The Parts of a Bee for the Third Grade

The Head

• The head of a bee looks like a triangle when viewed from the front. There are two large eyes, one on either side. These are compound eyes, meaning that they have many lenses. If you could see your reflection in a bee's eyes, you would see many pictures of yourself. The bee also has three tiny simple eyes, having only one lens each, in between the two compound eyes. The antenna, two slender hairs that look a bit like eyelashes are in the middle of the bee's face. Underneath the antenna is the proboscis. This is the bee's hairy tongue that it uses to sip liquids. On either side of the tongue are the mandibles. These work like tweezers, allowing the bees to pick up and eat pollen and make wax for honeycombs.

Thorax

• The thorax is the middle part of the bee where the legs and two sets of thin wings are attached. The larger pair of wings, the fore wings, are just behind the head. The hind wings are attached in back of the fore wings. The bee has three legs on each side. The bee will brush the two front legs over the antenna to clean them. The two back legs contain pollen baskets. These are actually hollows on the outside of the leg partially covered with long hair. The hair keeps the pollen, collected from flowers, in the "baskets."

Abdomen

• The abdomen is the tail end. It's the largest section and the part with the yellow and black stripes that identify the insect as a honeybee. This is where the wax glands are located. The wax glands make a liquid that is stored in the wax pockets. The liquid dries into flakes the bee will then chew with its mandible to make the wax soft and easy to mold. The bee then adds his bit of beeswax to the honeycomb. The stinger is at the end of the abdomen.

The Stinger

• Bees sting to protect their hive or if they are frightened. The actual stinger is only about 1/8 of an inch long. It usually sits inside its chamber on the abdomen. It is hollow, like a tiny hypodermic needle. The bee venom is held in two parts called lancets. When a bee stings, the stinger pops out of its chamber, and the lancets push the venom into the stinger and out the tip. Stingers are barbed on the end, like a fishhook. This makes the stinger difficult to pull out of your skin. It also means that when a bee stings and then pulls away, the stinger is left behind and the bee usually dies.