Study The Bee: Lesson 2

Natural beehive inside of a tree.

       During  the  winter  and  the  spring  the  hive  consists  exclusively  of  the  perfect female,  the Queen  Bee,  and  of  a  number  of  imperfect  females  or  worker  bees. In  the  spring  the  queen  bee  lays  her  eggs  first  in  the  worker  cells,  and  then in  the  drone  cells.  She  lays  as  many  as  2000  eggs  per  day.  Late  in  spring, or  very  early  in  summer,  the  workers  prepare  the  larger  queen  cells,  which are  placed  at  the  edge  of  the  comb.  In  these  the  eggs  from  which  queens  are hatched  are  deposited,  and  the  larvae  of  these  are  fed  by  the  workers  with the  rich  and  choice  nourishment  which  forms  only  the  first  meal  of  the  worker larvae.  As  soon  as  the  first  of  the  young  queens  issues  from  her  cell,  the  hive is  thrown  into  a  state  of  excitement,  as  two queens  will  not  live  in  the  same  hive,  and  the  old  queen,  gathering  about  her  a  portion  of  the workers,  leaves the  cell,  and  forms  a  new  colony.  These  swarms  number  sometimes  from twelve  to  fifteen  thousand.  This  forming  of  new  societies  is  repeated  until the  supply  of  young  queens is  exhausted,  and  then  the  workers  fall  upon  the drones  and  put  them  to  death.  It  is  said  that  the  first  brood  of  workers  in summer  lives  only  for  about  six  weeks,  and  then  gives  place  to  a  new  brood. The  extreme  limit  of  age  of  a  worker  bee  is  said  to  be  not  more  than  eight months;  the  queen  bee,  on  the  other  hand,  is  known  to  live  for  five  years,  and during  that  time  is  said  to  produce  more  than  a  million  eggs. 

Required for Observation In The Classroom: Inside of every hive are bees that perform one of three kinds of jobs. Have a picture and/or video of their hive on display. See observation hive by Frederick Dunn.

• This is lesson 2 for the study of bees, go here to see lesson 1.

Method of Student Observation:

• Exhibit  pictures  of  the  three kinds  of  bees: the queen, the drones and the workers. 
• Show  a  diagram  of  the  hind leg  of  the  worker,  and  explain  the use  of  the  brushes.  If  necessary, explain  the  nature  of  pollen,  illustrating  by  means  of  a  flower.
• Exhibit  a  piece  of  honey-comb, and  show  how  the  cells  are  placed, base  to  base,  and  so  inclined  that the  honey  cannot  easily  run  out.
• Exhibit  specimens  of  the  various stages  of  the  bee,  if  possible.  If  not, illustrate  by  means  of  a  diagram.
• Explain  that  honey  does  not exist  in  flowers,  but  is  prepared  in the  body  of  the  bee.
• Explain  the  fertilization  of flowers  if  the  children  are  advanced enough  to  understand  it.
  

How to Grade Study Notes For Student Journals: Every student will need a journal to write in weekly for this online nature study series. Teacher will assign the weekly content in advance.

• Make sure the facts are: written in complete sentences, the first word of each sentence capitalized, and a period should be included at the end of each sentence.
• Spell check your vocabulary and write the words correctly.
• Dress up your journal entries with student clip art, drawings of your own in color or in black and white.
• Student may also include photographs of their own taking for extra credit.

Look for the following facts about both bee hives and bee job description inside of student journals. Assign a point value to the quality of the content.

• Queen. - The  queen  or  female bee  lays  the  eggs.  There  is  only one  in  each  hive.  She  seldom  leaves the  hive,  and  is  always  waited  on and  fed  by  the  workers.  She  may be  known  by  the  longer  tapering  abdomen.
  Drones  or  Males. - These  may be  known  by  their  short  and  thick abdomen.  A  few  hundreds  exist  in each  hive  -  about  one -twelfth  the total  number.  The  drones  do  not live  more  than  a  few  months,  are very  sluggish,  and  do  not  store  up food  or  build  cells. 
• Workers  or  Neuters -  Some thousands  of  workers  exist  in  each hive.  They  build  the  cells,  gather food,  feed  the  young,  and  store  up food  for  winter  use.  The  hind legs are  broad  and  flattened,  and  provided  with  rows  of  stiff  hairs.  These are  used  for  collecting  pollen  from flowers. 
• The  Hive - The  hive  is  the  home and  the  storehouse  of  the  bees.  In it  the workers  construct  hexagonal cells  of  wax.  The  wax  is  secreted by  the  abdomen of  the  bees.  Some of  the  cells  are  used  as  cradles  for the  young,  others  for storing  honey, and  some  for  storing  ''bee-bread.'' The  honey  is  prepared  from  the sweet  juices  obtained  from  flowers; and  the  ''bee-bread''  which  is  used to  feed the  young,  is  a  mixture  of honey  and  pollen.
• Metamorphoses - Bees,  like  most other  insects,  undergo  changes  in form.  The  young  are  white  limbless  grubs.  These  grow  and  develop into  perfect  bees. 
• We  use  the  honey which  the  bees  store  up  for  themselves. 
• In  flying  from flower  to  flower,  the  bees  convey pollen  from  one  to  another,  and thus assist  in  the  fertilization  of  the  seeds.

