Buzz buzz buzz!  Hearing the sound of a honey bee buzzing can elicit a range of responses, from caution of their stinging self-defense to excitement at seeing their strikingly contrasted yellow and black bodies flitting from flower to flower.  Honey bees are hard working pollinators, animals that move pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower allowing for the production of seeds and fruits.  Many favorites, from apples to almonds, are almost exclusively pollinated by honey bees!

Here are some fun facts about honey bees from the American Beekeeping Federation:

Honey Bee Facts

• Approximately one third of all the food Americans eat is directly or indirectly derived from honey bee pollination.  Some crops pollinated are cucumbers, almonds, carrot seed, melons, apricots, cherries, pears, apples, prunes, plums, pluots, seed alfalfa, cantaloupe, seed onions, avocados, kiwi, blueberries, cranberries, etc.

• There are three members of a honey bee colony:
  • Queen - mother to all the bees in the colony; she is a fertile female.
  • Worker - an infertile female that performs the labor tasks of the colony, including feed preparation, guarding the hive, feeding the queens, drones and brood, and heating and cooling the hive.
  • Drone - the male that starts out as an unfertilized egg.  Its only purpose in the colony is to mate with a virgin queen.  They live to mate with the queen, but not more than one in a thousand get the opportunity to mate.

• On average, a worker bee in the summer lasts six to eight weeks.  Their most common cause of death is wearing their wings out.  During that six to eight-week period, their average honey production is 1/12 of a teaspoon.  In that short lifetime, they fly the equivalent of 1 1/2 times the circumference of the earth.

• The peak population of a colony of honeybees is usually at mid-summer (after spring buildup) and results in 60,000 to 80,000 bees per colony.  A good, prolific queen can lay up to 3,000 eggs per day.

• Drones fly on United Airlines.  This is a corny joke amongst beekeepers because of the way queens and drones mate.  When a queen is five to six days old, she is ready to mate. She puts out a pheromone scent to attract the males and takes off in the air.  The males from miles around smell the scent and instantly volunteer in the mating chase, which is performed in the air.

Basic Beekeeping

• Basic beekeeping simplified is having:
  • New, viable queens
  • Feed (natural or artificial)
  • Good, sound equipment
  • Disease-free hives (good medication program or integrated pest management)
• When processing honey from a beehive, a good rule of thumb is for every 60 pounds of honey produced one (1) pound of beeswax will be made (1 to 60 ratio).

• In order to manipulate population dynamics, the timing of hive management is critical, such as the splitting of hives just prior to swarming season.  Also, feeding syrup and pollen supplement at least 21 days prior to a pollination inspection or honey flow induces the queen to lay eggs.

information provided courtesy of ABF member Lance Sundberg

A honey bee performs a carefully choreographed "waggle" dance that instructs the rest of the hive where to find a food source.

​For Warren and surrounding counties, there is a local chapter of beekeepers with the SouthWestern Ohio Beekeepers Association. They can provide information and support for local beekeepers and for services like proper swarm removal.

For more information about the amazing honey bee and conservation efforts, check out Pollen Nation!

Summertime often finds kids playing and connecting to the outdoors, soaking up the sun and fresh air.  As we head into the last months of summer, WCSWCD encourages fostering those outdoor connections all year long!  Our Education Specialists are excitedly gearing up for the oncoming school year. Bringing environmental science programs about natural resources to local schools gives us the opportunity to connect with students of all ages on these fun topics.  From learning about stream health by following Fred the Fish in early elementary grades, to examining current environmental issues and best management practices in high school classes, we LOVE the chance to enhance learning through hands-on inquiry and games.  

We look forward to working with schools all across Warren County.  To learn more about program and resource offerings for teachers, please visit our Education page!