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FOOD
HONEYBEES ARE VEGETARIANS !
do NOT eat animals !
FOODS
ROYAL JELLY
EATEN BY ..
babies
queen
workers
drones
POLLEN
EATEN BY ..
babies
BEE BREAD
EATEN BY ..
babies
workers
drones
NECTAR
EATEN BY
workers
EATEN BY
queen
workers
drones
babies
WATER
USED BY
all
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ROYAL JELLY
bee milk or royal jelly is produced by a gland in the head of nurse honeybees
royal jelly is full of - protein - vitamins - sugar - rich in nitrogen ..
POLLEN
pollen are very very tiny grains produced in male parts of plant flowers or cones ..
pollen grain ..
15 micrometers to 200 micrometers across
25,000 micrometers = 1 inch
different flower species have different color pollen ..
yellow
red
brown
green
grey
blue
orange
white
pink
black
tan
beige
workers bring pollen to hive directed by species and color
pollen is stored in the hive by species and color ( all done inside hive with very little light .. how ? )
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IT IS BELIEVED THAT POLLEN IS FURTHER SORTED .. BY NUTRITIONAL CONTENT
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POLLEN IS SUPER NUTRITIOUS FOOD FOR HONEYBEES !
1 pound of pollen has ..
100 grams of protein
1000 mg calcium
159 miligrams vitamin C
also has ..
vitamin A
riboflavin
niacin
BEEBREAD
pollen is food for baby honeybees
pollen plus a tiny dab of nectar and digestive enzymes becomes .. pollen loaf or beebread
NECTAR
flowers have glands called NECTARIES ..
workers collect nectar with very long tongues
keep in honey stomach until return to hive
glands in head produce chemicals that are added to nectar
enzymes are added to nectar in honey stomach
the enzyme for honey production is called invertase
honey stomach fills with very small amount .. just a few drops of nectar
sugar in nectar breaks down in honey stomach into glucose and fructose
at hive worker pulls nectar back out of honey stomach through mouth
- gives to another worker
or..
- puts directly into empty cell
early early spring nectar producers provide early early nectar .. SUPER IMPORTANT !!!
SUPER SUPER TERRIFIC nectar producers ..
skunk cabbage
tulips
wildflowers
maples
dandelions
locust
tulip poplar
NORTH AMERICA
massive nectar production .. lots and lots and lots of plants of all types are BLOOMING !
1st week of MAY through end of JUNE
called the time of the " HONEY FLOW "
flower constancy occurs :
- one type / species collected at a time
- locate by color .. but .. mostly by scent
HONEY
thick fluid produced by HONEYBEES from flower nectar for use as food
there are 2 types of honey
multifloral - nectar collected from many blooms of more than one flower species
monofloral - nectar collected from many blooms of one flower species
MAKING HONEY
once nectar is deposited into honeycomb cells ..
workers fan nectar with wings ..
evaporate water from nectar ..
honey is actually distilled from nectar ..
workers cap nectar ( soon to be honey ) storage cell with wax cap ..
store for use as food later
nectar converted to honey within a few days
nectar converted into honey ..
is predigested because of the addition of the digestive enzymes from the honeybee workers ..
and ..
therefore an easily digestable form of food
HONEY
17% water
so low in water
so high in sugar that NO organisms or microorganisms can live in ..
so ..
honey never spoils
colony hive with queen workers drones and unborn brood needs
400 - 500 pounds of honey for just 1 year !!!
to create just 1 pound of honey ..
1 colony hive of worker honeybees has to make 20,000 nectar gathering trips
and
visit 2,000,000 flowers and collect their nectar ! ! ! ! !
honeybees always create surplus surplus ..
will store 100 - 150 pounds for winter use ! ! ! ! !
HONEYBEES PLAN AHEAD ! ! ! ! !
WATER
water is used to thin honey that has become too thick during storage period
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SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
HONEYBEES ARE EXTREMELY EXTREMELY SOCIAL ANIMALS ! ! ! ! !
live in colony group
50,000 - 80,000 individuals
consisting of ..
