Honey Trivia

1. How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?
Two million.

2. How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
Over 55,000 miles.

3. How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?
1/12 teaspoon.

4. How fast does a honey bee fly?
About 15 miles per hour.

5. How much honey would it take to fuel a bee's flight around the world?
About one ounce.

6. What is mead?
Honey wine.

7. How long have bees been producing honey from flowering plants?
10-20 million years.

8. What Scottish liqueur is made with honey?
Drambuie

9. How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
Six

10. What is the U.S. per capita consumption of honey?
On average, each person consumes about 1.3 pounds per year.

11. What state is known as the beehive state?
Utah

12. How many wings does a honey bee have?
Four

13. How many beekeepers are there in the United States?
USDA has estimated that there are between 139,600 and 212,000 beekeepers in the United States. Most are hobbyists with less than 25 hives.

14. How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States?
The USDA estimates that there are approximately 2.68 million honey producing colonies. This estimate is based on beekeepers who managed five or more colonies in 2010.

15. How many flowers does a honey bee visit during one collection trip?
50-100.

16. How do honey bees communicate with one another?
"Dancing." Honey bees do a dance which alerts other bees where nectar and pollen was located. The dance explains direction and distance. Bees also communicate with pheromones.

17. What does "super" mean to a beekeeper?
The super is the hive box in which honey is stored.