1

A Bee’s Life

2

3

Table of Contents

Buzz Words ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Kahoot ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Burpee’s Bee and Butterfly Flower Mix .............................................................................................................................................. 8

What is Pollination ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Your Garden Can “Bee” Attractive to Pollinators ............................................................................................................................... 10

Apple Pollination ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Pollen Power ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Pop Bottle Flower .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Egg Carton Bee ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

Tasting Honey .................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Suggested Reading ........................................................................................................................................................................... 23

4

Buzz Words Abdomen—the rear body region of a honey bee composed of nine segments and containing many organs including those for

digestion, reproduction, and respiration.

Adult—a fully formed, mature honey bee.

Antenna(e)—the moveable, sensitive feelers on an insect’s head which detect odor and movement.

Bee dances—a way honey bees communicate to find nectar sources.

Bee metamorphosis—the four stages of transformation in the life of a honey bee.

Beebread—a mixture of nectar and pollen.

Beeswax—substance secreted from glands located on the underside of the worker bee’s abdomen.

Brood—the offspring produced by the colony (eggs and larvae).

Brood cells—cells that house developing bees.

Cell—a hexagonal wax chamber built of beeswax for brood rearing and storage of honey and pollen.

Cocoon—the silk chamber a larva spins around itself just prior to the pupal stage of development.

Colony—a group of honey bees living together.

Comb—a structure made up of hexagonal wax cells.

Compound eye—an eye made up of thousands of tiny lenses that allow a honey bee to see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to the

human eye, as well as visible light (except red).

Dehydration—the removal of water from a substance.

Diameter—the length of a straightline segment through the center of a sphere.

Drone—a male honey bee that is produced from an unfertilized egg.

Drone cell—a brood cell that is larger than the normal worker brood cells and in which the queen deposits drone eggs.

Egg—laid by a queen bee, this is the first stage in the life of a honey bee.

Exoskeleton—the hard outer covering which forms a bee’s body.

5

Buzz Words Guard bees—the bees that guard the hive entrance.

Head—the forward body region of the honey bee’s three sections that contains the compound eyes, simple eyes, antennae,

mandibles, and proboscis.

Hexagon—a polygon having six sides and six angles.

Hive—a home to a colony of bees.

Hive scent—all the worker bees of a colony produce a scent that is characteristic of their colony and is recognized by all the mem-

bers.

Honey sac—the stomach-like organ that is connected by a funnel shaped valve to the digestive tract. The nectar stored here will be

unloaded into empty hive cells or passed on to house bees for food.

Honeycomb—six-sided wax cells in a beehive.

Larva—hatched from the egg the queen bee lays, the larva will pupate and eventually turn into an adult insect.

Legs—a honey bee has three pairs of segmented legs used not only for walking but also to dust off antennae, brush pollen out of the

thousands of branched hairs that cover the body, and to store pollen.

Mandible—located on either side of the honey bee’s head, these jaw-like structures are used to chew honey and pollen, and to knead

wax.

Mate—to join together as male and female to produce young.

Midgut or ventriculus—the stomach section in the abdomen which digests food.

Nectar—a sweet liquid secreted by flowers of various plants.

Ocellus—simple eye with a thick lens that can sense changes in the brightness of daylight.

6

Buzz Words Pollen—the fine, powder-like material produced by flowering plants.

Pollen basket—an area on the hind legs of honey bees used to transport pollen.

Polygon—a closed figure bound by three or more sides.

Proboscis or tongue—a strawlike structure used for sucking nectar or honey.

Propolis—a resin-like material collected from trees by bees. It is used to construct and seal parts in the beehive and protect the hive

from the elements.

Pupa—the third stage in a bee’s life, during which the larva’s body changes to an adult.

Queen—a female bee that lays eggs.

Royal jelly—a milky, yellow syrup very high in protein that young worker bees secrete from glands inside their heads and feed to lar-

vae.

Scent gland—found at the tip of the abdomen of worker bees and produces a scent characteristic of that particular colony.

Stinger—found in a chamber at the end of the abdomen (in female honey bees only) and is used to defend against intruders.

