How long have bees been producing honey from flowering plants?
10-12 million years
How many flowers must honeybees tap to make one pound of honey?
Two million
How much honey does the average worker honeybee make in her lifetime?
1/12 teaspoon
How far does the average work force of a hive have to fly in order to bring you one pound of honey?
Over 55,000 miles
How much honey would it take to fuel a honeybee's flight around the world?
About one ounce
How fast does a honeybee fly?
About 15 miles per hour
How do honeybees communicate with one another?
A combination of "dancing" and pheromones. Field bees do a dance which alerts the other foragers as to distance and location of nectar and pollen sources. Various odors and chemical secretions produced by both the flowers and the bees themselves help with communication.
How many sets of wings does a honeybee have?
Four wings, or two pair (two fore-wings and two hind-wings)
How many eyes does a honeybee have?
Five (two compound eyes on sides of head and three simple eyes located in center of forehead)
How much of what we eat is dependent upon honeybees for pollination?
Approximately one-third of the food produced in the world is dependent to some degree on honeybees for pollination and increased crop yields.
What is the average per capita consumption of honey in the U.S.?
Approximately 1.1 pounds
Approximately how many beekeepers are there in the United States?
An estimated 211,600. (The majority are mainly hobby and side-line beekeepers with several to perhaps several dozen hives.)
How many colonies of managed bees are there in the U.S.?
About 4 million plus
What beverage is believed to be the oldest know fermented drink?
Mead or honey wine. Archeological evidence indicates that mead making was practiced before recorded history.
What mythological Greek God was to have dipped his arrows in honey?
Cupid
Cooking with Honey
Courtesy of the National Honey Board
When cooking with honey, remember these useful tips:
1. Store honey at room temperature. Refrigeration will speed the crystallization process.
2. One 12-ounce jar of honey equals one standard measuring cup. For easy removal from a cup, lightly coat the container with vegetable oil or spray, then pour in the honey.
3. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. However, because of honey's moisture content, when substituting honey for sugar in baked goods, reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey, add 1/2 tsp of baking soda for each cup of honey and reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees to prevent over-browning.
4. Honey should not be fed to infants less than 1 year old.
Recipe Links
