Smiley Honey News — beehive facts

There Are Some Shots Of Our Bottling Room, Our Expert Honey Bottler Shirley Williams, And Our Booth At The 2014 Tupelo Honey Festival.

Read more

You may have heard these little nuggets of trivia before, but we always enjoy repeating them. Some of the facts are so amazing, we never lose our sense of wonder when we contemplate them anew. The answers to the questions are found below. See how many you can get right without peeking.

1.  How many flowers must honeybees visit to make one pound of honey?

2.  How many miles does a beehive fly (collectively) to make a pound of honey?

3.  How much honey does an average worker bee make in its lifetime?

4.  How much honey would it take to fuel a bee's flight around the world?

5.  How long does a worker bee live in mid-summer?

6.  How many bees are there in an average hive around mid-summer?

7.  How many different tasks do worker bees perform?

8.  How many eggs does the queen lay each day?

9.  How many beekeepers are there in the United States?

10. Which state is nicknamed the beehive state?

Bonus Question: What is the average annual consumption of honey in the United States?

_______________________

(1) approximately two million; (2) 55,000 miles; (3) about 1/10 of a teaspoon; (4) about one ounce; (5) around 6 weeks; (6) between 40,000 and 70,000; (7) fourteen -- nursing the larvae, caring for the queen, cleaning the hive, cleaning other bees, removing dead bees, building honeycomb, capping honeycomb, packing pollen in cells, fanning nectar to remove moisture, repairing the hive, collecting nectar and pollen, collecting propolis, collecting water and guarding the hive; (8) around 1,500 per day; (9) approximately 212,000; (10) Utah.

Bonus: Not enough! (about 1.3 pounds per year).