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A honeybee colony can consist of anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 bees! What makes them so special and important? Explore below to learn all about honeybees and their almost magical wonders.

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All bee species go through a complete metamorphosis which consists of four distinct stages. Click each stage for more information about the life cycle of a honeybee.

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Honeybees are social insects that live in highly organized colonies. There are three bee types (or castes) within the a colony – the queen, workers and drones. Each of them has special roles that keep the colony functioning. 

The largest population in the colony with ever-changing roles, tireless productivity and a teamwork mentality, worker bees are all females! They’re solely responsible for the care and upkeep of the hive. In fact, a worker bee’s first job is cleaning the brood cell from which she emerges. Another task of maintaining a clean home includes the removal of dead bees and other debris, along with sealing cracks with a special glue-like substance they make called propolis. Worker bees also employ various methods to maintain an optimal temperature in their hive. Attendants care for the queen by grooming and feeding her. Guard bees defend the hive entrance and protect the colony from various intruders.

Foraging is a worker bee’s final job; it’s also the most grueling and often dangerous. They fly up to three miles or more from the hive in search of flowers, then bring back large loads of pollen to feed the developing larvae. They also collect nectar which will be turned into honey, and construct the comb where the honey is stored — making perfect hexagons out of wax that’s produced from a special gland in their bodies. One of the worker bees’ many impressive communication skills is the “waggle dance,” which is how foragers give their sisters directions to find a high-quality food source.

And if all that wasn’t enough, certain worker bees can even lay drone eggs when the queen is failing. With all the essential tasks these ladies perform to ensure the survival of their colony, it’s no wonder that worker bees only live 28 to 40 days!

The only males in a hive, drones don’t collect nectar, don’t make honey and can’t even sting. Their sole purpose is to mate with a virgin queen. Drones are large, fuzzy bees with large eyes — good for spotting the queen when flying. About 8 days after emerging as adults, drones spend 4+ days on orientation flights. Then, they fly for 2 to 4 hours each afternoon in special congregation areas looking for the queen. But few drones successfully mate, and those that do die immediately after. The rest live no more than a few months. And after being tended to by workers, they’re kicked out when winter arrives.

The largest of all bees in a hive, the queen bee basically performs 3 jobs: mating with drone bees (typically in one flight), laying all the eggs (up to 2,000 in a single day) and keeping the colony stable. The queen secretes chemical scents known as pheromones, that, among other things, give the worker and drone bees cues about the health of the hive and whether the queen mated. Queens also control the gender of their offspring through the creation of fertilized (female) or unfertilized (male) eggs. The queen lives between 1 and 3 years.

Honeybees are social insects that live in highly organized colonies. There are three bee types (or castes) within the a colony – the queen, workers and drones. Each of them has special roles that keep the colony functioning.

Honeybees turn flower nectar into honey, but have you ever wondered how? It's an amazing process that will give you a whole new appreciation for this naturally sweet treat!

Older foraging worker bees fly from their hive in search of nectar-rich flowers. They typically fly up to 3 miles from their hive, but will travel farther if necessary.

Using their straw-like proboscis, worker bees drink the liquid nectar and store it in their special “honey stomach,” also called the crop.

The bees continue to forage, visiting hundreds of flowers, until their honey stomach is full. During this time, within the honey stomach, enzymes break down the complex sugars of the nectar into simpler sugars, which are less prone to crystallization. With full bellies, the worker bees return to the hive and deliver the modified nectar to the younger hive bees.

The hive bees ingest the nectar, break it down more, then place it into a cell of the honeycomb.

The hive bees beat their wings furiously, fanning the nectar to evaporate its remaining water content. As the water evaporates, the nectar sugar thickens into honey.

Once the honey is finished, the hive bees cap each cell with a thin layer of wax, sealing the honey into the comb for later consumption (usually winter when little nectar is available). Working cooperatively, a strong colony with thousands of worker bees can produce up to 200 pounds of honey within the year!

Honeybees are very small (workers are only about 1/2" inch long), but their anatomy is complex and fascinating. Like all insects, they are invertebrates and have exoskeletons. Their body is made up of 3 parts: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. Bees are also covered in small hairs – useful for feeling and pollination.

Large brains are connected to several nerve centers that allow for complex functioning. A honeybee’s brain is actually 10 times more dense than a mammal’s brain, allowing for excellent sight and smell. They also have 5 eyes! Two large compound eyes have thousands of facets allowing them to see images and movement. Three simple eyes (called ocelli) are much smaller and arranged in a triangular pattern on the top of their head — these detect light and help with navigation.

The thorax is divided into 3 sections, with a long esophagus running through the entirety. Each section comes equipped with its own set of legs. Worker bees have a corbicula on each hind leg — this is a smooth cavity surrounded by a ring of hairs, where they pack their pollen to carry back to the hive. Bees also have 4 wings, which are attached to the thorax. The forewing and hindwing on either side of their body are connected with a row of comb-like hooks called hamuli.

While the surface of the abdomen has no obvious, distinctive features, the interior has quite a few functions. In all bees, digestion occurs there. In queens and drones, the abdomen houses the reproductive organs, and in queens and workers, the stinger. Drone (male) bees don’t have stingers! Bees breathe by taking in air through tiny holes called spiracles, which are located on their abdomen and thorax.

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