FAQ - Honey and other products 
Worker Bee
A worker bee collecting pollen from Willow Catkins in Spring. Photo © Margret
Davies
Why Do Bees Make Honey?
Honeybees are special in that they over winter as a colony
unlike wasps and bumblebees (see Biology). The colony does not hibernate
but stays active and clusters together to stay warm. This requires
a lot of food stored from the summer before. Although a hive only needs
20-30 lb of honey to survive an average winter, the bees are capable,
if given the space of collecting much more. This is what the beekeeper
wants them to do.
Bees have been producing honey the same way for over one hundred and
fifty million years
How Much Honey Can One Beehive Produce?
One hive can produce 60lb (27kg) or more in a good season, however
an average hive would be around 25lb (11kg) surplus.
Bees fly about 55,000 miles to make just one pound of honey, that’s
1½ times around the world!
How Does The Beekeeper Get The Honey From The Bees?
The queen bee is kept below the upper boxes in the hive (called ‘Supers’)
by a wire or plastic grid that the queen is too large to fit through
(called a ‘Queen excluder’). As the bees cannot raise brood
above this queen excluder only honey is stored in the supers. As the
season progresses the beekeeper adds more supers until the time to
harvest the honey.
A special one way valve is then fitted in place of the queen excluder
and gradually all the bees are forced into the lowest part of the hive,
the beekeeper can simply lift off the ‘super’ boxes containing
the honey comb.
The honey is extracted from the comb using centrifugal force in a machine
called a spinner looking much like an old-fashioned upright spin dryer.
Romans used honey instead of gold to pay their taxes.
Do The Bees Miss The Honey That Is Taken?
No. A strong colony can produce 2-3 times more honey than they need.
If necessary the beekeeper can feed sugar syrup in the autumn to supplement
for the loss of honey.
Why Are Some Types Of Honey Clear And Runny And Other Types
Opaque And Hard?
The type of honey made by the bees is dependent on the types of foliage
and flowers available to the bees. Crops such as oil seed rape (the
bright yellow fields in the spring) produce large quantifies of honey
that sets very hard, so hard even the bees could not use it in the
winter, garden flowers tend to give a clear liquid honey. If the beekeeper
wants to produce a mono honey i.e. clover, orange blossom etc. the
beehive is put out of range from other sources. This can be difficult
for the small hobbyist and a blend of the season’s honey is usually
the result. In the autumn some beekeepers move their hives onto the
moors to harvest only the nectar from wild heather. Heather honey is
thought to be the king of honeys and has a clear jelly consistency.
How Do Bees Make Honey?
Bees take nectar, which is a sweet sticky substance exuded by most
flowers and some insects (Honey dew), and mix it with enzymes from
glands in their mouths. This nectar/enzyme mix is stored in hexagonal
wax honeycomb until the water content has been reduced to around 17%.
When this level is reached the cell is capped over with a thin layer
of wax to seal it until the bees need it. This capping indicates to
the beekeeper that the honey can be harvested. Capped honey can keep
almost indefinitely. For the school swot: Sucrose (nectar) + inverters
(bee enzyme) = fructose + glucose = honey.
Perfectly edible honeycomb was found in the tombs of the Pharaohs,
over three thousand years old. How’s that for ‘Best Before
Dates’.
Does Honey Contain Additives?
No. The only treatment is to filter to remove any wax debris produced
during the extraction process.
How Do Bees Make Wax?
The youngest bees cluster in large numbers to raise their body temperature.
Wax producing glands under their abdomen slowly secrete slivers of
wax about the size of a pinhead. Other worker bees ‘harvest’ these
wax scales and take them to the part of the hive requiring the new
wax. Bees use about 6lb of honey to produce 1lb of wax.
What Is Royal Jelly?
Royal jelly is the food fed to queen bee larvae. It is a creamy white
colour and is very rich in proteins and fatty acids. It is produced
by the mouth glands in young bees. Each queen needs only a teaspoon
of royal jelly, so as health product it is very expensive.
Many magical properties are claimed of royal jelly however a sceptical
view is probably the healthiest, especially as products sold in health
shops can contain as little as 2% of the real thing. Pure royal jelly
is almost tasteless.
