Interesting Honey Bee Facts

    1. Food Production-
      Bees are the only insects that produce food that is eaten by humans. We eat it not only for its palatability but for its many health benefits as well.
    2. Honey’s Life-Sustaining Ingredients-
      Honey is the one and only food that contains all of the substances that are needed for sustaining life. This includes vitamins and minerals as well as enzymes and water. It’s also the only food in the world containing “pinocembrin”, which is an antioxidant that has been linked to improved brain function.
    3. Honey Bee Anatomy-
      Honey bees have six legs and two compound-eyes located on either side of their heads. Those eyes have thousands of miniscule lenses. They also have three more simple eyes on top of their heads. In addition, they have a stomach, a nectar pouch, and two pairs of wings. [1] Tan
    4. Pollination-
      Honey bees are an important part of nature since they pollinate all kinds of flowers, fruits, and veggies. By doing this, they are helping many plants to grow. They transfer their pollen between their male and female parts, which allows the plants to grow fruit and seeds.
    5. Fuel Economy-
      Did you know that a bee only requires one single ounce of honey for fueling his or her around-the-world flight? [2] Nat’l Honey Bd.
    6. Members of the Bee Family-
      Honey bees live in colonies/hives where the members are divided into three special honey bee types:
    7. The Queen:
      There is only one queen running the entire hive. Her job is laying the eggs that will hatch into the next generation of the hive’s bees. In addition, she produces important chemicals for guiding the other bees behavior.
    8. The Drones:
      These are all males bees whose only purpose in life is mating with their new queen. Hundreds are living in each hive throughout spring and summer. Come winter, however, the hive enters survival mode and all of those drones are simply kicked out of the hive.
    9. The Worker Bees:
      They’re all females and they are tasked with foraging for food (i.e. nectar and pollen from the flowers) and then building and protecting the hive, while also cleaning and circulating the air with the beating of their wings. These worker bees are also the only bees that the majority of people get to see since they fly around the outside of the hive.

     

    Resources:

    [1.] Tan, Ruth | Benefits of Honey | https://www.benefits-of-honey.com/

    [2.] National Honey Board | Honey Trivia |https://www.honey.com/newsroom/presskit/honey-trivia