For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Interesting facts about bees - Part 1

Honey bees' wings beat 11,400 times per minute.

Bees' flight speed averages only 15 miles per hour.

Bees possess five eyes.

Honeybees can perceive movements that are separated by 1/300th of a second. Humans can only sense movements separated by 1/50th of a second. Were a bee to enter a cinema, it would be able to differentiate each individual movie frame being projected.
 Bees cannot recognize the color red.

Honeybees' stingers have a barb which anchors the stinger in the victim's body. The bee leaves its stinger and venom pouch behind and soon dies from abdominal rupture.

Africanized Honey Bees (killer bees) will pursue an enemy 1/4 mile or more.

Honeybees communicate with one another by "dancing" so as to give the direction and distance of flowers.

A single hive contains approximately 40-45,000 bees.