BuzzBots

Save the bees!!

Rutherford College Elementary
Robotics Team
2016-2017
 Introduction
Our team decided to be Animal Allies to bees and help increase the bee population
by planting flowers that the bees like. We also decided we could be Animal Allies with the
bees by creating a safe place for them to get water.
This wasnt our original idea. We thought about how to be allies to deer. We changed
our mind about deer after we talked to a NC Wildlife officer, and he said that people are
already doing the things that we had brainstormed as ideas. Then our team thought
about dogs or mosquitos, and after doing some research, those ideas didnt work out
either. Our final idea was bees.
Planting flowers and putting out water for bees would be helpful for bees and
people. If bees werent on Earth, there would be fewer flowers or crops. People also like
honey that bees make. It is sometimes hard for bees to find water, or they drown in
water they find because they have no place to rest while they drink. If you put water
feeders with marbles or rocks in them in your backyard, the bees wouldnt have to go far
from their hives to get water.
These are some of the ways we thought of to help bees. Being an Animal Ally to
bees would be better for bees and also helps people.
 Questions for the Experts

1. Would a field be a good place to plant seeds for bees?

2. What is the best way to plant seeds in the ground for bees?
3. What other problems cause a low bee population?
4. Are all seeds the same? Is there one that is better than another?
Beekeepers Visit

Mr. Pascal, a professional beekeeper,

and JR Jensen, a senior a Draugh who
is doing is Senior Project on bees came
to talk to our team about honeybees.
We learned a lot from them!
1.) Professionals have the biggest
problems with low bee populations.
2.) NC ships bees to CA to help pollinate
the almond crops.
3.) Some fruits can only be pollinated by
honeybees.
4.) Burts Bees company offers grants for
people who are interested in becoming
beekeepers. He received $1500.00 from
them to start his hives.
5.) There is a Bee organization in Burke
county that may give us seeds.
 Facts about Honeybees
All honeybees are social and cooperative insects
Members of the hive are divided into three types.
Honeybees live in colonies with one queen running Workers forage for food (pollen and nectar from
the whole hive. Worker honeybees are the flowers), build and protect the hive, and clean and
females and are the only bees most people ever circulate air by beating their wings. The queens
see outside of the hive. They forage for food ,build job is simple; she lays the eggs that will spawn
the honeycombs and protect the hive. Many the hives next generation of bees. There is
species still occur in the wild, but honeybees are usually a single queen in a hive. If the queen dies,
disappearing from hives due to colony collapse workers will create a new queen by feeding one
disorder. Scientist are not sure what is causing of the worker females a special food called royal
this collapse. jelly. This elixir enables the worker to develop into
a fertile queen.
Honeybees are important pollinators for
flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They live on Queens regulate the hives activities by producing
stored honey and pollen all winter and cluster chemicals that guide the behavior of the other bees. Male
into a ball to conserve warmth. bees are called drones - the third class of honeybee.
Several hundred drones live in each hive during the
spring, but they are expelled for the winter months go
on when the hive goes into a survival mode.
 How do bees help improve our lives?

Bees help improve our lives by pollinating the crops

which gives us food. We also have honey and
medicine because of bees.
 Bees most prevalent in NC
The most prevalent bees in NC are honey bees, sweat bees, and carpenter bees.

Honey Bees Sweat Bees Carpenter Bees

How can we solve the problem of low
bee population?

-provide bee habitats -ditch pesticides and gardening chemicals

-plant a variety of flowers -buy organic food from local farmers

-leave weeds alone -become a beekeeper

-stop using pesticides -remember to leave them be

-buy local raw honey -leave basin water for the bees to drink

-let your veggies bolt -eliminate garden pests

-let dandelions and clovers grow in your yard

Which plants are bees most attracted to?
Cosmos Sunflower Primulas

Aster Calendulas
The Steps of the Pollination Process
1. Pollen grains land on the sticky stigma.

2. A pollen tube grows down the style, followed by male sperm nuclei.

3. The sperm nuclei fuse with the female ovules.

4. The ovules develop into fruit.

How can we solve the problem of a low
bee population?
- plant flowers - eliminate pesticides

- provide habitats - let vegetables bolt

 Bees most prevalent in NC
Honey bee Paper wasps Bumble bee

Yellow jacket Carpenter bee Cicada killer

 Causes of a low bee population

The low bee population is affected by changes in the

weather, pesticides, and other chemicals on the plants
the bees pollinate. There is also disease caused by
small pests called verlamits in the hive, which is
killing the bees.
 The Pros and Cons of Increasing Bee Population

Pros Cons
*Food Supply Allergies

Pollination Cost of Supplies for beekeeping

Bees are Diligent Workers Slow Start Up process

Honey Stings

Wax

*Bees are important for the food supply because the bees pollinate the plant to
help the plant grow. Also they help with our livestock.. If all the bees die out
they cannot pollinate the plants, so the plants would die out. Also if the bees
cannot help the plants all the livestock would die out. So without food there
would no life on Earth.
 Why do bees need water?
They need water for cooling in summer.
They need water to control the humidity in the hive.
They need water to utilize stored food; if they dont have water they
cant live.
Another important reason why bees need water is to feed Larvae.
They also need water for digestion.
 How to make a Water Bee Refresher
A D.I.Y (Do it Yourself) Project

Add marbles or pebbles to a bowl or pan and then add

water. The marbles give the bees a spot to land, so they
dont drown when they come to drink..
www.honeylove.org
www.Thehoneyconservancy.org
www.highcountrygardens.com
www.sunflowernsa.com
http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/
http://www.pacifichorticulture.org/
www.ECOIPM.org
www.beegirl.org
www.insectidentification.org
http://www.almanac.com/blog/beekeeping/beekeeping-101-why-raise-honeybees
http://www.cheerios.com/BringBackTheBees
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/5-ways-to-help-our-disappearing-bees
www.mnn.com,www.cnn.com,www.simpleorganiclife.org,www.cheerios.com
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/non-honeybee-stinging-insects-in-north-carolina
www.buzzaboutbees.net
www.greenplantet.org
http://www.esi.utexas.edu/talk/buzz-bees/
 Picture Sources
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Honey_bee_(Apis_mellifera).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_Paper_Wasp-27527-2.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_Yellow_Jacket_Of_The_Season.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CARPENTER_BEE_2.jpg
https://pam.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamumu
http://www.houstonzoo.org/blog/the-buzzzzzzz-about-bees/
http://modernfarmer.com/2013/06/bees-good-for-way-more-than-just-honey/
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/help-the-bees-with-this-diy-bee-water-garden.html
https://www.intelligentliving.co/make-bee-waterer-help-hydrate-pollinators/

Song Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpyY9_9y9Qw