How many bees are in the image?

Record an estimate that is:

Here are some facts about insects.

Termites

• Size of a colony: 100–1,000,000
• A queen lives for 30–50 years.
• There are 3,000–3,500 species of termites.
• The length of a termite is 4 to 15 millimeters.

• In some species, the mature queen may produce around 40,000 eggs a day.

Odorous House Ants

• Size of colony: up to 100,000
• A queen lives for 300–1,800 days.
• The length of an ant is 1.5–3.2 millimeters.
• Foraging ants travel up to 700 feet from their nests.

• There are 12,000–22,000 possible species.

Honey Bees

• Size of a hive: 10,000–60,000
• There are around 500 drones in a hive.
• A queen can lay about 1,500–2,000 eggs each day.
• A hive produces 7–40 liters of honey in a season.
• The length of a bee is 10–20 millimeters.

1. Here are some numbers that could represent facts about termites, house ants, and honey bees. What might each number represent?

   number	what it might represent
   2.4
   8
   487
   1,794
   6,905
   20,799
   530,097

2. Add another number to the list. What fact about the insects might this number represent?
3. Discuss your answers with your partner. Explain or show your reasoning.

An entomologist records the number of bees in their beehive over the course of several months. They record:

• The number of bees at the beginning of the month.
• How many bees left, and didn’t return, during the month.
• How many new bees were added to the hive during the month.

Unfortunately, some of the entries in the table are missing.

1. Complete the missing information in the table. 

   month	bees in the hive at the beginning of the month	new bees	bees that left the hive
   May	20,000	9,378	342
   June		15,870	970
   July		14,965
   August	58,107		28,980
   September	30,017	No data	No data

2. Discuss your responses with your partner. Explain or show your reasoning.