Question

What makes you amazed by the division of work in the Honey Bee colony? Support your answer.

Answer 1

There is a social organization of honey bees. In addition, the colonies of honey bees are arranged in such a way that each bee is assigned a specific role to fulfill, due to which a highly organized division of labor is seen.

Step by step answer: Honey bees has a social organization within themselves. It is also known as the castes of the honey bees. Within a colony of honey bees, a highly organized division of labor is seen.
The bees are polymorphic creatures. This means that they have different kinds of individuals or castes. The three types of castes are –
1. Queen – It is a large-sized bee. It is generally one bee per hive. The function of the queen bee is to lay fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
2. Drone – They are smaller than the queen but larger than the workers. They develop parthenogenetically from the unfertilized eggs. Their function is to fertilize the female or the queen bee.
3. Worker – They are the smallest in size. They develop from fertilized eggs. Their function is to carry out all the operations like collecting honey, cleaning the comb, looking after the young ones, defend the hive from external predators, and to maintain the temperature of the hives. They are further classified as scout bees, nursery bees, builders, repairers, fanners, and cleaners, etc.
Hence, in this way, all the work is organized and distributed within the hive. Each bee is assigned its specific role to perform, making their system very efficient.

Note: The rearing of honey bees for commercial purposes is known as bee-keeping or apiculture. Apiculture is the maintenance of the hives of Honey bees for the production of honey and other bee products like wax etc. Honey has several medicinal purposes. Wax is used in the cosmetic and polish industries. Rearing of bees is always done near the fields. This is because bees collect nectar from plants to make honey. In return, they pollinate the plants due to which the crop yield increases and it becomes a beneficial situation for the farmer.