New Zealand Quality Service Awards

The Buzz About Bees READER’S DIGEST ILLUSTRATION: SERGE BLOCH 13 THINGS 1 Bees have their very own special day, World Bee Day. May 20 was chosen by the UN because it is the birthday of modern beekeep- ing pioneer Anton Janša of 18th- century Slovenia. Bees are well worth celebrating: they pollinate 35 per cent of the world’s food crops, such as fruit, vegetables and nuts. In fact, a single bee visits as many as 5000 flowers a day – busy bee indeed! BY Stephanie Gray 2 The buzzing beings we call bees comprise 20,000 different species, only eight of which produce honey. But honey may lose some of its sweetness once you know what it is: it is nectar that honeybees have repeatedly regurgitated and dehydrated. It’s not just people who stock up on the stuff: bees subsist on honey during the winter when they can’t forage. 14 December 2024/January 2025