Why Bees Are Called Worker Bees
Honeybees never sleep – perhaps that's why they are called Worker Bees. They have a life span of 6–8 weeks (about 2 months) and only females are worker bees. They have the ability to sting if they feel threatened.
There are three types of honeybees within a hive—workers, drones, and the queen.
The Workers and the queen are female, while the drones are male. The queen bee is the only female bee in the hive who reproduces. For the entirety of their lives, worker bees feed prospective queens with royal jelly, a nutrient-packed milky secretion (also known as apis mellifera). Though the queen is fed royal jelly all her life, worker bees are fed royal jelly only during the first two days of their larval stage.
Worker bees will visit nearly two million flowers and fly more than 55,000 miles (about 88,513.92 km) to make one pound of honey. A single honeybee will visit anywhere from 50–100 flowers in one nectar collection trip.
No two types of honey have the same taste because the flavor and color of honey is based on the different flowers that the bees visit. With each honey harvest, there will always be a slightly different taste, color or nutritional value.
Worker bees carry pollen in their pollen baskets (located on their back legs) and transport it back to the hive where it is used as food for the developing brood.
One of the most fascinating things about honey is that it stays edible indefinitely. Centuries ago, Greek and Roman mythology claimed honey was a food fit for the Gods. Greeks believed that giving the Gods offerings of honey helped them stay out of harm's way. Both cultures believed honey was ambrosia (something extremely pleasing to taste and smell).
During the archaeological excavation of King Tutankhamun's Tomb in 1922, amongst the treasures discovered was a jar of honey. Archaeologists tasted it and found it to be as sweet as...well, honey!