TheBeeCauseProject

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TheBeeCauseProjectGuidetoSTE(A)MInvestigationsfortheHive

2016

sponsoredby:

TheBeeCauseProject

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Watchingyourhoneybeesatworkinthe

observationhiveisfascinatingforteachersandstudentsalike.

Thesetinycreaturescollaboratetobuildandmaintainacomplex

communitywithinthehive.Withthenaturalwonderofthehive

madevisibleintheobservationhive,thereareendless

opportunitiestopromotecriticalthinkingandSTE(A)Mskills.

Studentscanpracticethese21stcenturyskillswhileobserving

realworldexamples,andgainingadeeperunderstandingofand

respectforthenaturalworld.

“Wemustmakecoresubjectslikemathandscience

relevantforstudents,andatthesametime,foster

creativity,curiosityandapassionforproblemsolving.

That’swhatSTEMeducationdoes.STEMisaboutusing

mathandsciencetosolvereal-worldchallengesand

problems.Thisapplied,project-basedwayofteachingand

learningallowsstudentstounderstandandappreciatethe

relevancyoftheirworktotheirownlivesandtheworld

aroundthem.Oncetheygraspcoreconcepts,studentsare

abletochooseaproblemandusetheirowncreativityand

curiositytoresearch,design,testandimproveaviable

solution.”

-VinceBertramasquotedinwebarticle“Why

STEM?SuccessStartsWithCriticalThinking,

Problem-SolvingSkills”,postedonwired.com

Basicknowledgeabouthowplantsandbeesaredependenton

eachotherisjustthebeginning.Whenstudentsbegintoseeour

roleintheecosystem–boththenegativeandpositiveimpacts–

theycanaskrelevantandimportantquestions.Withan

engineeringdesignorgrowthmindsettheycanworktofindreal

solutions.Andthesecriticalthinkingskillscanbeappliedacross

thecurriculum.

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Thisguidewillgiveyousomeideastohelpyougetstartedwiththeseinvestigations.AndtherearenumerouswebsiteswithbackgroundinformationandlessonsusingthehoneybeeandhiveasthebackdropforSTE(A)Minvestigations.IfyoudonotalreadyhaveourBeeWiseGuide,pleaseusethelinktodownloadyourcopy.Itisanexcellentintroductiontohoneybeesandthehive.Anditprovidesmuchofthebaseknowledgestudentsneedtobegintheconversationabouttheimportanceofhoneybeesandourroleintheirsurvival.TheNationalHoneyBoardalsohasagreatdownloadablebookletcalledTheHoneyFiles.Whetheryourprimarygoalistohavestudentslearnabouthoneybeesortohonemathandscienceskills,thereareamyriadofopportunitiestoengagestudentswiththeworldofbeesandyourobservationhive!

ResourcesBeeWiseGuidehttp://www.thebeecause.org/index.php/resourcesTheHoneyFileshttp://utah.agclassroom.org/files/uploads/estore/honey_files.pdfvideoversionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZV8Jq3ka4s&feature=youtu.be Documentaries:

“Tales from the Hive” – PBS Nova “Vanishing Bees” – vanighingbees.com “More Than Honey” – morethanhoneyfilm.com “Queen of the Sun, What the Bees Are Telling Us” – queenofthesun.com

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PollinationInvestigations

Honeybeesdependonplantsjustasmuchastheplantsdependonbees.Manyplantsproducenectar,asweetliquid,toattractbeesandotherpollinators.Beesgatherthisliquidasfood.Thenectar’sscentattractsbeestotheplant.Manyflowersarealsocoloredtosignalthattheycontainnectar.Theflowersareshapedtoensurethatvisitinghoneybeeswillspreadpolleninreturnforthefood.

Asyoucansee,thepartnershipbetweenbeesandplantsisimportanttolifeforboth.Withoutplantsproducingnectarandpollen,beeswouldn’thavefood.Andwithoutbeesvisitingtheflowerstocollectnectar,manyplantswouldn’tbeabletoreproduce.Thispartnershipbenefitsanothergrouptoo–people!

excerptfrom

TheCaseoftheVanishingHoneybeesSandraMarkleApproximately30%ofourcrops,andasmanyas90%ofwildplants,dependonpollinators.Plantslikeblueberriesandalmondsdependentirelyoninsectsforpollination.Whatwouldhappenifthereweren’tenoughbees?Howcouldhumanshelp?Onthefollowingpagesaresomeinvestigationstohelpgetstudentsthinkingabout–andperhapssolvingsomeoftheseproblems.

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InvestigationsforElementary

CreateaBetterPollenBasketItishardtoimproveonnature.Havestudentsobservethewaypollenbasketsonthebee’slegscanbefilledwiththeyellowpollen.Pollenalsostickstothebee’sbodyasitcollectsnectarandpollen.Howdoesthepollensticktothebee?Canthestudentsthinkofamoreeffectiveadaptationthanthepollenbaskets?Afterlearningthesebasics,challengestudentsto:

• Createabeethatisbettersuitedforcollectingpollenforthehiveorforpollinationofplants.

