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bee-eater

bee-eater, any of the brightly colored, insect-eating birds of the family Meropidae. They range in length from 6 to 14 in. (15-36 cm). The plumage of many species is predominantly green but usually includes a variety of other bright colors. Many species have a black stripe running from the eye to the base of the long, sharp bill. They are found throughout the tropical and warm-temperate Old World but are most numerous in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Some species are migratory, and the few that breed in temperate areas, such as Merops apiaster, the common, or European, bee-eater, winter in the tropics. Most of the Meropidae are gregarious, and the birds of some species travel in flocks of hundreds or thousands of individuals. The nests of most species are colonial burrows, excavated in the sand of riverbanks or road grades. Bee-eaters catch insects on the wing; they subsist primarily upon bees and wasps. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Coraciiformes, family Meropidae.

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bee moth

bee moth, greater wax moth, or honeycomb moth, common name for an insect pest of honeycombs. Bee moths do damage during their larval stages, injuring combs and honey. The moth Galleria mellonella belongs to the subfamily Galleriinae of the family Pyralidae, in which the females characteristically lay their eggs in beehives. The adult moths have brownish front wings with wing-spans of about 1 in. (2.5 cm). Eggs are laid in masses in the crevices of the hive. The newly hatched larvae tunnel into the combs, leaving a complex of silken galleries behind; they also puncture the wax caps of honey cells causing honey leakage and making the punctured comb honey unmarketable. Normally, the moths attack only abandoned beehives, or active ones in which the bee colony has been weakened, e.g., as a result of disease or starvation. Another well-known but smaller member of the subfamily is the lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, which has the same type of scavenging habits as the greater wax moth. Bee moths are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Lepidoptera, family Pyralidae, subfamily Galleriidae.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

bee fly

bee fly, name for the small- to medium-sized flies of the family Bombyliidae, many of which resemble bees in appearance and behavior. This mimicry provides bee flies with some measure of protection against predators that have learned to avoid the sting of true bees. A bee fly has a stout, hairy body and long proboscis. In many species the body and wings are strikingly marked in yellow and brown. Most are very swift fliers and buzz loudly like a bee if caught in a net. They seek heat and are often found flying close to the ground in dry, sandy regions. The adults feed on nectar and hover above flowers like bees. The larvae feed on larvae or pupae of other insects; they are beneficial as parasites of harmful species. Beelike flies are also found in other families. The syrphid flies (family Syrphidae), also called hover flies and flower flies, are a large, cosmopolitan group of beelike and wasplike flies. Many syrphid flies bear a very close resemblance to a particular bee or wasp species. Many of the robber flies (family Asilidae) resemble bumblebees. All of these are true flies; they are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Diptera.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

bee balm

bee balm, name for several herbs, especially Melissa officinalis and Monarda didyma, both typical perennials of the family Labiatae (mint family) named for their fragrance, attractive to bees and hummingbirds. Melissa [Gr.,=bee] officinalis, called bee balm or lemon balm, was introduced to North America from the Mediterranean area, where it has long been cultivated for its lemonlike odor and flavor and, formerly, as a curative for many ailments. The leaves and the oil distilled from them (known as melissa or balm) are widely used for seasonings and beverages. Monarda didyma, also called Oswego tea, is native to E North America and was used, along with other species of Monarda, by the Native Americans and colonists for tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental for its terminal cluster of red blossoms (sometimes pink in garden varieties). Oswego tea is similar and closely related to wild bergamot. The names bergamot and balm are also used for other plants. Bee balm is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Lamiales, family Labiatae.

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bee

bee, name for flying insects of the superfamily Apoidea, in the same order as the ants and the wasps. Bees are characterized by their enlarged hind feet, typically equipped with pollen baskets of stiff hairs for gathering pollen. They usually have a dense coat of feathery hairs on the head and thorax. In many, the lip forms a long tube for sucking nectar. Bees feed on pollen and nectar; the latter is converted to honey in the bee's digestive tract. There are about 20,000 species of bees. They may be solitary, social, or parasitic in the nests of other bees. The solitary bees (which do not secrete wax) are called carpenter, plasterer, leaf-cutting, burrowing, or mason bees according to the material or method used to construct nests for their young.

Social Bees

The groups of social bees, including altogether about 400 species, are the bumblebees, the stingless bees, and the honeybees.

Bumblebees and Stingless Bees

Bumblebees belong to the genus Bombus. In the tropics bumblebee colonies continue for many years, but in temperate regions the workers and the drones die in the fall. Only the young, fertilized queens live through the winter, in hibernation. In the spring they begin new colonies, often laying their eggs in the deserted nests of field mice and chipmunks. The stingless bees are chiefly tropical. Some species release a caustic liquid that burns the skin.

