Insect Misconceptions and Misinformation   Misconception/Misinformation #9: Insect sexes are often incorrectly used interchangeably: Examples containing misinformation "Here's BUSY-BEE. Without him the plants, fruit trees, and flowers couldn't make seeds, and there wouldn't be any more of them. He won't sting you if you leave him alone. He makes honey for you to eat." From: Please Don't Step On Me by Elly-Kree George. Cherokee, N.C. : Cherokee Publications. 1988, p. 20. ISBN 0-935741-07-0 "CRISSY CRICKET calls out 'CREE-CREE' and 'RETREAT-RETREAT' on a summer night. She likes to make pretty music for you." From: Please Don't Step On Me by Elly-Kree George. Cherokee, N.C. : Cherokee Publications. 1988, p. 20. ISBN 0-935741-07-0 This juvenile book includes two stories, "Brer Fox Takes Miz Cricket to Dinner" and "Miz Cricket Makes the Creatures Run", in which a female cricket produces sound. From: Further Tales of Uncle Remus: The Misadventures of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Wolf, the Doodang, and Other Creatures. Julius Lester. New York: Dial Books. 1990, pp. 118-137. ISBN 0-8037-0610-3 Explanation: In actuality, only female bees are worker bees. They collect nectar and bring it back to the hive. Male bees, called drones, do not work in the hive or outside the hive, and do not even have a stinger. Thus, males are unable to sting. Their main role is to mate with the queen when she leaves the hive and a swarm is formed. In fact, in Autumn, the female workers remove all the males from the hive. Likewise, female crickets lack the file and scaper on their wings that produce the chirping sound that we hear during the summer months at night. Thus, female crickets are silent. The male cricket makes sounds by rubbing his wings together in an effort to attract a mate or to establish his mating territory. Back to Misconceptions