Today, is National Honey Bee Day!
Did you know that honey bees pollinate 1/3 of the world’s food supply? That’s a lot of work for just one little creature. Pollination by honey bees is essential to our planet and our society. Without them we would not be able to grow anything in the ground, including crops that feed animals like cows, pigs, and chickens. To celebrate this day take a moment to appreciate all the hard work these tiny creatures do for us every single day!
On National Honey Bee Day, we celebrate the honey bee? These tiny but powerful insects play a vital role in our ecosystem. Without them, humans would not be able to enjoy all of their favorite foods like chocolate and coffee! We are so grateful for these unsung heroes!
When Is National Honey Bee Day?
National Honey Bee Day is observed third Saturday in August. The month of August is the proper time for you to reflect and appreciate our winged friends who have made it possible for the human race to obtain delicious honey that we can enjoy anytime in our lives. The most effective way to celebrate this day is by planting more flowering plants around your garden or home so bees would multiply and give nourishment to humanity’s future generations who will continue enjoying their magnificent honey-based products! You can also make bee houses for them where they could live.
National Honey Bee Day Celebration Ideas
1). Decoration
Decorate your front door with a bee craft.
2). Gardening
First, find a place in your backyard where you think the garden would work. This can be anywhere from paved surfaces to gardens and even back porches.
Next, make sure that you’ve taken precautions about the law in the area where you live for beekeeping. Bees are protected by law in many US States and localities now.
Lastly, create a spot for the bees to get to their hive or apiary at night. Put up a fence and leave some space between the fence and house so they can fly into their hive or apiary during the day.
3). Baking
Bake some honey-based recipes to celebrate the day! Here are a few of our favorite ideas:
Honey Bee Cupcakes – This recipe is a great way to celebrate the little honey bees that contribute so much to our lives!
4). Enjoy Games
Enjoy honey in different forms – tea, spoonfuls straight from the jar, or honey butter. Play a fun bee-themed game like Bumblebee Bingo .
Honey Bee Day History and Facts
This day was established to celebrate honey bees for all they do for our society. The history of these little pollinators goes back thousands of years.
Bees were even mentioned in the Bible! In Genesis 19:ll it says “And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.”
Scholars believe that God was cursing Sodom and Gomorrah because they were being sinful by practicing pederasty. That also means that beeswax candles are mentioned in The Bible!
Fun Facts about Honey Bees
Here are some fun facts about honey bees:
1). Two of every three bites of food that we eat in the United States is made possible by the pollination done by our friend, the honey bee.
2). Honey bees have five eyes! They have one large compound eye and four smaller ocelli or simple eyes.
3). Honey bees also have an antennae made up of 11 segments. Although it doesn’t look like that because the last three are fused together and look like one segment, making them 10 in all.
4). They have 2 sets of wings that they use to fly so fast they break the sound barrier! However, they cannot hover.
5). Honey bees are not aggressive and will only attack when provoked.
6). Their bodies are covered in scales called sclerites that help protect their bodies from bee stings.
7). Foragers deposit chemicals from the nectar, or honeydew they collect. These chemicals inhibit competitors from raiding crops for food, which would hurt their overall survival.
Honey Bee Trivia
Here are some fun facts about honey bees that you can use to impress your friends on National Honey Bee Day!
1). The average worker bee produces 0.14-0.20 mg of wax per day.
2). Female worker bees have only one set of chromosomes, while the queen bee has 2 sets.
3). Honey bees can live up to 42 days and even travel up to 6 miles from their hives!
4). Worker bees are female, but male drones will not sting. Drones do all of the mating with virgin queens so they are usually more aggressive than workers.
5). A worker bee’s wings beat 11,400 times per minute! That is faster than most plane propellers! It only takes a worker honey bee 4-6 weeks to be capable of flying solo.
Conclusion:
The honey bee is a majestic creature that supplies so much joy to our lives. It’s the only insect known for its unique ability to produce food consumed by human beings, beeswax and royal jelly being two of them. Not only are they great pollinators, they also provide other life-saving substances like pollen and venom used in various medications. All in all, this humble insect deserves more appreciation from humans on National Honey Bee Day!