Five bee myths and truths
Myth: Bees are mean.
Truth: Bee are nice. Honeybees only sting as a last resort, because they die after stinging. That means, unless they feel threatened or think you are going to hurt the hive, they will leave you alone.
Myth: Bees will keep stinging you.
Truth: As stated above, honeybees will die after stinging once.
Myth: Bees, wasps and hornets are all the same.
Truth: They are closely related and are all great pollinators but they are different. Wasps and hornets are much more aggressive than bees, and they are carnivores while bees are vegetarians.
Myth: All bees can sting you.
Truth: Most bees that sting are social bees that live in hives, such as honeybees and bumblebees. Again, they only sting when they feel threatened, because they are trying to protect the hive. Most native bees are solitary and therefore rarely sting, and many of them are so small that their stingers cannot even penetrate human skin, so you really have nothing to fear.
Myth: Bee stings are always dangerous.
Truth: Unless you're allergic, there's not much to fear if you do get stung. The average person cannot tolerate 10 stings per one pound of body weight, so most adults could tolerate more than 1,500 stings!
Bees are often misunderstood.
If you want to see just how interesting, and safe, bees are, come check out the observation honeybee hive inside the Dickinson County Nature Center.
Bee Finger Puppet craft
While learning about bees, make this fun bee finger puppet with your children.
First, download the bee finger puppet templateopens PDF file and print it. Let your kids use their imaginations on how they want to decorate their bee.
Using safety scissors, cut around the bee outline, and then parents should cut along the black lines in the middle of the bee, being careful not to cut all the way to the edge.
Push the flap that was cut out down, and slide your finger through the ring created.
Fly your bee around and see what it finds!