Bees communicate to their fellow bees the source and location of nectar so the foraging bees concentrate on one flowering species at a time. Each hive has one queen who bequeaths the hive to a daughter. A queen bee will lay up to 2,000 eggs a day. The queen s attendant bees groom and feed her, up to 80 times her weight daily. Honey bees evolved between 150 - 180 million years ago.
Bees can carry nearly their own weight in nectar and pollen.
Bees attempting to enter a different hive will be killed as intruders although bees returning with nectar may be admitted. All bees in a hive share a common odour, emanating from the queen s pheromones. Bees communicate by vibration and chemical cues. They are deaf to most sounds and are mute. Beekeepers migrate hives between forest and agricultural crops to ensure year-round hive strength and honey production.