Page 74 - Primary Five Science

2. The Worker bee

Worker bees are female but are not

capable of reproducing. They do all

the work in the hive, and they con-

trol most of what goes on inside.
They are female sterile bees in the

hive. They cannot lay eggs and do not have the
ovipositor.

They are the smallest in size but very many in number.

They do not have an ovipositor instead they have a sting.

Their duties include

1. Housekeeping e.g. cleaning, repairing hive, fan the hive by

flapping their wings to cool it.

2. Feeding the other members of the colony, i.e.; queen, drones

and larvae,

3. Collecting the pollen and nectar, and making the wax.

4. Work bees build combs

5. They clean, guard and protect the hive by stinging the enemy

6. They use pollen baskets found in the hind legs to collect pol-
len.

7. They use propolis from trees to smoothen the interior of a
hive, water proof it and repair cracks

8. Bees are also important in pollination. Without pollination

agents such as bees, plants will fail to

bear fruits and man will go hungry.