Bees, bees and more bees!

I've learned more than I ever thought I would about bees this last week. So, of course, I'm sharing my random knowledge with you.

I borrowed a book on honeybees from the library for my 6-year-old, trying to find something that will get him more interested in books. I have since gone back for two more books on bees. He really got interested in bees!

The major facts about bees are these:

1. Most hives only have one queen, unless it's a REALLY big hive, in which case it might have more.

2. The majority of the rest of the bees in a hive are workers. Workers are female (I knew that God is a Man) and they collect the pollen and nectar, make honey, care for the eggs and young, and do the rest of the work in the hive.

3. Drones are the males. They are stingless, defenseless, and unable to feed themselves (sounds like some other males I know) and are fed by the worker bees. The only job a drone has is to make with the queen(s). I know this sounds like a posh job, but before anyone rushes to sign up, you should know one thing: immediately after mating with the queen, the drone dies. Well. That is a job hazard!

4. Honeybees have to visit about 1 million flowers to make one small jar of honey. You better appreciate that, they worked hard!

5. Honeybees are most attracted to blue, purple and yellow flowers.

6. The wax for the honeycomb is secreted from the abdomen of the worker bees. The honeycomb are used to store pollen, nectar, honey, and to house new eggs.

I also learned that female mud-daubers sting spiders and paralyze them. Then, they take the paralyzed spiders and put them in the little mud rooms that they lay their eggs in. They lay an egg with the paralyzed spider, and then when the egg hatches, the baby wasp has "fresh food."

Interesting facts!