Do bees really have knees? According to artist Rose-Lynn Fisher's new book BEE, they do. Using a scanning electron microscope, Fisher has taken 60 photographs of bee anatomy – at magnifications of up to 5000 times and I have just received my copy of the book! I have been waiting for 2 months for it to be delivered from the States as a birthday present from my brothers and it was well worth the wait the pictures are glorious. Pictures are below with quotes from the book.
Sting in the tail 650x
"The sting is actually a modified version of an ovipositor, the queen bee's organ for laying eggs. A honeybee will sting only in self-defence or in defence of the hive. When a bee stings a person or other mammal, the barbs of the sting become anchored in flesh, and as the bee tries to free herself she dies."
Drone's wing 10x
"The drone's sole purpose in life is to mate with the queen. Once he has accomplished this, he dies. Because mating takes place in flight, the drone has evolved powerful wings to pursue the queen. They can even fly backwards. All bees have two pairs of wings, which they beat at up to 230 times a second. The heat generated by the wing beating evaporates water from the nectar in the honeycomb and thickens it into honey. It's also what produces the bees' buzz."
Elliptical dome of bee eye 190x
"This is the eye of a honeybee. It's hairy, unlike the eyes of most of the 20,000 species of bee that exist on the planet today. The eye is composed of thousands of hexagonal lenses, which capture light at different angles and detect movement. Each lens is sensitive to ultraviolet light, which can reveal markings on flowers that are invisible to humans but inform the bees where to land in order to find nectar."
Antenna pollen 1100×
"A foraging honeybee gets dusted with pollen as she travels from flower to flower. This is a photo of pollen trapped in the hair on the bee's antenna. Bees use their antennae to smell, taste, hear and detect changes in temperature, vibration, wind and humidity. Set into sockets on the head, the antennae pivot freely."
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