Thorax—the middle section of the honey bee’s three sections that contains the flight muscles, the wings, and six legs.

Wax—the substance excreted from the glands located on the underside of a worker bee’s abdomen.

Wax gland(s)—four pairs of glands that are specialized parts of the body wall. During the wax-forming period in the life of a worker,

they become greatly thickened and take on a glandular structure.

Wing(s)—the honey bee’s back has two sets of flat, thin, body structures that allow it to fly. The forewings are larger than the hind

wings.

Worker—the female bee that performs all the jobs, both inside and outside the hive, necessary for the survival of the colony.

7

www.GetKahoot.com

www.Kahoot.it

What is it?

A website that allows you to create

quizzes that are then accessible

on other computers or mobile

devices.

The quiz questions are displayed

on a main shared device while

students use phones or tablets to

respond. Kahoot then shows you

the data on students’ individual

answers.

Use it with Ag in the Classroom!

We modified vocabulary about bees into a

Kahoot quiz! The ten question quiz is now in-

teractive and more engaging than before with

the addition of pictures and a competitive ele-

ment included. Additionally, Kahoot offers a

printable data sheet of the quiz results. It

shows the topics which need more explana-

tion, or which concepts have been mastered.

Use as a summative

assessment of a wide

variety of Common Core

Standards.

8

Burpee’s Bee and Butterfly Flower Mix

The President's National Pollinator Initiative invites you to join the national bee and butterfly brigade! Did

you know that every third bite of food we eat is due to pollinators? It's true! Honey bees, butterflies, birds

and other pollinators help grow our food, keep our flowers blooming and make our lands healthy. How-

ever, for many reasons, including lack of habitat, pollinators are struggling. Last year, President Obama

directed all federal agencies to assist in pollinator conservation to protect the health of our nation's food

security and keep bees, birds and butterflies flying. The President's National Pollinator Initiative is

committed to sustaining the future of pollinators through research, policy, education and action. Your

help is needed! By planting these seeds in your home or school garden you can be a part of the

nationwide effort to build pollinator habitat and help pollinators!

Check out George Ball’s Video discussing why pollinators are important!

http://www.burpee.com/perennial-pollinators/burpee-s-bee-and-butterfly-flower-mix-prod22842.html#

9

What is Pollination? Background: A pollinator is an animal that carries pollen on its body from one flower to

another. Some examples of pollinators are birds, bees, beetles and bats. Pollinators help pollinate

more than 1,200 crops.

Objective: Students will learn while a pollinator is eating, pollen from the flower may stick to its body. As the pollinator moves from flower to flower, the pollen it is carrying also gets moved from flower to flower. Pollinators visit flowers to drink nectar or eat pollen. The pollinator your students will be learning about today is the bee.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3; RI.2.10

Next Generation Science Standards: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: 2-LS2-2

Materials Needed:

Flower di-cut

Juice box

Cheetos

Napkins

Directions:

Each child begins with a flower, which will be placed over the top of a juice box, and Cheetos on their desk. The students will be the bees during this experiment. They will all begin at the front of the classroom. As we all know, the flowers’ color and smell attract the bees (students). They will “fly” to their desk and “land” on their flower. They will drink a little bit of the nectar (juice box). As they are drinking, pollen just happens to find its way onto their fingers. For this part, the students are instructed to eat their Cheetos without wiping their hands. The cheese dust = pollen! After they finish their juice, they fly around the room to other flowers. When they land on other flowers, (wipe their hands on another flower) they are able to see the power of pollination!

Adapted from Hope King

10

Your Garden Can “Bee” Attractive to Pollinators

Objective: Students will observe pollinators visiting their flowers while learning what pollination is.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3; RI.2.10; W.2.7

Next Generation Science Standards: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: LS2.A

Materials Needed:

A variety of seeds to encourage visitors during all seasons.

A few examples of seeds loved by pollinators are included below.

