Our Bees
Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies. Honey bee colonies consist of a single queen, hundreds of male drones and 20,000 to 80,000 female worker bees. Each honey bee colony also consists of developing eggs, larvae and pupae.
The number of individuals within a honey bee colony depends largely upon seasonal changes. A colony could reach up to 80,000 individuals during the active season, when workers forage for food, store honey for winter and build combs. However, this population will decrease dramatically during colder seasons.
Honey bee colonies depend upon diversity of population for survival, as each caste of bee performs specific tasks. Thus, while queens are extremely powerful within their societies, they cannot establish new colonies without the help of drones and workers, who provide fertilization, food and wax to construct the hive.
Employee Honey Bee of the Month: Phoebee
Phoebee is a Water Specialist. She belongs to a group of foragers that is completely distinct from the other foragers in that the only thing she forages for is water! She begins her job at the ripe old age of 20 days, prior to that, she is busy performing other jobs in the hive. As a water collector she flies out to find a water source and then transport it back to the hive.
Phoebee will carry a volume of about 1/250th of a teaspoon (50 microliters) ….no I did not measure it, some scientist in a lab did that miraculous task…. back to the hive where it is used in different ways.
Phoebee and her posse gather water from available sources such as ponds, rivers, lakes, bird baths, puddles and of course the ever-popular swimming pool…. they like a little recreation when they get a break… When a water forager selects a source, she visits that same site over and over again, and lands on precisely the same spot every time. She will travel any distance from 20 feet to a mile or more from the hive to gather this life-giving resource the hive needs to survive.
It is not necessarily clear, clean, “pure” H2O that honey bees collect. Rather, they choose water that contains the minerals and nutrients required in the hive at that particular time. The source may look muddy or green to us, but the bees know just what they need and where to find it.
When Phoebee returns with her bounty of water, she passes the water of to another set of bees in the hive we refer to as “water spreaders”. They perform their jobs during their teenage years from day 10 – 19. A colony requires water to quench the thirst of individual bees, to prepare food for the brood and the queen, particularly in the spring. The hive also uses water to cool and humidify the hive in summer months... this is the hive’s air conditioning system…Phoebee and her crew will transfer a water load to the backs of a group of specialized bees called “Fanning Bees.” The Fanning bees (these are specialist water spreaders) use their wings to fan the water off their backs creating a cool breeze that helps to cool and humidify the hive when it is heating up…much like we do with a fan in hand!
Perhaps surprisingly, the thirstiest time of all may be in January, when the colony is living on stored food, which requires a good bit of water to be added to soften or dissolve the sugar, crystallized honey, or bee bread that has been stashed away in comb cells for some time.
Between bouts of gathering water, Phoebee waits quietly in the hive until needed again. As demand for water increases, Phoebee employs a “waggle dance” to recruit and convey information to other water specialists that it is time to go to work.
So, this month, with its unseasonably warm November weather, we wanted to recognize Phoebe as our Employee Bee of the month!
Congratulations Phoebee!
November Employee
Bee of the Month
Phoebee
October Employee Bee of the Month
Bee-atrice
Bee Employee of the Month:
Bee-atrice.
Bee-atrice is a forager bee, so her job is to zip around from flower to flower, sipping on nectar. This isn't just a leisurely hobby; it's a full-on quest.
Nectar, for those not in the botanical know, is a sweet liquid that flowers produce. It's nature's way of saying, "Hey, bees! I'll give you this sweet treat if you help me with a little pollination." Bees are all about that deal, especially Bee-atrice!
Once Bee-atrice finds a flower loaded with nectar, she gets to work. Using her proboscis (a fancy term for a bee's extendable, straw-like tongue), she sucks up the nectar. She stores it in her special honey stomach, which is different from her regular stomach. That's right, bees have a separate tank just for nectar—like having a dedicated dessert stomach.
Imagine Bee-atrice flying back to the hive, her honey stomach filled to the brim, navigating with the precision of a seasoned pilot.
Back at the hive, Bee-atrice transfers the nectar to the house bees. Then we see something incredible happen. The house bees take the nectar and begin a process called "evaporation," which is a fancy way of saying they thicken it up. First, they spread the nectar into the honeycomb. Then, the bees fan it with their wings to speed up the evaporation of water from the nectar.
It's like reducing a sauce in cooking, except instead of a simmering pot on a stove, thousands of bees flapping their wings like tiny, fans.
As the water content of the nectar diminishes, it transforms. What started as a thin, watery substance becomes thicker, richer, and sweeter. The bees keep at it until the nectar has morphed into honey, now stored safely within the honeycomb.
Bees then cap the honeycomb with a thin layer of beeswax, like putting a lid on a jar, to preserve the honey. This is the bee equivalent of vacuum-sealing your food, ensuring the honey stays fresh and delicious.
So, there you have it—the tale of how bees make honey. It's a story of hard work, teamwork, and the incredible ingenuity of nature. Next time you drizzle honey over your toast or stir it into your tea, take a moment to appreciate honey's epic journey to get to your table. From Bee-atrice's adventurous nectar quests to the hive's bustling kitchen, it's a process that's as fascinating as it is delicious.
In conclusion, bees don't just make honey; they perform a complex dance of nature, resulting in one of humankind's sweetest gifts. And all without a single bee-sized kitchen appliance. If that's not miraculous, I don't know what is.
So, here's to the bees, nature's tiny chefs, whipping up batches of liquid gold. Next time you enjoy a spoonful of honey, remember the incredible journey and the tireless workers behind every drop. And maybe share a word of thanks for Bee-atrice and her buzzing colleagues. After all, without their hard work, life would be a little less sweet.