The European Honeybee
You probably know there has been a fall in the world's bee population and that this is not good news. But, unless you are an entomologist
(/ˌentəˈmɒlədʒɪst/ ‒ an insect expert), you probably don't know that much about bees or why they matter so much to our lives. Most of us
are familiar with social bees, such as the honeybee or the bumblebee, which live in large groups, called colonies.
Worldwide, there are approximately 20,000 species of bee. Surprisingly, most of these are solitary, i.e., they live alone or in smaller groups.
In this article we will focus on the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). The behaviour exhibited by the honeybee is called eusociality /jʊ
ˌsoʊ.ʃi.'æl.ə.t̬i/. This has three key characteristics:
generational overlap - mother and adult offspring live side by side
cooperative care of offspring
reproductive division of labour - only certain individuals can reproduce.
Within a colony there are different classes of bee, known as 'castes.' Each caste plays distinct roles in the group. The European honeybee
1
has three castes within a colony. The diet which female larvae are fed determines which caste they will belong to.
Queen
Larvae which are fed only royal jelly become potential queen bees. Queens are the reproductive caste. There is usually only one queen in a
colony. The queen is the only female bee in a hive that is able to reproduce. She lays around 2,000 eggs a day, each in an individual
honeycomb cell. Queens normally live for three to five years. However, not all queens survive, as newly emerged queens often kill each
other in the nest. Queens only leave the nest in order to mate or establish a new colony. When one leaves, she takes a large group of
workers with her.
Worker
Worker bees develop from larvae that are fed royal jelly only for the first few days. They are then given nectar and pollen. Worker bees are
female bees, but they do not mate and do not generally lay eggs. Workers perform all the other duties needed to keep their colony
functioning. This includes a bee’s best known behaviour; collecting nectar from flowers to turn into honey. Honey is the food that the bees
live on in the winter. When they are collecting nectar, bees pollinate the plants they visit. Worker bees can have other roles, such as
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 1
, making honeycomb. Young ‘nurse bees’ feed the larvae and keep the nest clean. Worker bees live for between 6 weeks and five months.
Drone
2
Drones are male bees. Male bees are produced from unfertilised eggs and, as larvae, receive the same diet as workers. Drones' only
function is to mate with the queen, after which they die. A typical honey bee colony will usually contain between 20,000-50,000 bees. Only
about 15% of these are drones. Come winter, remaining drones are thrown out of the colony in order to save resources. Otherwise, the
only reason drones leave the colony is to mate with a new queen.
In recent years there has been a worrying decrease in the populations of many bee species. Honeybees are suffering from colony collapse,
3
where large numbers of workers leave the nest and do not return. Major causes of this decline are the use of pesticides , climate change,
4
loss of habitat and loss of plant biodiversity .
100 crops produce up to 90% of our human diets. 70 of those crops rely on bees for pollination. This means that a disaster for bees is a
disaster for humans too. Many of the plants that animals rely on are also pollinated by bees. Plants not only provide food, but they also
perform many other essential functions, including producing the oxygen we breathe. The death of bee populations could lead to
widespread ecological collapse.
1
larva (noun – singular) /ˈlɑrvə/, larvae (noun - plural) /ˈlɑrvi/ = an insect at the stage when it has just come out of an egg and looks like a
short fat worm - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
2
fertilise (Am.Eng fertilize) [to feritilise an egg or seed] Verb – transitive = To cause an egg or seed to start to develop into a new young
animal or plant by joining it with a male cell. unfertilised (adjective) /ʌn ˈfɜː.tɪ.laɪzd/ - not fertilised - Cambridge Dictionary
3
pesticide (noun – countable and uncountable) /ˈpestɪsaɪd/ = A chemical used to kill insects which damage plants - Cambridge Dictionary
4
biodiversity (noun– uncountable) /ˌbaɪəʊdaɪˈvɜːsəti/ = the existence of a large number of different kinds of animals and plants which
make a balanced environment. - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Lesson Aims:
To further develop reading skills with particular focus on gaining an in-depth understanding of a text through intensive reading.
