Picture of Honey Bee

These 32 chromosomes consist of two sets of 16, one set from each parent. Hence female bees are said to be diploid in origin. The males (drones) develop from unfertilized egg which contain only one set of 16 chromosomes from their mother. Drones are thus haploid in origin This reproduction by the development of unfertilized eggs is called parthenogenesis

Africanized honey bees ( AHB)

Africanized honey bees are a more temperamental relative of the common garden honey bee, which is known as the European honey bee (EHB). Honey bees, whether they are European or African, only sting defensively. They do not go out of their way to sting. B ut some AHB colonies defend their colonies more intensively and with less provocation than other bees. The AHB swarms much more frequently than other honey bees. A colony is a group of bees with comb and brood. The colony may either be managed (white hive boxes maintained by professional beekeepers) or wild (feral).A group of bees that are in the process of leaving their parent colony and starting a nest in a new location is called a "swarm."

Usually a new queen is reared to stay with the parent colony and the old queen flies off with the swarm. Scout bees often locate potential nest sites prior to swarming, but the swarm may spend a day or two clustered in impressive, hanging clumps on branches or in other temporary locations until the bees settle on a new nesting site. If they can't find a suitable location, the bees may fly several miles and cluster again. Regardless of myths to the contrary, Africanized honey bees do not fly out in angry swarms to randomly attack unlucky victims. However, the AHB can become highly defensive in order to protect their hive, or home. Again, it is now better to consistently exercise caution with respect to all bee activity. So keep your distance from any swarm of bees.

Carpenter bees

Large carpenter bees are readily distinguished from bumble bees primarily by the absence of pubescence on the dorsum of the abdomen, which is somewhat shiny. They also lack a malar space (present in bumble bees), and the triangular second submarginal cell. Carpenter bees rarely attack painted or varnished wood. While natural wood may be attractive, if there is a problem with carpenter bees, you may have to apply a finish to the wood. These bees often cause problems on structures by boring into the surface of the wood that is the back face of the trim under the eaves, as this surface is usually not painted. A buzzing or drilling sound is heard when the bee is boring into the wood. If the hole is not visible, often the case when the bee is boring into the backside of trim, look for sawdust on the ground under the hole.

Bumble bees

Bumble bees are large, social bees which produce annual colonies. Mated queens overwinter in the soil and emerge from hibernation in early spring when they feed on spring flowers and search for a suitable location, such as a former rodent nest in the soil, to begin their colonies. Workers emerge about 21 days after the eggs are laid and take over the duties of pollen and nectar collection as well as colony defense. The size of the workers increases with each new brood. The third caste of bumble bees, the males, are usually produced in midsummer.  Bumble bees are easily recognized by the corbicula or pollen basket on the hind tibiae in the females. Honey bees are the only other bees in Florida with this structure, but are easily recognized by their smaller size, hairy eyes, and lack of hind tibial spurs.

Honey Bee - Facts

Bees maintain a temperature of 92-93 degrees Fahrenheit in their central brood nest regardless of whether the outside temperature is 110 or -40 degrees.

Honey bees produce beeswax from eight paired glands on the underside of their abdomen.

Honey bees must consume about 17-20 pounds of honey to be able to biochemically produce each pound of beeswax.

Honey bees can fly up to 14 kilometers from their nest in search of food. Usually, however, they fly one or two miles away from their hive to forage on flowers.

Honey bees are entirely herbivorous when they forage for nectar and pollen but can cannibalize their own brood when stressed.

Worker honey bees live for about 4 weeks in the spring or summer but up to 6 weeks during the winter.

Honey bees are almost the only bees with hairy compound eyes.

A populous colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.

The brain of a worker honey bee is about a cubic millimeter but has the densest neuropile tissue of any animal.

Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water.

Honey has been used for millenia as a topical dressing for wounds since microbes cannot live in it. It also produces hydrogen peroxide. Honey has even been used to embalm bodies such as that of Alexander the Great.

Honey bees fly at 15 miles per hour.

A queen bee can control the flow of sperm to fertilize an egg when she is about to lay an egg. Honey bees have an unusual genetic sex determination system known as haplodiploidy. Worker bees are produced from fertilized eggs and have a full (double) set of chromosomes. The males, or drones, develop from unfertilized eggs and are thus haploid with only a single set of chromosomes.