Describe the classification of bees in apiculture. Write their important too.

Apiculture is the maintenance of bee colonies, generally in man-made hives, that is made by humans. Or in other words, it is maintenance/breeding of bees by humans for honey and other benefits.

The apiculture is a very beneficial type of industry. As the bees collect honey but they do also help in the pollination of the plants.

Pollination of the plants is the transfer of pollens from a male part of plants to its female part, which then initiates fertilization and production of seeds.

But as the sole purpose of apiculture is to collect honey, the main product of this industry is honey. Now the bees are classified into 3 types inside a beehive. Or more precisely there are three castes of bees present inside a beehive. Which are:

● Queen bee

● Female worker bees,

● Male drones bees.

⋆ Queen Bee: The queen is the only sexually mature female bee in the hive and all of the female worker bees and male drones are her offspring.

● A queen bee can lay around 1500-3000 eggs in her one breeding season.

● The queen is raised from a normal worker egg but is fed a larger amount of royal jelly/food than a normal worker bee.

● There are a number of chemicals which are produced by the queen bee which influences the hive, they are called "queen substances".One of these chemicals suppresses the development of ovaries in all the female worker bees in the hive and prevents them from laying eggs.

⋆ Female worker bees: Also known as the worker bees. Most of the bees in a hive are worker bees. The life of a worker bee may be as short as 6 weeks or it may live for 16 weeks.

Age of a worker bee decides their day to day task.

● In their early days i.e. when they are very young, they perform basic chores within the hive like cleaning empty brood cells and other housekeeping tasks.

● Later, they are in the middle of their lifespan they guard the entrance of the hive.

● But as they grew older they leave the hive daily, to forage for nectar, pollen, and water.

⋆ Male drones bees: Drones are very big in size, at almost twice the size of a worker bee. They have much larger eyes to better locate the queen during the mating flight.

They do not work, do not forage for pollen or nectar, and are unable to sting. They have no other known function than to mate with new queens.