Firda

: MOTHERS BIRTHDAY! I think I should take some flowers to my mother. Na...na... na....

Indah : Hello, firda! What are you doing here? Firda : Im picking some flowers for my mother. Todays her birthday.

Daniel : Wow. How nice you are. Happy birthday for your mother. Firda : Thank you.

Indah : Mmm. I think rose is the best flower. Firda : Yes, i want to pick some rose for her.

Daniel : My friend said that we have to be careful picking flowers here. Indah : Why? Firda : Is the roses thorn dangerous?

Daniel : No. In this place, there are so many bees. My friend had stung by bee while picking flowers. Firda : I see.

Indah : Do you know about bees reproduction? I have read about bees and they have wonderful house. Daniel : I know about it. Bees have similar reproduction process of butterflies. Indah : Are they doing metamorphosis? Firda : Yes, the are doing that.

Daniel : The first, a queen lays soft white eggs in the comb. The egg stage takes place during days 1 through 3. Firda : And then, In three days, the egg hatches into a larva. Workers feed it bee milk and bee

bread. It spins a cocoon around itself. The larva stage takes place during days 4 through 9. Indah : Will the larva become a pupa? Daniel : Yes, they will become a pupa. In the cocoon, the larva turns into a pupa. It now has eyes, wings, and legs. It looks more like a bee. This stage is during days 10 through 23, depending on the type of bee it will become. Firda : After that the bee chews its way out of the cell. It becomes an adult on days 16 through

24, depending on what type of bee it is. Daniel : Those are amazing process, right? Firda : Yes. I have read that there are some castes of bee. Any one of you that know about those

castes? Indah : My teacher told me, In one group of bees (called as "colonies") there are "castes". They are Queen bee, Female bees, and Drones.

Daniel : I know about Queen bee. a colony of bees has only one queen, right? Indah : Yes, and It has larger body because since it is still in larvae form is fed royal jelly which is rich of vitamins and nutrients. Firda : How about the female bees and drones?

Indah : The female bees are the workers and they can reach tens of thousands. There were only hundreds of drones. Firda : What is the different of those castes?

Daniel : They have different task. The queen bee manages all of the female and drones activities. And it does the reproduction. The female feed the larva and find the food. And The drones fertilize the queen. Firda : And how become a queen bee? Was it born as a queen bee?

Indah : No. The bees determine the queen bee. Since it is still in larvae form is fed royal jelly which is rich of vitamins and nutrients. So, it has larger body and become a queen bee. Daniel : Wow, today we get a lot of knowledge. Firda : I have to go now. I want to give the roses to my mother. : Good bye firda!

Daniel and Indah