The hive is created by and sustained through a strict social structure. This hierarchy is just one of the things that make bees so fascinating.

The Hive

Queen Bee

  1. There is only one queen per hive, and she is the only bee with fully developed ovaries.
  2. She can live for 3-5 years, mates only once with several male (drone) bees, and will remain fertile for life.
  3. She lays up to 2,000 eggs per day.
  4. Fertilized eggs become female (worker bees) and unfertilized eggs become male (drone bees).
  5. When she dies or becomes unproductive, the other bees “make” a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a diet of “royal jelly.”

Worker Bee

  1. All worker bees develop from fertilised eggs are female but are unable to reproduce.
  2. Worker bees live for 4-9 months during the winter season, but only 6 weeks during the busy summer months (they literally work themselves to death).
  3. Nearly all of the bees in a hive are worker bees – up to 30,000 bees in the winter, and more than 60,000 bees in the summer.
  4. The worker bees sequentially take on a series of specific chores during their lifetime: housekeeper; nursemaid; construction worker; grocer; undertaker; guard; and finally, after 21 days, they become a forager, collecting pollen and nectar.
  5. The worker bee has a barbed sting that results in her death after stinging, so she can only sting once.

Drone Bee

  1. Male bees develop from unfertilised eggs and so only contain the genetic material from their mother, the queen.
  2. These male bees are kept on standby during the summer for mating with a virgin queen.
  3. Because the drone has a barbed sex organ, death follows mating.
  4. There are up to 3,000 drones in a hive.
  5. The drone does not have a sting and because they are of no use in the winter they are expelled from the hive in the autumn.

You don’t have to become a beekeeper to help bees. Simply plant certain types of plants and shrubs in your garden or allotment and give them a helping hand as they forage for pollen and nectar essential to their survival. Whether you live in a town, city or the countryside, your garden can be a haven for busy bees!

Bee-friendly plants look great in the garden too! By planting the right type of plants and trees, you are providing a larder for honeybees and other pollinators, and habitats for wildlife. The pollination provides food for us and other wildlife, from birds to insects.

The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) has produced a comprehensive list of bee-friendly plants you can grow in your garden or allotment. Click here to download it.

Research has shown that bees are more strongly attracted to gardens with a greater diversity of bee-friendly flowers. In addition, simple things like layout and light exposure can have a huge effect on the number and variety of bees it attracts. Use a wide variety of plants in your garden, and don’t be too tidy! Leave wild flowering plants in place, and ivy is a particularly important source of late season winter food for bees.

Remember, weeds are only weeds to us! Bees love dandelions and white clover. Can you leave them there just a little longer? You can remove them after the flowers are spent but before they go to seed.

Some bee species nest in the ground. Using mulch or weed-supressing sheets can stop them from nesting. Again, consider natural plant cover – and a little more weed tolerance! – rather than mulch and weed control fabrics.

Remember, only female honeybees have stings, and the European honeybee prevalent in the UK is not aggressive. Attract bees to your garden and still enjoy your summer barbecue!

What do bees do for us? ”

Pollination
Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination, collecting approx 30 kilogram/66 lbs of pollen, per hive, per year. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.

Honey
There are many types, colours and flavours of honey. Bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants, and they use it for food year-round. Honey has antibacterial qualities; eating local honey can fend off allergies.

Beeswax
Secreted from glands, beeswax is used by the honeybee to build honeycomb. Beeswax is used in drugs, cosmetics, artists’ materials, furniture polish, boot polish, and church candles.

Propolis
Collected by honeybees from trees, this sticky resin is mixed with wax to make a glue the bees use to seal cracks and repair their hive. Propolis is used as a health aid, and as the basis for fine wood varnishes.

Royal Jelly
The powerful, milky substance that turns an ordinary bee into a Queen Bee is made from digested pollen and honey or nectar, and mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in a nursing bee’s head. Loaded with B vitamins, it is used by some as a dietary supplement and fertility stimulant, and commands premium prices (rivalling imported caviar!).

Mead
Mead is one of the oldest known drinks and was very popular up to the 18th century. It is a type of wine, often sweet, made from honey, water and yeast, typically containing 12-14% alcohol.

The growth of urban development has had a dramatic effect on bee numbers, reducing areas where they can forage for pollen and nectar. Now you can help bring the honeybee back to our towns and cities.

You don’t need to be a landowner or live in the country to keep bees. Urban gardens or roofs make ideal locations for hives – The Waldorf Astoria in New York City has hives on its roof! Or “rent” a hive through your local beekeepers association, just as you would an allotment.

If you don’t want to keep bees, you can help them by planting bee-friendly gardens. Town gardens, roof gardens, allotments, local parks and open spaces all attract bees. Hanging baskets not only brighten our streets and homes, they can attract pollinating insects too. Many local authorities are now adopting bee-friendly landscaping in parks and streets.

Try one of our Beekeeping Courses.