PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture?

I wonder if we have seen one of these before?

I wonder what we already know about bees?

I wonder what body parts we can see (e.g. head, eyes, antennae, legs, body, wings)?

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: This is the head of a Australian blue-banded bee. The two shiny green

patches on either side are the eyes. At the bottom we can see the mandible (jaws) from which comes the tongue. The bee uses its

tongue to collect nectar.)

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: Bee visiting a flower.)

I wonder what the bee is doing? (Suggested answer: The bee is collecting pollen from the flower. The bees gathers the pollen and

rolls it into a ball called a ‘pollen basket’ that it carries on its back legs. When the bee has collected as much pollen as it can carry it will take

the pollen back to the hive.)

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: The bee in this picture is covered in tiny flecks of pollen. The bee will roll these bits of pollen across its body and into its ‘pollen baskets’.)

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: This is a picture of bees cleaning and looking after the honeycomb in

their hive.)

I wonder what honeycomb is? (Suggested answer: Bees make honeycomb from wax. They make the honeycomb into hexagonal

shapes (shapes with 6 sides). Baby bees (larvae) live in the honeycomb, and bees also use the honeycomb to store their pollen

and honey.)

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: This is a picture of a swarm of bees. Bees swarm when the queen bee leaves the old hive with lots of the worker bees. All hives have a queen bee

who is the mother of nearly all the bees in that hive. There is only one queen bee; all the other bees are worker bees who have the jobs

of collecting pollen, making honey and looking after the baby bees [larvae]).

I wonder if we have seen a swarm of bees before?

PROVOCATIONS

I wonder what we can see in this picture? (Suggested answer: These people are beekeepers. Beekeepers are people who keep bees in

hives so that they can harvest the honey. Beekeepers will also check that the hives and bees are clean and healthy and will look after the bees if they get sick. The beekeepers need to wear special suits and

masks to stop them getting stung by the bees. They will also use smoke to make the bees sleepy and less likely to get upset about

having their homes disturbed.)