Bee Biology and Behaviour
How Many Legs, Wings And Eyes Do Bees Have?
Six Legs: The rear pair are specially designed
with stiff hairs to store pollen when in flying from flower to flower
and the front pair have slots for cleaning their antenna.
Four Wings: The front and rear wings hook
together to form one big pair of wings and unhook for easy
folding when not flying.
Five Eyes: Yes honeybees have
five eyes, two large compound eyes and three smaller
ocelli eyes in the center of their head.
What's 'the Bees Knees'?
A popular expression is 'Its the bees knees' meaning its ideal, or
the best. However although bees have legs with joints like any insect
their joint have nothing like a knee cap therefore bees do not have
knees as such.
What Is The Difference Between Honeybees, Wasps (yellow
Jackets) And Bumblebees?
Honeybees are the highest form
of insect life, they live in a well organized colony
that does not need to hibernate. They produce honey
and store it in wax comb and use the same hive
from one year to the next.
Typical max population 35,000-50,000.
Wasps start in the spring with a single queen wasp
that has hibernated under leaves or in cracks. The queen wasp builds
a new hive constructed from paper and about the size of a golf ball.
This hive (bice) builds up through the summer, however no honey is
stored. In the autumn the colony organization breaks down, with homeless
wasps becoming an increasing nuisance around bins and rubbish. Typical
max. population 2,000.
Bumblebees or as the Victorian’s called
them ‘Humble bees’ like wasps, only the queen
hibernates and survives the winter. In the spring the queen
bumblebee seeks an old mouse or vole hole and builds within
it a nest of leaves and moss. She constructs nodular wax
cells and incubates her young as a bird would. As her first
offspring hatch and begin to fly the queen increasingly stays
within the hive to produce young. Bumblebees do make a small
amount of honey and store it in one special cup like cell.
There is no more than a tablespoon at any time. Typical max.
population only 50-150.
How Many Types Of Bees Are In A Honeybee
Colony?
Three types, a single queen, thousands of female workers and in the
summer hundreds of male drones. The drone bee does no work however
in the early autumn they are evicted by the workers and die.
What Does The Queen Bee Do?
The major purpose of the queen is to lay eggs. During April and May
she lays day and night, each egg taking about 20 seconds. That’s
over 2000 eggs a day, more than her own body weight. The queen mates
only once and holds sufficient sperm from the male drones to lay
eggs for 3-5 years, incidentally the drone bee dies in the process
which must come as a major disappointment for him.
There are 3 types of wax cell used for eggs. In the smallest cells
(5mm diameter) she lays fertilised eggs, which in 21 days produce the
female worker bees. In larger cells (7mm diameter) unfertilized eggs
are laid which in 24 days become the male drone bees, production of
offspring not requiring mating is known as parthenogenesis. A very
special cell that hangs vertically downwards is used to produce new
queens. A colony producing queen type cells warns the beekeeper of
an impending swarm.
A male drone bee has no father but does have a grandfather!
A healthy queen bee is continually emitting pheromones (a bee perfume)
that only the bees in the hive can smell. These pheromone odours tell
the bees in the colony that the queen is still with them and all is
well in the hive. This chemical pheromone communication is quite sophisticated
and the ‘personality’ of a beehive will change if the beekeeper
changes an old queen for a young one. Just as the personality of the
beekeeper might change if he swaps his old wife for a young one. In
this way a beekeeper has some control over the temper and enthusiasm
of a colony.
Does The Queen ‘rule’ The Colony?
No, the queen is simply an egg-laying machine.
The queen bee has a smaller brain than a worker bee.
Queen Making & Swarming
1. Bees construct up to 20 wax queen cells, which are acorn like and
point downwards.
2. The queen lays fertilised eggs in each queen cell.
3. The young (nurse) bees feed the young queen larvae with a rich creamy
food called Royal Jelly, and extend the cell downwards until it is
about 25mm in length.
4. Nine days after laying, the first queen cell is sealed with a layer
of wax capping.
5. This is the time for a large swarm (called a prime swarm) of bees
leaves the hive led by the older bees. The old queen has been starved
of food to make her lighter and able to fly. The older bees can jole
the old queen to join the swarm.
