It’s no secret that we hold a special appreciation for bees. These incredible creatures embody a high-flying spirit and a tireless work ethic, both of which inspire us daily. Bees remind us of the dedication and resilience needed to create positive change—whether it's in preserving our planet's ecosystems or advocating for more enlightened cannabis policies. Just as bees tirelessly work to build and sustain their hives, we’re committed to cultivating and sharing a community of like-minded people, one that values sustainability, wellness, and forward-thinking legislation.
Our team is buzzing over these 20 fun honey bee facts that we couldn’t wait to share. Let’s dive into the world of bees!
1. Honey bees dance to communicate food source locations. This is known as their “waggle dance,” and it allows one bee to tell the rest of the honey bee hive where to find the best sources of nectar. Imagine getting your groove on every time you had to give directions!
2. Bees have built-in pollen pouches. If you look closely at a honey bee flying among the flowers, you might notice yellow or orange on its legs. These are called corbiculae, and they’re one of the most interesting parts of a bee. Though they look like pouches, they’re actually made of special hairs that create a nook for bees to tuck pollen into.
3. Bees have an impeccable sense of direction. They can navigate back to their hive from up to five miles away.
4. Honey bees are super pollinators. Honey bees pollinate around 80% of flowering crops, including many fruits and vegetables that humans depend on. Needless to say, our plates would be very boring without them.
5. Bees are very buzzy. The honey bee’s distinctive buzz comes from rapid wing strokes — around 11,400 per minute, to be exact.
6. Long live the queen bee. A bee’s lifespan depends on its role. Worker bees live for anywhere from a handful of weeks to a few months, while drones (male honey bees that mate with the queen) typically don’t live beyond 60 days. Meanwhile, the queen bee lives for up to five years.
7. Hives have a predominantly female workforce. Most of the bees in a hive are female worker bees, responsible for gathering food, nurturing the young, and maintaining the hive. The life of a female bee is a testament to tireless commitment and essential teamwork, showcasing the vital role they play in the survival and success of the entire colony. Much like human women, these female bees embody resilience and strength, balancing multiple responsibilities that are crucial to the well-being of their community.
8. Queen bees can have impersonators. Of all the bee facts, this one is the most scandalous! Queen bees are the only bees to lay eggs — but female bees have been known to lay eggs and may even look like queens. However, only the real queen can ensure a hive remains healthy and thriving.
9. Bees “bake” their own bread. Pollen mixed with the bee's honey is stored in the hive and fermented into "bee bread," which serves as food for the colony.
10. Bees are masters at controlling their hive’s climate. Honey bees maintain a constant hive temperature of around 93°F (34°C) by fanning their wings to cool off or clustering together for warmth.
11. We can thank honey bees for honeymoons. Here’s one of our favorite honey facts: Drinking honey wine (mead) was a common tradition for newly married couples in medieval times. The bride and groom would drink mead for a moon cycle, giving us the term and tradition of the honeymoon.
12. Honey is a marvel of nature — it never expires. When stored properly, honey remains fresh indefinitely. Its natural properties, such as low moisture content and high acidity, create an environment where bacteria and microorganisms simply cannot thrive.
13. It takes nectar from two million flowers to make one pound of honey. And each honey worker bee only makes about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. If that’s not confirmation that we need to plant more native flowers to support our pollinators, we don’t know what is!
14. Humans and honeybees have a unique relationship. Did you know honey is the only insect-produced food that humans eat? We’re truly fortunate to have this nutritious natural sweetener at our disposal, perfect for creating healthy desserts, smoothies, salad dressings, and even cannabis-infused honey!
15. Bees can support cannabis pollination. Cannabis is primarily a wind-pollinated plant, relying on the wind to carry pollen from male plants to female plants for fertilization. While bees are not the primary pollinators of cannabis, they can still contribute to the process by inadvertently transferring pollen as they move between flowers. This is more likely to occur in hemp varieties with more accessible flowers rather than dense, resinous cannabis buds typically used for consumption.
16. Bees rely on pollen from hemp. Although hemp lacks nectar and is primarily wind-pollinated, studies show its protein-rich pollen is an essential food source for bees when other floral resources are scarce. Bees rely on nutrition from hemp pollen in agricultural regions where monoculture crops limit food sources and in late summer months when other plants have finished blooming.
17. Bees don’t get high from cannabis. Despite gathering pollen from cannabis plants, bees do not experience the psychoactive effects of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) found in cannabis. Their bodies lack the necessary receptors to process THC, so they are unaffected by it.
18. Here’s what happens when bees make honey from cannabis. It seems like if bees gather pollen from hemp, they would make psychoactive honey, right? Cannabinoids including THC are present in the cannabis pollen bees collect, but the levels aren’t high enough to have any effect. So, if you want weed-infused honey, you’ll have to make your own!
19. Hemp does not produce floral nectar. Honeybees, bumblebees, and other native bees visit male hemp flowers for their pollen, but hemp plants don’t produce floral nectar.
20. Cannabis plants can thrive without bees. Unlike many other crops, cannabis plants are primarily wind-pollinated and do not rely on bees or other insects for reproduction. This makes them relatively unique among cultivated plants.
It’s impossible to share information about bees without emphasizing their critical role in our ecosystem. The benefits of bees extend far beyond producing delicious honey (though we’re thankful for that, too).
Bees are among the most effective pollinators, supporting the growth of 80% of flowering plants and many crops vital for human food production. Their pollination efforts are vital in maintaining biodiversity, supporting, the food chain, and contributing to soil and water conservation. Additionally, the livelihoods of farmers and the broader economy depend on bees to boost crop yields.
From our plates to the health of our planet, there’s so much to appreciate about honey bees.
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