The 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program is fast approaching, and we have plenty to be excited about this cookie season! Beginning Saturday January 16th, the Girl Scout Cookie Program will provide moments of joy to customers with the return of their favorite cookies… and the new addition of the delicious Toast-Yay cookie! Girl Scouts never fail to impress customers with their amazing entrepreneurial skills, so our cookie theme this year, Be Amazing, fits perfectly… along with our amazing mascot, the honey bee!

There are over 20,000 species of bees in the world, and only seven are honey bees, making them extra special. Honey bees are best known for creating honey and beeswax, both of which are used by humans! In order to make honey, honey bees gather pollen or nectar as part of the pollination process, which plants need to grow. Honey bees live in a colony with a queen bee, worker bees, and drone bees.

See below for our Top 5 honey bee fun facts!

1. Only female bees can make honey

In addition to the queen bee, all worker bees are female! In a colony, there is typically 1 queen bee, thousands of worker bees, and only a few drone male bees. On average, a hive contains 40,000 bees.

2. A colony can survive without foraging for several years

Honey bees are very adaptable! Foraging is when bees leave the hive to get more pollen or nectar, and bees usually have enough stored in their hive to last them several years without going to get more.

3. Bees have five eyes that look like two giant eyes

And as insects they have six legs and wings. Their bodies are covered in hair and they don’t like to sting because if they do they will die… but they will to protect their hive if they feel threatened!

4. Beekeepers maintain bee colonies to safely collect honey

Beekeepers keep bees in order to collect their honey and other items their hives produce for humans to use. Beekeepers are trained to safely maintain and build hives to protect themselves and their bees!

5. Honey bees need protection

The honey bee population is declining due to habitat destruction by humans. We need to protect them because they help produce our fruits and vegetables. To protect them, we can work with different organizations that push for earth friendly farming and make laws against using harmful chemicals.

Interested in learning more about honey bees and how you can help them? Keep an eye out for information on our 2021 Virtual Cookie Rally, where we will learn more about honey bees from the experts!