Nature – Honeybees

Honeybees are approximately 1½ inches long and have a short life span of approximately six weeks. These bees can be found throughout the world, living in colonies or cities called hives. They can be found in tree hollows, on limbs, under eaves of houses or in man-made containers. Bees have been called the most important insects in the world and have been studied extensively. More than 30,000 books and articles have been written about them and their culture. Their society works mutually for the welfare of the hive and is successful because of the bee’s ability to communicate accurately and work cooperatively and efficiently with each other.

Honeybees are social creatures living in close proximity to each other. Sanitation squads are responsible for keeping the hive clean. After each one of the thousands of cells is cleaned, the squads discard all foreign material and varnish the walls.

To maintain the narrow range of temperature, 90° to 97° F, in which the larvae are nurtured, bees collect and store water. In order to cool the hive, the bees aggressively fan their wings, using the water as a source of evaporative cooling. The area is heated by the bees filling their bodies with excess honey, thus increasing their metabolism and creating excess heat to warm the brood area.

The population of each hive fluctuates between 15,000 and 80,000 and is controlled by nurse bees that “make” a queen bee by feeding her larger amounts of select larvae. The number of eggs she lays determines whether a new queen is established. Thousands of eggs are laid and hatch within three days.  The nurse bees then feed the larvae in the cells for six days making many trips to each cell daily.

Guard bees stationed at the entrance to the hive keep all intruders out. Each hive has a distinct odor, and the guards know immediately from sensors in their antenna if an approaching bee is not of its hive.

Bees work together to make their hexagon shaped honeycomb nursery by consuming large amounts of honey and forming a chain with each bee clinging to the bee above it. This chain remains intact for about 24 hours while wax is formed on their abdomens. The wax is then removed, shaped and molded into the honeycomb, which is the strongest shape, uses the least material, and allows the most room for larva and honey storage. Man, despite his great intellect has not found a stronger structure than the hexagonal shape of the little bee’s honeycomb.

Intricate and accurate communication is vital in the collection of nectar. Scout bees locate nectar and give samples to the other bees. Then the scout does his dance, typically in a figure eight pattern and a “waggle” from the center of his body. The vigor, sound and vibration of the waggle inform the other bees about the nectar and its location. If the bee moves north in its dance, the source is straight toward the sun. If the dance is 45 degrees left of north, the source is 45 degrees left of the sun.

Honeybees are wonderfully complex creatures. Man’s creation shows even more complexity than the honeybee that was spoken into existence. When God formed man, He stooped down and formed him out of the dust of the earth with His own hands and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Oh what praise He deserves for His love of His creation. “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:4).

Adapted from the Moody Institute of Science DVD, City of Bees and from Character Sketches, Volume One, Living Lessons on Loyalty.

Nature Nugget – Bumblebee Social Order

Social bees live in colonies and consist of three castes: the queen who produces the eggs, thousands of workers (sexually undeveloped females), and a few hundred drones (fertile males). There are three groups of social bees: the honeybees, stingless bees, and bumblebees. Found mainly in temperate climates, there are around 300 species of bumblebees worldwide.

Like all social bees, bumblebees are important as pollinators, because they visit flowers to feed on nectar and to gather pollen to feed their young. They make and store honey in a “honey pot” in their nests, which are constructed from wax, secreted from glands in the bees abdomens. The amount of honey bumblebees store in their nests is very small compared to honeybees; therefore, they were never domesticated by man.

Young fertilized queens are the only members of the bumblebee colony that survive the winter. In the spring, they emerge from hibernation and search for a location to start a colony. They usually choose an abandoned mouse or chipmunk nest or other underground cavity. The young queen then builds a small nest with brood cells from wax and stores nectar and pollen which she gathers from nearby flowers. She then lays a few eggs and feeds the hatched larvae from her stored food supply. Once the workers emerge, they take over the duties of the colony while the queen concentrates on egg laying.

The queen secretes a pheromone (chemical substance) that permeates the nest and represses sexual development in the workers by suppressing the glands that would otherwise lead to their ovaries developing. In late summer or early fall, the queen stops producing this pheromone in order that some of her eggs will develop into new queens. No longer restrained by the pheromone, some of the workers start egg-laying. The eggs are not fertile, but will develop into drones. The queen tries to destroy these eggs by eating them, because they are in competition with her own drone eggs. The egg-laying workers are angered by this act, and the social order of the colony collapses; anarchy reigns. The aging queen loses her social dominance and is killed by the workers. The young queens soon leave the nest and mate with the drones. Then they hibernate in seclusion and start the process over again the following spring.

Just as the queen bumblebee uses a pheromone to maintain the peace and social order in her colony, so we as Christians are to use prayer to maintain peace, order, and unity among ourselves. “The time has come for a thorough reformation to take place. When this reformation begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer and will banish from the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living in Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One member working in right lines will lead other members to unite with him in making intercession for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no confusion, because all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit. The barriers separating believer from believer will be broken down, and God’s servants will speak the same things.” Ye Shall Receive Power, 285. “Prayer is a heaven-ordained means of success. Appeals, petitions, entreaties, between man and man, move men, and act as a part in controlling the affairs of nations. But prayer moves heaven. That power alone that comes in answer to prayer will make men wise in the wisdom of heaven, and enable them to work in the unity of the Spirit, joined together by the bonds of peace.” Sons and Daughters of God, 335.

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.