When the temperature drops, they cluster around the queen and vibrate to maintain a temperature of about 98 degrees, Thompson said. In journeying from flower to flower, bees play a key role in fertilizing wild and domestic plants with the pollen that attaches to their bodies. Thompson drives his hives to blueberry and cranberry farmers, who rent the insects to ensure maximum pollination for their crops. The cranberry and blueberry honeys that result, as well as a red-maple honey that is produced at this time of year, all have distinctive tastes. It is insensitive to red, but detects ultraviolet light that is invisible to us.
Worker bees have a stinger to defend the hive, but they are unlikely to use it unless provoked.
The stinger and venom pouch remain attached to the victim s body after the bee has pulled away, leaving a fatal tear in the insect s abdomen.