Video at Youtube for Students to Watch:

1. Wild honey harvesting by TravelRide
2. Huge beehive discovered inside an Australian home! by BBC News and Massive beehive found with 7 queens and 10 lbs. of bees! by Yappy Beeman
3. Dianaa Robertson, Bee Skep Maker from the South West Heritage Trust

The Bee Anchor Chart and Classroom Discussion: Direct discussions, develop vocabulary and demonstrate correct sentence writing. Anchor charts are used in many different grades the following example below may be used in 2nd through 4th grade during a group discussion.

• The  homes  of  bees  are  called  bee-hives.
• They  are  placed  in  gardens.
• The  bees  store  up  honey  in  the  hives.
• The  homes  of  bees  are  called  bee-hives,  and  are  placed  in gardens.
• The  bee  has  two  eyes.
• The  bee  has  four  wings.
• The  bee  has  six  legs.
• The  bee  has  two  eyes,  four  wings,  and  six  legs.
• The  mother  of  the  bees  is  called  the  queen  bee.
• The  other  two  kinds  of  bees  are  drones  and  workers.
• The drone bees are fathers.
• The fathers care for the babies.
• The baby bees are called larva or grubs.
  
• The workers are sister bees.
• The  workers  make  the  honey.
• The  bees  seek  for  honey  in  the  flowers.
• They  go  into  the  cups  of  flowers  to  suck  the  sweet  juices. 
• This sweet juice is called nectar. 
• The drones mix nectar and pollen for the babies.
• The baby bee food is sometimes called ''bee-bread''
• The  bees  make  honey  from  the  sweet  juices  of  flowers for themselves.
• We like to harvest and eat the bees honey too!

Skep Hive Dollhouse Craft:

My clothespin hornet/bee dolls in front of
their new skep hive home.

       Every bee needs a home and a family, even pretend bees. Learn how to build an old-fashioned skep hive for your clothespin bee dolls to live inside. Decorate it's exterior with silk flowers, leaves and stems. 

       Add details to the pretend door. The door is only for decoration here because the dolls actually enter and exit through the hole at the top.

Supply List:

• newsprint or brown packing paper
• masking tape
• white school glue
• one paper plate to build one
• scrap cardboard
• nicer twin for the handle
• faux wood paper for the door
• silk flowers for trim
• hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• a tiny brass button for the door knob

See and read how to make the skep-hive dollhouse in the photos below:

crushed rings and glue application

       Crush and shape 7 rings from newsprint or brown packing paper. Use masking tape to hold the shapes in place.

       Stack the rings as you go to determine if the shapes need to be smaller or larger in order to form the shape of a skep hive properly.

       Use a paper plate to keep your area clean while you glue between each ring to bring the skep hive together. Be generous with the white glue.

the stacking of rings and handle attachments 

       Glue rings from largest to smallest until you reach the second to the smallest ring. 

       On this ring tape a handle to carry the bee dollhouse with. Wrap it around the ring to insure a very strong attachment.

      Glue on this ring and the last smallest ring on top of it.

see weighted skep hive to dry and how to paint it

       

       Use blocks to weigh down the rings while these dry overnight.

       Cut out a door from scrap cardboard and glue this firmly in place on the side of the dollhouse hive. This is a decorative door; it doesn't actually open but dresses up the appearance of the skep playfully. I covered this door with faux wooden paper to make it more believable. Glue on a tiny brass button for the handle and cut a tiny window from a magazine to include at the top of the door too.

       Paint the entire hive with dark brown acrylic paints once the hive has dried. Let this paint dry entirely before brushing on more. Use several different shades of brown applied with a dry brush to hive the hive a weathered realistic look.

added decorative details make each crafted skep hive dollhouse unique

       Hot glue on remaining decorative trims: silk flowers, stems and leaves, tucking these into cracks and such. Our queen bee appreciates a lovely garden surrounding, just like most bees and hornets.

More Arts and Crafts About Bee Hives:

• Craft a honey beehive for your dolls
• Craft a Faux ''Straw'' Skep Hive for a Doll
• Make a Beekeeper's Straw Hat Craft for A Doll

Extended Learning: Bee Themes:

• Memory ''Beehive'' for Sunday School Classrooms

Free Student Clip Art: Clip art may be printed from a home computer, a classroom computer or from a computer at a library and/or a local printing service provider. This may be done from multiple locations as needed because our education blog is online and available to the general public.

The size and shapes of the queen, drone and worker bees are illustrated above.
The stages of bees illustrated are larve. Details of bee anatomy like
legs are illustrated and the queen's cell and larva nursery cells 
are also illustrated in the clip art for students to copy
inside their journals or teachers to draw on a
white board.