To introduce and provide practice in using key vocabulary needed for understanding the text and further discussion.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 2
,Lesson Outline:
Because the students are planning to study in English-speaking universities or use English for professional purposes, it is
important that they develop their reading skills. You have decided to make the detailed reading questions challenging so that
they will really need to focus on the content of the text and the meaning of the language. You will allocate timings as follows:
1. Lead into topic (warmer) - 9 mins
2. Vocabulary pre-teaching - 15 mins
3. First reading - 6 mins
4. Second reading - 18 mins
5. Follow-on activity (communicative speaking task) - 12 mins
You need to show the tasks you would set for stages 3 and 4.
First two stages of the lesson:
You have decided to lead into the lesson by asking the students to discuss what they know about bees in small groups.
They will then discuss this in whole-class feedback. The teacher notes main points, and especially any differences of opinion on
the board.
In the vocabulary pre-teaching stage, you will pre-teach these items. Some of these items should already be familiar, and some can be
checked with only pictures, so 15 items will not overload this class.
a fall in/decrease in something (e.g.
a hive to mate
population, student numbers)
a bumblebee to reproduce , reproduction, reproductive. pollen, pollinate, pollination
come + time, e.g., come winter, come
offspring (noun C, sing and plural) royal jelly (noun U)
Monday, come next year (collocation)
to lay an egg/ eggs (irregular verb: lay – laid -
to play a role honeycomb (noun C or U)
lain)
newly emerged (emerged is adjective. Verb- to a collapse, to collapse
distinct (adj)
emerge)
1. First Reading Task
In this space show the task you would set for the first reading (2 or 3 skimming and/or scanning questions). Skim questions are more useful.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 3
, Say how you would set the task (e.g. orally, write it on the board, include it in a handout, etc.).
Task:
Give one brief point describing each caste of a European honeybee colony.
Does the text seem to convey the information or messages you thought it would?
How this task would be set:
Both questions will be written on the board. The first question will be allocated 4 minutes to answer and the second question 2 minutes. The
teacher will tell the class that the text does not need to be read through in detail to answer either of these questions.
2. Second Reading Task
In this space, show 7-10 comprehension questions that require full understanding of the language and ideas in the text
Include 1 or 2 questions to encourage readers to think about their own responses to the text.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 4
You probably know there has been a fall in the world's bee population and that this is not good news. But, unless you are an entomologist
(/ˌentəˈmɒlədʒɪst/ ‒ an insect expert), you probably don't know that much about bees or why they matter so much to our lives. Most of us
are familiar with social bees, such as the honeybee or the bumblebee, which live in large groups, called colonies.
Worldwide, there are approximately 20,000 species of bee. Surprisingly, most of these are solitary, i.e., they live alone or in smaller groups.
In this article we will focus on the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). The behaviour exhibited by the honeybee is called eusociality /jʊ
ˌsoʊ.ʃi.'æl.ə.t̬i/. This has three key characteristics:
generational overlap - mother and adult offspring live side by side
cooperative care of offspring
reproductive division of labour - only certain individuals can reproduce.
Within a colony there are different classes of bee, known as 'castes.' Each caste plays distinct roles in the group. The European honeybee
1
has three castes within a colony. The diet which female larvae are fed determines which caste they will belong to.
Queen
Larvae which are fed only royal jelly become potential queen bees. Queens are the reproductive caste. There is usually only one queen in a
colony. The queen is the only female bee in a hive that is able to reproduce. She lays around 2,000 eggs a day, each in an individual
honeycomb cell. Queens normally live for three to five years. However, not all queens survive, as newly emerged queens often kill each
other in the nest. Queens only leave the nest in order to mate or establish a new colony. When one leaves, she takes a large group of
workers with her.
Worker
Worker bees develop from larvae that are fed royal jelly only for the first few days. They are then given nectar and pollen. Worker bees are
female bees, but they do not mate and do not generally lay eggs. Workers perform all the other duties needed to keep their colony
functioning. This includes a bee’s best known behaviour; collecting nectar from flowers to turn into honey. Honey is the food that the bees
live on in the winter. When they are collecting nectar, bees pollinate the plants they visit. Worker bees can have other roles, such as
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 1
, making honeycomb. Young ‘nurse bees’ feed the larvae and keep the nest clean. Worker bees live for between 6 weeks and five months.
