size and ability to carry large amounts of pollen. Their fuzzy bodies trap pollen grains, allowing them to transfer it from one flower to another.
Buzz Pollination: Bumblebees perform a unique type of pollination called buzz pollination. They vibrate their flight muscles, causing the flower to release more pollen.
Crop Yields: Bumblebee pollination significantly boosts crop yields. Many fruits, vegetables, and nuts depend on bumblebee pollination to produce quality and quantity.
These are some of the crops that bumblebees pollinate: Tomatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Strawberries, Plums, Zucchinis, Melons, Sweet Peppers, Alfalfa, Red Clover, Cotton,
Sunflower.
Extended Pollination Season: Unlike some other pollinators, bumblebees are active in cooler temperatures and can start pollinating early in the spring and continue late into the fall.
This extended season ensures that a wide variety of plants receive pollination.
Diverse Habitat: Bumblebees visit a wide range of flowers, contributing to the biodiversity of plants. This diversity helps maintain healthy ecosystems and supports other wildlife. Bumblebee hives are generally smaller than honeybee hives. The number of worker bees in a bumblebee colony can vary depending on the species and the time of year, but here's a general overview.
Worker Bees:
Early Season: In the early stages of colony development, a bumblebee hive might have only a few dozen worker bees.
Peak Season: At the peak of the colony's development, typically during the summer, the hive can have anywhere from 50 to 400 worker bees.
Bumblebee colonies are annual, meaning they die out at the end of the season, with only the newly-mated queen hibernating to start new colonies the following spring. This is quite different from honeybee hives, which are perennial and can survive through the winter. he lifespan of a bumblebee worker bee generally depends on the time of year and environmental conditions.
During the Active Season (Spring and Summer): Worker bumblebees typically live for about 2 to 6 weeks. Their duties include foraging for nectar and pollen, caring for the brood, and maintaining the hive.
During the Inactive Season (Fall and Winter): Worker bumblebees usually die off as the colony disbands and only the newly mated queens survive the winter by hibernating. Worker bumblebees generally do not live through the winter. Their size is: 0.4 to 0.6 in. They typically weigh between 0.04 to 0.12 grams.
Drones:
A bumblebee hive typically has very few drones compared to worker bees. The number of drones in a bumblebee colony can vary depending on the species and the time of year. Here are some key points:
Early Season: During the early stages of colony development, there may be no drones present, as the queen focuses on laying worker bee eggs.
Late Season: As the colony matures and prepares for the end of its lifecycle, the queen will start laying eggs that develop into drones. At this stage, the hive may have anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred drones. Their size is: 0.5 to 0.7 in. They weigh about 0.2 to 0.7 grams. Drones lifespan is typically about 14 days. Their primary role is to mate with queen bumblebees, and they do not have stingers or gather nectar and pollen like worker bees.
Queen: The average lifespan of a bumblebee queen bee is generally about one year. Here is a brief overview of their lifecycle:
Spring: The queen emerges from hibernation and starts a new colony.
Summer: She lays eggs, which develop into worker bees that help build and maintain the colony.
Fall: The colony produces new queens and drones (males) for mating. After mating, new queens find a place to hibernate for the winter, while the rest of the colony, including the old queen, usually dies off. A bumblebee queen is significantly larger than both worker bees and drones. Her size is: 0.6 to 1.0 in. she weighs between 0.2 to 0.6 grams. The queen's larger size allows her to carry out her main role of laying eggs and establishing new colonies. Her impressive size is a testament to her vital role within the bumblebee colony.
Bumblebees play a vital role in the pollination process around the world.
There are several other bee species in Minnesota. I will touch briefly on these.
Leaf Cutter bees
Nesting Habits: Leaf-cutting bees create their nests in natural cavities, such as hollow stems, rotting wood, or even man-made structures like bee hotels. They cut neat, circular pieces from leaves or petals to line their nests, providing a protective and comfortable environment for their offspring.
Pollination: These bees are excellent pollinators for a variety of plants, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Their foraging activity helps improve crop yields and biodiversity
in gardens and natural habitats.
