The Worker Bee
It takes 21 days for a worker honeybee to emerge after the laying of an egg. During the height of summer the honey-bee will live a maximum of six weeks. In that time she will learn to: clean and polish cells; nurture the young larvae; produce wax and to construct honeycomb. Before leaving the hive to forage she will have 'stood guard' at the hive entrance to ward off other marauding insects, and finally, she will fly to forage for that purest of foods, namely nectar. It is the nectar, with the addition of an enzyme (produced by the bee), which forms the honey we know so well. A Honeybee will forage over a half-mile radius around the hive, and sometimes up to two or more miles. Therefore the immediate 'flora' in the vicinity will determine the flavour, sweetness, aroma, colour and viscosity of the honey.

Flowers and Nectar
The annual cycle of flowers producing nectar and/or pollen, is something like: hazel, soft fruit, top fruits, holly, maple, sycamore, oil seed rape, field bean, marigold, limetrees and later, heather. Of course, the precise source of nectar will depend upon the season and locality.

The Three Castes
The Honeybee Colony consists of three castes of bee:
a) a Queen, who is mother to all the other bees in the colony.
b) Workers (female honeybees) numbering about 10,000 in winter rising to some 50,000 or more in summer .
c) Drones. In summer the colony contains from 200 - 1000 drones (male bees) but there are none in the winter. 

Pruducts of the Hive
Apart from honey, other products of a Colony are Beeswax, Royal Jelly, Pollen, and Propolis. Royal Jelly is produced from certain glands of the worker bee and is fed to the developing larvae. Pollen is collected on two of the worker bee's six legs and carried back to the hive - it is a high protein beefood. Propolis is a plant resin used by the bees to strengthen and waterproof the hive and is known to have valuable antibiotic properties.

Every foraging bee is also a pollinator, so this means increased yields of fruit, nuts and seed crops, not only to the farmer but to each of you who love to work in the garden, and to those who walk in our parks and countryside. Our honeybees are doing what they have done for millions of years - and their honey must surely be one of the few foods unchanged by man. Enjoy our bees' honey and be assured that it has been handled with care.