The world of honeybees and beehives is fascinating and full of wonder. Bees are responsible for more than producing honey; they play a vital role in supporting our ecosystem, such as by pollinating plants. The complex social organization of bees and their incredible engineering skills are captivating. Here are five interesting facts about honeybees and beehives that’ll have you buzzing.
1. Honeybees Are Amazing Navigators.
Honeybees can navigate over long distances. They can fly up to 15 miles per hour and travel up to 8 miles from their hives to forage for nectar. Bees use the sun as a compass, but on cloudy days or at night, they use the polarization of light to find their way. They also use landmarks, odors, and even the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. All these navigation tools make honeybees some of the most skilled and savvy navigators in the animal kingdom.
2. Bees Remember Human Faces
Just as crows may remember your face and voice, bees have similar abilities. Honeybees are known to have excellent memory and can recognize human faces. Researchers have conducted experiments on bees to showcase how they recognize human faces by associating them with a positive or negative stimulus.
3. Bees Can Communicate
Honeybees have an intricate way of communicating with each other. They “dance” to convey information about nearby food sources to their fellow bees. Bees use the waggle dance; it tells other bees about the direction, distance, and quality of a food source. The dance includes different movements, speeds, and sounds that the bees interpret to find the right location and move to the food source.
4. Bees Are Hard Workers
Honeybees are some of the hardest-working creatures in the animal kingdom. A bee can visit up to 1,500 flowers in a single day, and a hive can produce up to 100 pounds of honey in a year. Bees work around the clock, each bee having a specific role within the hive, from foragers to nurse bees to guard bees. They even continue to work in the dark, using their compound eyes to navigate.
5. Bees Are Architects
Honey production is the most famous aspect of honeybees. But how do they store the honey so well? Bees construct their hives in a hexagonal shape, which is the most efficient use of space for their honey stores and brood rearing. This shape improves the flow of air and light that enter the hive. Bees use their bodies to shape and build the wax combs for the hive, and each comb is angled slightly upward to prevent honey from spilling out.
If you enjoyed learning fun facts about honeybees, why not help save hives with Honey Source? We’re on a mission to save honeybees and promote honey in bulk for sale from locally sourced vendors. Buzz your way to our hive to learn more about our locally made wholesale honey.