Unbeelievable Bees!

Written By: Aimee Turcotte
Zoo Educator

Bees are insects that rely on flowering plants for food and water. Nectar is a main source of food for bees, which these animals locate using their sight and smell. Bees are attracted to petals that are bright blue or yellow and that have a sweet or minty fragrance. Interestingly, bees cannot see red, so they will not be attracted to red flowers. When a bee finds a flower that is to their liking, the bee lands on the flower’s petal. The bee needs to be the right size and weight to trigger the flower to open. For instance, if the bee is underweight or overweight, the flower will not open. When a bee of the correct size causes a flower to open, the center of the flower can be easily located because it has a region of low ultraviolet reflectance. Therefore, the bee can quickly and efficiently drink nectar before moving on to the next flower.

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People have stated that the best pollinators are bees because when drinking nectar, these insects fertilize plants by bringing pollen from one flower to another. Fertilized plants can grow seeds and fruits that are food for many types of animals, including humans. One of every three mouthfuls of our food has been produced due to pollination. Consequently, pollinators can increase crop yield in small diverse farms by about 24%.

Pollen, nectar, and water provide bees with nutrients. Some female bees are single moms that collect nectar and pollen on their own to give to their babies. Different species of bees have various skills for gathering nectar and pollen. One example is that bumblebees do ‘buzz pollination,’ which means that they vibrate their bodies using their wing muscles when inside flowers to release pollen from flowers. These bees also have ‘smelly footprints,’ like the fingerprints of humans. Each ‘smelly footprint’ of bumblebees smells different, so by using their sense of smell, a bumblebee can distinguish between flowers that have or have not been visited by other bees. As a result, bumblebees can avoid searching for nectar from a flower that has already been visited by another bee. Moreover, honeybees have a movement called the ‘waggle dance,’ which is a method of communicating with each other to find adequate sources of nectar.

Unfortunately, bee populations have been declining due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and other negative human impacts. There are many steps we can take to help protect bees. Planting native wildflowers and traditional cottage garden flowers in a garden provides a good source of nectar for bees. Furthermore, sharing knowledge about how bees help our planet through pollination can interest people in wanting to make their environment more bee-friendly.
Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you learned some unbeelievable facts about bees!