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32modbisuinde

Interesting facts about bee life

The bee community forms a unique microworld with certain laws and survival principles that have developed over thousands of years. Below are compiled facts and some beekeeper observations about the life of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Some figures in nature are influenced by weather conditions, the breed, and the colony’s condition.

 

 

Division of labour within the colony

Over its lifetime, a worker bee usually changes “professions”: it starts with nest duties (cleaning, processing food, caring for brood), later moves to guard duty, and only at the end of its life becomes a forager.

Young bees (“nurses”) intensively produce brood food (larval jelly) and feed larvae; this is one of the most energy‑demanding jobs in the colony.

In a colony, the most important decisions (e.g., preparing to swarm, raising a new queen) are determined by collective behaviour and pheromone signals—not by the “will of a single bee”.

 

 

Defence and stinging

A worker honey bee has a barbed stinger, so when it stings a mammal the stinger often remains in the skin and the bee usually dies.

A swarm is usually less aggressive because the bees are “full of honey” (a food reserve for the journey) and are focused on finding a new home.

Smoke in beekeeping works as a signal of a possible fire: bees start taking on food, which temporarily reduces the intensity of defensive reactions.

 

 

Flight and orientation

A bee’s wingbeat frequency is usually about 200–230 times per second (Hz); the number changes with temperature and load.

Flight speed depends on wind and load: without a load bees fly faster; with a full load of nectar—slower. In practice, it is more important for a beekeeper to know that load significantly affects return time and the colony’s energy balance.

Bees orient by the Sun, patterns of polarized light in the sky, and remembered landscape landmarks; they can “tell” the direction and distance of a find with a dance (the waggle dance).

Bees often fly within a 1–3 km radius from the hive, but under exceptional conditions they can go farther if food sources are scarce.

🐝  Bees usually fly at a height of about 9 metres above the ground.

🐝  When a bee flies with a full load of nectar—up to 75% of its body weight—its speed is up to 30 km/h.

 

 

Pollination and “flower constancy”

A forager often practices “flower constancy” (flower constancy): during one flight it usually focuses on a single plant species, which improves pollination efficiency and reduces time lost when switching to a different flower type.

There are plants from which bees mainly collect pollen rather than nectar (e.g., hazel), and there are flowers where nectar is scarce or harder to access—this changes the foragers’ “economics”.

Bees also see in the ultraviolet range, so many flowers “look” different to them than to humans—UV patterns help them find the nectar guides.

1 gram of honey contains about 10,000 pollen grains.

 

 

Cells, wax and geometry

The hexagonal shape of cells is exceptionally efficient: it allows space to be used to the maximum with minimal material consumption while also creating a very stable structure.

In a bee’s compound eyes there are thousands of tiny hexagonal facets (ommatidia)—often about 5–6 thousand in a worker; the exact number depends on the bee’s size and breed.

The number of cells in one frame really is large (in the thousands), so wax building is an expensive “investment” for the colony—and it reminds the beekeeper why high‑quality wax and comb renewal are essential for apiary hygiene.

 

 

Beekeepers’ observations

Some beekeepers note that regular stings can change the body’s reaction (for some people sensitivity decreases), but this is not a universal rule: bee venom can also cause severe allergic reactions. If there is shortness of breath, fainting, widespread hives, or rapid swelling—this is an emergency medical situation.

 

 

Some other facts

In the brood nest, bees maintain a very stable temperature (about 34–35 °C), warming it with muscle work or cooling it through ventilation and evaporation of water.

⚛   Bees that fly into a foreign hive with a full load of honey are allowed in and accepted by the colony.

⚛   If bees run short of food, the last drop of honey will be given to the queen. Because if the queen survives, the colony survives too.

⚛   Bees live in an ideal society where collective wisdom prevails. Any bee can, without hesitation, sacrifice its life to defend the collective’s interests.

⚛   If a bee senses its death, it makes every effort to crawl out of the hive so that other bees do not have to remove it.

⚛   The farther north, the more valuable the honey (nectar is secreted more slowly by flowers, so it becomes more saturated with minerals). This is a general dominant trend; of course there are exceptions, because it depends on many additional factors.

The queen mates with several drones during mating flights; this increases genetic diversity in the colony, which often improves resilience and work efficiency.

The propolis “envelope” (propolis envelope) in the hive can reduce the microbial load on surfaces—bees literally create an additional hygiene barrier with propolis.

