West Palm Beach will be abuzz from October 2-4 for the Florida State Beekeepers Association’s Honeybee Conference, an annual gathering for beekeepers of all expertise. This is the first year the 94-year-old event will take place in the area, turning the Embassy Suites West Palm Beach into a three-day hive of panel discussions, live bee demonstrations, a honey competition, exhibits and more. (941-504-0977)
Like an ID card to an exclusive club, each honeybee colony has a distinct odor members release to gain access into the hive. Want to feel like part of the colony? Read below to learn buzzworthy facts about bees by the numbers, provided by Al Salopek, president of the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. (561-206-4483)
Photo by Vanessa Rogers
Each honeybee produces only 1/12 teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
1 queen honeybee rules each hive.
To fly around the world, a honeybee requires only 1 ounce of honey as fuel.
A honeybee will travel only 3-5 miles from its hive.
Honeybees can fly 15 miles per hour.
30 percent of the food humans consume is pollinated by honeybees.
Each year, one adult hive of honeybees creates 50-400 pounds of the sweet nectar.
It costs $200-300 to begin backyard beekeeping as a hobby.
There are 210 members in PBBA.
Florida is home to more than 3,000 beekeepers.
A honeybee will flap its wings 11,400 times per minute, creating the “buzz” sound.
To produce 1 pound of honey, a honeybee must travel 55,000 miles and visit 1 million flowers.
Honeybees have remain unchanged for 20 million years, even though the world around them has changed.
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