Hobbies And Interests
Colony Hierarchy
More than 20,000 species of bees exist, but honey bees are one of the most common. All bees live in a colony that has a hierarchy within it. At the bottom are drone male bees that stay in the colony waiting to mate with a virgin queen; they have no stinger. The busiest members of the colony are worker bees who do have stingers, known as an ovipositor. They only sting if really aggravated because it results in their death.
Life Cycle of Queen Bee
A queen bee can live up for up to five years, compared to six weeks for worker bees. When the existing queen dies or is unproductive, a new queen is chosen. The worker bees select a larva that they feed a diet of royal jelly. This is a rich white liquid produced by the rank of nurse bees amongst the worker bees. It is fed to the queen throughout her life. The queen bee takes 16 days to emerge from the egg. She remains fertile throughout her life, but will only mates once with several males. When she lays eggs, the queen bee does so through her ovipositor, which is also her stinger.
Bee Stings
The bee's ovipositor fills with venom 14 days after hatching. Normally bees group together to defend their colony, but if a bee is threatened or alarmed it will penetrate the stinger into the skin of another animal and release the venom. It dies because it cannot pull its stinger back out of the skin without hurting itself. Bees are able to sting each other without dying. In the case of the queen bee, she will stay in the colony and not use this defensive behavior. So, although she can sting, it is unlikely she will be flying outside the colony to attack you.
Bee Venom
The pain you experience when stung by a bee is the venom. Swelling, redness and itching accompany the sting. Some people are allergic to bee venom, and in extreme circumstances, it can prove fatal. Bee venom has also been used in medicine in "bee venom therapy." Illnesses such as arthritis, neuralgia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even MS have been treated with bee venom.