The Robber and the Honeybee Free Unit Study

Each bee in the bee hive serves a different purpose. There are gobs of bee occupations! Here are some of them:

Cleaner- Her eyes are covered with hairs so she uses her antennae to guide her in cleaning and polishing cells and keeping brood warm.

Nurse bees- Mixes pollen and honey to feed to older larva. She feeds young larva. She produces royal jelly.

Queen attendant- Cleans and feeds queen.

Packers-Stores pollen brought by field bees. They pound it down and press it into solid mass by butting it with their heads.

Builders- Have developed wax glands. They hang and wait for wax to ooze from glands to form honeycomb cells.

Trash man- Removes foreign material from honeycomb.

Ventilator-Only needed when combs are in danger of melting.

Control bees- They boss the queen and direct work out the colony.

Guard bees- Has sting glands full of venom ready for any intruders.

Scout- Seek out nectar sources.

Collectors- Gather nectar, pollen, and water for hive use.

Robbers- Take honey from weaker hives when needed.

Science: Pheromone (Sense of Smell) And Bees
After you read The Honeybee and the Robber, ask your student, "How do you think the guard bee recognized the other bees that were coming and going from the hive? How do people recognize each other?" (Eyes). The bees recognize each other with a different sense (you may want to review or introduce the concept of the five senses). Bees recognize each other by using smells, called pheromones.

For a fun smelling activity, get some film canisters (photo labs will give you some for free). Make some scented cotton balls (use lemon juice, peppermint, pickle juice, vanilla, almond extract, etc.). You will need a pair of each scent (2 with lemon, 2 with vanilla, etc.). Set the containers our and let your child smell out the pairs. Reinforce that bees use their sense of smell to recognize things.

Science: Bees, Wasps, Hornets
Let your older student research honey bees, yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps. He could make a poster (or write a paper) comparing and contrasting each species.

Waggle dance: Bee Communication
Discuss the waggle dance that bees use to communicate-- when a bee finds a food source, he goes back to the hive and waggles and the other bees gather around so that they can know where the food source is to be found. Show an example of waggling (a wiggling motion). The bee communicates where it found the food by the directions it waggles (in reference to the sun). If the bee waggles up the hive, it it means the food source is north of the hive. If the bee waggles in a circle to the left, the food source is to the west of the hive , right in a circle means to the east and down means to the south.

If you wish, you can make this into a game. Get a flower or make a construction paper flower. This will be your "food source"-- let your bee (student) have a turn at hiding the flower. Then, let him do the waggle dance at the "hive" (whatever you determine to be the hive) to let you (or your other students) know where the food source is. You may want to make signs with cardinal directions and hang them in the room so your student knows which way to waggle! To direct you to the left, the bee will make a left circle, waggling as they circle. To direct you to the right, they will waggle in a circle to the right. Whoever finds the food source gets to be the next waggling bee.

Math: Lessons about hexagons and bee hives using Zome Blocks

Learn with Zome Blocks
Elementary Lesson
Advanced Lesson
Wonders of Nature Kit

Bee Music
Nicolai Andrejevich Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumble Bee. Very fun to listen to - one can almost see the bees in flight.

The Honey Bee Song
By: Gayle Howard (to the tune "Mary had a Little Lamb")

The honeybee goes, buzz, buzz, buzz
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz
The honeybee goes buzz, buzz, buzz
On a summer day…

It's taking pollen to the hive, to the hive, to the hive,
It's taking pollen to the hive,
Not so far away…

The bee makes honey that is sweet, that is sweet, that is sweet,
The bee makes honey that is sweet,
As sweet as sweet can be…

The bee keeps honey in the hive, in the hive, in the hive
The bee keeps honey in the hive,
And shares a bit with me!

Go Along Books:
The Bee Tree
The Life and Times of the Honeybee
The Honey Makers
Beekeepers
The Beeman
When the Bees Fly Home
Honey Cookies

Go Along Video:
The Magic School Bus Gets Stuck in a Bee Hive

Links
Bee Craft
PBS Bee information
Order a Bee Skep (portable hive!)
Recipes with Honey!

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