Spring: Sweet William and Petunias

Summer: Zinnias and Salvias

Fall: Asters and Marigolds

Bee journal

Pencil

A space in a garden to plant all of your seeds

Flower pots if garden space isn’t available (soil & water)

Directions:

1. Review pollination with the students. Study each seed that you plan on planting in your garden. Research needs to be completed to under-

stand the best spots to plant each seed (Example: Complete sun/partial sun/shade).

2. Gather the supplies your class will need to plant the garden and begin planting.

3. Have students keep a detailed journal and chart of plant growth as well as how frequently their flowers are being visited by pollinators.

Adapted from Explore Honey Bees by Cindy Blobaum

11

Apple Pollination Objective: Successful pollination results in seed production.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3; RI.2.10; W.2.7

Next Generation Science Standards: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: LS2.A

Materials Needed:

Apples (from different vendors or different home gardens)

Knife (one for the teacher to pre-cut the apples)

Directions:

1. Review pollination with the students. Pollination is the process whereby pollen fertilizes the female part of a flower. Seeds are the result of

successful pollination.

2. Discuss how fruits having no seeds or incomplete seeds are proof pollination wasn’t successful. Fruit can form even if there was no pollina-

tion, but the fruit is often smaller and inferior. Apples are an easy fruit to examine for pollination.

3. Slice an apple crosswise. Notice the star-shaped pattern inside. These are the seed “pockets”. Have the students tell you how many seed

pockets there are. (Five)

4. Apples have the capacity to hold 2 seeds in each seed pocket. If an apple blossom is completely pollinated, there will be 10 seeds (2 seeds in

each of the 5 pockets).

5. Use your fingers or a pencil to gently pry seeds from the pockets and count them. Are the seeds complete or just a shell? You may have to

guess by looking to see how round they are, if you cannot open the seeds. If a seed was sliced in half when the apple was cut, count it as a

single seed.

6. Depending on the level of your students, have them calculate the ratio of actual seeds produced to the total seed capacity: *Seeds in my ap-

ple/10=?

7. Compare apples from more than one source! This lesson is much more interesting if apples are purchased from different vendors, or if apples

are brought from home gardens. If you purchase the apples, try to discover where they were grown. Then, the number of seeds from one

type of apple may be compared to the seeds of another type of apple.

Class Discussion:

Apple trees are pollinated by bees. If there are no bees near the orchard, there will be no pollination, and no seeds. Apple trees must be

pollinated with the pollen from another apple tree. Bees must bring the pollen from one tree to another for seeds to form. The trees must be close

enough that bees will visit both trees. However, bees can visit trees as far as 1.5 kilometers apart, so the trees do not have to be in the same

garden.

Thanks to: California Science Teachers Association

12

Pollen Power Objective: All flowers need pollen to make seeds. Some pollen is light and smooth enough to be

carried by the wind. Other flowers produce pollen that must be carried by insects and other animals.

Flowers have adapted to use their surroundings. Students will find out what kind of habitat a flower with

light pollen lives in and what kind of habitat a flower with spiky pollen lives in.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3; RI.2.10; W.2.7

Next Generation Science Standards: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: LS2.A

Materials Needed:

Chart from page 13

Ruler

Pencil

Black Paper

5 powders such as: flour, baby powder, cinnamon, or other spices

1/8 teaspoon

Small bowls or cups

Straw

Clear tape

5 cotton swabs

Directions:

1. The students will try different things with each of the powders and observe what happens. They will make predictions about each powder.

Which one will travel the farthest on a puff of air? Which will stick best to your skin? Which will stick best to a cotton swab? Make a star in the

box on the chart that matches your predictions.

13

Powder Distance traveled by air Sticks to skin Sticks to cotton swab Would be best moved by

Flour

Baby Powder

Cinnamon

2. Make sure the black paper is placed in an area with no wind. Tell the students to keep the short edge closest to them. They will then place the

ruler next to the paper and mark a line half an inch from the edge closest to them. This area will be labeled “Powder Pollen Area.” Place 1/8

teaspoon of one powder in the starting area. Place 1/8 teaspoon of the same powder in a small cup.

3. The students will place the tip of the straw near the pile of powder. They will blow one quick small puff of air through the straw and record how

far the pollen travels.

