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The domestic honey bee is an amazing insect that is responsible for much of what we eat and use in our everyday lives. Whether they be products directly from the hive such as honey or beeswax, or indirectly from the many fruits and vegetables we depend on bees to pollinate, honey bees have earned a valuable and detrimental place in our world. Listed below is a collection of interesting trivia and facts about honey bees. These facts were gleaned from various sources since my introduction to beekeeping in 1989. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do! |
| scientific name: |  |
Apis mellifera |
| age of species: | |
19 million years |
| castes in colony: | |
3 (queen, worker & drone) |
| eggs queen can lay in 1 day: | |
up to 1,500-2,000 |
| size of eggs: | |
1/16 inch (1.6mm) |
| egg to adult queen: | |
16 days |
| egg to adult worker(female): | |
21 days |
| egg to adult drone(male): | |
24 days |
| drone cell size: | |
4 per inch of comb |
| worker cell size: | |
5 per inch of comb |
| size of adult worker honey bee: | |
1/2 inch (1.2cm) |
| temperature of hive: (when rearing brood) |
|
93-95° Fahrenheit |
| temperature of cluster: (during winter-no brood) |
|
around 85° Fahrenheit |
| bees per colony: | |
45,000-70,000 plus |
| number of bees per pound: | |
about 4,000-6,000 |
| life of adult queen | |
up to about 4 years |
| life of adult worker: (spring/summer) |
|
about 6 weeks |
| life of adult worker: (fall/winter) |
|
months |
| life of adult drone: | |
up to 3 months (unmated) |
| flight speed: | |
12 mph |
| wing beats(normal): | |
250 cycles/second |
| wing beats(buzzing): | |
400-500 cycles/second |
| visits to fill honey stomach: | |
1,000 flowers |
| visits to make 1 lb. of honey: | |
2,000,000 flowers |
| 1 cell of honey represents: | |
life's work of 60 bees |
| bees gather for 1 lb. of honey: | |
about 10 lbs. of nectar |
| distance flown for 1 lb. of honey: | |
about 55,000 miles |
| bees eat to make 1 lb. of beeswax: | |
about 10 lbs. of honey |
| weight of 1 gallon of honey: | |
12 lbs. |
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