a bee pollenating a purple flower

Fun and interesting facts on bees

Colorblind

Hard to believe, but bees can't see the color red. However, they can see ultraviolet light. 

Not always a big family

Wild bees are solitary, unlike honey bees who live in a hive.

Busy honeybees

About 80% of all crops and wild plants are pollinated by honeybees, 20% by wild bees, butterflies and other insects.

Oligolectic

Many wild bees only fly to a certain plant family. If that plant family goes extinct, it means death for that particular wild bee species as well. The technical term for this is "oligolectic".

All the buzz

The buzzing of bees occurs because bees beat their wings 11,400 times per minute.

As fast as

Bees can fly up to 32 km/h fast. The fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, can run 44.72 km / h fast.  

Death to the bees

A knife tip of the biocide "Fipronil" could kill 42 million bees. It is banned in the EU, but is still exported. (Source: Greenpeace)