• Havestudentsbecomebeesthemselves,outfittedwiththeirownversionofpollencollectingadaptations.

BeeAttractorsHoneybeesdoseemtoseedifferentcolors,butnotallcolors.Andtheydonotseecolorsthesamewaythatwehumansdo.Beesdon’tseeasmanycolorvariations.Onecolortheydoseethatwedonotisultraviolet.Inanotheramazingadaptationofnature,flowershaveultravioletcolormarkingsintheareaswherethenectarandpollencanbefound!This,alongwithscent,guidesthebeestojusttherightspot.ThemarkingsontheflowerscanbeseenintheclassroomwithUVlights.

Usingthisknowledge,havestudentsconsiderhowtheymighthelphoneybeesfindtheirwaytofloweringplants.Whatdevicesorstrategiescouldattractbeestoagardenorcrop?Wouldthisbebeneficial?Couldthebeesbeharmedbysuchahumanintervention?

• Createandimplementideasoncampusandmonitorbeetraffic.

• Designanurbanenvironmentthatminimizesinterferencewiththenaturalforagingprocess.

FastFacts:

Ahoneybeewillvisit50to100flowersona

singletripoutofthehive.

Honeybees

pollinatemorethan90differentkindsoffood

crops.

Beesseethecolorredasblack.

Anyonewearingredorblackmaybeseenbythe

beesasathreateningpredator.

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InvestigationsforIntermediateandUpperGrades

StaticElectricity Asbeesfly,theybuildupstaticelectricity.Thisstaticelectricityhelpspollensticktothebee’sbodyasshefliesfromflowertoflowerbecauseplantsgenerallyhaveaslightlynegativecharge.Thiscombinationofpositiveandnegativechargesallowsforthecrosspollinationtotakeplace.Isthereawaytocontrolstaticelectricityaroundthebeesoratthesightoftheplantstomaximizetheamountofpollinationtakingplaceasthebeesflyfromoneplanttoanother?

• Havestudentsexperimentwithwaystousestaticelectricityasameanstoattractandholdontoothermatter.

HumanPollinatorsHoneybeesareresponsibleforpollinatingatleast90differentkindsoffoodcrops.Andtheydosowithamazingefficiency.ColonyCollapseDisorder(CCD),pesticides,mono-croppingandnumerousotherenvironmentalfactorsarenowplacingthehoneybeepopulationatrisk.Adaymaycomewhenwedonothaveenoughbeestopollinateourcrops.Couldhumansdothejob?

• Havestudentsdesignclothing,devicesorequipmenttofacilitatepollination.

• Havestudentsexploretechniquesortoolsfortransferringpollenfromoneplanttoanother.

• Usingtheirpollinationsuitsortools,havestudentsattempttopollinateasetnumberofplantsasquicklyaspossible.Basedonresults,studentsrevisetheirdesignsand/ortechnique.Isitreasonabletothinkthathumanscanreplacebeesinthepollinationprocess?

FastFacts:

Beesdevelopapositivechargewhentheybumpintotinydust

particlesastheyflythroughtheair.

Alongwiththeirultravioletvision,beesuseeachflower’sown

electricalfieldtohelpdirectthemrighttothenectar.

**SeetheNationalParkServicesBeeWeekcurriculumforthisandotherinteractivelessons.https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/upload/FINALBee-Week.pdf

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HexagonInvestigations

Whatitisaboutthehexagonthatmakesitthebestshapefor

thehoneycomb.Theconsistentsizeandshapeseemtobe

idealfornotonlymakinghoney,butalsoforgrowingnew

bees.

“In36B.C.,RomanscholarMarcusTerentiusVarrocameupwiththeanswerofwhyhoneycombcells

arehexagons,inwhatsincehasbeencalled

theHoneycombConjecture.Varroguessedthathexagonisthebestwaytodivideasurfaceintoregions

ofequalareawiththeleasttotalperimeter-basically,

it'sthemostcompact(andthereforeefficient)structure

-buthecouldn'tproveitmathematically.”

fromTheHoneycombConjecturebyAlexSansantosoatneatorama.com

Itwasn’tuntil1999,sometwothousandyearsafterVarro

cameupwithhisoriginalconjecture,thataprofessoratthe

UniversityofPittsburgh,ThomasC.Hales,cameupwith

themathematicalproofforVarro’soriginaltheory.Thehistory

ofmathematics,thesimplicityofgeometricshapes,andthe

artistryofashaperepeatedoverandoveragainintoa

beautifulpatternareallconnectedhereinthehive.The

honeycombisafantasticstartingpointforexplorationsinall

oftheseareas.

