Interesting Facts About Bees

Did you know –

* Each colony of honeybees contains a single Queen Bee, between 20,000 to 60,000 female workers and up to 1000 male drones. All of the work and decision making within the colony is performed by the female workers (sound familiar lol…)

* The most common races of bee kept by beekeepers in Australia are the Italian, Caucasian and Carniolan, although the Italian race is most frequently kept.

* Worker Bees live for about six weeks once they emerge from their capped cells as adults. The first three weeks as an adult are spent inside the hive performing duties such as looking after the brood or cleaning. The last three weeks of their lives are spent as forager bees searching for and collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water.  In comparison to worker bees, drones larvae take extra time to grow and to pupate into an adult. Both worker and drone bees take orientation flights prior to becoming forages or going on mating flights. Kinda like having your L Plates!

NB: Reference Australian Bee Keeping Manual.