Do you know about Bees? 🐝

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Speaker 1: You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know bees have five eyes? What? In addition to their two large compound eyes, bees also have three smaller eyes called a chelli on top of their heads. These eyes are not foreseeing details, but help the bee understand which direction it's heading by reading the light from the sun. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science. In this episode, we are going to talk about bees. Growing up, we were a little bit scared of bees, but as we learned more about them, we realized how incredible these insects are and how they play a crucial role in our ecosystem. Bees belong to the superfamily a Poidia in the order Himanaptra, making them cousins to wasps and ants. There are over twenty thousand species of bees, and while they vary widely in behavior and appearance, they all share some fascinating characteristics. Bees are especially adapted for collecting pollen, which they do with their bodies covered in hair. This isn't just any hair. It's often thick, branched, and carries a static charge, perfect for picking up pollen from flowers. A bee's body is divided into three parts, the head, thorax, and abdomen, and they sport two pairs of wings, with the front pair being larger than the rear. Bees are famous for their pollination skills. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower to the female part, leading to fertilization and the production of seeds. Bees are nature's top pollinators, and as they move from flower to flower, gathering nectar and pollen for food, they also help plants grow, reproduce, and produce the many fruits and vegetables we enjoy. Many of us know bees for their honey, especially the honey made by the European honeybee APIs malifera. But let's remember the solitary bees like carpenter bees and bumblebees, which may not produce honey but are amazing pollinators in their own right. Social structure varies among bees. Honey bees and bumblebees live in highly organized colonies with a queen, workers, and drones, each with specific roles that keep the hive thriving. Despite their importance, bees face significant challenges such as habitat loss, pesticides, diseases, and parasites. All contributing to decline in bee populations. These declines are alarming because of bees critical role in pollinating a vast array of plant species, including those vital to agriculture. Understanding bees and their life is about recognize their indispensable role in our ecosystem. They are not just producers of honey, but key players in the biodiversity that sustains the planet's health. By protecting bees and their natural habitats, we are safeguarding our food supply and maintaining the environment's health. So let's appreciate these bees for the environmental heroes they are. Did you know bees can recognize human faces. In experiments where bees were shown photos of different human faces and trained to associate specific faces with sugary food rewards, they could remember and recognize the faces later, much like they remember flowers. This shows bees have impressive memory and recognition skills, which are crucial for survival. Could this mean that the next time you see a bee and say hello, it might recognize you the following time. Before we continue learning about bees, we thought we might clear up some confusion about primary colors. In our episode about foxes, we answered a question from Alice, who asked how screens make different colors. When they are just red, blue, and green, we describe these as primary colors. On Spotify, Mike said that he thought yellow, not green, was a primary color. Mike is correct that yellow is considered a primary color along with red and blue. In traditional color theory, which is based on pigment, this is known as the subtractive color model. However, when it comes to light, such as on screens, the primary colors are red, green, and blue. This is referred to as the additive color model. In this model, colors are created by combining light, and the primary colors of light are different from those in paint or pigment. Unfortunately, we use the analogy of mixing paints to explain how screens create millions of colors from red, blue, and green, which might have created a little confusion. So primary colors differ between the additive and subtractive color models. In the additive model, used in devices like screens that emit light, the primary colors are red, green, and blue. These colors blend in various ways to produce a spectrum of colors, with all three combined creating white light. Conversely, the subtractive color model used in traditional painting and art employs red, blue, and yellow as primary colors. In this model, these pigments mix to absorb and reflect different wavelengths of light, moving towards black as they combine. Essentially, the additive model starts with black the absence of light, and adds colors to create light, while the subtractive model starts with white all colors reflected and mixes colors to reduce light, achieving darker hues. It's important to ask questions about things you learn. Thank you for your question, Mike. Did you know that even bees obey the first law of thermodynamics, the total heat energy they produce is equal to the amount of energy they take in from food. Have you ever wondered how thousands of bees can live together in one hive, each knowing exactly what to do. Beehives aren't just random gatherings, but highly organized societies where every bee has a specific role. The society within a beehive is primarily composed of three types of bees, the queen, the worker bees, and the drones. Each type has distinct roles and responsibilities that ensure the smooth operation and continuation of the colony. At the center of the beehive reigns. The queen, the only bee capable of reproducing and the mother to most, if not all, of the bees in the colony. Her primary job is to lay the eggs that will spawn the hive's next generation of bees. The queen can lay thousands of eggs each day, ensuring the hives population remains robust. She also produces special chemicals called pheromones that help regulate the daily lives and unity of the colony. When her ability to produce eggs declines, the hive will prepare a new queen to take over, ensuring the continuity of their community. Worker bees are all female and live up to their name of multiple responsibilities depending on their age. Younger workers, often called nurse bees, care for the queen and her larvae, providing them royal jelly. As they grow older, their tasks shift from nurturing to structural support, building honeycombs for wax secreted from their bodies, and guarding the hive. Eventually, they graduate to foragers, who leave the hive to collect nectar, pollen, and other necessary resources. These elder workers also perform the vital task of pollination, inadvertently transferring pollen as they move from flower to flower. The drones are the male bees of the colony and their purpose is singular to mate with