Did you know that there are more than 300 flavours and shades of honey? That's right. Flower nectar, the sweet liquid gathered by Bees, determines the honey's flavour and colour. In general the darker the honey, the more bold the taste. But how do the Bees make the honey and why is it so good for us?
The ABC's Of Bees
A colony or family of Bees consists of one Queen Bee, several hundred male drones, and over 50,000 female workers. The daily functions of the hive are extraordinarily organized and precise, everyone works in harmony to support the common goal - protect the hive and grow the colony.
Most people associate Honey Bees directly with the production of two crops - honey and bees wax. However, without bees, we would lose some very important crops like...
In fact, the crops of many fruits and vegetables we enjoy are in jeopardy with the declining population of Bees. We have lost more than half our Bee population in North America in the past 100 years. These crops depend on the cross pollination that Bees provide. What is cross pollination? When worker Bees fly from one plant to the next collecting nectar, small particles called pollen collect on the Bees legs. Pollen from the male part of a plant is then transported by the Bees as it flies to the next plant and gets "dropped" off onto the female parts of that plant. Without this process, many plants would not survive.
Making honey is a complex process than can be simplified for a basic understanding.... The worker Bees collect the sweet nectar from
plants such as clover (the most popular plant for honey production) alfalfa and wildflowers. The nectar is filled into the combs in the hive where it is stored and transformed into honey. It is than harvested by experienced beekeepers and processed for our consumption.
For more information about Bees, check out some of the links we have on our "LINKS" page.
The ABC's Of Bees
A colony or family of Bees consists of one Queen Bee, several hundred male drones, and over 50,000 female workers. The daily functions of the hive are extraordinarily organized and precise, everyone works in harmony to support the common goal - protect the hive and grow the colony.
Most people associate Honey Bees directly with the production of two crops - honey and bees wax. However, without bees, we would lose some very important crops like...
In fact, the crops of many fruits and vegetables we enjoy are in jeopardy with the declining population of Bees. We have lost more than half our Bee population in North America in the past 100 years. These crops depend on the cross pollination that Bees provide. What is cross pollination? When worker Bees fly from one plant to the next collecting nectar, small particles called pollen collect on the Bees legs. Pollen from the male part of a plant is then transported by the Bees as it flies to the next plant and gets "dropped" off onto the female parts of that plant. Without this process, many plants would not survive.
Making honey is a complex process than can be simplified for a basic understanding.... The worker Bees collect the sweet nectar from
plants such as clover (the most popular plant for honey production) alfalfa and wildflowers. The nectar is filled into the combs in the hive where it is stored and transformed into honey. It is than harvested by experienced beekeepers and processed for our consumption.
For more information about Bees, check out some of the links we have on our "LINKS" page.