Common Misconceptions About Bees

Bees are no doubt one of the highly beneficial agricultural insects that are found everywhere. Bees have more than 20,000 species and all we know about them is honey production. Most of us lack the proper knowledge about bees and this leads to several misconceptions. However, it is always good to stop those misconceptions from spreading out. Once the misconceptions are cleared, it will encourage more people into this insect agriculture.

Here are the Most Common Misconceptions About Bees.

·         All the Bees Sting: This is the biggest misconception about bees. Sting or stinger is nothing but a modified egg-laying device. The female bees only have this while the male bees do not have this. So, the male bees are not able to sting. Also, all female bees do not sting. A bee stings only when she is provoked.

·         Bees Do Not Sting at Night: This is another misconception about the bees. If you have thought that bees do not sting at night and this is the correct time to do something in the hive, you were entirely wrong. They will sting any time of the day and night for their self-protection.

·         Bee Sting Can Be Avoided by Spraying Water in the Nest: Do not even try this method. This will do nothing but irritate the bees even more. And they will be provoked to sting you.

·         All Bees Produce Honey: You will be surprised to hear that even less than 5% of the bee species can produce honey. Only the honey bees and stingless bees are able to produce honey. Bumble bees too produce honey, but that is too less in amount. They are actually annual, not perennial.

·         Bees’ Life Span: People believe that the adult bees live long, which is again an incorrect idea. The solitary bees live only for a few weeks just to mate, build a nest and for producing the offspring. The honey bees’ male live for six weeks and they spend most of their time working on the hives. But the bee queen lives for longer. While the bumble bee queen lives for a year the honey bee queen has a lifespan of up to 4 years.

·         Most of the Bees Live in Hives: It is only the social bees that live in the hives. Social bees are very small in percentage. Most of the bees are solitary and they live in individual nest built in the tree trunks or tunneled in the soil.

·         Bees Do Not Like Chemicals: If you have thought that chemical will kill the bees or the smell of it is not liked by the bees, you were wrong. The bees actually collect toxic chemicals in nature and spread it into their hive to destroy most of the pests, repellent ants and parasites.

·         Flower Or Dandelions in the Lawn Will Attract Bees:  It is true that bees are pollinators. But, they do always build nest far away from where they pollinate. So, whether you have flowers and plant at the lawn, it will not affect the bees to create a nest.

These are the most common misconceptions about the bees.