Life-cycle of Honey Bee in Resin

Honey bees are most valued for their role in creating honey, a complex substance made when nectar and sweet pollen from plants and trees are gathered and stored in the honey com as a food source for the colony. With up to 20,000 bees living in a single hive, the social lives of bees are highly complex. The average person sees only one type of honey bee in a lifetime: the female worker bee who collects nectar and pollen to feed the hive. The Queen (the only sexually mature female) stays in the hive to lay eggs and the male bee, called a “drone,” exists almost solely to fertilize the queen; he cannot sting and often dies shortly after intercourse. In areas with harsh winters, drones are driven out of the hive in autumn to conserve food while the rest of the hive rears the next generation of bees. This specimen is set in transparent lucite resin and shows the various stages of life of a honeybee, as well as the structure of the honeycomb, making it a great decorative piece or education display.