Science - Honey Bee


Bees live in colonies.  Generally, a colony contains one queen bee, a female; up to a few thousand male bees; and tens of thousands of female worker bees.  The tasks of  following specific "dance" patterns to find food, collecting nectar, making honey and building the hive  and cleaning it are all attributed to the female bees.  The "dance" is generally used to communicate information about the resources. 


Additionally, honey, propolis, and venom have been used for thousands of years and have well known medicinal properties.  The active component of honeybee venom is melittin.  Both honeybee venom and melittin have demonstrated antitumoral effects in melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, leukemia, ovarian, cervical, and pancreatic cancers, with higher cytotoxic potency in cancer cells compared to non-transformed cells.  In a recent study, bee venom destroyed 100% of aggressive breast cancer cells in under 60 minutes!  Honey, propolis, and venom are only produced by female bees.


Bees are remarkable navigators and utilize a combination of amazing methods to find their way around their environment, including finding food sources and returning to their hive. 


  • Sun Compass - Bees use the sun as a primary compass for orientation, even on cloudy days.


  • Polarized Light -  When the sun is obscured, they can perceive the patterns of polarized light in the sky, which helps them deduce the sun's position and stay on course.


  • Visual Landmarks - Bees use a combination of visual cues, including patterns, color, and shape to identify and differentiate between flowers. Possessing trichromatic color vision, allows them to see blue, green, and ultraviolet (UV) light, which helps them see patterns on flowers, particularly nectar guides, that are invisible to the human eye.  Bees actively scan patterns, focusing on specific regions and individual features, as they approach and hover near them. This dynamic scanning behavior allows them to extract crucial information and make accurate decisions about which flowers to visit or avoid.  They utilize spatial patterns for navigation, remembering landmarks, and even solving complex tasks like navigating mazes by recognizing rules governing sequential turns.


  • Navigation Memory - They possess a "navigation memory" which is akin to a mental map of their familiar territory, guiding them during exploration and helping them find their way back home.


  • Sense of Smell (Pheromones) - Bees utilize their sense of smell to identify familiar scents associated with their hive and food sources, particularly at closer distances.


  • Waggle Dance - Forager bees perform a waggle dance to communicate the distance and direction of a food source to other bees within the hive. The orientation and duration of the dance convey this crucial information, allowing recruits to locate the food efficiently.


  • Earth's Magnetic Field - Honey bees possess a specialized system, called magnetoreception, that allows them to sense the Earth's magnetic field. The primary mechanism behind this ability is believed to be the presence of magnetite in the honey bee's abdomen. These iron granules act as tiny magnetic sensors. 


Qur'an - Honey Bee


In the Arabic language, words and verbs have feminine/masculine forms.  In the following verses, all references to the bee and the specific tasks that are performed are in the "female" form of the words!  In other words, The Holy Qur'an is informing us that all the described tasks are performed by the female bees.   That is a scientific fact.  It describes:    building of the cells (hives), eating the nectar, the "dance" to find the ways to the flowers, and producing honey according to what Allah has taught them.  Interestingly, it tells us that honey has healing power! 


The verse uncovers the fact that Allah (SWT) has bestowed upon the bee the wisdom to construct its hive. Remarkably, the bees skillfully construct their hives with astonishing precision. They work in four distinct groups, commencing from the corners, and adeptly create hexagons that gradually converge towards the center. In an extraordinary engineering accomplishment, they all reach the center simultaneously, resulting in flawlessly crafted hexagonal structures. This intricate endeavor showcases an awe-inspiring demonstration of intricate engineering, demanding meticulous design, precise calculations, efficient management, seamless coordination, and effective communication.



​وَأَوْحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى ٱلنَّحْلِ أَنِ ٱتَّخِذِى مِنَ ٱلْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ ٱلشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ

And your Lord taught the bee to build  its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; 16:68


 

ثُمَّ كُلِى مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ فَٱسْلُكِى سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلًا يَخْرُجُ مِنۢ بُطُونِهَا  شَرَابٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ

 أَلْوَٰنُهُۥ فِيهِ شِفَآءٌ لِّلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ




Then to eat  of all the produce (of the earth), and follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you]: there issues from within their bellies a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought. 16:69




Navigation ways and methods -  The above verse mentions "follow the ways of your Lord laid down [for you]".   We saw above in the Science section that bees use many ways/methods for navigating!  Here, the importance of all those methods/ways are brought to our attention so perhaps we see the Signs of Allah (SWT).  How could the bee with a brain the size of a grain of rice possess such abilities?!


Bellies -  The honey bee has two bellies.  One is used for food and drinks.  The other used for the honey is called the "honey stomach" which acts as a reservoir for nectar before it is processed into honey.  The above verse mentions "bellies" hinting that there are 2 bellies.


"within their bellies a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men" - Female bees produce honey, propolis, and venom with health benefits for humans. They are of "varying colors". Finally, honey, propolis, and venom are only produced by female bees as stated in the verse by choosing the feminine word for "Bee".


The Arabic word for honey bee " ٱلنَّحْلِ  " is mentioned only once in the Holy Qur'an.  That is in Sura 16.  Verse 16:68 containing this word is listed above and is comprised of total of 16 words.  Most interestingly, the male honey bees have 16 chromosomes!  The first video below is in Persian while the 2nd one is in English.


Video courtesy of WindowsofIslam.com

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