Honey bees really have hair on their eyes—the microscopic short hairs are known as setae and help the insect with navigation. As honey bees fly, the hair on their eyes catches the wind to help them figure out direction and speed while traveling. It can also sense levels of humidity in the air and help lead the honey bees toward plants with pollen. Although there are over 20,000 other species of bees, honey bees are among the only ones with hair covering their eyes. The honey bees’ eyes are made of hexagonal lenses, and are so strong, they can see ultraviolet light that the human eye cannot, which helps them differentiate between flowers that have nectar and those that don't.
More about bees:
- Bees beat their wings approximately 180 times every second and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles (32 km) per hour.
- To produce 1 pound (.45 kg) of honey, a bee has to fly 55,000 miles (88,513 km) and tap two million flowers.
- The compound vision of bees is so strong, they can view 300 frames per second.
