Ag Literacy Program
The Louisiana AITC Ag Literacy Program seeks to cultivate agricultural literacy by sharing the story of agriculture with elementary students across the state. Ag Literacy supports Louisiana Ag in the Classroom’s mission to educate and increase understanding of agriculture and instill an appreciation for our renewable food, fiber and fuel systems.
The 2024 Louisiana Ag Literacy Program has ended; however, information about the 2025 Louisiana Ag Literacy Program will be available in December.
“Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera”
Registration for the 2024 Louisiana Ag Literacy Program is now closed; however, you can still share this year’s story with your classroom along with these corresponding lesson plans. Check back in December to sign up for a new, free Ag Literacy classroom kit to share with your students between January and May!
The 2024 Louisiana Ag Literacy Program story is “Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera,” written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Take to the sky with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life!
A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!
Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer.
The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, in a brilliant double-gatefold illustration where the clear blue sky is full of promise—and the wings of dozens of honeybees, heading out in search of nectar to bring back to the hive.
Learn About Honey Bees
More than 25,000 species of bees have been identified around the world. In the continental United States, there are approximately 3,500 species of bees.
The bees commonly known as honey bees are represented by 10 species in the genus Apis. Apis mellifera, which means honey carrier, is the species of honey bee commonly found today in the Americas. Each species of honey bee has different physical and behavioral characteristics such as body color, wing length and susceptibility to disease.
Honey bees live in colonies and are social insects. A colony can have 20,000-100,000 bees, which depend on one another for survival.
Three types of adult bees make up a honey bee colony: worker, queen and drone.
