Think you know all there is to know about bees? As bee-removal specialists, we’ve been around bees for a long time. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about bees and bee removal, bee relocation and bee extermination.

But we also have a lot of love for bees and the important role they play in our world — which would be a lot less sweet without them!

Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our 4-part series on Fascinating Bee Facts. Here’s part 2:

16. The bee’s brain is only about the size of a sesame seed, yet that doesn’t impede its ability to learn and remember things. When necessary, it can perform complex calculations on distance travelled and foraging efficiency.
17. According to the National Honey Board, it takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee’s flight around the world (wonder if they do any in-flight refueling?).
18. Now here’s a skill we bet many parents could have: The queen bee can decide whether she lays male or female eggs. If she uses stored sperm to fertilize the egg, the larva that hatches will be female. If the egg is left unfertilized, the larva that hatches will be male.
19. Smell is unique to each bee colony. It’s how each colony is identified.
20. Only worker bees sting, but they only sting if they feel threatened. The worker bee dies once they sting.
21. Queens have a stinger, but they never leave the hive to help defend it (like they would have time when they’re laying up to 2,500 eggs daily!).
22. Worried about dying from a bee sting? It’s estimated that it takes 1,100 honey bee stings to be fatal.
23. Honey bees are scientifically known as “Apis mellifera,” which mean “honey-carrying bee.”
24. Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones) have one job: mate. They have no stinger and don’t do any work.
25. Before winter comes along or when food becomes scarce, female honeybees usually force surviving males out of the nest.
26. The worker bees are the ones that produce honeycomb. Honeycomb consists of hexagon-shaped cells.
27. Worker bees ingest six to eight pounds of honey to produce one pound of beeswax.
28. Honey bees communicate with one another by dancing.
29. During winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the warmer months.
30. During winter, honey bees form a tight cluster in their hive to keep the queen and themselves warm.

Want Some More Bee Facts?

If bees swarm to your yard to establish their new home in your attic or under your roof, they can do damage to your home and should be removed as soon as possible. Call The Beehive at 480-468-8763 for live bee removal. Whenever possible, we’ll find them a new home where their colony can continue to thrive.