6. Eight days later first virgin queen leaves her cell. Two things
can now occur, either the first virgin queen leads a smaller swarm
from the hive (called a cast) or she locates the other queen cells
and kills her sisters by stinging through the wax wall of their cells.
7. About one week later the young queen takes her first flight to orientate
her to her new surroundings.
8. The queen will shortly take several matting flights in which she
will mate with up to 20 male bees called drones.
9. Three days later the mated queen will begin to lay fertilised eggs.
10. This queen will stay with the colony until at least the following
year when she too may lead a prime swarm.
How Do Bees Make A Queen?
The making of a queen is triggered usually by a combination of conditions
such as congestion in the hive and lack of egg laying space this
culminates in a swarm.
Why Is There Only One Queen?
It is not understood (by man) why bees will only tolerate one queen
but any attempt to introduce a second queen results in her death. If
a queen dies unexpectedly during the summer the bees are able to make
an emergency queen from eggs younger than 3 days old.
How Long Does A Bee Live?
In the summer a worker bee only lives for about 40 days. As no young
are raised over the winter months, the workers born in the autumn will
live until the following spring. A queen can live up to 5 years however
for the beekeeper a queen is past her prime in her third year.
How Do The Bees Share Out All The Different Jobs
In A Hive?
When a bee is born it’s first job is to clean out the cell in
which she was born. Jobs are then allocated on the basis of age.
Duties of Worker Bees
1-2 days - Cleans cells and keeps the brood warm
3-5 days - Feeds older larvae
6-11 days - Feeds youngest larvae
12-17 days - Produces wax, Builds comb, Carries food, Undertaker duties
18-21 days - Guards the hive entrance
22+ days - Flying from hive begins, Pollinates plants, Collects pollen,
nectar and water.
How Many Bees Are In A Beehive?
High summer about 35,000 dropping to around 5,000 in the winter.
What Causes Bees To Swarm?
A swarm is the natural way for bees to multiply and produce new colonies.
It is normally the culmination of queen rearing.
What Is Bee ‘dancing’?
Bees need to communicate with each other to pass on the location of
food sources. To do this bees have evolved a unique dance language
that can be understood by us. A worker bee returning from a rich source
of food will ‘dance’ on the vertical comb surface by running
in a circle, on each revolution the bee will bisect the circle at an
angle. The angle with respect to 12 O’clock represents the angle
to fly with respect to the sun.
If the bee ran from 6 to 12 O‘clock i.e. straight up, this would
say fly directly towards the sun ‘.
And 7 to 1 O’clock would mean fly just to the right of the sun,
12 to 6 O’clock ‘Fly directly away from the sun’.
In other words the bees translate the angle to the sun as an angle
to the vertical.
To represent distance the bee ‘wiggles’ its abdomen whist
crossing the circle, the more wiggles the greater the distance.
So a bee will ‘say’ to it’s friends ‘Fly over
there for about a 1 mile and you will find something that tastes like
this’. Pretty Smart!
How Does A Bee Navigate?
As mentioned above the bees use the position of the sun and there is
evidence of sensitivity to the earth’s magnetic field. Also
bees eyes are sensitive to polarized light which penetrates through
even thick cloud so they are able to ‘see’ the sun in
poor weather.
Can A Bee See Colour?
Yes, their eyes are sensitive more to the blue end of the spectrum
and into ultra violet. Flowers reflect large amounts of ultra violet
light and to a bee will be very bright. Bees are totally red blind.
Do Bees Sleep?
No, but during the night most bees remain motionless reserving their
energies for the next day.
How Far Can Bees Fly?
It is possible for bees to fly as far as 5 miles for food, however
an average distance would be less than a mile from the hive. A strong
colony flies the equivalent distance of to the moon every day!
How High Can Bees Fly?
A honey bee will not fly much higher than the height of any obstacle
in its path. The bee will learn to fly straight out from its colony
at high speed and be most surprised if it strikes an new obstacle such
as you standing in the way. It may lash out and you will receive a
sting so be careful when walking close to the front of a busy beehive.
Mating drones will fly up to 30mtrs above ground to find a queen and
can go much higher if warm rising thermal air carries them so.