Drone
2
Drones are male bees. Male bees are produced from unfertilised eggs and, as larvae, receive the same diet as workers. Drones' only
function is to mate with the queen, after which they die. A typical honey bee colony will usually contain between 20,000-50,000 bees. Only
about 15% of these are drones. Come winter, remaining drones are thrown out of the colony in order to save resources. Otherwise, the
only reason drones leave the colony is to mate with a new queen.
In recent years there has been a worrying decrease in the populations of many bee species. Honeybees are suffering from colony collapse,
3
where large numbers of workers leave the nest and do not return. Major causes of this decline are the use of pesticides , climate change,
4
loss of habitat and loss of plant biodiversity .
100 crops produce up to 90% of our human diets. 70 of those crops rely on bees for pollination. This means that a disaster for bees is a
disaster for humans too. Many of the plants that animals rely on are also pollinated by bees. Plants not only provide food, but they also
perform many other essential functions, including producing the oxygen we breathe. The death of bee populations could lead to
widespread ecological collapse.
1
larva (noun – singular) /ˈlɑrvə/, larvae (noun - plural) /ˈlɑrvi/ = an insect at the stage when it has just come out of an egg and looks like a
short fat worm - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
2
fertilise (Am.Eng fertilize) [to feritilise an egg or seed] Verb – transitive = To cause an egg or seed to start to develop into a new young
animal or plant by joining it with a male cell. unfertilised (adjective) /ʌn ˈfɜː.tɪ.laɪzd/ - not fertilised - Cambridge Dictionary
3
pesticide (noun – countable and uncountable) /ˈpestɪsaɪd/ = A chemical used to kill insects which damage plants - Cambridge Dictionary
4
biodiversity (noun– uncountable) /ˌbaɪəʊdaɪˈvɜːsəti/ = the existence of a large number of different kinds of animals and plants which
make a balanced environment. - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Lesson Aims:
To further develop reading skills with particular focus on gaining an in-depth understanding of a text through intensive reading.
To introduce and provide practice in using key vocabulary needed for understanding the text and further discussion.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 2
,Lesson Outline:
Because the students are planning to study in English-speaking universities or use English for professional purposes, it is
important that they develop their reading skills. You have decided to make the detailed reading questions challenging so that
they will really need to focus on the content of the text and the meaning of the language. You will allocate timings as follows:
1. Lead into topic (warmer) - 9 mins
2. Vocabulary pre-teaching - 15 mins
3. First reading - 6 mins
4. Second reading - 18 mins
5. Follow-on activity (communicative speaking task) - 12 mins
You need to show the tasks you would set for stages 3 and 4.
First two stages of the lesson:
You have decided to lead into the lesson by asking the students to discuss what they know about bees in small groups.
They will then discuss this in whole-class feedback. The teacher notes main points, and especially any differences of opinion on
the board.
In the vocabulary pre-teaching stage, you will pre-teach these items. Some of these items should already be familiar, and some can be
checked with only pictures, so 15 items will not overload this class.
a fall in/decrease in something (e.g.
a hive to mate
population, student numbers)
a bumblebee to reproduce , reproduction, reproductive. pollen, pollinate, pollination
come + time, e.g., come winter, come
offspring (noun C, sing and plural) royal jelly (noun U)
Monday, come next year (collocation)
to lay an egg/ eggs (irregular verb: lay – laid -
to play a role honeycomb (noun C or U)
lain)
newly emerged (emerged is adjective. Verb- to a collapse, to collapse
distinct (adj)
emerge)
1. First Reading Task
In this space show the task you would set for the first reading (2 or 3 skimming and/or scanning questions). Skim questions are more useful.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 3
, Say how you would set the task (e.g. orally, write it on the board, include it in a handout, etc.).
Task:
Give one brief point describing each caste of a European honeybee colony.
Does the text seem to convey the information or messages you thought it would?
How this task would be set:
Both questions will be written on the board. The first question will be allocated 4 minutes to answer and the second question 2 minutes. The
teacher will tell the class that the text does not need to be read through in detail to answer either of these questions.
2. Second Reading Task
In this space, show 7-10 comprehension questions that require full understanding of the language and ideas in the text
Include 1 or 2 questions to encourage readers to think about their own responses to the text.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 4
