View the full gallery of works from the Great Exhibition of Bees. The arrangement of the works reflects the order in which the artists joined the event.
All information about bees was provided by biologist Martyna Walerowicz from ‘Biological Facts’ and ‘Pasieka24.pl’.
Did you know that:
Bees sense odors using their antennae and feet. They also have olfactory receptors on their wings!
Did you know that:
Bees see colors from three light spectra: blue, green, and UV! They do not see red.
Did you know that:
The largest bee in the world is Megachile pluto – a bee that lives with termites in their mounds? Females have a body up to 4 cm long and a wingspan of 6.4 cm. This species lives in Indonesia.
Did you know that:
The smallest bee is Perdita minima, which lives in the western United States and Mexico. It grows to only 2 mm in length and feeds on pollen and nectar. It has a light, sandy color, so when looking for this species, scientists are often searching for… its shadow!
Did you know that:
It is a myth that bees do not sleep! Despite their hard-working nature, they need to rest and sleep intermittently for 6 to 8 hours a day.
Did you know that:
Bees are intelligent! They find the most optimal paths between given points (in their case, flowers) faster than supercomputers.
Did you know:
Many species of bees live in tunnels and crevices in wood, in the soil, or in hollow grass stalks.
Did you know that:
Some bees build… walls? The mason bee builds a nest, for example, in a reed stalk (although it also likes other narrow nooks). After laying an egg and a lump of pollen on which the larva will feed, it seals the cell with a clay wall. It then lays another egg with pollen and seals the cell with clay again. The bee continues this process until it creates several chambers in which its young ‘incubate.’
Did you know that:
Some bees use leaves to line their nests, and the red mason bee uses poppy petals? It cuts out round pieces of petals, rolls them into balls, flies with them to the nest, and ‘wallpapers’ its tunnels dug in the soil with the petals.
Did you know that:
Some species of bees do not feed on pollen to meet their protein needs, but on carrion? These are known as vulture bees, such as Trigona necrophaga. However, to meet their energy needs, these bees, like other species, also require nectar.
Did you know that:
Bumblebees create small families (compared to honeybees), which are founded in the spring by a single fertilized queen. She hibernates in a safe place over the winter, and in the spring, she builds nests, such as in mouse holes.
Did you know that:
Male bumblebees live outside the nest and can take care of themselves. They often sleep at night in flower crowns and do not have stingers.
Did you know that:
The woolly bee uses plant hairs, such as those from mullein or mugwort, to line its nest? It either digs the nest itself or uses existing cracks.
Did you know that:
Male solitary bees do not have their own nests, which is why they often sleep at night in flower crowns. Some of them, however, grab shoots with their mandibles and sleep while hanging down.
Did you know that:
Bees can detect changes in the electric field of a flower and, based on this information, determine whether it has already been visited by another insect.
Did you know:
One way honeybees communicate is through dancing. Interestingly, different colonies of bees have different dialects, and their dances vary accordingly!
Did you know that:
It is not worth planting sterile flowers in gardens—those that do not produce pollen or nectar. These flowers compete with beneficial plants for the attention of insects, causing bees and butterflies to expend energy on fruitless searches.
Did you know that:
Bees carry pollen on their legs. The pollen is held together in a ball by a drop of nectar. This ball sticks to a smooth basket, which is a specialized part of the leg designed for carrying pollen. The basket has no hairs, as they would be torn off when the pollen ball is removed.
Did you know that:
Bees fly at an average speed of 24 km/h.
Did you know that:
During its lifetime, one honeybee produces 1 teaspoon of honey.
Did you know that:
The queen bee mates only once in her life, but with several drones. She stores the sperm in a special organ called the spermatheca, where it is nourished. This allows the queen to lay fertilized eggs for several years.
Did you know that:
Bumblebees can survive underwater for up to a week! This incredible ability allows them to endure spring thaws and the flooding of their hibernation shelters.
Did you know that:
The relationships between pollinators and plants are often very close. For example, the white-legged honeybee pollinates common Lysimachia, the heather moth is attracted to heather, and field bindweed is associated with the flat-toothed lichen.
Did you know that:
Males of some honeybees, such as the greater honeybee, have white and silver hairs on their front legs, which they use to cover the eyes of the female during copulation. This also helps them transfer their pheromones directly to their partner’s antennae.
Did you know that:
Some bees fight over flowers. For example, male bees will push other males of their species off flowers, but they also target… other bees!
