some sweet History of the Honeybee

Apis mellifera; The honey-bearing bee.

(apis means bee, melli means honey, ferre means to bear)

Apis mellifera are fuzzy, black and yellow winged creatures that deliver powerful venom through barbed stingers, fix queen fights and are ruled by a stiff monarchy. Ironically they make honey, a sweet and golden syrup that is ferociously sticky and has been claimed to have magical properties.

So these stinging insects make sweet magical syrups…who are they and where did they come from?

Good question.

The classic honeybee or as already mentioned, Apis mellifera, is a pollinating insect that is necessary, and honestly VITAL, to North Carolina and its agricultural crops. Listed are some crops that are pollinated by honeybees in North Carolina and other food growing states such as California and Florida: watermelons, cantaloupes, squash, avocados, almonds, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, oranges, sourwood, and even buckwheat.

So now that we know WHO, WHERE is the next question.

Honeybees originated in Africa, Europe and western Asia. Some of the earliest documentation of honeybees and humans (beekeeping) comes from Egypt in a sun temple for King Ne-user-re.

Before that, honeybees evolved from pollinating insects that came about in the Cretaceous period 144 million years ago.

Honeybees, like other pollinators such as the hummingbird, moths, butterflies, and beetles, have preferences. They are attracted to blue, purple and yellow flowers that are flat or have a place for them to land and drink the nectar with their tongues (which is super cool and we'll get to that in a minute), like a sunflower. In comparison, hummingbirds like red and orange and flowers that are long and tubular to facilitate their beaks, such as a hibiscus. It's kind of creepy how these flowers seem to be perfect match for the pollinators they attract.

That has to do with the fact that flowers and insects co-evolved during the Cretaceous period and therefore shaped their selves for each other. It's kind of beautiful, almost like a love story.

Okay, so in short:

1) Honeybees are fuzzy,
2) yellow and black,
3) ruled by a monarch,
4) have really cool tongues (that we haven't talked about yet),
5) like blue, purple and yellow flowers that are flat,
and
6) make sweet, golden syrup called honey
7) are VITAL to agriculture in North Carolina because of their pollination powers.