Buzz buzz buzz
It's World Honey Bee day! We may all get a little nervous when we hear a bee buzzing close by but without them, the world would be very different!
Bees pollinate plants - including fruits and veggies. Without them, some plants would not produce the fruit or veggie at all, and others would grow less or smaller produce.
Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia are hosting their sixth annual Honey Bee Festival Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is included with Garden admission and children who dress as a bee will get a free honey stick. There will be a bee costume parade at 11 a.m.
Here are some fun facts about honey bees from the American Bee Journal:
- The honey bee is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
- A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.
- Honey bees must consume about 17-20 pounds of honey to be able to produce each pound of beeswax.
- A populous colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.
- The queen may lay 600-800 or even 1,500 eggs each day during her 3 or 4 year lifetime.
- The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
- The Honey bee’s wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, making their distinctive buzz.
