Bees facts

Secretion of aphids. Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the aphid. Honeydew is then collected by honey bees.

They overheat them. As a hornet enters the hive, a mob of hundreds of honey bees surrounds it in a ball, completely covering it and preventing it from reacting effectively. The bees violently vibrate their flight muscles in much the same way as they do to heat the hive in cold conditions. This raises the temperature in the ball to the critical temperature of 46 °C.

Up to 6 years. Queen bee is naturally capable of living up to 6 years. However, in modern beekeeping the replacement of mothers takes place every approximately 2 years.

It depends on the season. During the warm season, the worker bee lives only about 38 days. However, during the winter it may live up to about 6 months.

4. All insects have none, two or four wings. Some extinct insects had an additional pair of winglets attached to the first segment of the thorax, for a total of three pairs.

In New Zealand. Mānuka honey is produced by European honey bees foraging on the mānuka or tea tree which grows uncultivated throughout New Zealand. The honey is commonly sold as an alternative medicine. The word mānuka is from the Māori language in which it represents the bush or tree.