How bees make honey

For honey bees building honey stores to ensure the survival of the colony through seasons of little or no nectar is what their life is about. From about three weeks old, when a bee becomes a forager (name for a worker bee over three weeks old who works outside the hive), to the day she literally drops dead from exhaustion at about six weeks old, a worker bee collects nectar, pollen, propolis or water depending upon the needs of her colony at any one time. Note, it is only female bees that are workers and foragers within a honey bee colony.

It is nectar that is used to produce honey and it is calculated that a honey bee needs to visit several hundred flowers on one foraging flight to fill up with nectar She sucks the nectar from the flowers using her proboscis and then stores it in a special honey stomach, for transport back to the hive. Here enzymes will begin work on the nectar.

Once back at the hive the forager bee passes her nectar load to a house bee, this is a worker bee below the age of three weeks, the age at which she will also will begin foraging duties. The forager bee adds an enzyme to the nectar as it passes through its mouth. This enzyme is invertase and it is produced by the hypopharangeal glands which have two outlets just inside the bee's mouth. Nectar is mainly composed of sucrose (a disaccharide) and water. The enzyme invertase turns the sucrose into glucose and fructose (monosaccharides).

Other enzymes are added as the house bee carries the nectar to where it is to be stored. The nectar is then spread around a comb cell and the bees then work on reducing the moisture content. The bees do this by fanning their wings over the comb to evaporate the water

Once the moisture level is reduced to 17% then it can be called honey and the bees will seal off each cell with a cap of wax. By reducing the moisture level of the honey the bees have ensured that it will not go off, as no living organisms can survive in so little moisture. The wax cap on the honey prevents moisture entering and it is at this stage that the beekeeper knows that they can harvest the honey.

When dealing with bee stings remove the stinger as quickly as possible, so the venom has less time to do its dirty work. You'll see it sticking up out of the skin (often there's a little bit of the bee left behind too - yuck). Pull the stinger out with your fingers, or scrape it away with a credit card or other firm, flat item. It doesn't matter which method you use - just act fast.

Gently wash the area with soap and water.

Apply an ice pack or cold, wet washcloth to the bee sting for a few minutes.

Some people are allergic to bee venom and ti in some cases can cause anaphylaxis in children. If a patient is showing any of the following signs after being stung then he/she should seek medical advice immediately.

Wheezing or trouble breathing
Swollen lips, tongue, or face
Hives, and flushed or pale skin
Weak or rapid pulse
Dizziness or fainting
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of consciousness

Fortunately, treatment for anaphylaxis is quick and easy: A shot of epinephrine will relieve her symptoms almost as quickly as the bee sting brought them on.

Avoid wearing overly-fragrant perfumes, lotions or hair products. Especially avoid anything with a strong floral scent. Sweet and floral scents are very attractive to bees

Keep open drinks, like cans of soda, well guarded. Many people have been stung on the lip by drinking out of a can that a bee has crawled into. Drinks with tops are recommended when outdoors.

Avoid wearing clothing with bright colors and/or floral patterns. Bright or flowered clothing is attractive to a bee on the hunt for pollen.

Stand as still as possible if a bee gets close. Bees only sting defensively, and they will be frightened by sudden movements. Don't wave your arms around or try to swat the bee, as it will only serve to anger the insect.

Wear shoes or flip-flops when walking in grassy areas. Lots of stings occur when an unsuspecting person steps on a bee while walking barefoot.

Contact someone to remove any bee or wasp nests you find in your yard. Do not try to remove the nests yourself, as serious injury may occur.

Wash hands immediately after eating, especially when eating sweet or sticky foods.

Keep uneaten food covered to avoid attracting bees (and many other insects as well).

Honey bees can fly at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour.
That might seem fast, but in the bug world, it's actually rather slow. Honey bees are built for short trips from flower to flower, not for long distance travel. Their tiny wings must flap about 12,000 times per minute just to keep their pollen-laden bodies aloft for the flight home.

A honey bee colony can contain up to 60,000 bees at its peak.
It takes a lot of bees to get all the work done. Nurse bees care for the young, while the queen's attendant workers bathe and feed her. Guard bees stand watch at the door. Construction workers build the beeswax foundation in which the queen lays eggs and the workers store honey. Undertakers carry the dead from the hive. Foragers must bring back enough pollen and nectar to feed the entire community.

A single honey bee worker produces about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
For honey bees, there's power in numbers. From spring to fall, the worker bees must produce about 60 lbs. of honey to sustain the entire colony during the winter. It takes tens of thousands of workers to get the job done.

A queen honey bee stores a lifetime supply of sperm
The queen bee can live 3-4 years, but her biological clock ticks a lot faster than you might think. Just a week after emerging from her queen cell, the new queen flies from the hive to mate. If she doesn't do so within 20 days, it's too late; she loses her ability to mate. If successful, however, she never needs to mate again. She holds the sperm in her spermatheca and uses it to fertilize eggs throughout her life.