Bees are mostly helpful insects, but they can become a problem when a colony nests too close to people or when someone is allergic to their stings. They are essential pollinators, yet they deserve respect and careful handling. The good - Bees pollinate flowers, trees, gardens, and food crops. This helps plants make seeds, fruits, and vegetables—including blueberries, melons, apples, squash, and almonds. - Pollination supports plant diversity, wildlife habitat, food production, soil health, and water quality. - Honey bees also provide honey, beeswax, and other useful hive products. - Native bees matter too: the United States has more than 3,500 native bee species, many of which are excellent pollinators The bad - Bees may sting when they believe their nest is threatened. A hive in a wall, near a doorway, or beside a busy yard can create a real hazard for people and pets.. - A bee sting is usually painful but temporary; however, a person with a serious venom allergy can have a dangerous reaction and should seek urgent medical help if they develop trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, dizziness, or widespread hives. - Honey bees are not native to North America, while native bees often provide valuable pollination of their own. The best bee-friendly gardens support native bees as well as managed honey-bee hives. - The ugly - A large swarm can look frightening: thousands of bees may cluster on a branch, fence, mailbox, or house. Yet a swarm is often less defensive than a settled hive because it has no established nest to protect. Still, keep children and pets away and do not spray, swat, or disturb it.fieldreport.caes.uga+1 - Bees face hard times from habitat loss, disease, parasites, and environmental contaminants. Protecting flowering plants and nesting areas helps both honey bees and native species. - A dead colony inside a wall can leave wax and honey behind, which may attract other pests—so removal by an experienced beekeeper or bee-removal professional is usually better than simply killing the colony.

In 1987, NASA sent 3,500 bees with the A Comparison of Honeycomb Structures Built by Apis Millifera experiment. The scientists monitored how well the bees were able to create their honeycombs and found some very promising results! While a few of the bees died, they were able create honeycomb structures nearly identical to the ones bees make on Earth. The bees in the colony also seemed to be able to navigate around their module better than the ones in the 1982 experiment. Check out the other details of the experiment here. These two experiments are more than 30 years old at this point and were part of NASA’s Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) that gave students the opportunity to propose experiments for flight on the now-retired Space Shuttle. https://nlsp.nasa.gov/search/data/details/879ffe10-dc28-5966-9a09-54697852d631?dataType=EXPERIMENTS