HONEY BEE ANATOMY STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will

HONEY BEE ANATOMY

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will learn the anatomy of the honeybee.

HONEYBEES: • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Arthropoda • Class: Insecta • Order: Hymenotera • Family: Apida • Genus: Apis • Species: Mellifera

HONEY BEE ANATOMY Thorax Hairs Head Simple Eye Wing Abdomen Stinger Antenn a Compound Eyes Mandibles Probosci s Pollen Basket Front Legs Middle Legs Hind Legs

THE HONEY BEE IS COMPOSED 3 DIFFERENT PARTS: Thorax Head Abdomen

Simple THE HEAD Eye Compound Eyes Antenna Mandibles Probosci s

HEAD: SIMPLE EYES • Honeybees have three simple eyes that detect changes in light intensity.

HEAD: COMPOUND EYES • Compound Eyes: Made up of around 150 tiny lenses • Excellent for detecting patterns on flowers • Allows bees to see polarized light, meaning they can navigate using the sun.

HEAD: ANTENNAE • Two antenna are attached to the front of the bee face. • Antenna are comprise of: - long basal segment - articulated elbow segment - a whip-like series of 10 segments that make up the flagellum • The antennae are covered with sensory hairs, pits, and small plates called sensillae; part from the eyes, these are the bee’s most important sense organs.

HEAD: ANTENNAE • Bees use antennae to navigate around other bees within a dark hive. • The sensors on the antenna react to: o bee stings o temperature o humidity

HEAD: MANDIBLES Mandibles: Honeybees have two moderately large triangular jaws that meet in a smooth scissor like action. • Honey bees use mandibles to: o handling objects o manipulating pollen o shape the wax to build

HEAD: PROBOSCIS • Proboscis: Long tube like mouthparts of bees. • Enabling Bees to reach deep into flowers to suck nectar, all the while getting coated in pollen and so playing their part in pollination.

THE THORAX • The Thorax is split into three segments v Each segment carries a pairs of legs (6 legs total) v On the rear two segments a pair of wings. v Inside thorax is a powerhouse of muscles making all these limbs work.

THORAX: FRONT AND MIDDLE LEGS • Honey bees have six legs. • Front Legs have small comb like structures, which they use to untangle pollen from their hairy bodies. • Middle Legs allow bees to scurry around the hive and allows better hold of flowers.

THORAX: HIND LEGS • Hind Legs are where the pollen baskets are located: • Front Legs push pollen off the bees body on to its Hind Legs, where an area of dense hairs holds it safe for easy transportation.

THORAX : WINGS • Wings: Bees have two pairs of wings made from a very thick layer of the same material as their outer skeleton: Chitin. • A series of small hooks join together fore and hind wings, allowing them to move as one.

THE ABDOMEN • The Abdomen is hairy and contain some of the bee’s internal organs and a stinger if the bee is female.

THE ABDOMEN: HAIRS • Almost all honey bees have hairy bodies, sometimes with warning coloration to deter predators. • Hairs are specially adapted to trap pollen grains. • heavily branched and

THE ABDOMEN: STINGER • Stinger: Only a tiny fraction of bee species actually sting. • The sting is a modification of the egg-laying apparatus, so only female bees are capable of stinging. • Used to defend the colony.

REFERENCES: • Chadwick, F. (2016). The bee book. Strand, London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. • Johnson, D. , & Johnson, S. (2019). The beginner’s guide to beekeeping  everything you need to know. Minneapolis, Mn: Voyageur Press. • Flottum, K. (2014). The backyard beekeeper’s honey handbook  a guide to creating, harvesting, and cooking with natural honeys. Beverly, Mass. : Quayside Pub. Group. • Jones, R. , & Sweeney-Lynch, S. (2011). The beekeeper’s bible  bees, honey, recipes & other home uses. New York: Abrams.