bees | Ask Dr. Universe | Washington State University

^{Ask Dr. Universe} _bees

University Communications Network > Ask Dr. Universe > bees

When was the first bee made? – Henry, 7, Illinois

October 28, 2022 melissamayer

Dear Henry,

It’s easy to love bees. They’re furry and buzzy. Along with other insects, birds and bats, they pollinate about one-third of the plants we eat.

I talked about how long bees have been buzzing around Earth with my friend Silas Bossert. He’s an evolutionary biologist in the Department of Entomology at Washington State University.

“The oldest bee fossil that is really without doubt a bee is between 65 and 70 million years old,” Bossert said.

How does honey last forever? Gillian, 7, Illinois

October 7, 2022 melissamayer

Dear Gillian,

Archaeologists exploring ancient Egyptian tombs sometimes find honey. It’s thousands of years old, but you could still safely spread it on your toast!

I talked to my friend Brandon Hopkins, professor in the WSU department of entomology, about why honey lasts so long. He told me honey is one of the only foods that never spoils.

Dr. Universe: How can bees fly? - Christopher, Kansas

May 22, 2020 rcwebber

Bees fly like a blur, with wings too fast to see. Often, you hear them before you see them. They’re small, but their sound is unmistakable. Bees hover with a telltale buzz. Read More ...

Why do bees make hexagons in their hives? Why not any other shape? -Aditya, 10, New Delhi, India

November 2, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Aditya,

When bees make hexagons in their hives, the six-sided shapes fit together perfectly. In fact, we’ve actually never seen bees make any other shape. That’s what I found out when I visited my friend Sue Cobey, a bee researcher at Washington State University.

Cobey showed me some honeycombs where the female bees live and work. Hexagons are useful shapes. They can hold the queen bee’s eggs and store the pollen and honey the worker bees bring to the hive.

When you think about it, making circles wouldn’t work too well. It would leave gaps in the honeycomb. The worker bees could use triangles or squares for storage. Those wouldn’t leave gaps. But the hexagon is the strongest, most useful shape.

Why do bees have stuff that looks like hair? The hair on their legs looks like a real hassle, what with all the crud that sticks to it.*-Elliot

February 4, 2015 rcwebber

That crud is their food, Elliott. That’s what I learned from Steve Sheppard. He studies bees here at WSU.