Why should we help the Honey Bee?
In simple terms, the answer seems very obvious; the bees are one of the mos= t important pollinators in the world. =20 We rely on honey bees for one-third of our food supply, so when honey bees = are in danger, we=92re all in danger. The facts in this section will help y= ou educate others on what=92s happening with our honey bees. =20 The honey bee is responsible for $15 billion in U.S. agricultural crops eac= h year. Bees fly approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour and visit about 50= =97100 flowers in each pollination trip. To produce one pound of honey, hon= ey bees must visit two million flowers and fly 55,000 miles. When a honey b= ee returns to the hive after finding a good pollen source, it gives out sam= ples of the flower=92s nectar to its hive mates and performs a dance that d= etails the distance, direction, quality and quantity of the food supply. Th= e richer the food source, the longer and more vigorous dance. =20 Why should we care about honey bees? Bee pollination is responsible for $15= billion in added crop value, particularly for specialty crops such as almo= nds and other nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. About one mouthful in = three in our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollinatio= n. =20 If honey bee colonies continue to collapse without relief, the impact on ou= r current food sources and agricultural practices will be devastating to ou= r own survival. Some bee facts we should know. Learn how you can help at ht= tp://
- The honey bee has been around for millions of years.
- Honey bees, scientifically also known as Apis mellifera, are environment= ally friendly and are vital as pollinators.
- It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
- Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sus= tain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it=92s the= only food that contains =93pinocembrin=94, an antioxidant associated with = improved brain functioning.
- Honey bees have 6 legs, 2 compound eyes made up of thousands of tiny len= ses (one on each side of the head), 3 simple eyes on the top of the head, 2= pairs of wings, a nectar pouch, and a stomach. =20
- Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, compared with only 62 in fruit fl= ies and 79 in mosquitoes. Their exceptional olfactory abilities include kin= recognition signals, social communication within the hive, and odor recogn= ition for finding food. Their sense of smell was so precise that it could d= ifferentiate hundreds of different floral varieties and tell whether a flow= er carried pollen or nectar from yards away.
- The honey bees wings stroke incredibly fast, about 200 beats per second,= thus making their famous, distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to = six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.
- The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her li= fetime.
- Foragers must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make 1 poun= d of honey.
- It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee=92s flight around the world.
- A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.
- The bee=92s brain is oval in shape and only about the size of a sesame = seed, yet it has remarkable capacity to learn and remember things and is ab= le to make complex calculations on distance travelled and foraging efficien= cy.
- A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Wor= ker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work.
- The queen bee can live up to 5 years and is the only bee that lays eggs= . She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its= maximum strength, and lays up to 2500 eggs per day.
- Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones), = have no stinger and do not work at all. All they do is mating.
- Each honey bee colony has a unique odor for members=92 identification.
- Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened and they die = once they sting. Queens have a stinger, but they don=92t leave the hive to = help defend it.
- It is estimated that 1100 honey bee stings are required to be fatal.
- Honey bees communicate with one another by =93dancing=94.
- During winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the = warmer months. They form a tight cluster in their hive to keep the queen an= d themselves warm. The more I learn about honey bee facts; honey=92s great = creator -the honey bee itself, its highly organized society, how it acts wi= th such intricate cooperation, and the various bee products, the more I adm= ire and respect this amazing creature. It is no wonder why sometimes the co= lony is called a superorganism.