Curiosities

Beekeeping curiosities: do you know how a beehive works?

10/02/2021

It is not for nothing that there are “worker bees”. After all, the way a beehive works is very similar to a factory. With hierarchies and roles clearly defined, everything inside the 'bee house' follows a very organized script.

If you are curious to know more and want to know the details about the functioning inside a beehive, continue reading our post. Below, we tell you some curiosities about their work and behavior!

How is a hive made?

When the population of a hive becomes excessive for its capacity, a large part of the bees migrates to give rise to a new swarm, taking a queen bee with them. This has the function of promoting the settlement, which begins with the mating, known as "nuptial flight".

On this flight, the queen is courted by bumblebees from other swarms, which die immediately after fertilization. With that, she collects enough material to produce thousands of eggs, which will give rise to the new community.

Worker bees, on the other hand, carry small amounts of wax, the material necessary to start the construction of the hive structure.

The role of the queen bee

Contrary to what its name suggests, the queen bee is not an individual with power over the other individuals who live in the hive. It stands out for being the only female bee with reproductive capacity and, therefore, responsible for the population of the hive.

After fertilization, it installs itself in an especial compartment, called the queen's room. There, she remains for the rest of her life, occupied laying eggs.

 

The Bumblebees

Bumblebees have the sole function of fertilizing the queen bee. Because of this, they only leave the hive during the nuptial flight. They also differ from worker bees because they have more developed eyes and antennae, structures that make it possible to locate the queen bee more easily at the time of fertilization.

Division of labor

As we said above, bees have very well-defined functions, which allow the hive to be maintained. Some take care of the construction, through the production of wax. Some also take care to clean the alveoli, which are the holes that allow individuals to enter and exit.

In addition, there are those that collect and produce substances to feed the community and the larvae that will give rise to the new bees. Likewise, there are also groups engaged in producing substances for the defense of space. It is thanks to these collecting and producing bees that we can extract honey and propolis from the hives.

Communication between bees

Since the hive is such an organized society, you must ask yourself how the bees learn what functions they should perform, right? They have communication mechanisms that allow this organization.

One of these mechanisms is the release of pheromones, which allow identifying who may or may not enter the hive, inform about the availability of food or give guidance on the location of the swarm. In addition, they can still communicate through movements, touches and sounds.

Now that you know how a beehive works, what do you think about finding out more details about how bee products are produced? Check out the infographic that we have prepared to illustrate the process!