The buzz of bees

The ‘Buzz of bees’ is a Connected journal devoted entirely to bees. Each article has diagrams and illustrations that offer opportunities for students to develop the science capability ‘Interpret representations’.

Check your school resource area for the 2012 level 2 publication or order it from the Ministry of Education. Teacher support material (TSM) is available in PDF format for selected articles. The material lists key science and technology concepts featured in the articles.

Honey bee adaptations

‘Thank goodness for bees’ by Bronwen Wall explores the concept of classification by comparing bees to similar insects. It also explores the concept of adaptation – with explanations of how bees collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants, how they turn the nectar into honey and how they construct honeycomb to store honey. The teacher support material includes six activities that feature aspects of classification and observation.

Beehive technology

‘Home sweet comb’ by Trish Puharich features beehives made by people living in different cultures and at different times. The teacher support material has three activities that use beehives and modern technological examples to explore the nature of technology and technological outcomes.

Mānuka honey’s healing properties

‘Healing honey’ by Philippa Werry details the medicinal value of mānuka honey and the experimentation and modelling that helped to produce special honey bandages to treat wounds.

Bees as pollinators

‘Bees are VIPs (very important pollinators)’ by Marie Langley and Mike Tapp explains the symbiotic relationships between bees and flowering plants. The article explores the concepts of evolution, symbiosis and pollination. The teacher support material has three activities that take a closer look at flowering plants and a fourth that examines other methods of pollination.

Threats to honey bees

‘Staying alive’ by Marie Langley and Mike Tapp identifies some of the threats that honey bees face. Threats include the varroa mite and our use of pesticides. Teacher support material has an activity that looks at the positive symbiotic relationship between honey bees and flowers and the harmful parasitic relationship between varroa mites and honey bees. Additional activities explore scientific vocabulary regarding ‘chemicals’ and taking action to protect honey bees from chemical sprays.