Thought for June 2026
Can it Bee! “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man” Albert Einstein.
You may have seen the news clips on the local news highlighting the fact that a significant number of honeybee colonies have failed to make it through the winter. There has been Plenty of publicity over the recent years about the reduction in the numbers of pollinators in large part due to the shortage of suitable forage. In 2009 the Women’s Institute passed a resolution entitled “SOS for Honey bees” calling on the government to increase funding into bee health. Gardners up and down the country are being encouraged to plant bee friendly flowers.
Here are some facts about bees and honey:
›Each hive only has one queen, it is not unusual for the queen to lay 1,500 and 2,000 eggs per day during the peak spring and summer season
›An average colony has between 35-40,000 bees during the summer period.
›Hard-working honeybees will produce about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in their lifetime
›Bees collect about 20kg of pollen every year - that’s 1 million pollen loads at 20mg per trip!
›Bees fly about 55,000 miles to make just one pound of honey; that’s 2.2 times around the world.
›The ancients often used honey-based treatments to cure and heal wounds and other infections. Modern medicine is looking again at the use of honey as an antimicrobial.
›Bees have biological airspeed gauges, gyroscopes, compasses and more, enabling precision flying and navigation
The Bible contains a number of references to honey.
Honey was one of the only sweeteners available at that time. The manna from heaven that the Exodus Israelites eat after leaving Egypt tastes like “wafers with honey” Exodus 16:31. The term “milk and honey” is used numerous times to describe the bounteous land of Canaan, promised by God to the Israelites. Exodus 3:8. King David praises God’s judgments as “sweeter than honey”. Psalm 19:9–10
On its own the individual bee is incredible, how the colony communicates and works together to produce honey is nothing short of amazing! The Honeybee is without doubt is one of the wonders of God’s creation, providing remarkable evidence for design and purpose by the creator. When you next spread some honey on your bread spare a thought for the wonderful bees that made the honey, but more importantly think about and thank the God who created the flowers and the bees, providing honey for you and me! Do you think it happened by chance?
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”
Jim Loescher
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