BEES
How Does a Hive Work?
The term "busy as a bee" may have stemmed from the formal functions that every member of a given colony performs. A hive is supported by the queen, drones and worker bees, each having their own unique roles. Hives continue to thrive and lead to more colonies and hives because of the particular tasks that every bee does. The hive will continue to grow, develop and survive as long as every member functions properly. Here are some more information.
Describing the Hive
A beehive is characterized by an enclosed structure wherein the honey bee species thrive and raise their young. Natural beehives or nests are naturally-occurring structure where honey bee colonies live. Domesticated honey bees can live in artificial or man-made beehives, usually in an apiary. The man-made structures are usually referred to as beehives too. Only the eastern and western honey bee are domesticated by people. The species of the subgenus Apis thrive in hives.
The internal structure of the beehive is a densely packed matrix of cells having the hexagon shape and made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to save food like pollen and honey, as well as keeping the brood consisting of eggs, pupae and larvae.
Nests of Natural Bees
Honey bees belonging to the subgenus Apis usually go for rock cavities, hollow trees and caves to create natural nest sites. Other members have open aerial combs, which are nests made of several honeycombs that are parallel to each other. The nests usually have one entrance. Nests are occupied for several years at a time.
The bees start to smoothen the bark around the entrance of the hive, while the cavity walls are covered with a thin layer of propolis or plant resin. Honey is usually kept in the upper portion of the comb, below are cells filled with pollen, worker brood cells and then drone brood cells. The lower edge of the comb is occupied by queen cells.
Functions in the Hive
The queen's main function in the hive is to reproduce and create more workers and drones. The queen will produce more queen bees in the future. She will leave the hive once the new virgin queen emerges or will be left alive by the new queen when aging. The workers generally have the most functions to support the needs of other members in the hive.
Worker bees gather pollen and nectar to be carried back to the nest. Other members will feed on their harvest. Workers work to store the supplies, clean and build cells and take care of growing larva. Other worker bees function to provide water, control the hive temperature and keep it protected from mammals. Drones are raised to mate with the queen. After sexual intercourse, drones usually die.
Swarming Season
In some instances, there can be several hives created at once because of population boom. Swarming season usually begins from March up to early July. Swarming sites are created once the bee population grows bigger than the maximum capacity of the hive. Worker bees will then begin to scout for new hive locations for new colonies to establish. In the meantime, the new bees will remain in the swarming site.
More on Beehives
Traditional kinds of beehive usually give an enclosure to the bee colony. The honeycomb is usually cross-attached and cannot easily be moved without destroying the structure. The traditional hive is fixed, while the modern one has a movable frame. Harvesting usually destroys the hives. Honey is generally extracted from the hives by means of pressing. The wax honeycomb is crushed to squeeze out honey. Mud hives are still available in some countries like Egypt. These are characterized by long cylinders made from dung, mud and straw. These are used singly, but can be stacked in rows to give more shade. Bee gums involved parts of hollow trees used. These are called such because these came from red gum trees.
Modern Hives
There are now several commercial and man-made hives. The modern beehive is generally composed of the bottom board, the brood box, the honey super, the frames and foundation and the inner and outer cover. Smoking is done to drive the bees out for humans to collect beeswax and honey. Modern hives generally function to provide for the needs of humans. The roles of the bees are radically the same.
Natuurlike Byekorf
Heuningbye behoort tot die APIS familie. Die Suid Kaap se groep is Apis capensis. Die tweede groep wat in die warmer droër dele van land verder Noord voorkom, is Apis scutellata. Bye woon in families en al is hulle insekte, probeer hulle ‘n gemiddelde temperatuur van 37 grade C as groep in hulle nes hou. Hulle is dus gemaklik by ons liggaamstempratuur… Hulle bou koeke van was, wat deur die jong er bye afgesky word, en lig van kleur is. As mens dus na die swerm se koeke kyk, sal die ligter koeke die nuutste koeke wees. Soos die koeke ouer raak, raak die was donkerder.
Bye is normaalweg nie agressief as hulle nie baie heuning het om te beskerm, of die swerm nie te groot geraak het vir hulle huis nie. Hulle hou egter nie van ou liggaamsreuke, sweet, gesnyde gras of plante en oormatige hitte nie. Ook nie juis van chemiese geure soos parfuum of reukweerders nie. Hulle hou nie van skielike vinnige bewegings nie. Wees dus gewaarsku dat op ‘n warm somersdag, as mens hulle grot se skadu met hulle wil deel, hulle dalk nie so vriendelik met jou sal wees nie. Sommige mense maak hulle ook kwater as ander. Dit hang van die mens se reuk af, hoe die bye op hom gaan reageer.
Gewoonlik voor bye aanval, sal verspiederbye een of twee keer in jou vasvlieg om jou te waarsku om weg te gaan. Dit is egter nie altyd die geval nie. Soms is hulle vies en val aan sonder waarskuwing.
‘ n Baie interessante en insiggewende boek om te lees, is “Beekeeping in Suith Africa” deur M.F. Johannesmeier . Hierdie boek verskaf interessante inligting oor bye, byeboerdery, byesiektes en watter plante om te plant om bye te lok. Fynbos is natuurlik goed vir bye en elke gebied se plante veroorsaak kenmerkende geure in die heuning van daardie omgewing. Lekker kyk na die bye, maar wees versigtig…hulle is onvoorspelbaar!
