• A single honey bee colony can produce more than 100 pounds (45 kg) of extra honey and this is what is harvested by the beekeeper.
• A colony of honey bees in early spring has 20,000-40,000 bees.
• A colony of honey bees in summer has 80-100,000 bees.
• A honeybee flies up to 24 km /hr or 15 mph and its wings beat 200 times per second or 12,000 beats / minute.
• A normal colony of honey bees contains only one QUEEN who may lay 1,000 plus eggs per day during her busy season.
• The majority of the hive is worker bees (female) with a few drones(male).
• A worker bee gathers in her entire life 0.8 gram (0.0288 ounce) of honey.
• It requires 556 worker bees to gather a pound of honey.
• Bees fly more than once around the world to gather a pound of honey.
• The average life of a honey bee during the working season is about six weeks.
• Bees use to be kept in a hive made of straw that was called a skep.
• There are five products that come from the hive. Honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly.
• Honey is nature’s unrefined sweetener produced by the bees from the nectar of flowers.
• Beeswax is produced by the bees. It is a sweet smelling golden coloured wax. It has various uses including candles, cosmetics, polishes, etc.
• Pollen is gathered on the bee’s legs when they land on a flower for nectar. Pollen contains many nutrients, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and enzymes.
• Propolis is a sticky substance that bees produce from the buds of trees. The anti-bacterial properties in propolis, is why it is referred to as the medicine form the beehive.
• Royal Jelly is feed to a worker egg to produce a queen bee. It is said to have many cell rejuvenating properties.

• For the same sweetening power replace 1 cup of sugar with 2/3 cup honey. It not only adds a wonderful flavour to baked goods and drinks but can cut calories because you need less.
• When cooking with honey reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F (15 degrees Celsius).
• Honey retains moisture and therefore, honey can add shelf life to baked goods and is an ideal ingredient for skin and hair beauty products.
• To re-liquefy honey that has become cloudy and granular, place the jar in a pan of hot water or gently heat in the microwave. Creamed honey can also be liquefied in this way for ease of use in cooking.
• Always store your honey at room temperature, in a dry place. Cover tightly to retain flavour and aroma, and to protect it from moisture absorption.
• Honey may be stored in the freezer, if well sealed, without any change in flavour or texture.
• Honey is 25% sweeter than sugar because of its high fructose content.
• Honey keeps almost indefinitely. Edible honey has been unearthed from Egyptian ruins.
• The floral source determines the colour and flavour of honey. The darker the honey, the stronger the flavour.
  
  

Steve Bryans, a 5th generation beekeeper of Munro Honey and Meadery in Alvinston, gets a kiss from his fiance Rachel Bannister, after winning first place in a bee beard competition Saturday, August 11th.

By tying a queen honey bee in a tiny cage around Steve's neck, Tom Hiemstra was able to coax about 10,000 bees to hang from his face creating the "beard". Of the four contestants in the competition, Steve's beard was the fullest at 2.2 lbs.


When asked to describe the sensation, Steve said that the beard felt "warm and tingly". Steve was only stung twice during the hour wearing the beard. This was the 3rd annual competition hosted by Clovermead Apiaries in Aylmer.


This award is a sweet addition to the medals won by Munro's Mead earlier this year.