Bees and Wasps

Bees, wasps and ants all belong to the same group of insects known as Hymenoptera ('transparent wing'). Bees and wasps both have two pairs of wings and a slender midsection.

Some bees and wasps also provide warning colors as in the yellow and black patterns found on their bodies. Some species can even provide a powerful sting which injects their venom into a humans system, inflaming the area and even causing allergic reactions.

The life cycle of bees and wasps include a complete metamorphosis from larva to adult. Though generally solitary, some species maintain colonies where the young are cared for.

Bees and wasps will generally make nests for their young in a variety of places. This could include trees, mounds, rotted logs, attics, cracked cement and even sand.

Honey bees typically live in hives. These hives are where the production of honey and the raising of the young take place. The queen mates with the male drones and then lays her eggs. Most of these young develop into sterile female workers themselves. Workers then go out and collect the pollen and nectar to make into honey (which sustains the colony for the winter). Workers will also repair any damage sustained tot he hive structure.

When a scout honeybee returns to the hive, worker bees will be communicated the location of the pollen and nectar. The scout bee will perform figure-eights near the hive and use the moving of its rear as the direction for where to find the exact spot. The amount of moving of the rear that occurs indicates just how distant the new food supply is.

The queen bee will generally spend her days laying eggs in the combs of the hive with attendant worker bees feeding and cleaning her.