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THe Greenway Foundation Blog

Honey Bees

4/25/2020

1 Comment

 
PictureCheck out that pollen basket!
As we celebrate our two week long #VirtualStewardshipDay, do you know who else is a steward of pollination (Hint...Hint...they are known to be pollinators)? HONEY BEES or more specific, Honey Worker Bees! These little insects can be found near any bright-colored plants. Their job is to collect nectar and pollen from flowers. They gather pollen and place on their hind legs. This collection is called a pollen basket or the scientific term corbicula.

As they forage from flower to flower, pollen is deposited onto the new flower, allowing that flower to reproduce. Not only does the worker bees depend on the flowers, but the flowers also depend on them! Without working honey bees, there would not be as many diverse flowers.

Worker bees also collect nectar to create that delicious honey that we all love. When they collect nectar, they will use their tiny tongue and drink the nectar from the flower into their honey stomach. They will not return to the hive until that stomach is full. Once they are ready to return to the hive, they have to spit up the nectar and pack it with the remaining pollen into a single honeycomb. Now they sit and wait….and voilà ...honey! For 1lb of honey, it will take 10,000 bees, traveling 75,000 miles to about 8,000,000 flowers - this is a team effort! 

​Working as a team requires communication. Now, bees cannot talk to each other like humans, but they can dance or waggle! When a worker bee dances/waggles, they waggle in a figure-eight formation, indicating which direction to go for more food. 

Picture
Blue Grape Hyacinth
Picture
To help support #VirtualStewardshipDay, you can plant flowers such as Phlox, Mint, Sage, or Lavender. One of the regions with the most plant diversity is along the river corridor. Head down to the South Platte and see if you can find any honey bees there!
Sources:
  • https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/plant-a-bee-garden/
  • https://bees.techno-science.ca/english/bees/pollination/default.php
  • https://animals.net/honey-bee/
  • https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/honey-bees-fill-saddlebags-pollen-here-s-how-they-keep-them-gripped-tight
  • https://beesneeds.colorado.edu/introtonativebees.html
  • https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bee_waggle_dance.png
1 Comment
Roxy link
4/29/2020 06:16:33 am

Thanks for sharing this article. It was informative. I am also writing a blog on places to travel around the world. Maybe you can check it out.

Reply



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  • About Us
    • About Us >
      • Greenway Current (Annual Report)
      • Flood of 1965
      • Greenway Videos
    • River & Trail Info
    • Blog
    • Success Stories >
      • 1970s
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
      • 2010-2014
      • 2015-Future
    • Volunteer
    • Employment
    • Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Search
  • Education
    • SPREE >
      • SPREE Home Page
      • Just for Kids!
      • Support SPREE
    • Field Trips >
      • Excursion Signup
      • Feedback
      • Excursion FAQ
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • Camp >
      • Summer Camp
      • School Break Camps
      • Leaders in Training
      • FAQ
    • Learning SPREE
    • After School
    • High School >
      • River Rangers >
        • School Internships
        • Summer Employment
        • Why Environmental Education?
      • Greenway Leadership Corps
  • Water Resources
    • TAP-IN Colorado
    • Clean Water Challenge
    • Nautilus Pilot
  • Projects
    • River Vision Implementation Plan (RVIP) >
      • Johnson Habitat Park
      • Weir Gulch
    • Chatfield Storage Reallocation Project
    • USACE Feasibility Study
    • Clear Creek Greenway Design Effort
    • Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners
  • Events
    • Family Events >
      • Beaver Bonanza
      • Art on the River
      • Family Spring Stewardship Day
      • Family Fall Stewardship Day
      • Family Fishing Day
    • Spring South Platte Stewardship Day
    • CROSSCURRENTS
    • Reception on the River
    • Gala on the Bridge >
      • Gala on the Bridge Event Info
    • Fall South Platte Stewardship Day
  • Donate
    • Giving SPREE
    • Colorado Gives Day
  • Email Sign Up