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Pest Library
Size & Characteristics: |
Honey bee adult worker is 1/2-5/8 in (11-15 mm) long;
queen is 5/8-3/4 in (15-20 mm) long. The pointed abdomen extends beyond
the wing, and has a smooth stinger. Drones are 5/8 in (15-17 mm) long,
with no stingers. Honey bees have hairy eyes; the first segment of
the hind tarsus is enlarged and flattened. |
Color: |
Orange-brown to sometimes black; body covered with pale hairs. |
Geographic Range: |
Around the world |
Comparison with other species: |
Africanized honey bee looks the same as the honey bee; only experts
can distinguish them. Yellowjacket has banded abdomens. Other bees
have eyes that are not hairy. Some flies look like honey bees, but
have just one pair of wings. |
Habitat: |
Hives, which are colonies of 20,000-80,000 |
Food: |
Honey, flower nectar, and a food made from pollen called "bee
bread" |
Biology: |
Honey bee workers are females that lay eggs which do not get fertilized
and develop into males. A queen lays eggs which do get fertilized
and develop into females. Drones are males from unfertilized eggs
of the workers. Drones fertilize the queen's eggs. The queen mates
once, and can lay 1,500-2,000 eggs in a day. Eggs hatch in 3 days
as larvae (grubs). They are first fed "royal jelly", made
in the workers' mouths, which is later only fed to future queens.
Young workers tend the brood, build the comb, ventilate the hive,
guard the entrance. Older workers gather pollen, nectar and "bee
glue", a waxy substance from tree buds. Workers live for 5-7
weeks in summer, except ones that develop in autumn and overwinter
in the hive. Drones live only a few weeks. Swarming occurs when the
colony gets too big, or when the queen begins to fail. Swarms go to
a tree branch 1-2 days until finding another hive, hollow tree, or
wall, where there is shelter. |
Invasion: |
Honey bees enter structures through cracks and may build hives in
walls. Keep lawns free of white clover and flowering weeds. Prevent
access by bees to food, water, or sugary substances. |
Damage: |
Honey bees are beneficial, providing honey and wax, and pollinating
flowers which produce fruit and seed. They are defensive, not aggressive,
attacking to protect colony. Swarming bees have no reason to attack,
since they are not defending a hive. Foraging workers are not likely
to sting unless provoked. However, stings can be painful, sometimes
severe. Remove barbed stinger with fingernail or knife blade; do not
rub or scratch; clean. (Africanized honey bees sting much more readily,
even when swarming, and may pursue up to 300 feet.) |
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