Hive of activity aids survival

Scientists have identified 11 species of honey bee, with two medium-sized species most commonly seen in China－the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana).

The insects, especially those species that produce honey, are generally social creatures that live in large colonies.

A single hive can contain between 20,000 and 80,000 worker bees. Colonies are also highly organized, with a queen, drones and workers caring for the hive.

There are up to 60,000 female worker bees in each colony, Their life span is about 4 to 6 weeks in summer.

Males in the hive are called drones. They live during the spring and summer months, and their sole purpose is to mate with new queens.

Bees are usually docile creatures that don't attack humans.

All bees have segmented bodies, consisting of a head, thorax and abdomen. The females' hind legs have pouches, which they use to carry pollen back to the hive.

Bees feed on pollen and nectar from flowering plants. Honey bees take the nectar and pollen back to the colony where they produce honey－a source of food for those bees that never leave the hive.

Honey gives energy to the bees' flight muscles, allowing their wings to beat up to 12,000 times a minute. Honey bees can visit up to 5,000 flowers in a single day, and they would have to visit about 2 million to make a 453-gram jar of honey.

If the queen dies, the worker bees create a new one by selecting a young larva and feeding it with royal jelly, a special food that allows it to develop into a fertile adult queen.

Source: Apis cerana Research Institute at Yunnan Agricultural University