12 amazing honey bee facts

12 amazing honey bee facts 

12 amazing honey bee facts

 This article discusses some facts about the bee that I think are quite amazing.

There are several types of honey bee but four main breeds which vary in size and characteristics. All are social and live in large honey manufacturing colonies. We humans harvest the honey of one main bee type known as the European bee Latin name Apis mellifera.

I think that people would be more tolerant of the presence of bees if they knew more about them.

1-Bees produce beeswax to build their hexagonal shaped honeycombs and brood cells. The U.S. harvests about 10,000 tons of beeswax annually. It is used to make fine candles, furniture waxes, polishes, cosmetics and shoe polish.

2-The scientific name of Honey bee is Apis mellifera and they have great significance for the environment as they play an important role in pollination.

3-The queen Honey bee can lay up to 1500 eggs each day and almost a million eggs in her whole lifetime. Worker bees take care of food and grooming for the queen because she hardly has free tie from laying eggs in all her life. It can have a lifespan of almost 5 years and is the only bee to lay eggs.

4-Bees also produce propolis, a sticky glue-like substance with which they repair their hive. This product is the basis for some wood varnishes and bonding agents. Propolis has a long history of uses in traditional medicine and is claimed to be beneficial in the treatment of inflammations and minor burns. It is said to be effective in treating fungal infections and even reduce the probability of developing cataracts.

5-It has been scientifically proved that they are very intelligent insects that can actually recognize individual human faces.

6-Honey bees are the only creatures that produce a substance consumed by human beings. They provide us with honey which has great nutritional and economic significance. Honey bees are gentle in nature and usually won't harm anyone until they perceive a danger for their hive. They are about 3/4 inch long and each bee hive may have up to 80000 bees most of which would be the workers. Honey bees build a hive which is their home and it is ruled by a Queen bee which is the largest bee in the hive.

7- Honey is a complete food as it contains vitamins, minerals, enzymes and essential nutrients. It has numerous health benefits and helps with improved memory and better brain functioning.

8- The male honeybees are called 'Drones' and are slightly larger compared to the worker bees. Their only job is to mate with the Queen bee and they die immediately after the mating process is completed.

9- Honey bees help with pollination of various fruits and vegetables and this natural pollinators make a great contribution towards the existence and sustainability of the environment.

10-Researchers have found that honey bees are responsible for pollinating approximately 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops in the United States of America alone.

11-It has been proved that unlike some of their insect cousins that stay alive after they sting other, they will actually die after they sting another.

12-Scientists had also worked put that their wings will stroke at 11400 times each and every minute which is what in fact causes the bees very distinctive buzz.

It is important to remember that all honey bees are important to the planet because they carry out the vital role of pollinating our plants, flora and crops.

That is why I would like to ask you to consider either keeping hives at home in your garden or encourage other types of bees such as the bumblebee or solitary bee to nest by installing bee nesting sites which you can obtain from your local garden centre.