1)African wild bee
- Has high flying power.
- They are more active in search for water and food and protection of hive.
- Fairly resistant to diseases and parasites.
[2]European bee
- More gentle and larger than African wild bee.
- Less active and less aggressive.
- It susceptible to common bee diseases.
Bee colony
Bee live in a colony also called a swarm.
A colony of bees is made up of the following;
[i] The Queen .
- This is the largest of all bees in the colony.
- There is only one Queen in any given bee colony referred to as the mother bee in the colony.
Functions.
1.Laying eggs .
2.Produces a queen substance called pheromone which keeps the colony together and for communication.
[ii] The Drones .
Drones are male bees and are usually about 300 in a given colony.Drones have longer and more hairy bodies than the worker bees .Drones do not have stings .
Functions of Drones.
[a] They fertilize the queens.
[b]They control the temperatures by flapping their wings at very high speed.
[iii] The worker bees.
They are sterile female bees in a colony and are about 60000 in number. They are the smallest in size.
Function of worker bees.
[a]They clean the hives.
[b]They nurse and feed the Queen,Drones and the brood.
[c]They build combs and seal the crevices and cracks in the hive.
[d] They protect the hive from intruders.
[e]They make honey and bee wax.
[f]They collect nectar,pollen grains, resins and water used to make honey.