Worth the Buzz!
For thousands of years humans have maintained a very special relationship with honey bees. They are one of the most fascinating and delicate insects in the world, who produce the delicious honey that us Australians consume daily.
We all know and love Australian pure honey, but little do we know the honey bee is not native to Australia, in fact they were bought in by colonists who missed their English ‘treats’. Along with the honey bees came new variations of flora, fauna and animals.
Delving deeper into the day-to-day life of a honey bee is essential to understand why they are so vital to our eco-system and to the everyday Aussie house hold.
But there’s note just one type of honey be, as a matter of fact, there are three types of honey bees.
One be the Queen bee, who is the only one who can reproduce and has the average life span of 1-2 years.
Secondly, there’s the Worker bees who are all female and are actually the offspring of the Queen.
Worker bees are quite literally the only ones who ‘work’ to collect nectar and pollen to take back to the hive, they in turn have an average life span of 14-28 days.
Then finally the Drone bee, this is the only male bee. His purpose is to fly and reproduce with younger Queens to then start a new colony, his life span is approx. 90 days.
So its safe to say they don’t have much time to get the job done!!
These remarkable insects just don’t seem to get enough credit! But even if you aren’t impressed by a day in the life of a honey bee, you undoubtedly would be impressed by the breakfast staple that they produce – Honey.
In light of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Left Bank Melbourne in conjunction with Liam Spurrell will be hosting an interactive event showcasing all things honey!
This event will demonstrate the many ways honey can enhance a dish with a creative three-course menu, who knew it wasn’t just meant to be spread on your toast! Each course has been intelligently paired with a Victorian gin cocktail infused with honey.
To find out more about how honey is created, harvested and what different varieties of honey mean then head to www.leftbankmelbourne.com/whatson for tickets.
