Honey Bees vs. Bumblebees: How to Tell the Difference

Whether you are interested in keeping bees as a hobby or business or you just enjoy the outdoors, it’s essential to recognize the various critters who share your world. When it comes to telling the difference between honey bees and bumblebees, it’s common to see the wrong pictures displayed for both. In fact, even popular media has been known to use the wrong images when sharing reports featuring bees. To help identify bumblebees and honey bees, here are points to look out for: Honey bees Shorter, wasp-like bodies about 2-2.5cm Fuzzy torso, streaked abdomen, and thin wings Live in hives with potentially up to 50,000 individuals Can only sting once since it will result in death (only females can sting) Communicate with other honeybees through “dancing” Have shorter tongues and prefer shallower, open flowers Produces a surplus of honey for the colony The queen can live between 2 to 5 years Overwinters with the queen Bumblebees Fatter, rounder, and fuzzier bodies ranging 2-5cm Yellow, orange and/or black in colouring with thicker, blockier stripes/bands Live in nests with 5 to a few hundred individuals Can sting multiple times if aggravated and will not die (only females are capable of stinging) Do not “dance” to communicate Have longer tongues so can enjoy a wider range of flowers Do not produce a surplus of honey Do not overwinter with their queen (the queen hibernates alone) While coming across either a bumblebee or honey bee may seem scary if you’re up close and personal with the bee, it’s important to remember not to panic. In most cases, if you leave these types of bees alone,...

Four Surprising Honey Facts

Many people know that honey can be used for medicinal purposes or as a tasty topping, but there is so much more to honey that most people are never introduced to. Here are a few facts you may not know about honey that can be easily used as conversational pieces at your next cocktail party! 1. Honey was of great value in ancient civilizations. Not only was honey used as a sweetener and to help promote good health, but it could be found in furniture polish, varnish, and even cement. In fact, honey once was so great in value that: In 30th century B.C. Egypt, honey was often used as payment or tribute and fed to sacred animals; In 7th century B.C. Greece, honey was used as a sacred offering to gods and spirits of the dead; In 11th century A.D. Germany, peasants were required to give their feudal lords a payment of both honey and beeswax. 2. Honey stored in airtight containers has an indefinite shelf life. Honey has a number of attributes designed to prevent it from spoiling (as long as it has been properly sealed). For example, the supersaturation of honey kills bacteria and also prevents yeast and other fungal spores from forming. Since honey doesn’t go bad, and considering how valuable honey was in ancient civilizations, edible honey (as well as honey combs) have been found in tombs thousands of years old. 3. A typical beehive of 50,000 honey bees can make up to 500 pounds of honey per year. In order to make just one pound (or 0.45 kilogram) of honey, two million flowers have...