The Roly Polies and The Bees

Kevin Hernandez - UNT Social Science Major

Not exactly the expression, I know. Today makes almost an entire month since I last visited my little spot, and time has really passed. Spring, evidenced by the already stifling Texas heat, has arrived. The Post Oak that shades my spot is actually providing shade now, it’s even began to pollinate. The dull orangish brown hanging “pods” contain seeds that disperse through the wind and I’m sure we’ve noticed the dust that has settled on all our cars. 

A roly poly bug, photo from Wikipedia.org.

In the wood chips, I notice someone I haven’t seen until today, the roly poly. The woodlice family Armadillidiidae is usually called the pill bug or, more endearingly, the roly poly and is a land crustacean. Easily recognizable, this little guy can roll into a ball, a process called conglobation, when threatened, which makes sense with a name that sounds like the first half of “armadillo”. After unrolling they often have a hard time flipping over, like a turtle. 

Another new comer, this one more seasonal, also made an appearance. A bee. One bee is indicative of scouts trying to find viable pollen sources for the colony. Once located, the bee releases pheromones to tell the others it’s found food. This bee is most likely a European honey bee, one of the more common species to the Americas. The bee is a part of a large colony, just one of anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000. Behind it all, the ruler of the hivemind, is the queen. She can live as long as eight years pumping out 5,000 eggs a day. The male bees, the drones, are devoid of stingers and serve almost no other purpose than to fertilize these eggs. The Worker Bee, is the handywoman of the colony. They attend to young drones, the queen, the pollen, the honey, building the hive, and even the dead. Nearly one percent of the colony’s worker bees will die before a year is up. Honey bees are also excellent at thermoregulation, at least in their hive. There is a class in the hive known as the fanning bee that actually is tasked with regulating air flow in and out of the hive as well as cooling it with the use of water droplets. Interestingly, there is a species of honey bee commonly called the Japanese Honey Bee that is so effective at thermoregulation they can use it as a defense mechanism. The Japanese Giant Hornet, measuring a whopping two inches, can wreck a European Honey Bee hive but when faced with its Japanese relative, it often doesn’t stand a chance. The bees engulf the hornet and vibrate so quickly they raise the temperature as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit effectively roasting the hornet alive. Unfortunately, there is a widespread collapse of colonies in European Honey Bees which is a very large issue. Their numbers are being reduced by parasites and disease and to lose such a prolific pollinator would be detrimental to Earth. Bees pollinate 70 of the 100 crops that feed 90% of the world, according to BBC. The grocery stores would have half the fruits and vegetables they have now. Without bees, we may lose the plants that feed the animals that feed us. The world would be a less green, less lively place.