Honey Bees
Apis mellifera Linnaeus
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Anthophoridae
Size & Characteristics: Honey bee adult worker is 1/2-5/8 in (11-15 mm) long; queen is 5/8-3/4 in (15-20 mm) long. The pointed abdomen extends beyond the wing, and has a smooth stinger. Drones are 5/8 in (15-17 mm) long, with no stingers. Honey bees have hairy eyes; the first segment of the hind tarsus is enlarged and flattened.
Color: Orange-brown to sometimes black; body covered with pale hairs.
Geographic Range: Around the world
Comparison with other species: Africanized honey bee looks the same as the honey bee; only experts can distinguish them. Yellowjacket has banded abdomens. Other bees have eyes that are not hairy. Some flies look like honey bees, but have just one pair of wings.
Habitat: Hives, which are colonies of 20,000-80,000
Food: Honey, flower nectar, and a food made from pollen called "bee bread"
Biology: Honey bee workers are females that lay eggs which do not get fertilized and develop into males. A queen lays eggs which do get fertilized and develop into females. Drones are males from unfertilized eggs of the workers. Drones fertilize the queen's eggs. The queen mates once, and can lay 1,500-2,000 eggs in a day. Eggs hatch in 3 days as larvae (grubs). They are first fed "royal jelly", made in the workers' mouths, which is later only fed to future queens. Young workers tend the brood, build the comb, ventilate the hive, guard the entrance. Older workers gather pollen, nectar and "bee glue", a waxy substance from tree buds. Workers live for 5-7 weeks in summer, except ones that develop in autumn and overwinter in the hive. Drones live only a few weeks. Swarming occurs when the colony gets too big, or when the queen begins to fail. Swarms go to a tree branch 1-2 days until finding another hive, hollow tree, or wall, where there is shelter.
Invasion: Honey bees enter structures through cracks and may build hives in walls. Keep lawns free of white clover and flowering weeds. Prevent access by bees to food, water, or sugary substances.
Damage: Honey bees are beneficial, providing honey and wax, and pollinating flowers which produce fruit and seed. They are defensive, not aggressive, attacking to protect colony. Swarming bees have no reason to attack, since they are not defending a hive. Foraging workers are not likely to sting unless provoked. However, stings can be painful, sometimes severe. Remove barbed stinger with fingernail or knife blade; do not rub or scratch; clean. (Africanized honey bees sting much more readily, even when swarming, and may pursue up to 300 feet.)
Environmental Policy
The employees of American Pest Management are committed to improving the quality of life for all of our customers by providing the safest and most effective treatment for the management of pests which pose a threat to their health, property, and food supply. History has shown that neglecting to control pests such as cockroaches, mosquitoes, rodents, and ticks, and the misapplication of pest control products are equally dangerous.