How Fast Can Bees Fly?
Normal top speed of a worker would be about 15-20mph (21-28km/h) when
flying to a food source and about 12mph (17km/h) when returning laden
down nectar, pollen, propolis or water.
Do Bees Catch Any Diseases?
Yes, they’re several diseases, some more serious than others.
They are not infectious to humans but dangerous for the bee. Some of
the most serious AFB (American Foul Brood) and EFB (European Foul Brood)
are normally treated by destroying the colony (UK). If left they can
spread throughout out the whole apiary and affect surrounding beekeepers.
Spores from AFB can remain dormant for over 50 years in old beekeeping
equipment and cause problems decades later.
Why Do Bees Collect Pollen?
Pollen is mixed with water and to form a type of bread that is fed
to the growing larvae. It provides rich source of proteins and fat
whilst honey provides energy (carbohydrate). Bees collect about 20kg
of pollen every year that’s 1 million pollen loads at 20mg a
go.
Do Bees Hibernate During Winter?
No, bees over winter as a strong colony clustered together and using
their bodies to generate heat. This cluster is about the size of football,
with bees taking turns to be on the cold outside.
Why Does A Bee Sting?
A bee only stings under two conditions. To protect the colony or when
frightened.
Why Does A Bee Die When It Stings?
When a bee stings, barbs in the lance of the sting cause it to firmly
stick into the victim pulling out the venom sacs and glands when
the bee is shaken off. The venom sac muscles continue to pump after
these organs have been torn from the dying bee. Only the female workers
and the queen can sting, the queen having a smooth sting which she
uses to kill other queens.
What Are ‘killer Bees’?
This over dramatic description hit the headlines due to events in America.
Research work carried out by the Brazilian government in the 1950’s,
trying to improve the local strain of honeybee by cross breeding with
African bees went wrong. The African bee was known to be a good producer
of honey, however had a reputation for over defensive behaviour when
protecting it’s colony. The experiment was supposed to contain
the African bees and prevent them from spreading however some swarms
did escape and thrived in the forests of Brazil. The resultant cross
strain produced an aggressive bee compared with the native bee and
has gradually spread outside of Brazil and through other South American
countries. This ‘Africanised’ strain can now be found in
southern states of the USA producing the media hype of ‘Killer
Bees’. Although an individual bee has the same sting and venom
as a British bee, they are much more easily induced to sting and chase
people.
What Is Varroa?
Varroa is parasite that lives only on honeybees. It is a small crab
like insect with eight legs and about 1.2mm across and used to live
only on the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana). Due to man moving bees around
the world this parasite transferred to the European honeybee (Apis
mellifera) which cannot tolerate this pest. There is no effect on honey
but it has been a huge problem for beekeepers throughout most of the
world. Due to Varroa, wild feral colonies of bees will die out and
only well managed colonies will survive.
The most common method to treat Varroa is towards the end of the season
once the honey has been removed, slow release chemicals are introduced
into the colony. Other more natural methods are being tried with varying
degrees of success, research is on going with the ultimate goal of
breeding a resistant strain of honey bee.
Bees Know The World Is Round
During swarming dancing (see Bee Dancing above) occurs to pass on information
about a possible new home. This can go through the night, so without
the sun what do the bees use?. The answer is they dance at angles calibrated
to the sun on the other side of the world!. Bees knew the world was
round about 25 million years before man!.
The Schafberg Experiment
An interesting experiment known as the SCHAFBERG experiment (named
after the mountain) demonstrates the sophistication of bee navigation.
The only source of food for a colony of bees was put on the far side
of a mountain, the bees could not fly over the mountain only around
it. What direction would the bees indicate in their dancing?. The answer
was surprising, the bees indicated the direction exactly across the
mountain at an angle they had never flown but had calculated in their
head. The distance indication however, was for the long flight around
the hill.
Bees and People
Honeybees
A marked queen and workers on comb. Photo © Margret Davies
What Do I Do If I Get Stung?
Bees will not generally sting if unprovoked usually the bee has been
trapped in hair or crushed. When close to a beehive avoid flapping
your arms and moving rapidly, if the bees are antagonised, walk away
through undergrowth or trees if possible. If stung scrape the sting
out with your fingernail as the sting still pumps venom for some
time after the bee has left.
