Bees are social insects that live in colonies and can be either solitary or social. They have 3 body sections - head, thorax, and abdomen - and 6 legs. There are over 20,000 known bee species worldwide, with 3,000 found in North America. Beekeeping started in Hawaii in the 1850s with multiple failed attempts to ship honeybee hives from Boston, until successful shipments arrived in 1857. Beekeeping is now an important industry for Hawaii.

1. The Buzz about Bees
Dr. Jason Graham
jrgraham@hawaii.edu Bee Collective
Jasmine Joy
Beelievehawaii@gmail.com

2. What is a Bee?

3. Bees are Insects

4. 6 Legs
and
3 Body Sections:
Head Thorax Abdomen

5. 6 Legs
and
3 Body Sections:
Head Thorax Abdomen

6. Bees are Hymenoptera
Cousins of ants and wasps!

7. Bees have
Branched hairs
But Wasps & Ants have
Unbranched hairs

8. Bees are Herbivores:
Pollen & Nectar
Wasps are Carnivores:
Arthropod Prey
Ants are Omnivores:
Anything

9. Social
queenworkersbrood
Ants can have super colonies with many several queens
and nests can get enormous!
Here is an ant nest being excavated!
Ants are all social, so if you see
one- they are a part of a larger
colony!

10. Social
or Solitary
Wasps can be solitary or
social… most are solitary!

11. Social
or Solitary
Bees can be solitary or social…
most are solitary!

13. Here is a cool video showing how bees develop from egg to adult!

14. Egg
Larva
Prepupa Pupa Adult

15. How do bees smell, taste
and hear?

17. How do bees see?

22. How do bees sting?

28. Where do honey bees live?

40. Why do people keep
honey bees?

43. Lilikoi

48. Lilikoi

61. How many kinds of bees
are there?

62. 20,000 known species of bees
in the world!
3,000 in North America

78. Are there any bees only
found in Hawaii?

79. Hawaiian Yellow-faced Bee

88. What other bees are found
in Hawaii?

95. When did beekeeping start
in Hawaii?

96. At the first meeting of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society in August 1851 on the island of O'ahu, a committee
was appointed to bring the first honey bees into Hawai'i.
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

97. Henry A. Pierce, shipped a hive from Boston to Honolulu in 1852. Unfortunately, as the ship passed through the
tropics on its way to Cape Horn, the increase in temperature melted the honeycomb and killed the honey bees.
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

98. A second attempt to ship bees from the U.S. Mainland was made in 1853, again from Boston. Two hives, one
packed in ice, were shipped to O'ahu. The hives arrived in poor condition, and were later auctioned to C. R.
Bishop, husband of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, for thirteen dollars.
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

99. The bees survived for a short time, then died out. The society then made a public offer of ten dollars to "the person
who shall introduce the first honey bee into the islands.“
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

100. On 21 October 1857, three hives were shipped to Honolulu. The trip took eighteen days and the colonies survived
the journey in good condition. They were purchased for one hundred dollars each. The hives were placed under
the care of Dr. William Hillebrand in Nu'uanu Valley.
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

101. There they thrived, and successfully established themselves by the following year, the three original hives had
increased to nine colonies by swarming.
The Arrival of Honey Bees to Hawai'i

102. There are now over 200 beekeepers in Hawaii

103. Hawaii is the leading producer of Queen bees in the world

104. Hawaii’s Honey Industry is valued over 3.1 million $/year

106. Thank You!