What goes
on in the beehive? A nice warm day in February, the bee's
start to stir after their winter rest. It is at this time
of the year, weather permitting, that the bees will take flight
to stretch their wings and perhaps do a bit of housework within
their hive. Yes they do house work. Our furry friends are
very meticulous about their home. They will not tolerate any
form of wasted matter in the hive. This time of the year there
will be quite a lot of housework to do, dead bees, facia,
wax cappings and general debris, all has to be cleared out
to make their home into the palace fit for their Queen to
carry on with the production of their family.
The number of bees in the hive around this time is approximately
15000 - 20000. It is the hope of every beekeeper that the
Queen does survive during the winter months. If she dies then
the colony may not survive without her and they too may die.
Although invariably some bees do die off during the winter
irregardless.
So it is a welcome sight for the beekeeper as the spring arrives
to see the bees flying and taking pollen into the hive this
indicates that the hive has survived and the Queen has started
laying and thus the colony awakens and their seasons work
starts buzzing. |
Honey Bee
Collecting Nectar
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At the height of the season,
June – August, a colony consists of the Queen, in excess
of 50,000 female bees and approximately 500 drones, male bees.
In addition to these mature bees the colony will house a variable
number the immature stages of the honeybee. These consist
of eggs, larvae, and pupae. They are housed in individual
cells of the honeycomb which the beekeeper collectively calls
‘the brood’.
Packed into the other cells of the honeycomb will be pollen
and honey, the food for the bees forming their stores, which
they draw on or add too as they wish.
This whole unit comprises a colony, which is regarded as normal
when all the different stages are present. If any of these
stages are missing the colony is at risk.
A hive consists of a ‘Brood Box’, which is the
largest box of the structure, and smaller boxes known as Supers.
The Queen is kept in the Brood Box so that all the reproduction
of the honeybees is contained within one area in the hive.
The supers are then added by the beekeeper throughout the
season, stacking on top of the Brood Box, depending on the
room needed by the honeybee throughout the season i.e. the
honey flow which depends on the amount of flowers available
which depends on the weather and of course the environmental
surroundings.
Most of the hive styles used in the U.K. is known as a National
Hive. These are commonly used as they are interchangeable
and easy to manipulate. The pretty hive we all associate with
bees is known as the WBC hive. Whilst this is pretty it is
not easy to work with or as practical as the National Hive.
The average life span of the various inmates within the hive
is: - Worker Bees (which are all female) throughout summer
36 days, Queen 3-4 years Drone (which are male bees) for one
season only. The Drone is produced every season for the sole
purpose of mating with the virgin queens. With the arrival
of autumn the worker bee evicts all the drones out of the
hive as their purpose is now complete and the colony needs
to conserve their honey store throughout the winter. The bees
surviving at this time will live throughout the winter to
enable the colony to start the cycle again in the spring.
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During the season the bees’
main purpose is foraging, it may be fetching one of four
things into the hive. These are nectar, pollen, propolis
and water. Nectar is sugary substance provided by a flower
(sap). They collect these ingredients in very small quantities,
bringing it home in their honey stomach. Pollen is collected
from flowers providing protein, vitamins and trace elements
for the bee diet This is brought home as a load on their
hind legs. Propolis is ‘bee glue’, used for
gluing everything in the hive, filling in holes too small
for the bees to get through and for varnishing, sterilising
and to strengthen the comb. It is brought home from plant
buds on the third leg like pollen. Water is needed to dilute
honey so that it can be used by the colony and to cool the
hive when temperatures are high.
And so, apart from the water, the purpose of our furry friends
is to pollinate the vegetation, and thus, their contribution
to the ecology of planet progresses.
Article and Photographs
By Barbara Davies
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Honey Bees
Working the Comb
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