Honeybee facts

• Honey bees fly up to three miles from their hives to collect nectar and pollen.

• It would take about eight honey bee stings for each pound you weigh to kill you.

• Male bees have no stinger and only one job; to mate with the queen. After they do their job they die.

• The honey bee's wings stroke incredibly fast, about 200 beats per second

• A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.

•The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.

• A hive of bees will fly 40,000 miles, more than once around the earth, to collect 1 pound of honey.

• It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee’s flight around the world.

• A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.

• Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened. They die once they sting.

• Queens have a stinger, but they don’t leave the hive to help defend it.

• During winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the warmer months. They form a tight cluster in their hive to keep the queen and themselves warm.

• The queen bee can live up to 5 years and lays up to 3,000 eggs a day during the summer months