I am often asked to give a 30 minute demo on bees in our local elementary
schools:
 
Over the years I have noticed that the children are interested in the
following facts:
 
1. Honey bees don't bite, they sting.
 
2. Honey bees are social insects.  They work for the good of the hive.
There are no walk outs, strikes, or pay raises. There is division of labor
amongst the members:
 
   a. Field bees - collect nectar
   b. Garbage bees - take out trash
   c. Guard Bees - protect the hive
   d. Air-conditioner bees - fan the hive
   e.  Nurse bees - Feed the baby bees
 
3.  Honey bees collect nectar, bring it back to the hive and pass it to
another bee who deposits it into a honey cell = "bee barf".
 
4.  No human has been stung by a Queen, her stinger is reserved for a rival
queen.
 
5. Honey Bees fly over 55,000 miles to make 1 pound of honey. And A worker
honey bee makes only 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime (From
SueBee Home page: http://www.suebee.com
 
6. The Killer Bee should be refered to as The African Honey Bee.
Unfortunately, I fault the media for this description.
 
6.  A bee hive is about the same temperature as the human body
 
8.  The number of bees in a hive.  (Can't t remember the number. DO you how
many in a pound?)
 
9.  The queen lays over 1000 eggs a day.
 
10. Swarming bees are least likely to sting because their abdomens are
distended with honey.
 
11.  We are loosing bees and we should consider them to be our friends. Do
not step on them out of spite.
 
12.  Beekeepers don't get Arthritis or Cancer  ( I would like to get a
reference on this one)
 
13. All the products produced or collected by bees can be used by humans:
 
     a.  Honey
     b.  Beeswax
     c.  Royal Jelly
     d. Propolis
     e. Pollen
     f. Chocolate  covered bees
     g. Venom
 
Perhaps these will help generate few more from this list
 
Paul M. Cronshaw, D.C.
Hobby Beekeeper
Santa Barbara, CA
 
PS  Your last name intregues me!  :)
 
 
*******************
 
 
Date:    Fri, 30 Aug 1996 14:44:29 -0600
From:    "Whitney S. Cranshaw" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Fascinating Facts about bees
 
A friend of mine works on a public television show involving science issues
that is directed to kids.  (Newton's Apple the show is called.)  She called
me today for advice on writing a small 25-word-or-less "fascinating fact"
about honeybees.
 
I proposed a few ideas such as the way/ways bees communicate, the number of
flowers that they visit, weights of nectar loads, the effect of diet in
determining development of queens/workers, etc.  However, they still want
other ideas - things that can be put across clearly and succinctly.
 
My request to this group:  What do you think are facts about honeybees that
would be most fascinating to a kid between 8 and 15 years old?
 
Whitney Cranshaw
Colorado, USA
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