The record number of sustained stings one person has had, and survived
to count them is 2,243. Ouch!
Is It True That A Bee Sting Can Be Good For You?
Old Beekeepers seldom suffer from arthritis or rheumatism and in Russia
bee venom is used directly as a treatment of joint conditions. Research
is ongoing.
What Do I Do If I See A Swarm Of Bees?
Don’t Panic, bees in a swarm are universally in a good mood.
They cannot easily sting even if antagonised as they have gorged themselves
with honey and cannot get their bodies into the best position to sting.
If the swarm is not causing a nuisance then leave it, gradually the
bees will cluster in a bush or tree and remain there for up to 3 days.
During that time scouts will be sent out to look for a new home, the
only problem may be they will choose your chimney so put your fire/
heating on low and enjoy their visit. If the swarm is a nuisance then
the police usually keep a list of local beekeepers that can help or
for
a listing see the National Swarm
Coordinators.
How Do Beekeepers Catch A Swarm?
A swarm is actively looking for a home, so if the
beekeeper puts a nice hive with perhaps some old honey comb
in it close to where the swarm has settled, then it is easy
to persuade them to take up residence. Normally a few bees
are dropped into the hive and they then ‘fan’ their
scent to the other bees once it has been ‘approved’.
It is a dramatic sight to see a swarm ‘marching’ into
a new hive.
Bees already in residence perhaps in a chimney or old tree must be
removed with their honeycomb containing the young grubs and the queen.
If the bees cannot be reached then the beekeeper is helpless and the
council or local pest control can destroy the colony.
Apart From Honey Are Bees Useful?
Yes very, the pollination benefit of bees is calculated to help the
economy by millions of pounds per annum. Certain crops yield up to
25-40% more if efficiently pollinated and farmers in some areas of
the world pay beekeepers to put hives into their fields and orchards.
In the USA alone bees pollinate about ten billion dollars worth of
crops per year (1997). In addition to pollination, bees produce wax
for candles and Royal Jelly. During the Middle Ages one of the most
important jobs in an Abbey was the Beekeeper, as a huge quantity of
wax was constantly required for the ceremonial candles.
Is Beekeeping Hard Work?
In terms of time… about ½ an hour per hive per week from
mid April to August. In addition honey is extracted twice a year (UK).
The first record of people keeping bees was in Spain about 6000BC
How Much Will It Cost Me To Keep Bees?
For the clothing and tools about £150 and a good second hand
hive with bees about £60-£80.
Will I Get Stung If I Keep Bees?
Yes. A few people are allergic, but most will swell for a short time
and then gradually become more immune.
A Beekeeper Uses Smoke To ‘calm’ The
Bees, How Does This Work?
Bees are woodland insects and evolution has taught them to fear fire
more than anything else. When smoke enters a hive the bees are immediately
diverted to eat as much honey as possible as there may be a need to
abandon the hive at a moment’s notice. This diverts them whilst
the beekeeper takes their home apart.
How Does A Beekeeper Find The Queen?
Some times with difficulty, she is normally close to the newly laid
eggs and her long body and large legs make her stand out. Once found
many beekeepers put a small dot of paint on the back of the queen bee
that makes her much easier to find the next time. The paint comes in
five colours each colour representing the year. As Queens seldom live
longer than five years, five colours are sufficient.
Colour Year Ending
| White | 1 or 6 |
| Yellow | 2 or 7 |
| Red | 3 or 8 |
| Green | 4 or 9 |
| Blue | 0 or 5 |
Modern Beehives Look Boring. Why Don’t Many Beekeepers
Use The Traditional Looking White Terraced Hive?
Although the old style hives look pleasant at the foot of the garden
there is nearly twice as many components in their construction. Internally
the old hive is the same as a modern hive but is clumsier to use. Incidentally
the ‘old’ style is called a WBC hive after its inventor
William Broughton Carr and the most popular standard ‘hobby’ hive
in Britain is the ‘National’ hive.
A British National Hive
Graham Law has produced an excellent beginners FAQ, well worth a visit: http://www.beeginners.info