Did you know?

· The old white £5 note showed Britannia with a skep (straw beehive).

· Saint Ambrose, who is the patron saint of beekeepers was born in France in 340AD. The story goes that when he was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on him whilst he was in his cot in the garden. When the swarm was driven away, Ambrose was found with not a single sting.

· It takes bees 20 000 flower visits to produce 1lb of honey.

· Honey is anti-bacterial and can be used to treat burns and wounds. · A full-sized colony in summer can consist of over 60 000 bees.

· Every third mouthful you eat has been produced by insect pollination.

· US defence scientists have trained honeybees to sniff out landmines.

· Pollination in the UK in 2002 was worth £153.6 million to the UK economy.