Fun Facts about Bees & Honey
- There are over 1,500 species of Australian native bee’s and around 20,000 different species in the world
- A bee’s brain is as small as a sesame seed but they are excellent Mathematicians and Engineers. They knew a hexagon is the strongest shape and gives them the maximum storage capacity.
- Bees have 5 eyes. 2 compound eyes on each side of their head that are made up of tiny lenses and 3 simple eyes on the top of the head.
- They can see all colours except for red.
- A Honeybees wings stroke 11,400 per minute!
- Worker bees have a 6-8 week life span.
- One bee will only produce 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.
- When a honeybee has found a new patch of flowers they will go back to the hive a preform a “Waggle dance”, much like a figure of 8. This communication is telling the other Workers the direction and distance to the newly found nectar and pollen.
- Honeybees never sleep!
- Drones (male) do not have stingers. Once a Worker bee (female) stings they will die.
- The average beehive can house around 50,000 bees.
- Each Bee has 170 odorant receptors, which means they are very sensitive to smell.
- A single Queen bee can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day.
- The Queen can select the sex of their larvae.
- Bees are the best pollinators in the world. Around 1/3 of our food comes from a bee’s honey pollination.
- To make 1 jar of honey, bees will need to visit around 2 million flowers.
- Honey is the only food that will not rot.
- Honey is the only food that contains all the essential nutrients needed to sustain life.