Introduction

Investigate the social structure of the honeybee colony and learn how to avoid getting stung. Also, find out why some farmers are hiring honeybees to pollinate their orchards.

Students are introduced to bees. The insects produce honey and pollinate crops. A beekeeper explains how to tend a hive.

Length: 7:43 Grade level: 4-7

Teaching Objectives

The "Tiny Creatures: Bees" video program and curriculum guide provide opportunities for students to learn:

1. How bees produce honey.
2. How bees can be used to pollinate crops.
3. The social structure of a hive.
4. How nectar and pollen provide energy for bees.
5. How to avoid bee stings.

Web Resources

• Enchanted Learning: Bees: Bee Labeling Printout
  www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/label/bee.shtml
• Keeping Insects and Spiders at School
  members.aol.com/YESedu/rearing.html
• The Bee Cam at University of Montana
  tess.dbs.umt.edu/view/view.shtml

Bee Trivia

• Honey Bees and Beekeeping
  www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/b1045-w.html
• Tales From the Hive NOVA Web Site
  www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/
  
• Young Entomologist's Society
  members.aol.com/YESedu/mainmenu.html
  
• Diary of an Africanized Honey Bee
  ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf25.html
  
• Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
  gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/na/bees.html
  
• The Pollination Home Page
  www.pollinator.com/index.htm

Print Resources

About Bees:

Barth, Friedrich G. Insects and Flowers, The Biology of a Partnership. Princeton University Press, 1985.

Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive. Scholastic, 1996.

Fischer-Nagel, Heiderose and Andreas. Life of the Honeybee. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1986.

Hoban, Brom. Jason and the Bees. Harper and Row, 1980.

Vivian, John. Keeping Bees. Williamson Publishing, 1986.

About Insects:

Baker, Wendy and Andrew Haslam. Insects. Thomson Learning, 1993.

Borror, Donald J. and Richard E. White. A Field Guide to Insects. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970.

Callahan, Philip S. Insects and How They Function. Holiday House, 1971.

Facklam, Howard and Margery. Insects. Twenty-First Century Books, 1994.

Greenaway, Theresa. Insects. St. Martin's Press, 2000.

Preston-Mafham, Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham. The Natural History of Insects. The Crowood Press, 1996.

Souza, D. M. Insects Around the House. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1991.

Souza, D. M. Insects in the Garden. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 1991.

Wilsdon, Christina. First Field Guide Insects. Scholastic, Inc., 1998.

Wilson, Edward O. The Insect Societies. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

Glossary

comb: the structure of six-sided cells made from beeswax by honeybees to hold honey and larvae

domesticated: to adapt for life in close contact with humans

drone: male bee with no stinger who does not collect pollen

fructose: a simple sugar found in honey

hive: habitat for bees

insect: invertebrate animal with six legs, three body parts, and usually wings

nectar: a sweet liquid secreted by flowers that is gathered by honeybees to make honey

pollen: microspores produced by a plant

pollinate: to mark or smudge with pollen

queen: bee whose function is to lay eggs

worker: sterile bee who performs tasks for the hive

Activities