Did you know that:
Some flowers attract bees not only with their color, shape, and scent but also with… warmth. Insects like to land on hot surfaces, which is why plants from the arborvitae family produce additional heat in their cells, warming up their cones to increase the likelihood that bees will land on them.
Did you know that:
Do underwater plants need pollination? Yes! However, it is not bees that perform this task, but crustaceans. For example, the ‘turtle grass’ (Thalassia testudinum) produces more fruit when aquatic organisms feed on its pollen—this is known as zoobenthophilous pollination.
Did you know that:
A bee has two pairs of wings connected by hooks and a groove. This mechanism can handle forces 180 times greater than the mass of the worker and 40 times greater than the aerodynamic forces experienced during flight. All this is to ensure that the wings are not damaged during work and collisions, such as with a flower.
Did you know that:
In 2024 (this year!), a new species of bee was observed in Poland, having arrived from the west and south with the warming climate. We welcome the ivy bee!
Did you know that:
Industrial gases such as nitrogen oxides (NO3) and ozone (O3) break down the volatile substances produced by flowers. This can make it difficult or even impossible for bees and other insects, including moths that pollinate night-blooming flowers, to find the plants.
Did you know that:
Several mason bee species living in Poland build nests in snail shells. They divide these twisted homes into cells, where they lay eggs and store food. They create ‘locks’ between the chambers using various materials, such as mud or leaf pulp.
Did you know that:
Studies have shown that bumblebees enjoy playing. In an interesting experiment, they rolled colored balls even though they did not receive a reward for it. Their interest in playing decreased as the insects aged.
Did you know that:
Bees are hairy to collect pollen more efficiently. The hair also helps with thermoregulation; for example, Italian honey bees have less fur.
Did you know that:
It seems that the bee species capable of adapting to almost any environment is the ground bumblebee. This common insect visits almost all nectar- and pollen-producing plants. Additionally, no climate is too harsh for it!
Did you know that:
Honeybees generate an electrical charge in their nest of 100 to 1,000 volts per meter. A flying swarm has a charge density approximately eight times greater than that of a storm cloud.
Did you know that:
Honeybees originally lived in forests, high above the ground in holes carved by woodpeckers.
Did you know that:
For proper development, bees need a variety of food, not just monocultures! That’s why it’s important to plant many different species of nectar- and pollen-bearing plants in gardens.
Did you know that:
Bumblebees can pollinate through vibration—they cause their thoracic muscles to vibrate, which makes pollen spill out of the closed anthers of certain flowers (e.g., peppers, tomatoes). Because of this unique feature and their gentle nature, bumblebees are used in greenhouses.
Did you know that:
Bees collect resins and waxes from plants to process them into propolis, which they use to disinfect their nests. The practice of collecting and using substances beyond those that meet the insect’s nutritional needs is known as pharmacophagy.
Did you know that:
Bees can determine whether a flower has been visited by another pollinator by its smell. Most bees leave behind a trail of pheromones released from their feet.
Did you know that:
Bees are not just honeybees! There are about 20,000 species of bees on Earth, with around 480 in Poland alone. And bees aren’t the only pollinators—let’s also remember butterflies, flies, and even mammals, amphibians, and birds!
Did you know that:
There are many dangers lurking for bees, such as European hornets. These hornets kill bees to access the wing muscles within the bees’ torsos, which they feed to their larvae. However, it’s important to remember that hornets, as predators, also have their place in nature.
Did you know that:
Female bees develop from fertilized eggs, while males develop from unfertilized eggs. This means that males do not have fathers, only grandfathers.
Did you know that:
One of the bees that cuts circles out of leaves, such as those of roses, is the alfalfa bee. It then carries the leaf to its nest to line the walls with it.
Did you know that:
The cotton you wear is thanks to 40 species of bees, 16 species of flies, and 18 species of butterflies—these are the number of species that visit a single cotton plantation in Louisiana! The flowers of this plant bloom for only a few hours, so the various insects that visit them at different times of the day ensure effective pollination.
Did you know that:
Honey bees can anticipate changes in the weather. Before a storm, they become more irritable and intensify their foraging for food, preparing for the possibility that bad weather might last longer and they will need a supply of food.
Did you know that:
Bee bread is pollen to which bees have added their own enzymes and royal jelly to initiate the lactic fermentation process, preserving the pollen. The bread is stored in the cells of the comb and serves as a reserve for spring.