The best thing you can do for your local honey bees and for native bee populations:
Raw honey does not go bad, even when it crystallizes.
Honey bees do not live in the ground and are generally never aggressive unless you're near their hive. They typically only sting if fearful for their life.
- Make sure that your source for plants does not use neonicitinoids, which persist in plants (Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, & most of the big guys usually DO use neonics, even ironically on their plants labelled as "bee-friendly"). Pay a little more and get quality plants at local nurseries.
- Plant wildflowers, especially flowers that are locally native (local nurseries usually have a good selection of native plants).
- I hesitate before saying this, but yellow jackets are an enemy to the honey bee. Installing yellow jacket traps in the spring, when yellow jacket queens are emerging is helpful at preventing an entire nest from developing and will benefit your local honey bees.
Raw honey does not go bad, even when it crystallizes.
- Pasteurized honey can take years before crystallizing, if ever, and is not really good for you (it's stripped of any enzymes and is essentially just sugar). When raw honey crystallizes, it is still just as beneficial to eat and will maintain the same flavor. If you prefer your honey not crystallized, submerge the sealed jar of honey into warm water. You may need to submerge it into a fresh bath of warm water several times before it will turn runny. Do not put the jar into boiling hot water.
Honey bees do not live in the ground and are generally never aggressive unless you're near their hive. They typically only sting if fearful for their life.
- Bright yellow and black striped stinging insects that try to eat your food are yellow jackets. Honey bees diet = nectar and pollen, not human food.
- I've accidentally pinched honey bees; had honey bees up my shirt, in my ear, up my pants, in my hair... I rarely get stung but my advice to anyone near a hive: honey bees + hair = bees get tangled, panic, and sting. Your hair will seem like a spider web to them, so hair back and in a hat if you're by a hive!
- Also, no wearing really dark colors by a hive and no eating bananas. Bananas smell like honey bees alarm pheromone and will make them irate.