What We Wish Everyone Knew About Honey Bees

I didn’t grow up around beekeepers. I didn’t inherit a hive or take over a family tradition.

Honestly, beekeeping was Steven’s idea. He was interested in it long before I was, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. But he wanted us to do it together, so I gave it a shot.

I fell in love with it. I guess you could say I caught the bug. 🐝

Now it’s a hobby we enjoy together, and I’ve taken it to a whole other level. Somewhere along the way I became completely obsessed with pollinator-friendly plants, and I’m always looking for the next one to bring home for the bees. Steven says it’s my addiction. He’s probably not wrong.

Since then, the bees have taught me a lot, including how wrong I was about some things. So here are a few of the things I wish everyone knew about honey bees, starting with my own misconceptions.

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Things I Got Wrong

“Bees are aggressive and sting a lot.”

This was the big one. I expected to be stung constantly.

The truth is that honey bees aren’t aggressive. They’re defensive. There’s a difference. A bee out foraging on flowers has no interest in you whatsoever. She’s busy. Bees mostly sting when they feel their hive is being threatened, and for a worker honey bee, stinging a person is usually the last thing she ever does, since her barbed stinger gets stuck and she dies. It’s not a choice she makes lightly.

And honestly? Almost every time I’ve been stung, it was because I did something wrong. The bees were just responding to it. They’re very good teachers that way. (I share a few of those lessons in 10 Beginner Beekeeping Mistakes.)

Also worth knowing: many of the “bees” that bother people at picnics are actually yellowjackets, which are wasps. Honey bees are fuzzier, browner and far more interested in flowers than your sandwich.

“Beekeeping is pretty hands-off.”

I pictured setting up a box, letting the bees do their thing and showing up to collect honey. Ha.

Bees do most of the work, but keeping a healthy colony takes real attention: regular hive inspections, watching for pests and disease, making sure they have enough food and water through the seasons, and paying attention to how the colony is behaving. It’s less like owning a decoration and more like caring for tens of thousands of tiny, very opinionated pets.

“All bees make honey.”

Nope! There are around 20,000 known species of bees in the world, and only a small handful make honey. Most bees are solitary, meaning they don’t live in hives at all. Many nest in the ground or in hollow plant stems.

Here’s the part that surprised me most: honey bees aren’t even native to North America. California alone is home to well over a thousand species of native bees, and they do a huge amount of pollinating work. So if you care about pollinators like I do, planting flowers helps all of them, not just the honey makers.

If you want to give some of those native bees a home, a mason bee house is a fun place to start.

Things the Bees Do That Still Make Me Smile

They “beard” on hot days

On really hot afternoons, you might see a big clump of bees hanging off the front of the hive like a fuzzy beard. The first time I saw it, I worried something was wrong. It’s actually their version of stepping out on the porch to cool off. Moving some bees outside reduces the heat inside the hive, and others fan their wings at the entrance to keep air moving.

They have undertakers

Honey bees keep a very clean house. Certain workers take on the job of carrying dead bees out of the hive and dropping them away from the entrance. It’s a little somber to watch, but it’s also amazing how organized they are.

They check you out

Walk near the hive and a bee might zip over and buzz around you for a moment, like a little security guard deciding whether you’re a problem. The trick is to stay calm, move slowly and not swat. Usually, she decides you’re fine and goes back to work.

They drink from the birdbath (and the pet bowl)

Bees need a lot of water, especially in summer. They use it to help cool the hive and to prepare food for their babies. Ours visit the birdbath, and yes, they’ve discovered the pets’ water bowl too. Apparently, it’s just as good as anything I set out for them.

If you want to help bees in your own yard, a shallow dish of water with some pebbles or a few corks floating in it gives them a safe place to land and drink without falling in. A pollinator water dish does the job too, or you can build your own bee bath.

A Few More Things Worth Knowing

• The workers are all girls. The foragers, nurses, guards and builders are all female. The males, called drones, don’t collect food or sting.
• One bee makes a tiny amount of honey. A single worker bee makes only about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her whole life. Every jar is the work of thousands of bees.
• Summer bees don’t live long. A worker bee born in summer typically lives only about five to six weeks, because she works so hard.

What I’ve Taken Away From It

I started keeping bees because Steven asked me to try it with him. I kept going because of what the bees gave back. I didn’t expect how much they would change the way I pay attention: to what’s blooming, to the weather, and to how my own energy affects things when I open the hive. Calm and patient works better. With bees, and with a lot of other things.

If there’s one thing I’d love for everyone to take away from this, it’s this: the next time a bee lands near you, take a breath before you swat. She’s probably just passing through on her way to do something important. 🐝

Want to see what I keep bringing home for the bees? Check out The Best Pollinator-Friendly Plants to Grow in Fremont, California. And if you’d love to support bees without keeping a hive yourself, our hive adoptions and pollinator sponsorships help care for our colonies all year.

— Misty, Beeholden Farms