Fun, Quirky & Scientific Honey Bee Facts

While we celebrate the honey bee each year on August 3^rd for World Honey Bee Day, we feel these fascinating insects should be honored every day. Best known for their pollination powers and the delicious honey we love to enjoy, there is so much more to learn about the honey bee. In order to promote the protection of these precious insects, Richmond Pest Control outlines 10 fun and interesting honey bee facts you probably didn’t know!

10 Amazing Honey Bee Facts

Honey Bees Have more than 2 Eyes: In fact, they have five eyes! Besides their two large eyes, they also have three smaller eyes in the center of their head. These small ocelli eyes help them to detect when darkness is approaching, as well as identifying the horizon.

Average American Eats 1.7 Lbs. of Honey per Year: Commonly used in teas, dessert recipes and to heal burns, honey is the ideal sweet because of its eternal shelf life!

Over 211,00 Beekeepers in the United States: A highly important job that takes patience and a very particular skillset.

Honey is 150 Million Years Old: There are reports of honey being found in Egyptian tombs that date back several thousand years!

Honey Bees do not Die in the Winter: These genius insects store extra honey to live off of during the frigid winter months. Further, they huddle into a close cluster to keep the colony and the queen warm.

Plant Blue Flowers to Attract Honey Bees: They are unable to detect red colors, but are sensitive to the blue end of the light spectrum.

The Queen Bee can live up to 5 years while the average worker bee lives for just 5/6 weeks.

Honey bees are Great Dancers: Worker bees share information to the rest of the hive through waggles and figure-of-eight movements to point to the direction of a food source.

Male Honey Bees do not have a father: The male bee technically only has a mother – the Queen Bee. But they do have a grandfather!

The Honey Bee is the only insect to produce a food eaten by humans.

While the honey bee is a highly fascinating insect, the reality is that colonies are disappearing and scientists cannot figure out the cause. Under no circumstances should you kill or harm a single honey bee or an entire colony. If there is a hive too close to your home, please call a professional pest control company for a safe and humane removal & relocation in order to protect and preserve these great insects.