Honor
Your Mother~Bee-Ware!
By Charlotte Bennardo
Don’t swat that bee! Not just because you might get stung, but bee-cause we need bees! For some reason which scientists can’t explain, bees, both honey and bumblebee, are dying out. Their hives have “Colony Collapse Disorder,” which means the bees simply fly away, leaving the larvae, honey and queen, never to return. Once away from the hive, they quickly die. Over 35 states and many other countries are reporting the same problem. Some scientists on the news have warned that within 30 years after the bee is extinct, humanity will bee too!
Why? Bees don’t just make honey--they pollinate one third of our food sources like vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds (that’s one out of every three bites of food!). Almost 80% of all pollination is done by bees. If food bee-comes scarce for us, it will bee just as scarce for animals.
Wicker bee skeps like this one were used to house bees a long time ago. Now they're used to capture bee swarms to form new hives.
For all the hard work they do, bees should bee highly respected. Do you know that bees travel over 55,000 miles and visit two million flowers to make just one pound of honey? They carry over 100,000 grains of pollen with each trip! They have been making honey since the Neolithic Era (about 150 million years), and have outlasted the dinosaurs.
Today, beekeepers use box hives like these to keep their bees safe and happy.
What else can you learn? Honey bees...
...may have originated in Afghanistan.
...were brought to America by Spanish, Dutch and English settlers.
...have four wings, and fly about 10-15 miles per hour.
...stroke their wings about 11,400 times a minute (that’s the buzz you hear!).
...communicate by dancing; they do a really crazy dance when they find the best pollen source!
...have five eyes.
...need about 35 pounds of honey to survive over the winter. They do not ‘die’ off, but huddle together for warmth and protection in the hive.
...can smell and taste; each bee has its own scent which is how they tell one of their own from an intruder.
...can see certain colors (which is how they find their favorite flowers).
When a hive falls victim to Colony Colapse Disorder, solitary bees can survive if they have a place to go to. Many people are putting bees boxes like this one in their gardens--they help save the bees, and aid in polination. Want to make one of your own? Click here!
There are basically only seven species of bees, and there are different ‘races’ for different hemispheres on the earth. An average hive has 40,000 to 50,000 bees: there are worker bees (females that do not lay eggs, clean and feed the queen and the larvae, guard the hive entrance, cool the hive by fanning their wings, collect nectar, and make wax comb) and drones (male bees which can’t sting, live only about 90 days, and mate with the queen). There is only one queen per hive, and she lays about 1,000- 1,500 (some as much as 3,000) eggs a day--no wonder she only lives about 2-5 years!
So bee grateful for honey (which is not only delicious but is an antibacterial good for open wounds), beeswax candles (used in many cultures and religions for important festivals and rituals), and the pollination which helps feed the entire world. Next time you see your favorite flowers, bee happy!
*Many people are allergic to bee stings--use caution around bees!