The Importance of Bees and Bee Anatomy
Bees play a crucial role in plant pollination, and the impact of their care is reflected in the quality of life for those involved in beekeeping.
BEE PARTS:
Head
Stigmas or espartacles
Wings
4a. First pair of legs
4b. Second pair of legs
4c. Third pair of legs
Thorax
Abdomen
Antenna cleaning hairs
Pollen press
HEAD:
- Compound eye
Vertex – Ocelli
Antenna
Fossa
Labrum
Maxillary palp
Maxillary wing
Labial palp
Glossa
Labella or button
LOWER PART:
a) Third pair of legs
b) Second pair of legs
c) First pair of legs
Antenna cleaning hairs
Pollen press
Bees play a crucial role in plant pollination, and the impact of their care is reflected in the quality of life for those involved in beekeeping.
On the other hand, bees, viewed as an entity as a whole, serve as the perfect reference for the symbiotic work expected in an organized society. Each component of the hive has a function at a specific time, and each time has a role in the hive’s ability to remain alive.
An important aspect of bees is their morphology; their invertebrate body is worthy of study. Here are the parts of bees:
The bee’s body is divided into three parts:
External Anatomy
Head
It houses two antennae, eyes, and mouthparts.
Thorax
Comprising three segments, each with a pair of legs, and the last two segments with pairs of wings.
Abdomen
Consists of nine segments containing wax glands (which produce wax), Nasaroff glands (odoriferous), and the stinger.
Internal Anatomy
Nervous System
Consists of a central ganglion located in the head, connected by a cord to the rest of the body’s ganglia.
Respiratory System
They breathe through tracheae, elastic tubes branched within the body, opening to the outside through openings called spiracles.
Circulatory System
Comprises a dorsal vessel or heart that circulates hemolymph (bee’s blood) to the tissues, carrying oxygen and nutrients.
Digestive System
Consists of an esophagus, crop, midgut, and rectum. The crop transports nectar collected in the field.
Organization
Males (Drones)
Numbering a few hundred, their function is to fertilize the queen and help maintain the temperature of the brood nest.
Queen
The sole fertile female whose job is to lay eggs.
Workers
Numbering in the thousands, between 40,000 and 80,000, they are sterile females. Their tasks vary with age and the hive’s needs.
