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Why are honey bees so important?
The most important reason for bees is, funnily enough, not honey, but the
pollination service that they provide. Pollination is the process by which
many plants reproduce. It involves the movement of pollen between
plants - i.e. the male gametes (or sperm) are transferred to the female
gametes. Although other insects such as butterflies pollinate flowers,
honeybees are the most important pollen transporters for the plants.
They are responsible for the pollination of a wide variety of crops, fruits
and flowers.
How does pollination work?
The plants and bees have a symbiotic
relationship. The plant provides food
for the bees in the form of nectar
(a sugary water produced as a by-
product to photosynthesis). As the
bee collects the nectar it brushes
against the anthers of the plant
and pollen grains stick to the bee’s
hairy body. When the bee then visits
another plant some of the pollen on
its body will rub off on the stigma
of the plant. By this process bees
pollinate about a third of our food.
Pollen is also an important source of
food for the bees themselves - this is
covered in the next section.
Pollination Services
Unfortunately, the number of wild
bee colonies has decreased over many
years, as their natural habitat has
been cleared to make way for farm
land. Now, many farms often have
to hire bees to help pollinate their
crops. This is especially important
in America where about 50% of
all beehives are transported to California each year to help pollinate
the almond orchards. The beehives are loaded onto pallets and then
transported 1000’s of miles across the country on trucks. This is obviously
stressful for the bees and many believe that this is one of the factors in
Colony Collapse Disorder (often abbreviated to CCD).
Bees pollinate about a third of
our food.
Truck loaded with beehives.
Although our main supply of sweetness now comes from sugar produced
from sugar cane and sugar beet, honey is still consumed in massive
quantities and if you love honey there’s nothing better than harvesting
some from your own beehive.
Bees make honey from nectar, which consists of the sugars fructose and
glucose as well as other elements such as aromas, antibacterial enzymes
and of course water. During the spring and summer, the colony sends
out thousands of foraging bees who collect the vast amounts of nectar
produced by flowering plants as a bi-product of photosynthesis. A single
cherry tree can produce 2kg of nectar per day and honeybees have
evolved a long straw-like tongue for collecting it. Beekeepers talk about
a “good flow” of nectar. This means that there are plenty of flowering
plants nearby producing lots of nectar that the bees are bringing back to
the hive.
The best nectar collectors
Honeybees are simply the best collectors of nectar around, they are so
good that they have very little competition from other insects. However,
because there are not enough bees to collect it all, thousands of tonnes
of nectar (and therefore honey) go to waste every year.
The foraging bees transfer the nectar at the entrance of the hive to other
bees, who have the job of packing it into the storage cells. Firstly, they will
make sure there is enough instant access honey around the brood but,
when a surplus occurs, they will store the nectar in the super frames that
you place above the hive. This can then be harvested by the beekeeper.
The amount of nectar that the bees can collect is influenced greatly by
the weather. In very wet summers, the nectar produced by plants and
trees is much diluted and therefore of poor quality. In very hot weather
the plants stop producing nectar entirely. How much honey you will be
able to collect will vary from year to year depending on the colony and
the weather, but in a good year you could be looking at a harvest of 50kg
or more!
Turning nectar into honey
How do honey bees make wax?
Everyone is familiar with the hexagonal pattern of honeycomb and
most people probably know that it is made of wax, but have you ever
wondered where the wax comes from in the first place? Well, the bees
make it themselves from a special gland in their abdomen. If this seems
amazing, it is, but for the bees of course it’s quite normal.
The production of wax is stimulated by temperature and a good flow
of nectar. Discs of wax are secreted from between the third and fourth
segments of the abdomen. The bees who are on wax building duty form
chains and pass wax between each other. When a wild colony builds a
nest you can actually see great necklace like chains of bees hanging from
the comb. In the Beehaus you will sometimes see a chain of bees, who
have been making wax, forming a bridge between two new frames as you
move them apart.
The bees chew the wax before forming it into honeycomb. The latest
research suggests that bees don’t actually build the cells as hexagons.
Instead they build the comb as round cylinders which become hexagonal
when the bees warm the wax until its almost fluid. The points where
the cylinders are touching pull tight under surface tension creating the
hexagonal shape. To imagine this, picture what happens when two soap
bubbles touch - the surface created between them is completely flat –
have a look next time you are doing the washing up!
Foundation
In a managed beehive, the bees are given sheets of beeswax with the
exact cell size pressed in. This sheet is called foundation. The foundation
encourages the bees to build uniform honeycomb within the frames
meaning that they can be lifted out without damaging comb. You might
hear a beekeeper say their bees are “drawing out lots of new wax”. This
means that the bees are building comb onto new frames of foundation.
If a beekeeper says a frame is “fully drawn” it means that the bees have
completely finished building the comb on the frame.
When wax is very new it is pure white in colour. With use, it becomes
darker and very old comb is almost black.
Propolis
Bees make the honeycomb tough by coating it in propolis. Propolis is
made from resin that the bees collect from flower buds and trees. It has
antibacterial properties which the bees use to keep the comb sterile.
Propolis is also referred to as ‘bee glue’ as the bees use it to seal any
little holes in their hive. You will also see it where parts meet for example
where the frames rest on the brood box.
A new sheet of foundation ready to
go in the hive. The wires in the wax
strengthen it.
In the foreground you can see the wax
foundation; towards the top the bees
have started adding new, white wax.
The wax on a frame that is over a year
old looks much darker.
A frame of comb that has been in the
hive for a few months is light brown.
