Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 6
First Observations as a New Beekeeper
ThenextdayIwasdelightedtowalkovertomybeeyardandfindthatthelastfewofmy
bees had made it out of the bee box and into the hive. The weather was perfect—close to
seventy degrees—and the morning sunlight cast a dappled pattern upon my red beehive.
Afewbeesgathered attheentrance whiledozensofothershoveredaroundit.Manyoth-
ers flew in and out of the hive. A low, soft hum floated on the air. The incredibly rapid
beat of the bees' wings and the vibration of their thoraxes create this familiar sound we
callbuzzing.Formusicians,itisasteady,singlenoteinthekeyofC-sharp.Signsoflife,
I thought. A sense of peace and comfort that I cannot quite explain in words came over
me. Though there were hundreds of honeybees buzzing around my head and an abund-
ance of activity at the hive entrance, there also was a distinct sense of order and serenity
about it all. Anyone who has kept honeybees knows this sense of harmony. I stood in
front of the hive, quietly observing my bees. After a few minutes, I needed a chair. The
activity was all so hypnotic, I could not pull myself away.
The short flights my bees were taking around the hive are called orientation flights .
It appeared that the workers were simply hovering around the hive, but as the name im-
plies, these flights allow the bees to get acquainted with the location of their new home.
Worker bees help their sisters return home by distributing another pheromone from their
nasonov gland located on the tip of their abdomen. Standing on their back legs and lift-
ing their abdomens, the workers flap their wings to release the scent. I noticed the bees
at the entrance of the hive engaging in this interesting behavior.
ThebeesIsawinflightweredefinitelytheworkerbees,moreslenderandmoregrace-
ful than the drones, who seemed to just be walking aimlessly around the hive entrance.
OccasionallyI'dobserveaworkerwalkingrightontopofadroneorpushinghimoffthe
landing strip as if to say, “Out of my way! I have things to do!”
Each dayforthefirstweekafter I'dhivedmybees,Ivisited them andobservedevery
one of their movements. I kept my notebook nearby to write down what I saw and draw
a few sketches of my bees. They didn't seem to mind my presence at all. I noticed that
on rainy days the bees stayed inside, but when the sun shined, they were animated and
industrious. Before the week was out, I observed that the worker bees had begun carry-
ing in brightly colored granules of pollen balls on both of their hind legs. Foraging for
nectar and pollen meant the hive was full of activity and young bees were being raised.
Someofthegranuleswerepositivelyhugerelativetothesizeofthebee,andotherswere
tiny. Yet, despite the granules' size, each bee seemed to carry them effortlessly into the
Search WWH ::




Custom Search