Interesting Bee Facts To Share

bee on white flower
bee on white flower

There are so many fascinating facts about honey bees and honey. It’s fun to learn honey bee trivia because it gives us more insight into the fascinating creature and their role in our world. Plus, it’s always great to throw out honey bee facts at a party!

Are you itching for some honey bee trivia? Read on to learn about some of our favorite bee facts.

10 Interesting Honey Bee Facts 

  1. You thought you were busy! Worker bees and queen bees do a lot within the hive to help it run smoothly. Worker bees in particular hold a wide variety of jobs, from foraging for food and water to nursing the larvae, cleaning the hive and caring for the queen. The primary job for the queen bee is to reproduce. She can lay up to 2000 eggs in one day, with an average of 700. 
  2. Many people are afraid of getting a bee sting. But did you know that once a bee stings you they will die shortly after? Worker bees are the only bees that sting. Their stinger is barbed so that it sticks inside the skin of their victim. Because of this anatomical feature, once the stinger is in the skin, it becomes stuck and tears from the body of the honey bee.
  3. Seeing a beehive on your property can be unnerving. But did you know that many colonies contain an average of 50,000 bees in their busy season? It can be deceiving when you look at a beehive because they often contain many more bees than you’d think. The colony is made up of worker bees, drones and a queen.
  4. Honey bees are fast! They can fly up to 15 mph. On average, a honeybee will fly for about 6 miles a day. During their flights away from the colony, they will visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar. They will also visit water sources so they can bring water back to the hive to be used for maintaining the proper hive temperature.
  5. Honey bee or honeybee? There is a lot of disagreement among people as to whether it is one word or two. The truth is that both are correct. Honey bee can either be one word or two words.
  6. The queen bee is busy laying eggs throughout her lifespan. The queen bee will live an average of 2 to 3 years. During the summer season, when the hive is at its busiest, she will lay the most eggs, helping the hive to reach its full capacity.
  7. Bee swarms can be frightening, especially if they decide to land near your home. But the reason they swarm is quite fascinating. When the hive reaches its max capacity, another queen is developed. The old queen and about half the hive will leave to find a new home. Swarms typically last just a couple of days, but often just a few hours. During swarming, scout bees will look for a new home that is large enough to contain the hive and safe from predators. Once they find their new home, they will communicate its location to the other bees through a series of dance moves call the waggle dance.
  8. Larvae are fed a diet of royal jelly for the first few days of their lives. After that, they are put on a typical bee diet. However, there are a few select bees that will be chosen to continue eating royal jelly. Those bees will have the potential to become the new queen.
  9. On a typical foraging trip, a worker bee may visit between 50 and 100 flowers. She will collect pollen and nectar to bring back to the hive in structures called pollen baskets that are found on their legs.
  10. Bees communicate in a number of interesting ways. One method is through motion. Known as the waggle dance, it is a particular way of moving to communicate to the others the location of the new hive, a water source or other valuable colony updates. Honey bees will also use pheromones to communicate. For example, the queen bee releases certain pheromones to indicate to the rest of the colony when it is time to swarm, mate and other social behaviors.

These are just a few of our favorite bee facts that tell us a lot about these very special creatures. Honey bees pay a vital role in our ecosystem and contribute greatly to our agricultural system. Their pollination efforts help grow many of the foods we enjoy each and every day.

Because of their special role, honey bees must be protected. If you are experiencing a bee infestation at your San Diego property, make sure you take steps to protect bees by choosing to hire a live bee removal company. D-Tek Live Bee Removal safely and humanely removes bees, and does so quickly and effectively. Give our office a call today to learn more!