fact
Bees don’t buzz during an eclipse – Using tiny microphones suspended among flowers, researchers recorded the buzzing of bees during the 2017 North American eclipse. The bees were active and noisy right up to the last moments before totality. As totality hit, the bees all went silent in unison. 00
Scientists once gave drugs to bees, and found that they respond similarly to humans: bees on cocaine tend to overestimate the amount of sugar they find and exaggerate when reporting back to the hive. 10
Bees will seek out alcohol and get drunk–and “bouncers” at the hive refuse to let them in until they sober up. 00
Because of the decline in bee population, apple farmers in China are now pollinating the trees manually, using a paintbrush.
Apple orchards rent thousands of bees in hives from bee keepers to pollinate their trees in the spring. After a couple weeks when the trees have been pollinated the bee keeper comes back for his hives and transports them to the next orchard in need.
A swarm of 20,000 bees once followed a car for two days because their queen was trapped inside the car.
Norway started building a “highway for bees” in 2015. The bee-friendly corridor in Oslo passes through places where bees like to both live and feed, and features feeding stations.
Central American Stingless Bees have been cultivated by Mayans for thousands of years. The bees are regarded as pets and their hives hung in and around the home. Some hives have been recorded as lasting over 80 years, being passed down through generations.