We are Buzzing About World Honey bee Day!

​What's the buzz about World Honey Bee Day? World Honey Bee Day is celebrated every third Saturday in August, falling on August 17 this year. While there are 20,000 different species of bees all around the world, the honey bee tends to be the most recognized. But it is also different from many other types of native bees here in Ohio. Most of Ohio's bees, like mason bees and leafcutter bees are solitary and do not live in large colonies like the honey bee.  And our native solitary bees are actually much more efficient pollinators than honey bees because they are not collecting the pollen for themselves to take back to a hive.  The honey bee however, utilizes much of the pollen it collects to make honey!

A single worker bee will visit up to a few thousand flowers per day and produces around 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its life time. A colony collectively may visit up to 225,000 flowers per day and can produce 200+ pounds of honey in a single season, with some even recorded as producing around 600 pounds!

Bees, like many insects, see from approximately 300 to 650 nm. That means they cannot see the color red, but they can see in the ultraviolet spectrum (which humans cannot). They also communicate through various body movements, commonly called the "bee dance".

Celebrate World Honey Bee Day by doing YOUR part to protect these essential pollinators!
- plant bee-friendly plants
- use eco friendly pesticides, or refrain from pesticides at all
- visit an Apirary to learn more about honeybees
- support local beekeepers! Beekeepers are providing shelter and care for a disappearing bee population

Want to learn more about how to help local pollinators like the honey bee? Visit our webpage on Native Plants and Pollinator Pathways!