1 female QUEEN
300 - 500 male drones
remainder of group female workers
QUEEN is only fertile female
only enough males in each colony for mating purposes
at any time during the busy season ( SPRING through SUMMER ) will find in hive ...
9,000 - 10,000 eggs
18,000 larvae ( newborn baby honeybee just hatched from egg .. before becoming pupa )
36,000 nymphs ( pupa stage of honeybee development )
IF NEW QUEEN IS NEEDED .. 7 - 8 royal princesses ( soon to be queens ) will be in nursery cells
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COMMUNICATION
HONEYBEES have super complex system of communication ! ! !
MUST COMMUNICATE ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS ..
queen .. eggs .. intruders .. temperature .. food .. nectar locations .. types of nectar available ..
swarming .. location of water .. location of propolis .. babies ..
MESSAGES AND INFORMATION COMMUNICATED TO EACH OTHER IN SEVERAL WAYS ..
CHEMICAL (most this way)
queen releases pheromones that identify her hive and all the honeybees that are part of her hive colony
when worker stings .. releases a scent that communicates danger .. ( smells like bananas ) ! ! !
TACTILE
touch
AUDITORY
hear
make different songs and chants for different situations
VISUAL
see
PHYSICAL
dance
language of physical movement ( the way humans have sign language )
to communicate location of .. flowers .. propolis .. water
worker does dance upon return to hive to tell other workers where flowers are located ..
- flowers close to hive .. worker dances in circles ..
- flowers further away .. worker dances in figure 8 pattern ..
in direction of flowers in relationship to location of sun
HONEYBEES MEANS OF COMMUNICATION NOT UNDERSTOOD BY HUMANS
news spreads extremely extremely fast in hive ! ! !
sounds are different for each type of communication ..
loss of queen
intruder
information about flowers
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SPECIES PERPETUATION
new unmated queen is called a gyne
HONEYBEES and phenomena of SYNCHRONY
condition in nature within a species ..
all colonies in a geographic area produce breeding female gynes and males at same time
so ..
all mature reproductives have necessary chance to find mates from non-related colonies
each hive colony has distinct odor scent
the different odor - scent - smell of the gyne queens and male drones confirms
that their choices are NOT related to each other
SPRINGTIME IS MATING TIME
during nuptial mating flight period ..
gyne queens and male drones from 20 - 30 neighboring hives will all leave their hives at same time
about 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm
must be sunny
nuptial flight period lasts for several days ..
gyne queen exits hive platform backwards .. comes right back .. exits again .. several times .. back and forth ..
then .. exits hive ..
flies up to high high high height ..
area of mating is above realm of birds ..
as she flies up .. she releases mating location scent ..
ALL males NOT related to her in geographic area .. notice .. and .. follow her ..
about 1,000 males ..
frail .. weak .. aged .. malnourished .. CANNOT follow ..
ONLY most healthy follow ..
only 10 - 15 of 1,000 males actually get close to her ..
male honeybees need to mate in high altitude ..
need to breathe very deeply ..
increased air in body pushes reproductive organs down out of body cavity so they can be used
1 in 1,000 drones mates with the gyne queen .. 1 time ..
to make sure that she gets diverse genetic material ..
she may separately mate with more than 1 male during her nuptial flight period ..
she may mate with up to 10 males ..
actual mating duration is only 1 second ..
mating procedure MUST be extremely fast .. because many variables could lead to death of gyne queen ..
- weather - water - cold - birds -
after mating male reproductive organs tear out of body and remain within body of gyne queen
she returns to hive platform .. goes inside to threshhold ..
workers inspect her and remove male reproductive organs that act as copulatory plug ..
queen has extra organ in body .. under ovaries .. at oviduct .. called spermatheca ..
to hold male's reproductive material .. spermatozoa
1 mating provides enough spermatozoa for her entire life - 25 million kept alive in spermatheca gland
before mating
female queen has genetic material within her body that will allow her to produce babies
but .. they will be ONLY male babies
male drone has genetic material within his body that will allow the female queen to produce female babies
after mating
female queen can produce BOTH male and female babies !
after mating the gyne queen rests for 2 days
then .. she begins to lay eggs
during a 5 year lifespan ..
she will lay about 2,000 eggs a day ..