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InvestigationsforElementary

SpatialRelationships

Piaget(1954a)consideredtheconcretestageamajorturning

pointinthechild'scognitivedevelopment,becauseitmarks

thebeginningoflogicaloroperationalthought.Thechildis

nowmatureenoughtouselogicalthoughtoroperations(i.e.

rules)butcanonlyapplylogictophysicalobjects.

Childrenintheconcreteoperationalstagearetypicallyages7

to11.Theygaintheabilitiesofconservation(number,area,

volume,orientation)andreversibility.Theirthinkingismore

organizedandrational.Theycansolveproblemsinalogical

fashion,butaretypicallynotabletothinkabstractlyor

hypothetically.

• Havechildrendesigntheirownhoneycombusingpattern

blocksortemplateswiththegoalofnoemptyspaces

betweentheshapes.Thenhavestudentsclassifythe

shapesthatcanbeusedandthosethatdonot‘fit’

together.

• Collectawidevarietyofmaterialsandhavestudents

construct3-dhoneycombs.

HexagonalThinking

Hexagonsmaketheperfectshapeforthebeehive.Theycan

alsobeagreattoolfororganizingandprocessinginformation.

Cutorpunchmultiplehexagonsofatleast3to4inchesin

diameter.Usethehexagonstocreateagraphicorganizerweb.

• Stage1–theteacherwritestheinformationonthe

shapes,andthenthestudentssortandorganizethem

intoawebwithrelatedshapestouchingsidetoside.

• Stage2–studentswritetheirowninformationonthe

shapes,andthenarrangethemtoshowtherelationships

betweenthepiecesofinformation.

FastFact:

Scientistsfound

certainbeeswould

startoutmaking

circlesinthewax

usingtheirbodyas

atool.Scientists

don’treallyknow

whyithappens,

butthebeesseem

tobeusingtheir

bodyheattomelt

thewaxfroma

circleshapeintoa

hexagonshape.

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InvestigationsforIntermediateand

UpperGrades

TheUltimateShapeSowhythehexagon.Couldanothershapeordesignbemoreefficient?Howcanwedemonstrate(ordisprove)theefficacyofVarro’sargument?

• Havestudentsconstructandcomparevariousbasicshapes.Considerstructuralintegrity,capacityofthecells,amountofmaterialneededtocoverafiniteareawitheachofthedifferentshapes.

• Comparetwoshapesandwriteaproofforwhyonehasgreaterstrengthorcapacity.

TessellationsTessellationsareafunwaytoexploreshapeandpattern.Thehoneycombisatessellationofhexagonswithhundredsofbeesworkingtogethertorepeatthepatternsimultaneously.EuclidiscommonlycreditedastheFatherofGeometry.Onthesewebsites;euclidthefatherofgeometry.weebly.com/tessellations.html,andmathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/whattess.html,youcanfindfurtherdiscussionandexplanationsaboutthetessellationanditsvariousforms.

• Only3basicshapestessellateinaEuclidianplane.Experimenttodeterminewhyandwritearuleforthis.Whydoyouthinkthebeesusethehexagonandnottheothertwoshapes?

• Isoneshapesuperiortotheothers?How?• Formulateanequationforthevolumeofliquida

specificareaofcellscanhold.Doestheequationholdtrueregardlessofthesizeoftheindividualcellswithinthespace?

FastFact:

Regularhexagonswithequalsidesandequalanglesareacommonlyfoundshapeinnature.The

honeycombofbees,forexample,

isanaturallyoccurringinstanceofthehexagon.Mineralsand

crystalsoftenformhexagonalshapesnaturally,whilethe

chemicalcompoundsofgrapheneand

benzenenaturallyformhexagonsattheatomiclevel.

-fromreference.com

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HiveClimateInvestigationsHoneybeesmaintainasteadytemperatureinsidethehivethroughtheseason.Youcanfeelthewarmthwhenyouplaceyourhandagainsttheobservationhive.Whilewegofromwintertosummerandbackagainthebeesinthehivekeepthetemperaturearoundthebroodat93-94*F(33.9-34.4*C).Inthecolderwintermonths,withoutbroodtocarefor,thebeeswillclustertogetherforwarmth.Theycankeeptheirtemperatureat85*F(29.4*C)despitewintertemperaturesoutside.Thebeesalsomanagetoevaporatemoisturefromthenectarinthecellsofthecombregardlessofoutdoorhumiditylevels.Theyworkuntilthehoneyisapproximately18%waterbeforetheycapthecells.

