The Buzz on Bees
A honey bee lands on a flower. It stretches out its tube-like tongue and sucks up the sweet nectar. As the beep pushes into the flower, a yellow powder called pollen falls onto the bee’s hairy body. The pollen then rubs off on every flower the bee visits after that. A flower needs pollen from another flower of the same kind to make seeds.
Honey bees also take some pollen for themselves. They mix it with a tiny bit of nectar and carry it on their back legs. When the bee is fully loaded with nectar and pollen, it flies back to the hive. There worker bees take the nectar and pollen. In a few days the nectar will thicken to honey.
Inside the hive there are thousands of tiny rooms, or cells. The cells are storerooms. Some are filled with honey or pollen, food for the bees. Others contain eggs or bee larvae. Others hold baby bees in silky cocoons. These young bees are changing into adults.