| Abstract | Apis mellifera, poznatija pod imenom medonosna pčela ili pčela medarica, vjerojatno je jedan od najistraživanijih kukaca na svijetu. Ova nas pretpostavka i ne bi trebala toliko začuditi, s obzirom da je njezin suživot sa čovjekom poznat još od davnina. Osim što proizvode med, vosak i propolis, skupljajući pelud i nektar s cvjetova, pčele direktno ili indirektno kao polinatori sudjeluju u životnom ciklusu biljaka i s druge strane čovjeka, koji ubire njihove plodove. Pčele su zadružni kukci koji pokazuju izrazito visok stupanj socijalizacije, organizacije, reda, rada i discipline. Njihovo ponašanje predstavlja izniman primjer kompleksnosti, počevši od anatomske i morfološke građe tijela kojom su se prilagodile okolišu, kako bi mogle obavljati sve životne funkcije potrebne za opstanak. Mehanizmi pomoću kojih se orijentiraju, navigiraju i uz pomoć kojih izmjenjuju informacije, izgrađuju gnijezdo i razmnožavaju se, koliko god da su istraženi, još uvijek su nam teško razumljivi. Medonosna pčela kukac je koji pokazuje kombinaciju individualnih vrijednosti i socijalne suradnje, neusporedivim s bilo kojim drugim organizmima životinjskoga svijeta. |
| Abstract (english) | Apis mellifera, better known as honey bee, is one of the most familiar insects in the world. This member of the insect order Hymenoptera plays a key role in the human and natural world. Honeybees are social insects. In the wild, they create elaborate nests called hives, containing up to 20,000 individuals during the summer months. They work together in a highly structured social order. Each bee belongs to one of three specialized groups called castes. The different castes are: queens, drones and workers. There is only one queen in a hive and her main purpose in life is to make more bees. On the other side, drones main function is to be ready to fertilize a receptive queen while the workers conduct jobs such as feeding larvae, tending brood, collecting pollen and nectar, producing honey and wax, comb building, patroling, guarding etc. Honey bees are known to communicate through many different chemicals and odours, as is common among insects, but also using specific behaviours that convey information about the quality and type of resources in the environment, and where these resources are located. The social nature of this organism, its tremendous ability to regulate its functions as a colony of individualas according to events within and outside the nest, provides the key to its success and makes the contribution of individuals much greater than the sum of their individual behaviors. Therfore, it's not surprising that many authors and honey bee lovers call them, the queen of all insects. |
