ISBN-13:978-0-547-02725-8ISBN-10:0-547-02725-7

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: L

DRA: 24Genre:Narrative Nonfi ctionStrategy:Question Skill:Sequence of Events

Word Count: 379

Honeybees

by Samantha Rabe

1.5.24

1032762

1_027258_AL_LRSE_CVR_L24_HBEES.indd 1 5/17/10 6:43:12 PM

by Samantha Rabe

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: 9 © Tom Leonard

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02725-8ISBN-10: 0-547-02725-7

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HoneybeesHoneybees

Honeybees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Where Honeybees Live . . . . . . . 4

Kinds of Honeybees . . . . . . . . . 5

Worker Bees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

How Honeybees Grow . . . . . . . 8

ContentsContents

3

You may have heard bees

buzzing around on warm days.

You may have seen a bee sitting

upon a flower. But did you

know that there are more than

20,000 kinds of bees? One kind,

the honeybee, is important in

nature and useful to people.

honeybee

4

Where Honeybees Live

Honeybees live in groups. A

group of honeybees is called a

colony. The bees make their

home in a nest known as a hive.

Wild honeybees may build hives

in places such as trees or caves.

hive

5

Kinds of Honeybees

A colony of honeybees has one

queen bee and thousands of

worker bees. It may also have a

few hundred bees called drones.

The queen bee lays eggs.

Worker bees take care of the hive

and gather food. Drones help new

queen bees start new colonies.

queen bee worker bee drone

6

Worker Bees

Worker bees build honeycombs

inside the hive. There are small

openings in the combs called cells.

The queen lays eggs in some cells.

Worker bees protect the hive,

too. They will sting anything

that threatens it.

honeycomb

7

When worker bees leave the

hive, they land on flowers and

sip a sweet juice called nectar.

They also pick up bits of pollen,

which looks like colored dust. In

the hive, the bees can turn the

nectar into honey. They can eat

the honey and pollen.

pollen

8

How Honeybees Grow

The bees in a hive may have

different jobs, but they all begin

life the same way. Each bee

comes from an egg. The egg

hatches after three days. A newly

hatched bee is called a larva.

More than one are called larvae.

honeybee egg larva

9

Worker bees feed all the new

larvae. As the larvae eat and

grow, they shed their skin several

times. After a week or ten days,

worker bees seal the larvae into

their cells. Now they are called

pupae. One is called a pupa.

Life Cycle of a Honeybee

egg larva pupa adult

10

At first, the pupae are white.

Then their color and shape begin

to change. It takes several days

for pupae to change into bees.

At last, about three weeks

after the queen laid her eggs,

the bees are ready to come

out of their cocoons. They are

ready to start their busy lives.

a swarm of bees

11

RespondingTARGET SKILL Sequence of

Events A honeybee begins its life in an egg. Then what happens?

How does a honeybee become an

adult? Make a chart.

Text to World Imagine you saw a honeybee outside. Where

would it go? What would it do?

Talk About It

12

also

anything

flower

kind

places

ready

upon

warm

WORDS TO KNOW

TARGET SKILL Sequence of

Events Tell the order in which

things happen.

TARGET STRATEGY Question

Ask questions about what you

are reading.

GENRE Informational text gives

facts about a topic.

drone hive

LEARN MORE WORDS

ISBN-13:978-0-547-02725-8ISBN-10:0-547-02725-7

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: L

DRA: 24Genre:Narrative Nonfi ctionStrategy:Question Skill:Sequence of Events

Word Count: 379

Honeybees

by Samantha Rabe

1.5.24

1032762

1_027258_AL_LRSE_CVR_L24_HBEES.indd 1 5/17/10 6:43:12 PM