Although car manufacturing has been temporarily suspended, there has been a buzz of activity with the production of another unique, distinctly British treasure running at record levels at the Home of Rolls-Royce: the world’s most exclusive honey.

A dedicated 250,000-strong workforce in the company’s apiary are set, once again, to exceed their 2020 volume targets for the ‘Rolls-Royce of Honey’.

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Source: Rolls Royce Motor Cars

Established in 2017, the Goodwood Apiary comprises of six traditional, English-crafted, wooden beehives, each bearing a polished stainless steel nameplate handcrafted in the company’s Bespoke Workshop.

Five are named after cars in the Rolls-Royce product family – ‘Phantom’, ‘Wraith’, ‘Ghost’, ‘Dawn’ and ‘Cullinan’ – while the sixth, the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, celebrates the marque’s illustrious mascot.

Like the 2,000 employees at the Home of Rolls-Royce, the bees are responsible for producing a rare and desirable product.

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Source: Rolls Royce Motor Cars

The Apiary project is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ response to the real and present threat facing Britain’s Honey Bee population.

Honey Bees are the principal pollinators of numerous tree and plant species, including many of the fruit and vegetable crops that are crucial to the local agricultural economy around the Home of Rolls-Royce. However, a shortage of suitable forage, primarily caused by habitat loss, has put their numbers under great and growing pressure in recent years.
 

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Source: Rolls Royce Motor Cars

Bee Trivia At A Glance:

• Top speed: 20-28 km/h when empty (flying to food source) but 17km/h when fully loaded (returning with nectar, pollen, water or propolis resin collected from tree buds)
• Acceleration: No figures currently available.
• RPM: The honey bee beats its wings 11,400 times per minute, which produces the buzzing sound.
• On board navigation and compass using the sun and there is evidence of sensitivity to the earth’s magnetic field. 
• Range: Up to 8 km for food however average distance usually less than 1.6 kilometre from the hive.
• Odometer: Bees fly almost 90,000Km to produce less than 500g of honey, (more than twice around the world).

Courtesy of The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA); Apiculture New Zealand; Australian Honey Bee Industry Council

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