Apiology: The Study of Bees - Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - page 21

be responsible for the way honeybees construct their hexagonal shaped honeycombs?
I've always wondered this, but have not yet discovered the answer.
For chewing and kneading beeswax into honeycomb, the honeybee has a mandible ,
orjaw.Tosuckuphoneyandwater,thebeeusesitstubelike tongue,called a proboscis .
Two sets of wings and six legs are joined to the thorax. A honeybee's wings are thin
andclear andhaveveinsrunningthroughthem.Theyflap180times persecond,andon
average, a honeybee can fly 15 miles per hour. During flight, the wings hook together
with a tiny hook, called a hamuli, on the back wings. All six of its legs are segmen-
ted and used for walking or grooming. The hindmost legs are covered in hairy baskets,
which the bees use to carry pollen. A honeybee's abdomen houses its reproductive or-
gans and digestive system, as well as its stingers and wax-making glands. Like most
insects, the honeybee does not have bones, but instead has a hard, protective outer cov-
ering called an exoskeleton . Honeybees have blood but no veins in their bodies, only
a single aorta that pumps blood from their four-chambered heart into the head. From
there it is circulated around the abdomen freely. They also do not have lungs. Air sacs,
or openings, allow oxygen to enter the honeybee's body. It is then pushed through a
tracheal system of small tubes that carry the air to each cell.
• • •
A S WE CONTINUED OUR WALK THROUGH B ILLY'S GARDEN , he pointed out that many
farms in the state of Connecticut produce fresh fruit and berries and sell their produce
exclusively to local farmers' markets and to bakeries that make delicious fruit pies.
Honeybee pollination is crucial to the sustainability and profitability of these farms.
Fruits, nuts, and berries start out as flowers. If honeybees do not pollinate the flowers,
the flowers will never become the apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, pumpkins,
cranberries, peaches, hazelnuts, chestnuts, almonds, and squash found in the many
baked goods we all love. If we enjoyed indulging in these home-baked goodies, Billy
warned, then we'd be smart to continue keeping honeybees. During his talk, all I kept
thinking was, what would I do without my mother's apple pie? By keeping honeybees,
I would be actually helping Mom by saving the world's apples.
The group trailed through the gardens until we reached the apiary, which comprised
sixbeehivesinall.Billytoldthegrouphehadbeenkeepingbeesforfouryearsandbee-
keeping was the most rewarding hobby he knew of. Today's hive visit would be a gen-
eralspringtimeinspectiontoidentifytheinhabitantsofthehive:thequeen,theworkers,
and the drones. And we would learn to find the very tiny eggs inside the brood nest.