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What's happening with our bees now?
The bees are very busy collecting a ton of nectar to make honey and laying eggs so that they are ready for winter. It can be very hard for bees to live through a Minnesota winter because they are long and often very cold. The populations in every hive are booming and we need to add more boxes often to give them enough room. If we didn't give them space to expand they would likely swarm which is when the queen flies away with half the worker bees and finds a new home somewhere else. This year, we did experience a swarm but luckily where able to catch it before it got to far and move them back in with ample room.
Queen
Queen
The largest bee in the colony. There is only one queen per colony. Her only job is to lay eggs. She can't sting and lives for 2 years. In this picture the queen bee is marked with a red sticker. Beekeepers mark their queen to keep track of her.
Worker
Worker
The majority of bees are workers. These are the bees you see in your yard. They have many jobs - raising young bees, getting nectar, collecting pollen, and defending their hive. They live about 90 days. All workers are female. The the bees in this picture are workers. These workers are taking care of the baby bees. We call the baby bees brood. Brood can look like larva or can be sealed. You can see both in this picture.
Drones
Drones
The male bees. They are slightly larger and have a stocky body. You can spot a drone by looking at his eyes, Drones have circular eyes that take up a lot of their head while workers eyes are smaller. Drones are a lot bigger and don't have stingers. Their only purpose is to mate with queen bees. In the fall drones are kicked out of the colony by worker bees.
Why are bees so important?
Why are bees so important?
Bees are pollinators. That means they go from plant to plant, flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar but also leaving behind a little pollen for the flower. All bees do this, not just honey bees. In Minnesota we have hundreds of different native bees that do some pretty cool things too! Without bees we would have no flowers. Bees also play an important role in the agriculture system. They help pollinate vegetables, fruits and nuts.
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