Appearance: Leaf-cutting bees are typically small to medium-sized, with a robust body. They can be identified by their distinctive behavior of carrying leaf pieces back to their nests. Their bodies are often dark with light-colored hairs, and they have strong mandibles for cutting leaves.
Lifecycle: Female leaf-cutting bees construct individual cells within their nests, each containing an egg and a provision of pollen and nectar. After sealing the cell with a leaf piece, the female continues to create more cells. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the stored food, pupate, and eventually emerge as adult bees.
Mason Bees
Nesting Habits: Mason bees typically nest in natural cavities, such as hollow stems, tree holes, or crevices. They are named after their habit of using mud or other materials to construct partitions between the individual cells in their nests. These bees do not create traditional hives like honeybees.
Pollination: Mason bees are highly efficient pollinators, particularly for fruit trees such as apples, cherries, and almonds. They are known for their "buzz pollination" technique, where they vibrate their bodies to release pollen from flowers, ensuring thorough pollination.
Appearance: Mason bees are usually small to medium-sized, with metallic blue, green, or black coloration. They have a robust body and carry pollen on specialized hairs on their abdomen rather than in pollen baskets like honeybees.
Lifecycle: Female mason bees lay eggs in individual cells within their nests. Each cell contains an egg and a provision of pollen and nectar. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the stored food, pupate, and eventually emerge as adult bees. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can take several months, with adult bees emerging in the spring.
Gentle Nature: Mason bees are known for their gentle demeanor and rarely sting unless provoked. This makes them an excellent choice for backyard gardens and orchards where effective pollination is desired without the risk of aggressive behavior
Mining Bees
Nesting Habits: Mining bees create their nests by excavating tunnels in the ground, usually in well-drained, sandy soils. Each female digs her own nest, which consists of a main tunnel with multiple side chambers. Each chamber contains an egg and a provision of pollen and nectar.
Pollination: Mining bees are excellent pollinators, particularly for early spring plants and fruit trees. Their foraging activity helps improve crop yields and supports biodiversity in gardens and natural habitats.
Appearance: Mining bees are typically small to medium-sized, with hairy bodies that can be black, brown, or reddish in color. They often have pale bands on their abdomens, giving them a striped appearance.
Lifecycle: Female mining bees lay eggs in individual chambers within their nests. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the stored food, pupate, and eventually emerge as adult bees. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can take several weeks to months, depending on the species and environmental conditions.
Behavior: Mining bees are generally non-aggressive and rarely sting. They are solitary, meaning each female bee is responsible for building and provisioning her own nest. However, many mining bees may nest in close proximity, creating large aggregations of individual nests.
Importance: Mining bees play a crucial role in pollination and are valuable contributors to the ecosystem. They help maintain plant diversity and support agricultural production,
especially for early-blooming plants.
Sweat Bees
Nesting Habits: Mining bees create their nests by excavating tunnels in the ground, usually in well-drained, sandy soils. Each female digs her own nest, which consists of a main tunnel with multiple side chambers. Each chamber contains an egg and a provision of pollen and nectar.
Pollination: Mining bees are excellent pollinators, particularly for early spring plants and fruit trees. Their foraging activity helps improve crop yields and supports biodiversity in gardens and natural habitats.
Appearance: Mining bees are typically small to medium-sized, with hairy bodies that can be black, brown, or reddish in color. They often have pale bands on their abdomens, giving them a striped appearance.
Lifecycle: Female mining bees lay eggs in individual chambers within their nests. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the stored food, pupate, and eventually emerge as adult bees. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can take several weeks to months, depending on the species and environmental conditions.
Behavior: Mining bees are generally non-aggressive and rarely sting. They are solitary, meaning each female bee is responsible for building and provisioning her own nest. However, many mining bees may nest in close proximity, creating large aggregations of individual nests.
In closing, we have just barely scratched the surface to give you a basic understanding of knowledge of the importance that bees play in our daily lives. Hopefully this small amount of knowledge will prompt you to learn even more about these fascination creatures.
For more information on bees, visit the following websites: Xerces Society---Minnesota Extension Service--- The Honey Bee Society