We know that bees have been producing honey as they do today for at least 100 million years (since the Cretaceous period)*. Bees produce honey as food stores for the hive during the long months of winter when flowers aren't blooming and therefore little or no nectar is available to them. European honey bees, genus Apis Mellifera, produce such an abundance of honey, far more than the hive can eat, that humans can harvest the excess. For this reason, European honey bees can be found in beekeeper's hives around the world!

The Colony

Honey bees are social insects, with a marked division of labor between the various types of bees in the colony. A colony of honey bees includes a queen, drones and workers.

The Queen

The queen is the only sexually developed female in the hive. She is the largest bee in the colony.

A two-day-old larva is selected by the workers to be reared as the queen. She will emerge from her cell 11 days later to mate in flight with approximately 18 drone (male) bees. During this mating, she receives several million sperm cells, which last her entire life span of nearly two years.

The queen starts to lay eggs about 10 days after mating. A productive queen can lay 3,000 eggs in a single day.

The Drones

Drones are stout male bees that have no stingers. Drones do not collect food or pollen from flowers. Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen. If the colony is short on food, drones are often kicked out of the hive. 

The Workers

Workers, the smallest bees in the colony, are sexually undeveloped females. A colony can have 50,000 to 60,000 workers.

The life span of a worker bee varies according to the time of year. Her life expectancy is approximately 28 to 35 days. Workers that are reared in September and October, however, can live through the winter.

Workers feed the queen and larvae, guard the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. Worker bees also collect nectar to make honey.  In addition, honey bees produce wax comb. The comb is composed of hexagonal cells which have walls that are only 2/1000 inch thick, but support 25 times their own weight.

Honey bees' wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.

1. How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?
Two million.

2. How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
Over 55,000 miles.

3. How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?
1/12 teaspoon.

4. How fast does a honey bee fly?
About 15 miles per hour.

5. How much honey would it take to fuel a bee's flight around the world?
About one ounce (or two Tablespoons).

8. How long have bees been producing honey from flowering plants?
10-20 million years.

9. How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
Six.

12. How many wings does a honey bee have?
Four.

15. How many flowers does a honey bee visit during one collection trip?
50-100.

16. How do honey bees "communicate" with one another?
"Dancing." Honey bees do a dance which alerts other bees where nectar and pollen is located. The dance explains direction and distance. Bees also communicate with pheromones.