From that time on the worker bee first helps raise brood, then clean cells, and make honey from nector. Finally, the worker becomes a field bee to perform the dangerous task of collecting nector and pollen to feed the hive. This is a very dangerous task. If she is lucky the worker may live to the ripe old age of 3 months before she dies of exhaustion. Entomologists can tell how old a bee is by how frayed her wings are.
Bees travel up to a mile one way in search of flowers.
Many, many flights are required to make even one pound of honey. A good hive of bees will gather over 100 pounds of honey to feed them through the winter. Honeybees in the wild live in hives found in hollow trees . Once in this protected area they build honeycomb on which they live and store food and raise young. Honeycomb is an exquisitely uniform and functional home built by the workers.