4. Next, they will dip their finger quickly in and out of the cup of powder. They will roll their finger around on the sticky side of a piece of clear tape

to show how much powder stuck. Place this tape in the correct box on the chart.

5. Have the students dip the cotton swab quickly in and out of the cup of powder. They will roll it around on the sticky side of a piece of clear tape

to remove the powder. Place this tape in the correct box on the chart.

6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each powder. Record the results on the chart. Were the students’ predictions correct?

7. Look at each powder with a magnifying lens. Which powders look as though they are going to travel more easily by air? By animal? Why?

Adapted from Explore Honey Bees by Cindy Blobaum

14

Pop Bottle Flower

Objective: To visualize each part of the complete flower. It allows students to produce a

flower of their own design. This will allow for a discussion of complete, incomplete, perfect and

imperfect flowers when discussing plant reproduction. Students will be discussing how these flowers are

used by honeybees, bumblebees and certain solitary bees to collect pollen on their bodies by running around the inside

of the flower in a circle.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3; RI.2.10; W.2.7

Next Generation Science Standards: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: LS2.A

Materials Needed:

Compound flower illustration

One clear and one green, 1 liter pop bottle, same brand

Petal and Sepal Pattern

Ruler

Pencil

Non-permanent marking pen

Colored permanent marker

Utility Knife

Scissors

1 red pom-pom

1 blue plastic pony bead

4 orange plastic pony beads

1 green pipe cleaner

4 yellow pipe cleaners

Hot glue gun

Glue remover

15

Compound Flower

16

Directions:

1. Explain a compound flower by using the description on page 2.

2. The flat part of the pop bottle measures 10 inches by 3 1/2 inches. On page 6, each rectangle represents a petal or sepal. The base of the

petal must have some substance because when cut and bent, they must stay attached. Once drawn, cut out the patterns and save them.

3. Fill pop bottles with hot water, let stand several minutes to soften the glue, and then remove the labels. Leave the water in the bottle; it is easi-

er to write on the bottle.

4. Remove the glue.

5. Attach the petal pattern to the clear bottle. The cap end is the base of the flower. Use the non-permanent marking pen to trace the pattern.

Use the sepal pattern on the green bottle. Remove the water from the bottles and do not wipe off your pattern.

6. Use the utility knife to cut a slit; insert the scissors and cut along the pattern lines of the petals and sepals.

7. You must remove the neck and cap of the clear bottle. Using the utility knife, cut where the curved top of the bottle joins the neck. Do NOT cut

the neck and cap of the green bottle. The cap is what holds the pistil and stamen of the flower.

8. Use the permanent colored markers to color both sides of the petals.

17

9. The green bottle used for the sepals and receptacle of the flower does not need to be colored, but you may if you wish. You may color the cap

green.

10. Place the clear bottle inside the green bottle, position them, and snap them together.

11. Bend the sepals and petals to shape them to look like the flower has bloomed.

12. To make the pistil, get a red pom-pom, a green pipe cleaner and a blue plastic pony bead. Measure the length of the flower from the cap to

just above where your petals are bent. Add 1/2” to this length and cut the green pipe cleaner. At the end of the pipe cleaner, bend about 1/2”,

90 degrees to the rest of the pipe cleaner. It should look like an L. Poke the pipe cleaner through the pom-pom and slide it down to the L

shaped end. Use the hot glue gun and attach the plastic bead to the opposite end of the pipe cleaner. The pom-pom is the ovary, the pipe

cleaner is the style and the plastic bead is the stigma.

13. Now, build the stamen. You need four lengths of yellow pipe cleaner. You also need four orange plastic pony beads. Cut them the same

length that you cut the pistil and bend them into the same L shape. Hot glue the plastic beads onto the end of the pipe cleaner, opposite of

where you bent the pipe cleaner.

14. Take the cap off the bottle. Put a generous amount of hot glue into the cap. Make sure to not get glue on the threads because you want the

cap to screw back onto the bottle. Place the stamens into the glue. Make a + pattern with the stamens. Next, place the pistil in the center of

the + pattern of the stamens and hold them until the glue is set. You now have the reproductive portion of the flower complete.

