The Importance of Bees

Imagine a world without bees. Some might rejoice at the thought of never being stung by
one of those little yellow buzzers, and others might miss the taste of honey. Very few of us,
however, could easily imagine how different the world would be without bees in it. Picture
a barren land without the vibrant colors of spring, in which no one has ever tasted certain
fruits and vegetables like watermelon and broccoli.

That’s a scary thought isn’t it? You may begin to wonder, can bees really make such a
difference? What is it that bees really do on our planet?

Bees and their anatomy

Bees’ physical characteristics are unique and play a major role in helping them accomplish
tasks that are important for the planet. So before we delve any further, let’s first take a look
at some of their most important features.

A bee’s body is hairy and is made up of three parts, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.
Bees have a pair of compound eyes on their head. Under the microscope, compound eyes
are made up of thousands of small hexagonal units called ommatidia. Scientists have
reasoned that compound eyes are useful because due to their ability to help with seeing the
 Hairy body Compound eyes

Thorax

Abdomen

world in higher resolution, or more clearly, and also for allowing for a wider field of view.
At the bottom of the head, folded underneath the jaw, is a straw like structure called the
proboscis. The proboscis is the bee’s tongue and it is used to suck up the sugary liquid
called nectar that is often hidden deep inside a flower.

Moving on to the thorax (upper body), there are three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings.
On the back legs, there is a region called the pollen basket. Bees often put the extra pollen
they’ve collected into their pollen basket so that they can collect more (Honey Bee –
External Anatomy, 2015).

On the abdomen (lower body), bees have their infamous stingers. But few know that inside
those big bellies, bees have two stomachs! The first is called the honey stomach. As its
name suggests, the honey stomach stores the honey, but only in its unprocessed nectar
form. The other stomach allows for digestion and is crucial for keeping the bees alive just
like your stomach is.

Now that we are familiar with bees’ anatomy, let’s examine how a bee uses these features
to make a difference in our world.
Decorators and keepers of our planet

Bees are often called the decorators of our planet. One reason for this special designation is
that bees are necessary for enabling flowering plants to reproduce. Without bees, many of
the flowering plants we see could not exist!

How do bees play a role in that process? Flowering plants reproduce through a process
called pollination (Pollination, 2015). During pollination,
pollen grains from the anther, the male reproductive
organ of the plant, are transferred to the stigma, the
female reproductive organ of the plant. This process leads
to the production of fruit, seeds, or nuts, which grow up
to be new plants (or eaten). Coincidentally, bees rely on
pollen as a major food source, and, using their compound
eyes and antennas to search for nourishment, they collect
pollen particles as they buzz around throughout the day.

One of the first things you may notice about bees,

Note: Pollen is the male half of the plant seed that is used for plant reproduction.

When bees are flying from flower to flower, pollen dust gets all over their body. As they
move to other flowers, they transfer this pollen, allowing for plant reproduction. Ecologists
call the relationship between a bee and a flowering plant a symbiotic relationship, which
means both parties depend on or benefit from each other for survival.

While some plants can pollinate themselves or rely on the wind to do it for them, others
rely on animals to help with this process. Some of the fruits and vegetables that we eat,
such as apples, blueberries, pumpkins, and asparagus, are in this category. Bees are so
important to our food, that it has been said that one in every three bites we take should be
attributed to the work of bees (Tucker, 2014). Many animals that graze on these bee-
dependent plants would go extinct if bees weren’t around to help them grow! In a way,
bees are keepers of diversity.

Honey production

In addition to pollen, another major food source for bees is nectar. Since nectar is found
deep within the flower, normal insect mouths cannot reach far enough to access it.
However, with the help of their proboscis, bees can easily suck up this hidden food source,
and store it directly in their honey stomach. The honey
stomach can store up to 70mg of nectar, which weighs
almost as much as a bee’s total weight! On average, a bee
needs to visit between 100 and 1,500 flowers to fill its
stomach, earning it a reputation as the most diligent little
bug (How is Honey Made, n.d.). Once back at the hive, bees
will regurgitate and chew the nectar for as long as half an hour. This is a digestive process
for the bees as their saliva contains chemicals that help to break down nectar into more
absorbable parts. Then, the nectar will be spread throughout the honeycombs in a hive. The
chewing and spreading process helps to thicken the nectar, and eventually, turn it into the
golden thick honey that we know.

