Interesting Fact:

• The Mesozoic Era, approximately 100,000,000 years ago, brought flowers and bees first appeared among the insects.
• The earliest known record of honey collecting is from a 7,000 BC cave painting in Spain.
• Hives were placed on rafts in Egypt and floated down the Nile for pollination purposes as well as honey production.
• Honey was used in the embalming process for pharaohs.
• The Greek god of beekeeping was Aristaeus.
• One tablespoon of honey contains 65 calories.
• American Indians called honeybees "white man's fly" as the European bees spread ahead of European man.
• Bees and their kin do not see red; red flowers are pollinated by birds.
• The fertile eggs the queen lays become workers. The infertile eggs she lays become the drones
• The drones' only function is to fertilize the queen, so the drone has a grandfather but no father!
• Future queens are created by feeding the eggs and larvae royal jelly.
• Multiple queen cells are created but when the first queen appears from her cell, she kills the other queen larvae in their cells.
• The only poisonous honey is produced from Mt Laurel blossoms and contains andromedotoxin. (Any mystery writers out there?)
• Statistics: One bee would fly 3 earth orbits using 1 oz. of honey for fuel to collect enough nectar to produce one pound of honey.
• Honey is/has been used in golf balls, shaving creams, shampoos, gear lubricants, chewing gum and tobacco.
• Below 45 degrees bees become paralyzed if not within their hive.
• Scent organs are located on the bee's antennae; queens have 2,000 organs, workers 6,000 and drones 30,000.
• A queen may lay up to 5,000 eggs at her peak, 1,500 to 2,000 is normal.
• Bees were used in wars: Henry I hurled bees among the horses of the Duke of Lorraine during their dispute.
• In WWI the German troops in East Africa used bees to fight the British.