14. Once the glue is set, screw the cap back onto the bottle and your Compound Flower Project is finished!

18

19

Egg Carton Bee Objective: The students will make a fun craft to decorate the classroom while learning about

pollinators.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.W.2.2; W.2.7

Materials Needed:

Yellow and black paint/ paint brush

2 egg carton “cups”

Black and silver pipe cleaners

Googly eyes

Hot glue gun

Directions:

1. Cut two attached egg cartons off and trim excess.

2. To make the wings, twist the silver pipe cleaner together (as shown in the picture).

3. Have the students paint the entire egg carton bee yellow.

4. When the paint is dry, poke two holes with a pencil on top of the bees head to make the antenaes.

5. Take black paint and have them make stripes on the back. When that dries, have an adult or older child use a hot glue gun and attach

the eyes, wings and legs.

Lesson Extender:

Have the students research the differences between a wasp and a honey bee. Working with a partner, have the students write or type a

paragraph comparing and contrasting the wasp and the honey bee.

Thanks to craftymorning.com

20

Tasting Honey Objective: The students will be observing different types of honey and will learn why

different honeys taste and look different.

Common Core: ELA-Literacy.W.2.7

Next Generation Science Standards: Structures and Properties of Matter: 2-PS1-1; 2-PS1-3

Engineering Design: K-2.ETS1-1; K-2-ETS1-2

Materials Needed:

Different types of honey (example: clover and orange blossom)

Crackers

Directions:

1. Use your LAB NOTES on page 21-22 to complete the experiment.

2. Have students observe/research each type of honey. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it feel like?

3. Form a topic sentence and hypothesis.

4. Time to do the experiment! Using a cracker, find out what it tastes like! Try each kind of honey, making sure to take a drink in

between so you can taste the difference between the two honeys.

5. Have them explain if their hypothesis was accurate. Following the experiment will be a class discussion.

Class Discussion:

Discuss what they found in their research they completed prior to conducting the experiment. Discuss with the class that honey from

different flowers might be a slightly different color. The nectar from different flowers will have its own unique taste, too!

21

Honey Tasting LAB NOTES

Observations:

Topic Sentence:

Hypothesis:

Honey A Honey B

22

Honey A Honey B

Experiment Observations:

What was the difference between the two types of honey? Did you like one more than the other?

Why would two different types of honey taste different?

Honey Tasting LAB NOTES

23

Suggested Books:

A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long ISBN-13: 978-0811855204

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons ISBN-13: 978-0823410255

Growing Patterns by Sarah C. Campbell ISBN-13:978-1590787526

Sunflower House by Eve Bunting ISBN: 0590330365

The Life Cycle of a Flower by Molly Aloain & Bobbie Kalman ISBN-13: 978-0778706977

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle ISBN: 0590425668

Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber ISBN-13: 978-0763667603

Are You a Bee? by Judy Allen ISBN-13: 978-0753458044

The Beeman by Laurie Krebs ISBN-13: 978-1846862601

In the Trees, Honey Bees! By Lori Mortensen ISBN-13: 978-1584691150

Explore Honey Bees! By Cindy Bloaum ISBN-13: 978-1619302860

The Magic Schoolbus Inside a Beehive by Joanna Cole ISBN-13: 978-0590257213

The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons ISBN-13: 978-0688175313

Bees by Ann Heinrichs ISBN-13: 978-0756501655

Beekeepers by Linda Oatman High ISBN-13: 978-1563974861

Hoorah for Bee Keeping by Bobbie Kalman ISBN-13: 978-0865056688

The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco ISBN-13: 978-0698116962

The Life Cycle of a Bee by Colleen Sexton ISBN-13: 978-1600143052

What if There Were No Bees? Suzanne Slade ISBN-13: 978-1404863941

How Bees Make Honey by Louise Spilsbury ISBN-13: 978-1429655361

The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi and Kyrsten Brooker ISBN-13: 978-0375849800

24

Sponsored by:

1701 Towanda Ave.

Bloomington, IL 61701

Phone: 309-557-3334