This image captures a newborn honey bee emerging from her wax cell — known as “eclosing.” After 21 days developing from egg to adult, she chews her way out of the capped cell to join the hive. Her first job? Cleaning and caring for other brood cells. Only after weeks of hive duties will she leave to forage.

Honey bees live in large colonies of up to 60,000 individuals, either in managed beehives or in wild tree cavities and walls. Beekeepers across the UK tend hives in gardens, orchards, farms, and even rooftops — helping sustain bee populations while harvesting honey, wax, and propolis.

Honey bees are generalist foragers, visiting a wide variety of plants. They collect nectar and pollen from clover, apple blossom, borage, lavender, brambles, and many wildflowers — making them one of the UK’s most important agricultural pollinator