The buzz about bees

BONUS: Ever wonder why bees are so busy?

Discovery Place Kids Rockingham

Honeybees are busy creatures. In fact, if honeybees were paid minimum wage for their work, a jar of honey would cost more than $180,000! 

Honeybees are the world’s number one pollinator and over a third of all our food is produced in some part due to honeybees. Unfortunately, honeybees all over the world are dying at alarming rates due to several factors, including an increase of pesticides and parasites, decrease in habitat and lack of proper nutrition. In 2016, the United States alone lost over 44% of its honeybees.  

Bees are not only vital to us growing food, they are amazing creatures! 

Fun Facts About Bees: 

  • By herself, one honeybee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her entire life, but together a hive can generate over 80 pounds of honey in just a matter of months. 
  • The queen bee can live up to five years and her role is to fill the hive with eggs. She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength; she lays up to 2,500 eggs per day. 
  • 16 ounces of honey require 1,152 bees to travel 112,000 miles and visit 4.5 million flowers. 
  • Honeybees contribute $8-10 billion to the U.S. economy every year. 
  • Honeybees can fly up to 15 miles per hour. 
  • The practice of honey collection and beekeeping dates to the Stone Age, as evidenced by cave paintings. 

Simple ways YOU can help the honeybees: 

  • Plant a pollinator garden. 
  • Support your local beekeeper and purchase local honey. 
  • Build a bee hotel for solitary bees. 
  • Support your local farmers market. 
  • Join your local bee club and become a certified beekeeper. 
  • When possible, educate the public about the importance of pollinators and what they offer our environment.