200,000 eggs in each busy season ..
1,000,000 eggs in her lifetime ! ! !
she prefers to lay her eggs in small cells - which become female workers
but will lay eggs in larger cells - which become male drones
QUEEN MAKES THE DECISION REGARDING SEX OF EACH EGG !!!!!
whether
to release spermatozoa from spermatheca with egg from oviduct
or
just egg from oviduct
MATING PROCEDURE IS EXTREMELY TIME SENSITIVE ! ! !
before she is 20 days old .. queen MUST mate
or
she will NOT be able to !!!
unmated queen will not be sterile but can only produce male drone babies
the condition of unmated queen NOT being sterile is called PARTHENGENESIS
common in some insects
unmated queen can produce thousand of healthy drones
each with millions of spermatozoa
but ..
she will NOT mate with own male babies
so ..
if queen does not mate ..
her colony will ALL die within 6-7 weeks ..
after the last worker dies ..
but ..
her baby male drones COULD be viable mates for other new unmated gyne queens
from other colonies .. so..
planet EARTH ultimately can benefit .. even though the colony would die ..
THE SPECIES WOULD CONTINUE !!!!!!
QUEEN
must mate and then lay the eggs for the colony and species to continue
WORKER
honeybee workers care for the babies
DRONE
can only mate in air .. prolonged flight expands the 2 tracheal sacs .. pushes on abdomen ..
forces the exertion of reproductive organs out of body so they can be used
only purpose of drone is to mate with an unrelated queen ..
NOT from their own hive ..
NOT mother ..
NOT sister ..
SWARM
swarming is also a way for honeybees to perpetuate their species
strong highly populated colony can become overcrowded
queen will stop laying eggs
workers will then modify 7 - 8 existing brood baby cells into huge queen cells ..
to accommodate the large size of the queens ..
after 4 days ..
workers will cover cell openings with wax caps
3 days later ..
some workers stay in old hive to care for larvae and new queen ..
while old queen and most of the workers .. leave hive .. to create NEW hive colony as a SWARM
the flight to new hive colony is called swarming ..
the swarm cluster flies to a nearby tree branch and cluster on branch and on each other ..
then a few scouts leave the swarm mass of honeybees to find a new location for hive colony ..
queen is HEAVY with eggs ..
queen has not been outside in light since her nuptial mating flight .. she has been in darkness of hive ..
when swarming .. honeybees do NOT sting ..
after a few suggestions are made .. the swarm decides which is best ..
and
they all go fly to the new spot .. and build their new nest ! ! !
the swarm leaves all provisions behind ..
propolis - pollen - and up to 120 pounds of honey ..
at the new hive .. the honeybees ..
rest - clean - sweep ..
remove twigs - sand - soil ..
fill cracks with propolis ..
interior surface varnished ..
guards appointed for entrance ..
wax making procedure begins ..
then comb built ..
care given to ventilation specifications ..
workers sent to fields for first pollen and nectar for new hive ..
when swarm to new place with nothing ..
need 2 - 3 months to create hive .. same as one left behind ..
2/3 of hive leave with old queen
old hive still has thousands of bees already hatched ..
with still thousands more in their cells .. 60,000 - 80,000
adult baby honeybees emerge from cells ..
nurses clean .. and give honey as first food ..
immediately begin her duties .. caring for cells .. babies .. etc ..
after 1 week .. first cleansing flight ..
after 1 more week .. 1st flight to flowers !!!
there can be a second swarm ..
2nd swarm just as enthusiastic as 1st ..
because this queen .. young unmated .. is strong ..
will fly greather distance from hive .. to establish new colony
1st swarm queen .. older ..
fly less distance for new colony ..
the particulars of the swarm are not random .. regarding .. who goes .. who stays ..
the act of swarming is constant ..
both old workers and young workers go ..
HOW ALL OF THIS IS SO PRECISELY DETERMINED IS NOT UNDERSTOOD BY HUMANS ..
the collective of the bees listen to GOD ! ! !
