Bees, Bees, Bees - Part 1

Bees are the most wonderful and amazing little creatures. They have to work in a perfect system for the greater good of their hive. Every member has their place and their role with the hive, and each hive can house between 20,000 and 80,000 bees!

A bees anatomy is also very interesting, they have 5 eyes: 2 ocelli, and 2 compound eyes, this allows them to see a much broader range of colours than our plain and pesky human eyes can. 

They also have 2 sets of wings: forewings and hind wings, 3 pairs of legs: on the back pair you will find their pollen baskets, a head, which consists of mandibles (mouth/jaws) cute little antennas, and a probiscis, (and the eyes) next is a thorax, and an abdomen, at the end of which you'll find their stinger.

Please note this is a very, very rough and brief breakdown of these fascinating creatures (the honeybee), their bodies are actually far more complex and detailed.

As I mentioned above, a hive of honeybees can easily consist of 20,000 to 80,000 bees, all of which have a purpose, this purpose will change depending on what stage of life the bee is in.
So, what roles can these beautiful creatures have within their hive? Let's break it down.
There are 3 types of bees first:
. The Queen
. Workers
. Drones

There will only ever be one Queen bee per hive, it is here job to, on her maiden voyage, mate, and then proceed with a life of reproducing until she can no more. On average a Queen bee can live up to 4 years which is much longer than anyone in her colony, although in commercial uses, lots of beekeepers will re-queen their hives each year to every second year, this is to ensure max production.

Drones are the male bees, their sole purpose is to mate, otherwise the barely contribute to the hives productivity, they essentially sit around, eat honey and wait to mate with maiden Queens. This is why, come winter, they are tossed out into the cold, as they serve no purpose, and will only eat the stores the workers have gathered through-out the rest of the year.

Workers have very short, but interesting lives. They will move through careers as the bee matures, she also doesn't need to be told when her job changes, she just knows.
1. Cleaner/ Undertaker
Immediately after birth, the worker bee will turn around and start cleaning and preparing the cell it has just exited, ready for the next egg to be laid by the Queen, they will remove any dead bodies from the hive, tossing them out of the entrance, removing old debris, generally cleaning the hive. 
2. Nurse
She will the proceed to take care of and feed the rest of the babies.
3. Builders/ Air conditioners
Now they are starting to mature, so do their wax glands, and they will now move to building more cells and constructing comb and circulate air by fanning their wings.
4. Guard
Now they must guard their home from intruders, whether other bees, insects, mammals, and hoomans!
5. Forager
This is their finally step before the buzzy rainbow bridge, they will go out every day, working tirelessly, retrieving resources for the next generations.

The main thing is though, no matter their life stage, everyone must work as a team to preserve the hive.