Honey Bee Anatomy in 3D: Inside a Bee, Organs and Exoskeleton
The honey bee is one of the busiest and most important insects on Earth, carrying pollen from flower to flower. In the 3D Bug Anatomy simulator you can turn a bee around, look inside at its organs and see its exoskeleton like glass.
Explore in 3DThree ways to see the honey bee
Whole bug
ExoskeletonHoney Bee quick facts
| Animal group | Insect |
|---|---|
| Body length | About 12 to 15 mm for a worker |
| Legs and wings | 6 legs and 4 wings |
| Diet | Nectar and pollen |
| Colony | Tens of thousands of bees with one queen |
The honey bee exoskeleton
Like all insects, a honey bee has its skeleton on the outside. This hard exoskeleton is split into three parts, the head, the thorax and the abdomen, with six jointed legs and four wings attached to the thorax.
Inside the honey bee
In the Inside view you can tap these labels on the 3D model:
- Brain
- Tiny but clever. A bee’s brain learns colours and smells and remembers the way back to the hive.
- Flight muscles
- These muscles squeeze the middle of the body so fast that the wings beat about 200 times a second. That is the buzz you hear.
- Honey stomach
- A special bag that carries nectar home to the hive, kept separate from the stomach the bee uses for its own food.
- Gut
- Digests nectar and pollen. Thin tubes next to it clean waste out of the blood, a bit like kidneys.
- Venom sac
- Holds the venom for the sting. Only female bees sting, and a worker’s barbed sting stays behind in a person’s skin.
Interesting facts about the honey bee
- A honey bee has five eyes: two big compound eyes and three tiny simple eyes on top of its head.
- Its wings beat about 200 times a second, which makes the buzzing sound.
- It carries pollen home in little baskets of hair on its back legs.
- Worker bees tell each other where flowers are with a special waggle dance.
- Only female bees can sting, and a worker's barbed sting gets stuck in a person's skin.
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Honey Bee anatomy questions
How many eyes does a honey bee have?
Five. Two large compound eyes and three small simple eyes on the top of its head.
What is the honey stomach?
A special bag where a bee carries nectar back to the hive. It is separate from the stomach the bee uses for its own food.
Do honey bees die after they sting?
A worker bee usually dies after stinging a person, because her barbed sting stays in the skin and tears away from her body.
Why are honey bees important?
They pollinate many of the plants we grow for food, carrying pollen from one flower to the next.
The 3D Bug Anatomy simulator is made by Julian Neagu, a solo founder in London, as part of VisionVix Simulators. It is free to use in the browser on desktop and phone, with no sign-up.