Animal of the Month

1. Bees are flying insects. Most people have heard of honeybees or bumblebees, but did you know that there are more than 19,000 species of bees? Honeybees can fly about 800 kilometres during their working life and produce just half a teaspoon of honey. Bees live in colonies with a queen bee, drones (male bees) and worker bees. Almost all bees are female.
2. Honeybees can learn to recognise human faces in photos and remember them for at least two days.
3. There are around 250 wild species of bees which live in the UK. Many of them do not live in hives, and some don't have a stinger. However, they still pollinate plants and feed on nectar.
4. Humans have kept bees since ancient times. The typical dome-shaped hives were first developed in ancient Greece. In ancient Egypt, beeswax was used for building boats and mummification, and honey was often used as a medicine.
5. Different bees like to live in different areas. For example, bumblebees evolved in the Himalayas, so they prefer cold and wet weather.
6. Studies have shown that honeybees are able to count to four.
7. The number of bees and the number of different types of bees have been declining. Since bees pollinate plants, this means that there will be fewer wild plants and food crops. The decline could be because of mites, fungus, viruses or habitat loss. Honeybees could be extinct in the UK within 10 years. If bees become extinct, plants and other animals, including humans, would also be threatened.
8. Bumblebees usually forage no more than 3 miles from their nests. However, they are able to navigate their way home from more than 8 miles away. Bees communicate primarily through dance and smell – different movements let other bees know the location of food sources.
9. In commercial honey production, the queen bee's wings are often clipped off to prevent her from flying away. In some areas, the queen is killed after two years, as she starts to lay fewer eggs after this time. When removing honey from the hive, many bees are crushed.
10. A bee's favourite food is nectar – the sweet juice found inside flowers. Bees regurgitate nectar as honey.