2nd swarm rarely happens ..
some hives swarm once .. others .. never ..
mostly .. only one swarm is allowed ..
so 2nd queen will destroy all other newly hatching queens ..
hive is depopulated .. need food .. so young workers get to work right away ..
build up food supplies for the continuation of precious LIFE through winter and beyond ! ! !
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BABY BYTES
from egg to larva to pupa - a baby honeybee gains 1,000 times its weight !!!!
babies are called brood
brood needs constant temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit for proper development
EGG
newly laid egg is bluish in color
newly laid egg is as big as the dot over a typed letter .. i ..
LARVA
in most insects .. the worm-like 2nd stage in development .. after hatching from its period within its egg
after 3 days tiny wormy honeybee larva hatches and comes out of egg
first 3 days as larva .. all babies fed only royal jelly
QUEEN
day 1
egg is laid inside cell .. 3 days as embryonic egg
day 4
after 3 days as egg ..
queen to be hatches from egg inside her nursery cell .. emerges from egg as larva .. stays inside cell
worker nurse honeybees feed only royal jelly during time that queen larva develop
day 9
5 days after hatching from egg .. still inside cell ..
larval queen to be spins cocoon around self .. changes into pupa ..
then the pupa develops into adult inside cell
day 17
young adult queen gnaws her way out of her nursery cell
16 days after egg is laid .. a new queen emerges !
feed larva only royal jelly for entire period of pre-adult growth
it is believed that something special must be added to the royal jelly fed to queens
to make them grow super fast !
as soon as she hatches the new queen eats honey to gain strength
WORKERS LISTEN TO GOD AND MAKE DETERMINATION WHEN COLONY NEEDS NEW QUEEN !!!
NEED NEW QUEEN IF ..
current queen is ..
ill
weak
very old
NEED NEW QUEEN IF ..
there is a period of abundant flowers ..
which causes current queen to lay lots of eggs and increase hive population
because a swarm will take place
NEED NEW QUEEN IF ..
current queen leaves or dies suddenly
NO MATTER WHY OR WHEN A NEW QUEEN IS NEEDED ..
A NEW QUEEN CAN ALWAYS BE DEVELOPED FROM AN EGG THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN LAID ..
AS LONG AS THE EGG IS YOUNGER THAN 3 DAYS OLD
IF QUEEN IS STILL IN HIVE - but is ill or very old ..
workers will build 7 or 8 large cells for queen to lay eggs in ..
IF QUEEN IS NOT IN HIVE - gone or has died ..
workers enlarge existing cells that already have very young larva inside ..
- these larva must be younger than 3 days old
workers enlarge cells on back ..
queen cells are large bulbous structures on one of the comb edges ..
3 - 4 times size of worker cell .. look like 1/2 peanut shell hanging from comb ..
all are right next to each other ..
hermetically sealed ..
guard honeybee stays near them ..
this area is called the queen chambers ..
WORKER
always a fertilized egg
hatching from egg between 17 - 22 days ..
day 1
queen lays egg
day 1 - 4
3 days as embryo honeybee in egg
day 4
hatch as larva
day 4 - 7
much growth .. feed royal jelly .. for 3 days
day 7
start feeding beebread ..
day 7 - 8
great growth .. continue to feed beebread .. larva grows
day 9
workers put wax cap on cell
day 9 - 22
larva spins cocoon around self .. changes into pupa .. pupa continues to develop into adult
day 22
new adult worker gnaws way out of cell
21 days after egg is laid - new adult worker emerges from cell
goes to work IMMEDIATELY !
baby worker is ALWAYS female ..
females are DIPLOID .. 2 sets of chromosomes ..
1 set from mother
1 set from father ..
every baby born in spring .. needs 1 cell of stored honey to reach maturity ..
during 8 - 9 days of larva stages .. workers eat 10,000 meals ..
average # of worker babies born ..
March 8,000
April 28,000
May 47,000
June 37,000
July 30,000
August 23,000
September 22,000
October 14,000
November 700
DRONE
always male
unfertilized egg
males are HAPLOID .. 1 set of chromosomes ..
1 set only from only mother
24 days after egg is laid .. on day 25 .. drone gnaws way out of cell ..
pupa has become adult new adult drone !
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