“Thephenomenonknownasbeebeardingreferstotheclusteringorhangingofolderbeesoutsidethefrontfaceofthehiveduringveryhotweather,givingtheimpressionofabeard.Thisbehavioriscommononhot,humiddayswhentemperaturesreachhigh80sand90s(27-33*C).”

excerptfromTheBeekeepersHandbookSammataroandAvitabile

Mostofthetimethebeesarefineontheirown.Butinextremetemperatures,beekeepersmaydecreasestressonthecolonybyhelpingthebeestomaintainahealthyclimateinmanmadehives.Aretherethingsthathumanscoulddotohelpthebeestomaintaintheidealclimateinthehiveregardlessofoutdoorconditions?

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InvestigationsforElementary

WarmintheWinter,CoolintheSummerWeknowthathoneybeesareabletoheatandcooltheirhivetomaintainappropriatetemperatures.KarlvonFrischwasthefirstscientisttostudybeesinasystematicway.Hisinvestigationsarecreditedwithuncoveringhowbeessmell,see,telltimeandcommunicate.Heisalsosaidtobethefirsttodecodethewaggledanceandrounddance.Thoughhisexplanationswerenotimmediatelyaccepted,heandtwootherscientistswontheNobelPeacePrizeisPhysiologyin1973fortheirpioneeringworkwithbees.(source:TheBeeBook,2016,publishedbyDK)

• Testmaterialstofindwhicharethemosteffectiveandefficientforheatingandcooling.

• Designtoolsorinterventionstohelpcoolthehiveinhotweatherortoinsulatethehiveincoldweather.

DesignYourOwnHiveThebeesseemtodowellinmanmadehives.Butapiaristsandscientistscontinuetolookforbetterwaystocareforandhousebees.

• Havestudentsdesigntheirownhives,tellingwhytheymadethedesignchoicestheydid.Whatneedsofabeecolonydoestheirhiveaddress?

• Asaclass,buildyouownhive.Ratherthanpre-cutwoodandthestandarddesign,collaborateonastructurethatmeetstheneedsofabeecolonyandbuildityourselves.

FastFacts:

1300beesinspectandvisiteachlarvae,visiting

eachlarvaeupto7200times!

Beesmake1to50

tripsperdaycollectingpollen.Thesetripscanlastanywherefrom6to200minutes.

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InvestigationsforIntermediateandUpperGrades

ClimateControlThebeesneedstomaintainacertaintemperaturearoundthebroodandwithinthehiveitself.Theyalsoneedtobeabletoevaporateenoughmoisturefromthehoneybeforeitisreadytobecapped.Currentlymosthivesaremadefromwood.

• Investigatetheimpactofpaintingtheoutsideofthehive.Usemodelstodetermineifpaintoritscolorhasanyimpactoninteriortemperature.

• Constructhivemodelsoutofvariousmaterials.Monitorthetemperatures(andhumidity)ineachtoseeifthereisasuperiormaterialforhiveconstruction.

ABetterHiveDesignHoneybeesnaturallyseekdark,protectedspacestocallhome.Theywillbuildahiveinatree,acave,andeveninsidethewallsofahouse.Thereareseveraltypesofmanmadehivesmostoftenusedinbeekeeping,butstillapiaristsseektoimproveonthedesigns.TworecentdevelopmentsaretheFlowHiveandtheTheFlowHivewasdesignedtoharvesthoneywithlessintrusionandstressonthebees.TheHivewasdesignedasameanstocontrolmiteinfestationswithoutusingpesticidesormedicinesonthehive.Stillotherdesignscouldaddressotherproblemsfacingthehoneybeepopulation.

• Createapotentialhivedesignthataddressesanareaofneedforthebeesorbeekeepers.

• Designahivetobeplacedinthewild,andnotintendedforharvesting.Thinkaboutwhatwouldbeanoptimaldesignforthebeestomaintainontheirown.

FastFacts:

Ittakestheheatequivalenttothatofa20-wattlightbulbtomaintainthebroodnesttemperature.

Themostcommon

typesofhivescurrentlyare;topbarhive,LangstrothhiveandWarrehive.Whatothers

havebeenintroducedrecently?

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InConclusion…Thehoneybeeshavesomuchtoteachus!Andwiththeobservationhiveyoucanseemuchofitfirsthand.Thesocialstructurewithinacolonyofbeesiscomplex.Manyofthetreesandplantswedependonforfood,cangrowonlywiththehelpofpollinators.Andthereareusefulproductswetakefromthehive.Honeyisthemostfamiliar.Thewaxisusedformanypurposes,andpropolishasmedicinalvalue.Thereissomuchtolearnaboutandinvestigate.Whilesharingthewonderofbeeswithyourstudents,youareraisingawarenessaboutthechallengesfacingthebeepopulation.Withknowledgeaboutthebeesandthe21stcenturyskillsdevelopedinSTE(A)Mlessons,thestudentsandbeesalikecanlookforwardtoabrightfuture.WehopethisguidehasgivenyousomeinspirationandideasabouthowhoneybeescanbringyourSTE(A)Mlessonstolife!