Bees will build a hive in any space that is protected from the elements and general disturbance, such as:
Have Bees Removed |
A question that is often answered in a gross out way by those who haven't
yet acquired the taste.
Honey is NOT bee vomit, although the process could lead
one to believe just that.
Forager bees go out and collect nectar from flowering plants as they go.
The nectar is stored in the crop of the bee. The bee's crop is like a holding
cavity, no digestion takes place. Upon returning to the hive the bee will
empty it's crop directly into the crop of a bee near the entrance which
will take the nectar deeper into the hive to where the empty cells are and
empty it's crop into a cell. This process will have to happen quite a number
of times before the cell is full.
The
bee will also add an enzyme called invertase to the nectar every time
they add more nectar to the nectar already in the cell. The invertase
breaks down the nectar into simple sugar, while the bees fan the hive
to keep it cool. The fanning also creates enough airflow to allow the
water in the nectar to evaporate.
The nectar will ripen into honey, and as a result of the low water content microbes will not be able to survive leaving the honey free of mould or any other kind of fungus.
In our practice of bee removal, we endeavour to keep the colony intact and alive as we relocate them. The removal of bees rather than the extermination of a swarm is motivated largely by Colony Collapse Disorder.
Colony Collapse Disorder was the name given to the disappearance of bees across the United States. But it has in fact spread across the globe, including South Africa.
Bees simply disappear. A thriving hive will seem to be abandoned by worker bees leaving the colony to die. This has resulted in certain areas losing up to 60% of their bee population.
are the main culprits, although this list may change as each of the parties responsible change their practices.
The concern that colony collapse disorder generated, actually encouraged alot more people to take on the task of bee keeping. Naturally their are a number of things to consider before doing this and a number of things to learn in order to make your bee keeping endoavour safe and successful. Let's learn about keeping bees.
Have you ever wondered why a queen bee is the only bee that is tasked with the laying of eggs?
It seems it is something she has taken upon herself. Emittng pheromones which prevents other female bees/ worker bees from laying eggs, effectively keeping them sterie while she is around.
These pheromones inhibit the development of ovaries in the worker bees or if their ovaries do develop these secretions prevent the worker bee from laying eggs.
In the case of bumble bees and desert ants an experiment was done and the insects were isolated from any queen, the ability to reproduce was restored in these insects.
You've seen the men and sometimes even a few women covered in bees from around
their necks and down
the front of their bodies. This is called wearing a bee beard, a practice
which began in the early 19th century as way for beekeepers to display
the affinity they share with the insects. Wearing a bee beard is now a
common sight at various agricultural fairs world wide.
Bees are encouraged to gather on the body by having a captured queen in a small box tied under the chin of the person intending to perform this feat. This explains why the bees generally cluster around the neck and head in a beard-like formation.
The man on the right is almost completely covered in bees. Miraculously there are very few if any stingings that occur.
The need for bees to keep the agricultural wheel rolling and our food supply intact is a given, but when we can gain medically from what bees have to offer, we have yet another reason to ensure that the planet's bee population survives.
Much has been said about royal jelly and it's medicinal properties, from cures for asthma and skin disorders and as a super food to clear away fertility problems and arthritis sufferers have found relief from their joint paint with bee stings.
The melittin in bee stings has been credited with relief from arthritic pain and bee venom has the ability to kill HIV cells without damaging surrounding cells.
The melittin in bee venom was bonded to nano-particles and have a bumper
which keeps other cells at bay. The HIV cells however, are the only cell
small enough to get past the bumper and reach the bee venom which in turn
tears the outer layer of the HIV cell effectively killing it. Check out
the research newsletter
from Washington University in St. Louis
Melittin has also been found to have a profound effect on a number of different viruses including Hepatitis B and C.
Bees are known as stinging insects but research has shown that they actually do bite, too. Not as a means of attack or large scale defence of the hive but as means of controlling pests that invade the hive. One of these is the varroa mite which when ensconced in a hive is difficult to remove and can destroy a hive.
Previously thought to be a grooming exercise it has come to light that the bite of the bee contains a chemical known as 2-heptanone which stuns the mite enough that it can be removed from the bee and ejected from the hive. It was noticed by scientists that this same behaviour was evident when bees dealt with the wax moth and it's larvae.
Research also indicates that their may indeed be a use for2-heptanone in humans, possibly as a form of anaesthetic or pain killer in patients where allergies to common anaesthetic or pain killers is experienced
That's what people who keep an eye on bees and their activities call it. It is what bees do in order to relay information to their fellow hive mates. This information is usually about the location of a food source or if the colony is swarming while looking for a new hive, the scout bees will also do a dance disclosing the location of a possible new hive.
The bee with the news will enter the hive and perform a dance which requires wriggling the body from side to side and moving in a figure eight pattern. The direction of the dance will be an indication of the direction that the bees should move in and the distance they need to fly is also included in that information.
Spring is here and that means that there should be all manner of flowering plants about to burst into life, allowing the bees to go about their business of pollination while collecting food for themselves. But what about that patch when it just starts to warm up, but spring hasn't quite sprung and there are little or no flowering plants available. What do bees eat then? and is there anything you can do to help them over those few weeks?
There are a number of things that you can do to help the bees through this tough period. ideally you want to make sure that there are enough flowering plants in your garden throughout the year. Even though there may be fewer options you want to keep some flowering plants in the garden during winter too.
Your other alternatives would be to feed the bees with a syrup made up of sugar and water. They do seem to enjoy this rather alot but the nutritional value is a bit lacking.
On the other hand you could feed the bees with honey, which is really the best thing for them but you run the risk of robber bees. You can get around this though. Place your feeders a short distance away from the hive rather than inside it hwere the bees are, so that if there are marauding bees about they won't be attracted to the hive and rob it but rather to the honey. The weather should be warm enough for the bees to be able to take short flights now anyway.
It seems keeping bees alive and moving them to a new home rather than exterminating them has rewards other than saving their lives.
A mining company in Sudbury, Canada have chosen to house a few swarms of bees on the land above a no longer functional copper and nickel mine. The win-win situation comes in where the bees have stayed in the hives provided and have go about pollinating various plants and grasses in the area, encouraging plant growth. What once looked like a moonscape is now beginning to look more appealing.
This success has encouraged the mining company to plant more trees, in fact the defunct mine is of a stable enough temperature to act as a nursery for the trees that will eventually be planted in the area. Fish have also been released into the surrounding waterways.
Toxic emissions from the mine have decreased dramatically and they are making every effort to rehabilitate the area. This is a process which is being facilitated by the presence of the bees.
last updated 15 October 2014