Bees are fundamental to our environment, as they ensure the existence of many cultures. Without their presence, we would not have fruits and vegetables. By their pollination activity, they ensure the birth of the fruit. Have you ever wondered what role the queen-bee plays? The queen bee is the head of the hive, the mother of all bees, the one who coordinates the work and reproduces the eggs to multiply the worker bees: she can lay up to 2000 eggs per day. What does a beekeeper do? The beekeeper takes care of the hive and ensures that it develops healthily, protecting each bee. Erika Thompson is a beekeeper from Texas who issued a challenge.
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image credit: texasbeeworks/Instagram
Erika shares some of her work on Instagram: she talks about saving entire colonies of bees and educating people about the world of bees and their importance. In a photo posted to her profile, she issued a challenge: she asked users to identify the queen bee in a beehive. But how do you distinguish the queen from the worker bee? It’s not just a question of size. The queen bee has a longer trunk, which can measure up to two centimeters, and its abdomen is more developed and shinier than that of the worker bee. It sounds like an easy challenge, but it took users several minutes to solve this visual puzzle.
Erika wrote:
Can you find the queen bee in this hive? It is the largest bee in the hive, with a longer body, a sharper abdomen and a black patch on the back. And here’s a fun fact … All the other bees you see here are worker bees because the males have all been wintered out! Let me know how quickly you managed to find the Queen in the comments. (But please don’t give the answer to others!)
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image credit: texasbeeworks/Instagram
Users found the challenge very stimulating: some said they stared at the picture during their working hours and colleagues thought they were dazed. Some netizens managed to spot her in just two seconds and asked Erika to start more difficult challenges. Erika’s followers have, thanks to her patience and constant training (and information) on Instagram, been able to recognize the engine that moves the hive.
source used: texasbeeworks / Instagram