Crazy about bees!

At Hilltop Honey we celebrate bees... because without them, we wouldn't exist! Literally. They make our honey. Honey bees collect nectar to create honey and store as food because it provides the energy for bees to fly and heating for the colony in the winter months. The good news for us is that honey bees will always make more honey than their hive needs, so we just bottle what's left over.
Keep scrolling to learn about honeybees.
Help us save the bees

all about the hive

Queen Bee!

Alternatively known as the mother of the hive and can lay up to 2000 eggs a day!
Did you know? The queen bee is so busy laying eggs, she has servants, called 'attendants' who follow her all day, feeding and cleaning her.

Honeycomb

A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic cells built from beeswax by honey bees in their nests to contain their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) and stores of honey and pollen. Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey.

The Honeybee

Did you know there are 20,000 different types of bees in the world? But only one kind makes honey: the honeybee. This bee species lives in large families, or colonies, and can be found all over the world.

Worker Bees

They do all the work in the hive, and they control most of what goes on inside. Their jobs include housekeeping, feeding the queen, drones and larvae, collecting the pollen and nectar, and making the wax.

Drone Bees

They are male bees and their sole purpose is to mate with the queen: they don't work, don't make honey and can't sting. Since a queen only needs to mate once, most of the drones won't even get the chance to fulfil their role. But worker bees keep them around, just in case a new queen needs mating.

Queen Bees

The queen is the most important individual in a colony. She is the only bee capable of producing workers and tens of thousands of workers are required for strong colonies.

Your questions answered

Honey - the golden nectar that has been loved for years! It is a culinary marvel that invites many questions, from the delicate dance of bees gathering nectar, to the rich symphony of flavours that different varieties of honey offer, there's so much to explore. Perhaps, you're wondering about the history of honey, health benefits, or dishes to which you can add this sweet nectar. Let's delve into your questions, unravelling its secrets and celebrating its role in our kitchens and beyond.