In winter, the colony forms a winter cluster and produces heat by muscle work; food consumption and moisture management are the basis of survival.

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32bisuindeBEES

Bee venom

Bee venom, or apitoxin, is a defensive secretion of bees—a complex mixture of peptides, enzymes, and small bioactive molecules. Apitherapists who treat people with bee products consider it a valuable remedy that mobilizes the body’s protective forces to help maintain health. The main therapeutic properties attributed to apitoxin are: increasing hemoglobin in the blood and reducing viscosity, improving metabolism, inhibiting the development of atherosclerosis, and increasing the body’s overall resistance to disease.

For most people, a bee sting causes a local reaction: pain, redness and itching. If you have not been stung by bees before, swelling may form at the sting site. Of course, the reaction can vary individually, but after repeated stings, resistance usually develops within two weeks and swelling no longer forms. However, people with an allergy to bee venom should be careful, because anaphylactic shock, which can be life‑threatening. If after a sting there is shortness of breath, wheezing, fainting, rapid swelling (face, throat), widespread hives, or a rapid worsening of well‑being—call emergency medical services.

Apitoxin is a very powerful antibacterial substance. It is a highly effective agent against staphylococci, streptococci, and the causative agents of tuberculosis and diphtheria. Scientists still do not fully know the composition of bee venom. Apitoxin and some of its chemical compounds have no analogues in nature. It is a complex compound of fats, amino acids and proteins. Even when boiled or frozen, bee venom changes its composition and properties only minimally. It is the most persistent and strongest disinfecting substance in nature. In the human stomach, bee venom is processed completely.

We know that ticks can transmit encephalitis and Lyme disease. While it is possible to vaccinate against encephalitis, long‑term immunity against Lyme disease cannot be developed, so no vaccine is available. It has been observed that apitoxin destroys borreliae (Borrelia burgdorferi), which are the causative agents of Lyme disease. Therefore, in folk medicine, immediately after removing an attached tick, a bee is placed next to that spot so that it injects apitoxin (stings) and reduces the risk of contracting Lyme disease, against which vaccines do not work. This is related to the fact that the surface of borreliae is highly variable. For example, if a streptococcus has only 8 genes, a borrelia has about 800 genes. It is very difficult for the immune system to produce antibodies against such an antigen—except perhaps at the very beginning of infection, when there are few borreliae and immunity is very strong. Chemically synthesized preparations are also not very effective, because as soon as they enter the body, the borrelia encapsulates itself and is protected; whereas it does not hide from natural preparations, so there is a possibility of eradicating it.

Apitoxin has a very beneficial effect on the human body as a whole: it stimulates the activity of nerve cells and the immune system, increases work capacity and overall tone. Sleep and appetite improve. Once in the human body, apitoxin dilates blood vessels. The amount of hemoglobin in the blood increases, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate slows down, and the leukocyte level in the blood increases. Bee venom stimulates the heart muscle, lowers elevated arterial pressure, and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis.

By the way, studies of centenarians who have passed the 100‑year mark have surprisingly found that two‑thirds of them are beekeepers or people who have had to deal a lot with bee stings.

 

 

Composition of bee venom

Key components:

☣️  1. Melittin. Makes up almost half of the entire composition. It affects the peripheral nervous system. It enhances blood circulation, improves capillary permeability and reduces blood coagulation (clotting), lowers blood pressure. It has been found that melittin can also be used as an anticancer agent.

☣️  2. Histamine. Improves blood circulation, dilates blood vessels.

☣️  3. Apamin. Consists of 18 amino acids. Contains sulfur. Strongly irritates the nervous system. Promotes the release of the stress hormone cortisol.

☣️  4. Hyaluronidase. Increases capillary permeability and promotes the spread of the injected venom into surrounding tissues.

☣️  5. Adolapin. A protein that reduces inflammation and pain. Prevents erythrocytes from sticking together, thereby inhibiting clot formation.

☣️  6. Phospholipase A2. Makes up about 12% of the total apitoxin composition. It is an enzyme with neurotropic properties. It breaks down phospholipids that form cell membranes. Phospholipase A2 reduces blood coagulation (clotting).

☣️  7. Noradrenaline. A hormone that neutralizes the effect caused by adrenaline.

☣️  8. Dopamine. A hormone that stimulates purposefulness and creates a feeling of satisfaction.