A program at the NC Estuarium Tuesday had participants buzzing about one of the world’s most fascinating and productive insects.

“A Day with a Beekeeper,” featuring Neal Moye, a beekeeper from Windsor, gave participants an in-depth look into the life of honeybees. Moye shared his experiences and information about bees, as well as brought an active hive of bees for the audience to see.

Moye told participants a typical hive of honeybees contains: one queen, which lives about three to five years; 250 drones, which are male bees responsible for fertilizing a receptive queen; 20,000 foragers, female bees that collect pollen and nectar; and 40,000 house bees, young female worker bees no more than two weeks old, that work only in the hive. Moye also provided facts about bees like it takes more than two million flower visits and 55,000 miles of flying to make one pound of honey.

Honey has many uses, including the making of candles, which do not smoke, Moye said. Honey and honeycomb, the hexagonal wall cells built by honey bees to contain larvae, honey and pollen, is also used to treat allergies, cuts, burns and other illnesses and can be used to make mead, an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water. The ancient Romans used honey to pay their taxes, too, Moye said.

Honeybees are the only insects that produce food eaten by man and have been around for over 30 billion years, Moye said. Their wings beat 11,000 times per minute and they can fly up to 15 mph and up to six miles per trip.

According to Moye, this year has not been the greatest year in beekeeping. He said on average, he yields about 180 pounds of honey, but this year he will be lucky to get 100 pounds. A number of problems can occur when raising bees, including disease, infestation by other insects and other natural occurrences, Moye said. Another natural phenomena called swarming, which involves the queen splitting from a hive and taking one-half to three-quarters of the bees with her, can cause the remainder of the hive to weaken and fail.

“Sometimes, no matter what you do, with their nature, you’re going to lose some,” Moye said.

Moye, who says his house is referred to as a zoo by community residents, said he tries to support naturally grown and raised items, resulting in not only his beekeeping, but also being involved in raising chickens and goats.

“I got into it (beekeeping) because I love nature,” Moye said. “I have chickens, goats and bees at my house. I try to support everything and I know what the bees do. I have bees in Louisburg and Windsor. I try to keep everything as natural as possible. I just like knowing that I’m helping out nature. Even my neighbors have made comments that since I’ve started, their plants have done better, even fruit trees have been bearing more fruit.”

Moye also runs the farmer’s market in Windsor, the only one in the United States designed and built by students, he said. He is highly involved in introducing others to beekeeping and raising animals.

“I do sell the honey,” Moye said. “Anybody who comes to my house, if they call ahead of time, I try to take the time to show them different things. In my opinion, if we don’t teach them, who will? No matter who it is, kid or adult, I try to pass that knowledge, that tradition down to the next person.”