Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CIII · Topic 16: Wasps and bees
103. The honey-bee
Goal: Your child can name the three kinds of bees in a hive (queen, drones and workers), tell them apart, and point out the worker's pollen basket.
You'll need
- A visit to a beekeeper, or dead bees from a beekeeper (drones in September)
- Tweezers
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's long story of the honey-bee colony, "a republic that has many kings and only one queen": the queen, the drones and the workers, and the work each does. Then Lesson CIII's leading thought, method, and questions on the worker, the queen and the drone, with topics for written work.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Summer and early fall. Comstock's method: "In almost every country or village community there is an apiary, or at least someone who keeps a few colonies of bees." Many beekeepers are glad to show children their hives. She also notes that "Any apiary during September will give enough dead drones for a class to observe."
Safety first
At a hive, follow the beekeeper's rules exactly, wear the veil they give you, and move slowly. Sting safety: watch bees and wasps from a few steps away, move slowly, and never swat at them. If anyone in the family is allergic to stings, keep well back and have their medicine with you.
Pick up dead bees with tweezers: a dead worker's sting can still prick.
For which ages
Comstock says this lesson "should not be given below the fifth grade; and it is better adapted to eighth grade work." With younger children, just watch bees coming home to the hive with colored pollen on their legs, and skip to the notebook.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
In a colony of honey-bees there are three different forms of bees, the queens, the drones, and the workers. All of these have their own special work to do for the community.
The worker
Look at a worker with the lens.
How many divisions of the body are there?
Are there small, simple eyes between the large compound ones?
Note that this segment of the hind leg is much wider. Note its form and describe how it forms the pollen basket.
Compare the front and hind wing as to shape and size.
Queen and drone
Use the beekeeper's help or the book's pictures for the queen.
How does the queen differ in size and shape from the worker?
How does the drone differ in size and form of body from the worker?
Drones are the males. They have no sting and very big eyes that meet on top of the head.
Put it into words
Ask your child to tell you each bee's job. Then read the leading thought aloud.
Nature notebook
Draw a queen, a drone and a worker side by side at the same scale, and label the worker's pollen basket. Older children can write Comstock's theme from question 18: the life of a worker bee from the day she comes out of her cell.