a queen. This is a for the hives genetic diversity. Drones are larger and do not have stingers. They are explicitly raised during the warmer months, when the hive's resources are plentiful and post mating, they are typically expelled from the hive to conserve resources for the winter. Each group within the hive is geared towards efficiency and survival, from the queen's reproductive focus to the worker's versatility, and the drone's contribution to genetic variability. This level of organization ensures the colony's health and supports the ecosystem around it through extensive pollination. The beehive is a prime example of nature's sophisticated systems at work, demonstrating remarkable cooperation and shared purpose. Do you love the taste of honey? We certainly do. Bees make honey through a fascinating and meticulous process. The process for making honey goes like this. First, when the weather gets warmer and flowers start to bloom, honey bees will leave their hives in search of flowers. Once they find a flower. They use their long tube like tongues called probosisis to suck the nectar out of the bloom and store it in their honey stomachs, which are different from their food stomachs. Second, once the bees honey stomach is full, the bee flies back to the hive. This stomach can hold almost its own weight in nectar. Third, back at the hive, the bee regurgitates the nectar into the mouth of a younger bee. This transfer process may happen multiple times from one bee to another to reduce the water content of the nectar. Fourth, those bees chew on the nectar for about thirty minutes. During this time, enzymes break down the complex sugars in the nectar into simpler sugars, which makes the nectar more digestible for the bees and less prone to bacteria growth. Fifth, the bees then deposit the transformed nectar into honeycomb cells to further reduce the water content and thicken the substance. Bees fan the nectar with their wings, helping the water to evaporate. And Sixth, when the honey is ready and thick, the bees seal off the honeycomb cell with a wax cap special glands in the bees' abdomens produce this wax. Capping the honeycomb protects the honey from air and water and keeps it clean and safe. This process turns nectar into honey, which the bees use as a food source, especially during colder months when flowers are scarce. Honey is essential for the colony's survival, providing energy and essential nutrients. But don't worry. Bee keepers carefully take only the extra honey bees don't need, ensuring plenty is left for the bees to eat, especially during winter. This way harvesting honey keeps the bees happy and healthy, and we get to enjoy some too. Now for some listeners questions. First, we have a question from Ellery, who is four years old and lives in Richmond Hill, Canada. Ellery asks why do hippopotamus open their mouths so wide? Hippos open their mouths really wide for a couple of reasons. One big reason is to show other hippos how strong they are. When they yawn wide, it's like they're saying, look at my big teeth and strong jaws. This helps them look tough and tell other hippos to be careful around them. Another reason is to keep cool. When hippos open their mouths in the water, it helps them stay cool on hot days, just like when we splash water on our face. So opening their mouths wide allows hippos to talk to each other without words and stay comfortable in the heat. Thank you for the question, Ellery. Our next question comes from Soreya, who is six years old and lives in Canberra, Australia. Sorea asks how do leaves change color? Where we live in Canada, we see the first buds appear on trees as we progress through spring and into summer. However, in regions in the Southern Hemisphere, especially those with deciduous trees, they can see leaves turning various shades of red, orange, and yellow. In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere. So while the northern part of the world enters spring, countries like Australia experience autumn from March to May. Leaves change color in the fall due to some cool changes inside them as the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter. Here's how it happens. First, during spring and summer, leaves are green because of a pigment called chlorophyll. Which helps plants make their food using sunlight in a process called photosynthesis. Second, as fall approaches, the days get shorter, meaning there's less sunlight. This change tells the trees to start getting ready for winter. Third, with less sunlight, the trees begin to break down chlorophyll in the leaves. As the green color fades, it allows other colors that have been in the leaf all along but hidden by the green to show up. These are the yellows and oranges you can see from pigments called caratenoids. Fourth, in some trees, like maples, another pigment called anthocyanin starts to form when it gets cooler. This pigment can make the leaves turn red, purple, or even a bright bluish color. And Fifth, eventually, the tree starts to close off the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves, which prepares the leaves to fall off. As this happens, the leaves lose their connection to the trees water supply, and the colors change more until they finally fall off. So the change in color and the eventual falling of leaves are part of how trees prepare for the cold winter months. They sort of go to sleep and the show of colors we see is just a part of them getting ready for a long winter's nap. Thank you for the question, Saraya. I have one last question for you. Do you know why bees have sticky hair? It's because they use honeycombs. In this episode, we learned a bit about bees. We started by looking at why bees are important and the challenges they are facing. We looked at how they are adapted to collecting pollen and learned about pollination. We looked at how all of those bees live together in one hive and how each of them have a role, and how honey is made. We answered some questions from Ellery who wanted to know why hippos opened their mouths so wide, and Soraya, who wanted to know how leaves change color. Thank you to Cassidy, Bryce Taylor Nova six from Cleveland, Ohio, Penelope Cruz from San Antonio, Texas, age five, Lincoln reren Zoopanzak twelve years old, Raylan Douglas Seth from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Liezel Chrono Frasier who's nine years old, and her sister Denny, who's seven seven year old. Jack Ira Halder Claire Grass from Melbourne, Australia, Fred age five from Nottingham, UK, Laura who is six years old, and Jacob age five from Gloucestershire UK. We would love to get your feedback on our show. If you have any feedback, please send it our way. If you want to make sure you get all the episodes, please ask your parents to subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever your parents listen to podcasts. If you love learning about science with us, please leave us a review. It may help others find our show. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to Hello at sleep tightscience dot com sleep tight