At our onsite apiary, local beekeeper Hugh tends to a thriving community of honey bees. These hardworking bees not only play a vital role in pollinating important heathland plants but also produce the delicious honey you can enjoy in our Tearooms or purchase in our gift shop.
Here are 5 fascinating facts about bees and honey that might surprise you:
1. Bees and our food chain
Insect pollination is crucial for maintaining the majority of the world’s floral diversity and plays a key role in plant reproduction. Nearly 90% of wild plants and 75% of the top global crops depend on animal pollinators, with bees being among the most important. In fact, pollinators like bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat.
2. Bees live in unexpected places
Social bees, like honeybees and bumblebees, typically live in hives in trees or underground, but solitary bees tend to nest in the ground. Bees thrive in some surprising places, such as marshes, sand dunes, soft cliffs, heathlands, wetlands, and even post-industrial areas like gravel pits and quarries.
3. Honey: A labour of love
Bees have been producing honey for over 150 million years. The UK is home to only one species of honeybee, the European honeybee. While they don’t hibernate, these bees cluster together in their colonies during the colder months, working collectively to stay warm and sustain their hive by making and storing honey throughout the summer.
4. Health benefits of Honey
Honey has been used by humans for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians utilised it as a sweetener, a sacred offering, and even in the embalming process, while the Greeks recognised its value as both a food and a healing medicine. For over 5,000 years, honey has been prized for its medicinal and healing properties, its natural therapeutic qualities make it an effective remedy for a variety of ailments.
5. An energy boost!
Honey provides natural, unrefined sugars and carbohydrates that are easily absorbed by the body, delivering a quick energy boost with lasting effects. Because of this, many athletes incorporate honey into their daily diets. It was even consumed by runners in the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece.
Next time you visit The Blue Pool stop by the gift shop to pick up a delicious pot of honey.
Sources:
BBC
World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF
The Honey Association