"Bee My Honey" — June 1999

1. Why do Honeybees make Honey?
Honeybees make honey to store as food for the hive during the winter when no flower nectar is around for them to eat.

2. What is a Honeybee colony?
Honeybees live together in large groups called colonies. They all have special jobs. There is only one queen, but many worker bees.

3. What is the queen's job?
The queen is the largest bee in the colony. She has a life span of about 2 years, and it is her job to lay eggs containing larvae (baby bees). A queen bee can lay up to 3,000 eggs in a single day.

4. What do the workers do?
Workers are the smallest bees in the colony. One colony can have between 50,000 and 60,000 worker bees. Most worker bees have a life expectancy of 28 to 35 days. They have several important jobs: collect nectar to make honey, feed the queen and the larvae, guard the entrance to the hive, and keep the hive cool by fanning their wings.

5. What is that buzzing sound they make?
The buzzing sound is produced by the Honeybee's wings which stroke 11,400 each minute.

6. How many flowers does a colony of Honeybees have to gather nectar from to make 1 pound of honey?
2 million flowers!

7. How long have Honeybees been making honey from plant nectar?
10-20 million years!

8. How do Honeybees "talk" to each other?
Honeybees communicate by dancing. When a Honeybee wants to explain to other bees where a nectar and pollen resource is located, it does a dance which explains the direction and distance.

9. What is a beekeeper?
A beekeeper is a farmer who raises bees for their honey.

10. What is a "super" in beekeeper's language?
A super is a hive box in which honey is stored! Mmm ... super!