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HONEYBEES AND THEIR WORK

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are incredibly industrious creatures. Although also going under the name European honey bee, these highly distinctive striped insects have over millennia swarmed (if not quite literally) every continent with the exception of Antarctica. While their spread is in part due to natural factors – carried across water bodies by wind and water currents – humans played a large part, both unintentionally through exploration, or deliberately, through species introduction for industrial hives.

Yet that honey bee populations not only survived but thrived across such diverse world regions is remarkable in itself. What makes them so adaptable, and with such success? The reasons vary, but a lot of it comes down to how the honey bee goes about finding sources of food. In other words, how the species sources, collects, and stores nectar (the sucrose-rich fluid secreted by flowers) and pollen (the fine powdery substance from the anthers of male flowers) – both of which the honey bee transforms into honey.

Colonizing honey bees is something that is extraordinary to watch, but even more amazing to be a part of. Where we tend to lose sight is in all of the hard work that these bees are doing in order to provide us with the honey we love indulging in. At Blythewood Bee Co., we are passionate about honey bees, as well as the different types of equipment and supplies that go into creating this home for the bees. We see clearly just how precious this process is, and we hope you can have just as high of an appreciation for your very own bee colony by understanding what components make it all possible.