Tory

Hi! I am studying honeybees (Apis mellifera).I have always been interested in the honeybees’ social dynamics; the way in which they have precise roles and a specific queen is veryinteresting to me. Also, I find it interesting how many people fear

honeybees when all they are doing is collecting their food. Their organized, structured way of living is evident in their crafting of honeycomb and specific jobs (ranging from mortician to cleaner to pollen/nectar collector). I hoped by studying their behavior I could gain a lot of insight into the different behaviors in our human species and the specific roles that we take on. I am observing the honeybees in our school’s garden. I’ve been observing my bees during the day when it is warm out, but for my experiment I have started observing the honeybees at different times of day. The garden is ideal for observation because the honeybees are everywhere. The garden has many different plants for the honeybees to enjoy: lavender, raspberries, tomatillos and more. I found it interesting that the bees seem to be attracted to the color blue. The bees also do not seem territorial while out collecting nectar, but if you disrupt anything in the hive the guard bees will line up and prepare to defend the hive. The honeybees are also able to landmark, meaning that they will remember where pollen is based on a color or smell or something else that the honeybee connects with the nectar. Also, the honeybees do a “waggle dance” when they find a particularly tasty source and show it to the honeybees in the hive. The dance explains to the honeybees where to fly in relation to the sun to obtain the pollen and nectar. My favorite books in the world are The Giving Tree and The Catcher in the Rye, two totally different books, but both a bit about growing up. My favorite things to do in my free time are singing and water polo. These are two totally different activities, but I find a lot of joy in both. I am in a band in school, which is very fun to perform in and I am also on the water polo team at school. I think being in these two groups (a band and a team) have made the study of honeybees even more interesting for me, because I am beginning to draw connections between the honeybees’ group roles and my own.