The first thing I learned is that a beehive is not home to one bee, or two, or ten. Thousands live there, all in the same house, and each one has her place and her work. It is like a very small village where no one is ever bored.
The house where they all live
The hive is made of small wooden frames, filled with cells of wax. In some cells they store honey, in others pollen, and in others the new little bees are born. There is one entrance where they come and go all day long. Inside, even when it looks like a muddle, everything is beautifully ordered.
Each one has her task
Some bees clean the hive so it always stays tidy. Others take care of the larvae and the littlest ones, feeding them and keeping them warm. And others fly out to find nectar, pollen and water. Without them, there would be no honey. The lovely thing is that no bee needs to be told what to do — they simply know.
The queen
There is only one queen in each hive. She is bigger than the others and easy to recognise. Her job is to lay the eggs — a great many, up to two thousand a day in spring — so that new bees can be born. Without her, the hive could not grow. That is why the workers take care of her and protect her all the time.
The queen gives no orders. She only lays eggs and gives off a special smell that keeps the whole family together.
The workers
The worker bees are all female, and they are the ones who do almost everything. Through their lives they change jobs: when they are young they clean and care for the brood; a little older, they build the wax honeycomb; and at the end, they fly out to look for food. They work without stopping, for the good of all.
All together, like a team
This is what I love most: no bee could do it alone. One cleans, one builds, one stores the honey, one guards the entrance to protect the home. Each one does a small part, and when they all come together, the hive works perfectly. It is like a little city inside a wooden box.
When everyone does their part, the hive is strong and happy. Together, they are unbeatable!
Questions people ask me
Who is in charge of the beehive?
Nobody, really. The queen lays the eggs, but she gives no orders. Each bee knows what to do on her own, and together they run the hive like a tiny village.
What does the queen do all day?
The queen lays eggs — a great many, up to two thousand a day in spring. She is the mother of all the bees. The workers feed her and take care of her so she can focus only on that.
Are worker bees male or female?
All the worker bees are female. They do almost all the work in the hive: cleaning, caring for the young, building, gathering nectar, and making the honey.
Why do people say bees are a team?
Because no bee works alone. Each one does a small part, and together they achieve things that none of them could do on her own. That is why a hive feels like a small, well-organised village.