• worker-bees
    Bees

    Types of Honey Bees and Their Roles in the Colony

    Honeybees are eusocial insects. That means that they live in groups and divide labor among members.  Bees are reliant on each other for survival. Eusocial insects show an advanced level of social organization.  Some eusocial characteristics include cooperative brood care, overlapping generations within a colony, and specialized behavioral groups (castes).  Other eusocial insects are ants and termites.   While it is commonly thought that honeybees have 3 castes, technically speaking, there are 2 sexes and 2 castes.  So when someone says that there are 3 castes, they really mean that there are 3 types (males and 2 female castes).  The 2 sexes of honeybees are male and female, of course. The…