Interesting Honey Bees
They have been around for around 160 million years. This has been known since 2006 when a perfectly formed fossil of amber was found bearing a honey bee. Do you have a honeybee story or perhaps a poem or picture? Would like to see it published? Send your entry in at the end of this page. Some facts include that they bear the distinction of being the only insect that produces food for human consumption. Which give us the benefits of eating honey. The buzz we hear when a bee flies by is a result of them stroking their wings at 11,400 times per minute. They can fly as fast as 15 to 18 miles per hour and have been known to fly as much as 6 miles away from the hive in search of pollen but usually stay within a 2 to 4 mile radius. A single colony, approximately 20,000-60,000 bees, can gather as much as 66 pounds of pollen a year. They have 2 pairs of wings, 6 legs (this makes them an insect) and 5 eyes. They are the only bee that has hairy compound eyes. The brains of worker honey bees, measuring only a cubic millimeter, has the densest neuropile tissue of all animal species.
A gland on the underside of the bee's abdomen is responsible for producing wax. Bees have to consume approximately 17 to 20 pounds of honey in order to make the beeswax used to build the comb. The queen bee is the only bee that is sexually developed. This is due to a special diet of royal jelly. These bees communicate with each other via dancing, elaborate movements which indicate where to find food. They are considered mathematical geniuses, take a look at their honey combs.....pure works of art! Drones have no stingers. When the nest is threatened, the worker bees use their stingers to protect the nest from danger. After a bee stings, they die. Except in cases of allergic reaction, their sting is rarely fatal to humans. A human would have to sustain around 1,100 stings for it to be fatal. The exception is the queen, she can sting continuosly. While many conjure up thoughts of killer swarms and can't imagine why anyone would purposely concentrate on attracting bees, the truth is that most bees aren't as aggressive as is commonly believed. Honey Bees aren't overly interested in stinging people and don't seek out a confrontation. When bees do sting it is because someone has interrupted their flight path, usually when swarming whilst seeking a new home, which is why it is best to simply move out of the bee's way and allow it to pass whenever paths converge. Little known facts are that it is the Workers (female bees) who are responsible for the majority of work in their colonies. They keep the nest at a steady 92-93 degree temperature, regardless of outside temperatures. Worker bees live four to eight weeks. In contrast, the queen lives up to 5 years. Approximately 556 bee workers gathering from 2 million flowers are necessary to make 1 pound of raw honey and organic. This fact includes the fact they will have to fly around almost twice around the world in distance to acheive this! Other facts include them visiting 50 to 100 flowers a day, although this is an estimate while gathering. The average bee whilst making honey will only make one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey during its lifetime. In the USA they pollinate well in excess of 100 types of crops for organic honey ranging from fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It is estimated that bee pollination adds approximately 18 - 20+ billion dollars annually to the countries agricultural produce. We benefit from honey for health and medical purposes. They are normally herbivores if foraging however, will cannibalize their own brood if stressed. There are two favourite bees which are used in the production of honey. Honey bees make bees wax from eight small wax glands on the underside of the abdomen and they need to eat around 8 pounds of honey to produce 1 pound of beeswax. Honey bees are color blind to the color red and some experts believe they prefer blue, yellow and purple colors. The fact is honey bees do not sleep, they only rest themselves at night ready for the next day. These facts are incredible aren't they!
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