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Manchester and District Beekeepers’ Association |
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Phone: 0161-747 7292 To contact us: Email: |
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M.& D.B.K.A. |
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Honey
Bees collect nectar from flowering plants and store it in their honey sac in their ab domen where, by the action of the enzyme invertase, it is partially converted to honey. When back at the hive, they pass it on to the house bees who continue this change after which it becomes honey. The honey is put into cells but because its wa ter content is too high the bees need to fan dry air over it to evaporate excess water until its sugar content is about 80% at which point it is ready to be sealed into the cells by capping with wax. If stored in an “unripe” condition the honey will ferment. The average load of a foraging bee is 40mg. and may be taken from 100 to 1000 flow ers. Each trip lasts between 1/2 -1 hour and the bee might make 10 trips per day. Honey is used by the bees, along with pollen, to feed the colony. The bees will collect honey until the hive is full or the weather prevents them, this is exactly what the bee keeper wants as he can estimate how much honey the bees need to over-winter and how much he can take for himself.
Pollen
When a foraging bee alights on a flower her movement dislodges pollen grains which adhere to the plumose hairs which cover most of her body. She will hover near the flower and clean pollen from the hairs and collect it onto the “pollen baskets” on her legs. When back to the hive, she will deposit the pollen into cells near the brood. The house bees will pack it tightly into the cells and then add honey and seal the cells with wax. Pollen is essential to the bees as it is the principle source of protein, fat and min erals. The collection of pollen also benefits the flowering plants as the bee’s action pol linates the plants enabling them to produce seeds. |
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HIVE PRODUCTS |
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Fig. 25 Bee with large pollen baskets |
