Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/256387
the stacked white boxes we see today, allows beekeepers to remove honey without destroying the hive and transport hives from crop to crop. Honey bees are highly effective pollinators because in addition to nectar they seek flowers with pollen, which provides protein for their developing larvae. Pollinators like hummingbirds and bats collect nectar only. Pollen grains attach to the honey bee's hairy body and rub off on other flowers, setting the stage for fruit and seed formation. (Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains, male reproductive cells of a flower pro- duced in the anther, to the female reproductive organ, the stigma.) Honey bees live in colonies organized around a single reproducing female, the queen, who controls the size and makeup of the hive. Colonies can have 10,000 to 40,000 bees at peak times. Ninety percent are female worker bees who take a series of roles through their life- times rearing the young, feeding and tending to the queen, cleaning and defending the hive, foraging, and creating honey stores. Ten per- cent are drones, male bees born from unfertilized eggs, whose only role is assisting the queen in reproduction. According to the National Honey Board, bees pollinate about one- third of the produce Americans consume. The US Department of Agriculture estimates honey bees pollinate $20 billion worth of crops each year. In New England, honey bees pollinate apples, blueberries, and cranberries. Commercial beekeepers deploy hundreds of thou- 122 W e l l e s l e y W e s t o n M a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 Fantastic Facts about Honey Bees Honey Bees Sweeten Suburban Life P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F H E A T H E R M A T T I L A , W E L L E S L E Y C O L L E G E …from the National Honey Board Posted by The Massachusetts Beekeepers Association website 2 million flowers What a hive must tap to make one pound of honey 50 to 100 flowers What a honey bee visits in one collection trip 55,000 miles How far a honey bee flies to gather nectar to produce one pound of honey 1/12 of a teaspoon About the amount a worker bee makes of honey in her lifetime 15 mph Average speed a honey bee can fly 90 percent The amount of their weight a honey bee can transport in nectar and pollen 120-126_WWMa14_Bee Keepers_v2_WellesleyWeston Magazine 2/2/14 12:23 PM Page 122