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3 European honeybees Apis mellifera produce honey from nectar that they gather from pollen producing plant species Honey bees do not sleep during the dark hours though most become almost motionless An exception to this rule is the queen she continues to lay eggs during all hours throughout April and May in North America The queen produces almost all offspring within the hive making her the mother to nearly all the bees in a hive When bees reach 21 days of age their venom has its maximum potency so the bees serve as guard bees checking each bee that enters the hive for the hive specific odor at the sole entrance of the hive Guard bees will sting bumblebees wasps and foreign honeybees that attempt to enter the hive The guards will also respond to other rapid disturbances and attack human beekeepers and other mammalian intruders which typically attack at night However because the stinging mechanism is fatal to the honeybee their stinger stays embedded in whatever is stung bees give a warning buzz prior to stinging Scientists wish to study the effects of total solar eclipse conditions on Apis mellifera behavior during an upcoming solar eclipse In a total solar eclipse the moon casts a shadow blocking nearly all of the light in a given area The eclipse will occur in August when bees typically have a hive entrance rate of 200 bees minute Scientists set up video equipment to monitor the entrance of the hive during the eclipse The video will be analyzed later using tracking software to monitor the rate of hive entrance during the eclipse a Describe why it is evolutionarily beneficial for honeybees to have stingers even if stinging another organism kills the bee b Identify a control that could be used to increase the lidit of the studu c Predict the results of the experiment d Justify your prediction

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