Conservation efforts and future of bees

The decline of the honeybee population is a real concern. Every year since 2006, the
managed honeybee population has been steadily declining at a rate of 30 percent due to
disease, parasites, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure, destruction of natural habitats, and
other issues that we may not even fully know about. The disappearance of bees is known as
the “colony collapse disorder”. Some people who believe in the importance of bees have
tried “planting cover crops, wildflowers and native grasses, and limiting the use of certain
pesticides to help nurture bees back to health” (Conservation Work for Honey Bees, 2015).
Some scientists are even preparing for the worst and researching ways to replace bees in
case there are no longer enough remaining on Earth. At Harvard University, researchers
are developing robotic bees that mimic bees’ collective behavior, or “intelligence”, with the
hope of making them effective “pollination machines” (Robobees, n.d.). Other scientists are
studying alternatives to the honeybee species, such as the blue orchard bees, to serve as
potential successors to them (Mims, 2009).

It is undeniable that bees are important in our lives. Without them, the world would not be
as colorful, vibrant, or diverse as it is today.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. How do plants reproduce? And how does the bee help in that process? Describe using the
terms anther, stigma, pollen.
2. Imagine you are a bee on a mission to make honey. Describe how your day would go. Be
detailed and specific.
3. Why are bees disappearing?

Extension Questions

4. What is a symbiotic relationship? Why do plants and bees form one? Can you name another
example besides the one between bees and flowers?
5. Why do you think bees are important for our world?
6. Do some research and summarize what scientists think would happen if bees suddenly
disappeared.
7. Create a “Save The Bees” poster that outlines what you have learned from this article as well
as your own research. Your job is to convince people why bees are so important.
Reading Comprehension Questions – Answer Key

1. How do plants reproduce? And how does the bee help in that process? Describe using the
terms anther, stigma, pollen. Plants reproduce through the process of pollination.
Pollination happens when pollen grains from the anther is transferred to the stigma.
This results in the production of seeds that will grow up to be a new plant. Bees help
plant reproduction by helping to transfer pollen between plants.
2. Imagine you are a bee on a mission to make honey. Describe how your day would go. Be
detailed and specific. I would survey the land for flowers for hours. Land on them and
use my proboscis to extract nectar. When I am back at the hive, I would regurgitate
out the nectar from my honey stomach and chew on it for hours, before finally
spreading it into a honeycomb for drying and storing.
3. Why are bees disappearing? Pesticides, destruction of habitats, disease, parasite, poor
nutrition, are all causes of a decrease in bee population. Some causes are still
unknown.

Extension Questions

4. What is a symbiotic relationship? Why do plants and bees form one? Can you name another
example besides the one between bees and flowers? In a symbiotic relationship, two
organisms depend on or benefit from each other to survive. Bees get their food
(nectar) from plants and in doing so, help the plants reproduce. Some good examples
are: Bacteria in our gut that helps to breakdown certain food for our consumption,
while also absorbing nutrients from us. Small fish called Labroides that eats parasites
in between shark’s teeth. (Answers may vary)
5. Why do you think bees are important for our world? Bees are what keep our planet
diverse and beautiful.
6. Do some research and summarize what scientists think would happen if bees suddenly
disappeared.
7. Create a “Save The Bees” poster that outlines what you have learned from this article as well
as your own research. Your job is to convince people why bees are so important.
 References

Conservation Work for Honey Bees. (2015, May). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/?cid=stelprdb12
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Honey Bee - External Anatomy. (2015, December 16). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from
http://www.insectidentification.org/external-anatomy-of-honey-bees.asp

How is Honey Made. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://fordshoneyfarm.com/honeymade.html

Mims, C. (2009). Plan Bee: As Honeybees Die Out, Will Other Species Take Their Place? Scientific
American. Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/other-bee-
species-subbing-for-honeybees/

Packham, C. (n.d.). Would we starve without bees? Retrieved April 16, 2016, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zg4dwmn#zckjq6f

Pollination. (2015, July 30). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://nativeplants.msu.edu/pollination

Robobees. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://robobees.seas.harvard.edu/

Tucker, J. (2014, June 17). Why Bees Are Important to Our Planet. Retrieved April 16, 2016, from
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-bees-are-important-to-our-planet/