University: Santiago de Cali

Name: Samuel Arango Salcedo

Subject: English 4

Topic: The Bees

Professor: Virgelino Cordoba

Delivery date: 11/05/2022

 THE BEES
When I started my research on bees, I still had the idea that they were insects that only
stinged and died when they left their sting, but after a short time I realized that they are
wonderful insects, full of incomparable qualities and characteristics, in addition to We get
great benefits from them. Some are those mentioned by Dr. George McGavin: “A quarter of
a million species of flowering plants depend on bees. Also that many species are crucial for
agriculture, and that without bees we would not only lose flowers, but many other
vegetables, including fruit trees, and other crops that we eat on a daily basis.”
Bees provide us with great benefits such as those mentioned above, at the same time that
they provide us with a food with a sweet and tasty taste: honey. Apart from serving as food
(more used to sweeten and accompany desserts), honey also has therapeutic properties that
are derived from floral nectar. It also has bactericidal properties (relieves sore throat,
stomach ulcers...), anti-inflammatory (mainly used to combat conjunctivitis) and
regenerating or healing properties (torpid wounds, ulcers...). These peculiar insects have
shown great strength, when facing the changes that we humans make day by day in their
environment, what we humans do not see, is that we are ending this way of life that
provides us with great benefits. Therefore, with the changes that are made every day, bees
lose their habitat, so they are in danger of being one more species that is added to the list of
"endangered animals", we must create ways of Do not destroy green areas anymore, since
not only by eliminating their habitat they would become extinct, but they would have
nowhere to feed, artificial plants also have a negative effect on them, since they become
confused and lose their sting .
But how do bees live?: Bees live throughout the winter on stored honey and pollen, staying
together to conserve heat. The larvae also feed on stored products in winter and, when
spring arrives, a new swarm will live in the hive, this is where we humans take advantage
of these little animals, while they survive with what little they have, we take it from them
leaving them out in the open.
Beekeeping is the science that is dedicated to the cultivation of bees or the breeding of
bees, since they are animals. Thanks to this science, it is easier to obtain the products of this
small insect, since the people who dedicate themselves to this, have previous training, and
also have knowledge of the organization of these animals (worker bee, drone bee and queen
bee). ), worker bees, are female bees smaller than the queen, they have glands that allow
them to feed the larvae and build the hive. Their work varies according to their age: during
the first days, they feed the larvae; then they dedicate themselves to keeping the queen bee
groomed, combed and fed. In addition, they clean, protect and keep the hive in order; They
make honey and store food. Finally, they become foragers and leave the hive in search of
nectar, pollen and water. They feed on flower nectar and pollen. They do not lay eggs and
live between 30 and 40 days, the drone bee: They are male bees and are born from
unfertilized eggs. There are only a few hundred of them in the hive. Its function is to
fertilize the queen bee. They cannot feed themselves or sting, as they do not have a stinger.
They die at the end of the summer, the queen bee, there can only be one queen per hive. It
has a larger abdomen than workers, its mouthparts are smaller, its antennae are shorter, and
it lacks hairs to collect pollen. It is responsible for laying eggs, it can lay about a thousand
eggs a day. For a bee to become a queen, the former queen must either die or prepare to
leave the colony. It lives from five to seven years, the marked drawback to this work is that
some beekeepers give these animals a series of chemicals, which cause the faster
production of honey (which is bad since the product is not 100% pure and loses much of its
properties). You also have to see the points in favor; it is easier to obtain honey, pollen and
wax (which is extracted from the honeycomb).
Beekeeping is divided into two parts: Sedentary (It is in which the location of the hive does
not vary and requires a contribution of artificial food) and Transhumance (consists of
exchanging the situation of the apiary following the location of the geographical area with
in order to obtain maximum production). “The exploitation of bees is a very important item
in the country's economy. Mexico has always been within the top four export places and
production of honey in the world”, and as we see our country, it is not the only one that
exploits these little beings. "If the bee disappeared from the planet, man would only have
four years to live"; We must take into account that if there is no pollination of fruits and
vegetables (as well as other plants that we consume) they will not have an optimal
development, therefore, they will become non-consumable garbage for the human being;
bees are in charge and the only ones capable of carrying out this process. For people who
are dedicated to beekeeping, they face a great problem, due to the various climatic changes,
since this affects the production of honey. Bees, living beings, in the form of insects; which
many fear, however, the only thing they are looking for is protection and a real place where
they can survive without having to face the dangers, which we humans have created against
these little animals. We human beings have control of the planet we live on, we choose the
future of our descendants. ¿Do we want to leave them in a world where they do not taste
the sweet taste of honey? Will we leave them without its properties, which make them
suffer from a cough and a sore throat? Is that what we really want? We are still in time to
avoid the end of the wonderful species: The bees.
At the end of this work, I feel satisfied, since I have understood that we do not depend only
on what the government orders, on frozen foods and now created with machinery. I have
understood the importance of life, the importance of letting those small animals live, which,
despite being seven weeks old, delight us with their honey, and more than anything they
help preserve food (fruits, vegetables and other edible plants).
No one deserves to die without first being judged.

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