There has been a lot of media coverage lately about the plight of our honey bees, according to some statistics it's estimated that 70% of crops are dependent on, or benefit from, bees and they are worth approximately £220 million per year to the economy.
It's been said that in the last two years we have lost up to 15% of our bees and when you think that an amazing one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat is dependent on pollination you can see just how scary the situation is.
So, when I got an invitation from a good friend to go and see him checking on his bees I couldn't resist.
The hives complete with their own weather station. Click here to follow the bee's weather station on Twitter. Click for larger image.
The beautiful Summer weather was in full force when we donned our beekeeping suits and headed out into the garden. There in an lovely overgrown corner were two busy hives. We walked towards them very slowly trying not to make too much noise, which is what aggravates them the most. It was interesting to note the amount of bees lying dead on the ground, apparently flushed out of the hive by other bees after they have served their purpose and being surplus to requirements.
Getting ready to smoke the hive. Click for larger image.
We edged closer and stood right by the entrance of the hive and watched some of the remarkable behaviour on display. Bees arrived along their preferred flight path carrying saddlebags of pollen on each side of their abdomen, some were bumping into us as we stood a bit too near their path as their vision is infra-red and they can't see some colours. Worker bees were lined up along the hive entrance and furiously beating their wings to help cool down the interior, some were pointing their little rumps at us and spraying pheromones into the air, and all the time hundreds of bees were landing and taking off with all their assigned jobs to do. They always follow the same course to their feeding grounds, taking off high along the path and returning lower as they are so laden. I noticed that some bees were head-butting each other before flying off, rather than being some aggressive act this is a communication tool that means fetch more water. Extraordinary little creatures indeed.
Bees coming and going. Note the bee upside-down furiously beating his wings. Click for larger image.
The lid of the hive was opened, which was actually very difficult as the bees seal everything with wax, and using a special set of tools the first of the frames was gingerly lifted out of its chamber. We were looking to see the quality of the honeycomb, how much of a brood there was and if the queen was there. This brood wasn't as good as other season's but still there was some good signs of honey production and larva.
Prising open the hive, stuck fast with beeswax. Click for larger image.
We needed to lift off the top chambers to get to the bottom chamber where the queen lived and where the young were born. The queen lays her eggs in the centre of this lower chamber and works her way out in circular fashion as to produce a ball effect, so as you get towards the centre you get more eggs and more activity of bees tending to them. We didn't see the queen bee this time around, she could have left the hive or was hiding deep within but it was wonderful to watch the worker bees helping clean out cells and prepare others for new young.
Looking at the brood from the lower chamber. A honeycomb cell can either be for storing honey or for raising a single bee, most here in this image are for young but there is honey where the finger is pointing. Click for larger image.
The upper chambers are where all the honey is stored and the queen can't get up there because of a special grille with holes too small for her. There was plenty of honey in these chambers but this will be needed by the bees for sustenance so no honey for us to eat yet, we have to wait until after the peak of breeding season for that.
A closer look at the bees at work. Click for larger image.
It was getting very very hot in the suits now and after checking all the frames in this hive the sounds of the bee's buzz was changing tone telling us they were getting agitated. Every few minutes hundreds more bees were arriving from far and wide with their day's collection of pollen so we closed the lid and left them to their work.
Check back in late Summer for another post when we gather the honey to put into jars and into our tummies and some great tips on how to help save the bees.
A huge thank you to Rob for letting me be his Bee Apprentice for the day, I had an absolute fantastic time, I learnt a lot and can't wait to watch the honey being made.
