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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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B
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Bee
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INFOTEXT
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1992-09-04
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A bee is a four-winged INSECT usually with a
sting. There are over 12,000 species of bee,
of which fewer than 1 in 20 are social in
habit. The hive bee or honey bee establishes
perennial colonies of about 80,000, the
majority being infertile females known as
workers, with a few larger fertile males
known as drones, and a single very large
fertile female known a the queen.
Worker bees live for no more than a few
weeks, while a drone may live a few months,
and a queen will usually live for several
years. The most common species is the
bumblebee, which is larger and stronger than
the hive bee and so is adapted to fertilize
plants, they can work in colder weather than
the hive bee. Some species are aggressive,
and one bee sting may be fatal to a person
who is allergic to them, but this is
comparatively rare (about 1½% of the world
population), and most adults can survive
200-500 stings without any treatment.
Britain saw its first outbreak of the bee
disease varroasis in 1992.
Subject by: Vince Pike