Honey Bee Trivia and Fun Facts
How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?
About two million flowers, give or take.
- How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
More than 55,000 miles.
- How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?
About 1/12 of a teaspoon.
- How fast does a honey bee fly?
About 15 miles per hour.
- How much honey would it take to fuel a bee’s flight around the world?
About one ounce (or two Tablespoons); no carry-on luggage is allowed!
- What is mead?
Mead is wine made from honey.
- How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
Each cell is a six-sided hexagon.
- What is the U.S. per capita consumption of honey?
On average, each person consumes about 1.31 pounds.
- What state is known as the beehive state?
Utah.
- How many wings does a honey bee have?
Each honey bee has four wings.
- How many beekeepers are there in the United States?
There are an estimated 150,000 hobby beekeepers in the United States.
- How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States?
The USDA estimates that there are approximately 3 million honey producing colonies in the United States. This estimate is based on beekeepers who manage five or more colonies.
- How many flowers does a honey bee visit during one collection trip?
A worker bee visits about 50-100 flowers during each trip.
- How do honey bees "communicate" with one another?
They communicate by "dancing." Honey bees do a dance which alerts other bees where nectar and pollen are located. The dance explains direction and distance. Bees also communicate with pheromones, a unique odor common to the particular beehive.
- What does "super" mean to a beekeeper?
Supers are the hive boxes in which honey is stored, usually placed above the deeper box called the "hive body", where brood is reared.