Beekeeping 101
Queens eat nothing but royal jelly their entire lives. Workers sometimes get to eat some jelly. Drones get the bee equivalent of Cheetos.
Queens lay around 1500 eggs each day. Workers feed the hive, protect the hive, gather the pollen, make the honey. No one is quite sure what role drones play in the hive. Some beekeepers kill them off to make room for more workers, but most keep them around, just in case.
The hive tool is your best friend. It only costs $3.
If you have to move a hive, you should either move it two feet or two miles. Anything in between and the bees will never find their way back.
On what is called her maiden voyage, the queen bee flies one mile straight up in the air and mates with the drones. This is the one and only time she will mate, as she now has enough sperm to last her three-year lifespan.
Drones cannot feed themselves. Or maybe they choose not to.
Bees do not like sudden movements. When you are searching for the queen in a frame, you should never quickly point, or you may get stung.
Also, they like dark clothing, so maybe you should wear white.
You will build up immunity to bee venom with subsequent stings. Up until a certain threshold, at which point you will probably become violently allergic and die.
Smoke doesn’t calm the bees, it interferes with their communication so they cannot alert each other that they are under attack. If you do not have a bee smoker handy, a Salem Light will do in a pinch.
But smoking underneath a bee veil has its inherent risks.
In the winter, bees keep each other warm by huddling toward the center of the hive in a sphere and vibrating their wings to generate heat. The bees on the outside systematically move toward the center when they become too cold. They survive winters in Siberia by doing this.
If you are a greedy bee-keeper, and you take too much honey, you will have to feed your bees a mixture of powdered sugar and water so they don’t starve over the winter. But powdered sugar is no substitute for honey. One hive contains about 40,000 bees, and they need at least 60 pounds of honey to last them until spring.
Finding the queen in the hive can be difficult, but look to the other bees for clues. They often point toward her. And her abdomen is larger than that of the other bees. Because of all the eggs, I suppose.
Bees do not poop in the hive. They poop in your yard.
German bees are strong, but mean. Italian bees are sweet, but delicate. Russian bees are the best. I would get Russian bees if I were you.
Bees are super fascinating and raw honey is extra delicious. You should give me all your honey.
The end.
Filed under: General on May 14th, 2009
May 15th, 2009 at 8:53 am
What if the queen wants some alone time? Can she light up a Salem Light and retire to the back of the hive?
May 15th, 2009 at 9:10 am
She has to fly a mile and even then, there’s no bed, or place to catch her breath or take a shower before having the only sex she’ll ever have in her whole life? That’s it. I’m never being Queen — not even for a day.
Now that I think of it, I do like some of their songs, though.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
perfect recap … can’t wait to set this up in the backyard!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
a mile up in the air? are you serious? i wouldn’t expect to find any bugs a mile up. wow.
May 16th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I’m a bit concerned about the greedy beekeepers (as well as those that smoke all over my honey)… I want to make sure that the honey I buy is non-greedy, like I make sure my tuna is dolphin-friendly. Any advice?
May 16th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
dave2: would that make her a drag queen? get it? drag? cigarette? OMG, it’s just too much!
shari: no kidding! talk about the walk of shame.
dee: i know – when are we getting a hive?
natalie: that’s what they told us – i know, seems pretty crazy doesn’t it?
serap: i think if you buy honey from any local beekeepers, like at a farmers’ market or organic grocery story, it would all be A-OK (plus super yummy). it’s the massive commercial beekeepers that don’t necessarily strive for a balanced hive – apparently they often load the hives on semis and drive them from field to field to gather pollen – it’s very disorienting to the bees, and contributes to hive failure.
May 16th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I think we need to stop the bee madness. I have felt this way since you told me they poop in my yard. Of course, I don’t have a yard, because I live in a city. It still disturbs me.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
You really are the fountain of all bee knowledge Jen! I’ve always preferred organic and locally produced honey… it is much tastier. Hive failure sounds very sad.
May 18th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I just read an article about how there’s basically scientific evidence that dogs have souls, and now it seems like bees do too. I’m really going to need to become a vegan one of these days. But until then, I’ll try to find me some of that tasty local honey.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
ok…i’ve been thinking about this whole sex a mile up thing, and i realized something. bees are like the originators of the mile high club! go bees!
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
tracy lynn: they don’t really poop in your yard. they might poop on your scooter, though.
serap: hive failure is the name of my new punk band.
cheryl: is there even scientific evidence that humans have souls? and wait… can vegans not eat honey? no cheese, no honey… that’s not a life worth living!
natalie: Heyoooo! sweet!
May 24th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I’ve always been a bit afraid of most buzzing things, but as an adult, that fear has turned more into respect (except when it comes to wasps, who IMO, serve no purpose in life). Bees, on the other hand, do serve an amazing purpose. And I will learn to always let them be in their own world.
Amazing photos and behind the scenes details.