Honeybees

The honeybee commonly raised for production of honey and wax in many parts of the world is Apis mellifera, of Old World origin. Honeybees build nests, or combs, of wax, which is secreted by glands in the abdomen. They store honey for future use in the hexagonal cells of the comb. In the wild the nests are made in caves or hollow trees, but beekeepers provide nesting boxes, called hives. Beekeeping is called apiculture.

A typical colony consists of three castes: the large queen, who produces the eggs, many thousands of workers (sexually undeveloped females), and a few hundred drones (fertile males). At the tip of a female bee's abdomen is a strong, sharp lancet, or sting, connected to poison glands. In the queen, who stings only rival queens, the sting is smooth and can be withdrawn easily; in the worker bee the sting is barbed and can rarely be withdrawn without tearing the body of the bee, causing it to die. The workers gather nectar; make and store honey; build the cells; clean, ventilate (by fanning their wings), and protect the hive. They also feed and care for the queen and the larvae. They communicate with one another (for example, about the location of flowers) by performing dances in specific patterns. The workers live for only about six weeks during the active season, but those that hatch (i.e., emerge from the pupa stage) in the fall live through the winter. The drones die in the fall.

A developing bee goes through the larva and pupa stages in the cell and emerges as an adult. The larva is fed constantly by the worker bees; the pupa is sealed into the cell. Fertilized eggs develop into workers; unfertilized eggs become drones. A fertilized egg may also become a queen if the larva is fed royal jelly, a glandular secretion thought to contain sex hormones as well as nutrients, until she pupates. Worker larvae receive this food only during the first three days of larval life, afterward receiving beebread, a mixture of pollen and honey.

When a hive becomes overcrowded a swarm may leave with the old queen and establish a new colony. The old colony in the meantime rears several new queens. The first queen that hatches stings the others to death in their cells; if two emerge at once, they fight until one is killed. Mating then occurs. A newly hatched queen is followed aloft in a nuptial flight by the drones, only one of which impregnates her, depositing millions of sperm that are stored in a pouch in her body. The drone dies, and the queen returns to the hive, where for the rest of her life (usually several years) she lays eggs continuously in the cells.

Importance of Bees

Bees are of inestimable value as agents of cross-pollination (see pollination), and many plants are entirely dependent on particular kinds of bees for their reproduction (such as red clover, which is pollinated by the bumblebee, and many orchids). In many cases the use of insecticides for agricultural pest control has had the unwelcome side effect of killing the bees necessary for maintaining the crop. Such environmental stresses plus several species of parasitic mites devastated honeybee populations in the United States beginning in the 1980s, making it necessary for farmers to rent bees from keepers in order to get their crops pollinated and greatly affecting the pollination of plants in the wild. In 2006-7 commercial honeybee hives suffered from "colony collapse disorder," which, for unknown reasons, left many bee boxes empty of bees after overwintering. Bee venom has been found to have medicinal properties. Toasted honeybees are eaten in some parts of the world.

Classification

Bees are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Hymenoptera, superfamily Apoidea.

Bibliography

See M. Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee (1913); K. von Frisch, The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees (1965, tr. 1967); M. Lindauer, Communication Among Social Bees (rev. ed. 1971); C. Mitchener, Social Behavior of Bees (1974); F. Ruttner, Biogeography and Raxonomy of Honey Bees (1987); M. Winston, The Biology of the Honey Bee (1987); James L. and Carol Gould, The Honey Bee (1988).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

bee-eater

Bee-eater (Merops apiaster).

Any of about 25 species of brightly coloured birds (family Meropidae) that feed on bees, wasps, and other insects. They are found throughout tropical and subtropical Eurasia, Africa, and Australasia (one species occasionally reaches the British Isles). Bee-eaters range in length from 6 to 14 in. (15–35 cm). Their bill is moderately long, slightly downcurved, and pointed. Their brilliant plumage is usually predominantly green, but many species are partially coloured with red, yellow, blue, or purple.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

bee balm

Any of 12 North American annual or perennial plants in the genus Monarda, variously known as bergamot, horsemint, and bee balm. They belong to the mint family and have showy flowers. Wild bergamot (M. fistulosa) has a minty aroma. The more sharply scented Oswego tea (M. didyma; a bergamot variety) is native to eastern North America but is widely cultivated elsewhere.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

bee

Leaf-cutting bee (Anthidium)

Any of some 20,000 insect species belonging to the superfamily Apoidea (order Hymenoptera), including the familiar bumblebee. Adults range in size from about 0.08 to 1.6 in. (2 mm–4 cm). Bees are related to wasps, but, unlike wasps, which can eat other insects, most bees are entirely dependent on flowers for their food. Male bees are usually short-lived and never collect pollen; female bees make and provision the nest and usually have special anatomical structures for carrying pollen. Most species are solitary. The so-called killer bee, an Africanized subspecies of Apis mellifera (see honeybee), reached the U.S. from Mexico circa 1990; killer bees react quickly and attack in number. Seealso Karl von Frisch.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.