Bees
Ireland has 101 bee species in Ireland
The honeybee is just one of them, Ireland has 20
bumblebee species and 81 solitary bee species
Where do they live?
Bees
Bumblebees
Some bees
can live
anywhere!
There are
different
kinds of
bumblebees
and solitary
bees
They can
live
anywhere in
Ireland
There is a
bumblebee unique
or special to
Ireland. This
bumblebee only
lives on the Aran
Islands!
But some
bees only
live in
particular
areas
Solitary
Bees
Bees
Some bees have always lived in Ireland
But there are some bees that have travelled to Ireland and settled
here.
Where do bees live?
Gardens and parks! But some bees are particular about where they live
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Sand Dune
Grassland
Bogland
Mountains
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We even have Urban bees!
They live to live in different cities and
towns.
What do you know about bees?
List them and
see if that knowledge appears
on the next few slides..
Bees
Bees are insects
They are generally social insects.
Bumblebes and Wasps are semisocial bees. They live in groups
during the summer only
Honey Bees are social all year
round. They live in hives and work
together to make honey.
Bumblebees
Bees
Plump, furry, black and
yellow bands
Wasps
Slender, with black and yellow bands
around its body
Honey Bees
Bees
These are the bees we know most about.
They are shaped like a wasp but their body is brown or black, with
light bands.
Honey bees like to live close
to one another.
They live in a colony.
The colony is at its smallest
between November and
February and at its biggest
between June and August
Bees
There are three kinds of bees that live in a hive.
The Queen
The Queen is the mother of the hive.
She spends her time laying eggs. She is fed
and tended to by the worker bees.
Queens live for 5-6 years
There is only one queen in each hive.
Bees
The Worker Bee
This bee is a female bee
She is shorter than the queen.
They do most of their work in the
hive, they feed the young bees, as
they grow older they work on the
beeswax and later become
foragers collecting nectar which
makes honey.
Worker generally live for 6 weeks
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The Drone
This is the male bee.
He doesn’t really work in the hive.
He is daddy to many bees in the
hive
Their body heat helps to keep
babies nad the hive warm
But when the foraging season is
over they are driven from the hive
because they are not useful
anymore
They live between 21days and 90
days
Bees
Bees live in trees, roofs, walls or
anywhere with shelter.
Some bees live in a hive.
The beekeeper takes care of the
bees that live in a hive.
Bees
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl
e-1303302/A-stinging-competitioncontestants-fight-win-best-BeeBeard.html
Most people run away from bees.
Some people really LOVE bees! In
Canada there is a contest to see
who can ‘wear’ honeybees on their
body and face!
It is called Beebearding!
Bees
Save Our bees! Bees are in trouble all over the world!
Bees
1. We are destroying their habitats
2. Some wildflowers are being destroyed all over Ireland for 2
reasons.
A) farmers clearing their land
B) We love to tidy the landscape – we often pull wild flowers
which bees need to survive thinking we are making the land
look neater and cleaner
3. Pesticides – while this keeps all sorts of insects away from crops
it also makes our bees sick
4. Honeybees are in decline because they are getting sick as well.
There is a mite which is making many honeybees sick
Bees
Why do we need bees?
•Bees are pollinators.
•It carries pollen form flower to flower.
•Pollen helps flowers to produce more flowers. The pollen sticks to the bees
body and when it flies to another flower it drops into the flower which then
makes a seed.
•So bees are needed to help keep our plants (not just flowers) from
becoming extinct.
•Without pollination we will not have crops, we will not have food to ear.
Most fruit, vegetables, oil, nut plants need bees.
•Without bees food will get very expensive.
•It is estimated that out of 100 crop species which provide 90% of food
worldwide, 71 of these are bee-pollinated.
Bees
Why do we need bees?
The real business of a bee is to
gather nectar which is then
turned into honey and beeswax.
As humans we eat honey. It is
very nutritious for you.
We use beeswax to make candles,
lip balm, face cream, wax to
polish furniture…
Bees
What can we do to help bees?
What do you think?
Turn to your partner and put some thoughts
together…
Sources:
Bees
http://pollinators.biodiversityireland.ie/bees/conservation-initiatives/
http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/html/beebasics.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/honeybee/
SOME VIDEOS AVAILABLE ABOUT BEES VIEW BEFORE USING IN THE CLASSROOM
The city of bees a video for kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bArNmKbYVm8
A short video – with pictures and music - Powerpoint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yF5O26vYT8&feature=related
Songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUvup1rU0gU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmIx4ReBPd4&feature=related
Flight of the Bumblebee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QV1RGMLUKE
PLEASE LOOK AT ALL VIDEOS BEFORE YOU USE THEM TO DEEM THEM SUITABLE FOR
YOUR CLASS