Weekly MUSE: Honeybees

Photo Credit: Metaphorical Pltypus

I was rummaging through my cupboard, looking for something sweet, when I came across a jar of honey. Yummy honey, I thought! Perfect!

I immediately grabbed a spoon, untwisted the lid, and dipped my spoon into the golden sweetness! As soon as the honey hit my tongue, I was in heaven. And after a few more spoonful’s my mind drifted to the tiny creatures that create the sugary perfection we call HONEY!

Looks like we’ve found our MUSE! And this one’s going to be SWEEEEEEEEET!

So, how do bees make honey, anyway?

Well, first we have to know how bees operate inside their hives. It is truly a small society where every bee has a specific job to do.

Queen Bee (center)
Photo Credit: Keith McDuffey

First, we have the QUEEN BEE. She is the only bee who lays eggs, up to 2000 eggs a day. All of her life, she is fed a special food called royal jelly. All bee larvae are fed this special food when they are young, but only the Queen is fed royal jelly all her life. This is why she is FULLY developed and able to lay eggs. She is the BIGGEST bee in the hive.

Side note: Royal jelly is a special food substance that bees discharge from glands in their heads. Sounds YUMMY, huh? I think I will stick to HONEY!

Next, we have DRONES. Drones are the only male bees in the hive, and there are only a few of these guys living at the hive. In fact, once they are finished mating with the Queen, they are kicked out!

The rest of the hive is made up of WORKER BEES. These are all underdeveloped females, meaning that they cannot lay eggs. Young worker bees tend to the Queen. Older worker bees serve as scouts (bee pioneers who look for food supplies and nesting sites), foragers (nectar and pollen gatherers), honeycomb builders, honey makers, and hive guards.

Now that you know a little bit more about the secret society of bees, watch this video to see how honey is made.
 

Pretty neat, huh!?

But there is something that this video left out. When bees collect nectar from flowers, they store it in their honey sacks (or honey stomach). When they get back to the hive, they spit-up the honey into the mouths of other bees, who will “chew” on it for a while. The “chewer” bee will naturally add enzymes to the nectar, which breaks it down onto a simply sugar. She will then deposit this altered nectar into the honeycomb.
 

From there, the bees will fan the nectar by buzzing their wings. This keeps the hive warm and helps to evaporate water from the nectar, leaving behind the gooey, sweet stuff we call honey. Once the honey is gooey enough, other worker bees will cap the honey with beeswax.

Remember those “scout” bees we learned about just a second ago? These bees are my favorite, because they are TRULY pioneers. They are the astronauts or the explorers of the BEE WORLD. They hunt for large flower populations and return to the hive to let the “forager” bees know where to collect nectar. But how do they communicate? They DANCE! Take a look at this video to see the famous bee “waggle dance”.

While most of us enjoy the honey that bees tirelessly create, there is something even MORE important that bees are responsible for. POLINATION!

While bees buzz around collecting nectar, they spread pollen from one plant to another. Without this transfer of pollen, plants would not be able to make fruit. And without fruit, there would be no seeds. And without seeds, there would be no plants. Get the picture?

The bottom line: The world would have a lot less food and a lot less plants without bees!

Speaking of food, who likes Honey Nut Cheerios? I DO! And I especially love Buzz, the honeybee character on the box. He has been trying to get kids to eat Honey Nut Cheerios since I was a kid. Take a look at this video of Buzz, and play some of his videogames by clicking here.

Written By: Professor Watermelon
Illustrated By: Josh Smart

Also, if you haven’t heard already, HONEYBEES were my MUSE when I wrote my latest book, HERBERT. Click here if you would like tolearn more about this book.

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these WHAT IF questions will help you get started.

WHAT IF your main character was a beekeeper, and the bees made a magical honey? What is special about this honey, and who wants it?

WHAT IF your main character was a Queen Bee who did not want to live at the hive all day laying eggs?

WHAT IF a scientist could make robotic honeybees?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,

Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “enzyme”. Here is the definition: any of various proteins, originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances during digestion.