February 06, 2023

Navigating the Beehive: Understanding Roles, Life Cycles, and Hive Types

38 minutes

This episode of "The Poor Proles Almanac" expands upon the previous episode's exploration of honeybee biology, focusing on the intricate division of labor within the hive, the different stages of a worker bee's life, and the various types of hives used in beekeeping. The episode continues the hosts' engaging blend of humor and insightful commentary, featuring Andy, Elliot, and their guest host, Matt.

Worker Bees: A Life of Stratified Labor

The episode begins by emphasizing the structured division of labor among worker bees, highlighting the three main roles they assume throughout their lives: nurse bees, house bees, and foragers. This stratification of work aligns with the bees' age, abilities, and the hive's needs.

Nurse Bees: The Nurturers - Nurse bees, the youngest worker bees, are responsible for feeding other worker bees as they emerge from their cells. Their primary task involves feeding royal jelly, a nutrient-rich secretion from glands in their heads, to newly hatched larvae.

House Bees: The Builders and Processors - As nurse bees mature, their brood food glands dry up, and wax glands on their abdomen become active, marking their transition into house bees. House bees focus on building and repairing the honeycomb, processing pollen into bee bread, and stretching nectar to create honey. They also take orientation flights to familiarize themselves with the hive's location and surroundings.

Foragers: The Gatherers - Around 21 days old, worker bees shift into the foraging role, their wax glands atrophying as they venture outside the hive to collect resources. Foragers gather water, pollen, nectar, and resins used to make propolis, a bee glue used to seal gaps and reinforce the hive structure. They continue in this role until they reach the end of their lifespan, around six weeks.

The Significance of Propolis: Bee Glue with Multiple Uses

The hosts discuss the importance of propolis, explaining that it's distinct from beeswax. While beeswax forms the honeycomb structure, propolis acts as a sealant, filling cracks and crevices within the hive to regulate airflow. The hosts compare it to mortar, highlighting its role in maintaining the hive's integrity.

Reflecting on Bee Society: A Model for Equitable Mentorship?

The hosts draw parallels between the stratified labor system in bee society and human societal structures. They observe that while bees transition through different roles based on their capabilities and experience, human societies often prioritize hierarchical advancement and financial gain. They propose that the beehive's system of mentorship, where younger bees learn by working alongside older bees in subsequent stages, could offer a model for creating a more equitable and compassionate human society.

Hive Variations: Adapting to Location and Beekeeping Practices

Shifting focus to the physical structures of beehives, the hosts discuss the variety of hive types available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages depending on location, climate, and the beekeeper's skill level.

Langstroth Hives: The Standard Choice - The most common type, characterized by square stacked boxes.

Top Bar Hives: The Southern Favorite - More prevalent in warmer climates, believed to dissipate heat more effectively and resemble natural hive structures.

Skep Hives: The Historical Relic - Less than 1% of hives in use, typically made of straw and historically designed to be destroyed during honey harvesting. The hosts challenge the traditional narrative that this practice stemmed from ignorance, suggesting that beekeepers likely harvested after bees naturally moved out.

Protective Gear: The Michelin Man of Beekeeping

The hosts emphasize the importance of protective clothing for beekeepers, specifically a veil to protect the face and a bee suit to cover the body. While stings on the hands and body are tolerable, stings to the face are highly undesirable. The hosts humorously describe the bee suit's appearance, likening it to the Michelin Man.

Hive Tools: Essential Equipment for Beekeeping

The episode introduces the essential tools for beekeeping, focusing on three key items:

Hive Tool: The Multipurpose Lever - Used for prying, scraping, and leveraging tasks within the hive, particularly for dislodging frames stuck together with propolis.

Smoker: The Bee Calmer - Traditionally used to subdue bees by inducing them to gorge themselves on honey in anticipation of an emergency flight. The smoke also masks alarm pheromones, making the beekeeper less of a perceived threat. However, the hosts note that the practice can disrupt honey production, and they personally try to avoid using a smoker.

Bee Brush: The Gentle Remover - Any clean brush can suffice, used to gently remove bees from frames or the beekeeper's body. The hosts advise brushing bees away from their heads.

Acquiring Bees: Packages, Nukes, and Swarms

The hosts discuss the different methods for obtaining bees, each offering its own set of considerations:

Packages: The Mail-Order Option - Bees are collected from multiple hives and shipped in packages with a caged queen. The hosts express concern about the potential stress and disruption this method causes to the bees.

Nukes: The Mini-Hive Start - Short for "nucleus colony," a nuke includes a few frames of workers, brood, honey, pollen, and a queen, essentially representing a small, established hive. More expensive than packages, but potentially a more stable start.

Swarms: The Free and Natural Option - Capturing a swarm, a hanging cluster of bees seeking a new home, offers a cost-effective way to acquire a colony of related bees. The hosts highlight the vulnerability of swarms and the need to act quickly to capture them before they move on.

Bee Strains: A Variety of Traits and Characteristics

The episode introduces the concept of bee strains, highlighting the three major strains commonly found in the United States: Italians, Caucasians, and Carniolans (Carnies).

Italian Bees: The Popular Choice - The most common strain, known for their light color, early brood rearing, and high honey production. However, they require more maintenance, exhibit weaker orientation, and are prone to robbing other hives.

Caucasian Bees: The Gentle Giants - Known for their gentleness, dark color, and excessive use of propolis. Their propensity for propolis makes them less suitable for producing comb honey. They are also prone to robbing but less inclined to swarming.

Carnolian Bees: The Rapid Growers - Characterized by their dark color and rapid spring buildup. Their main disadvantage is their tendency to swarm excessively. They are also known for their economical food consumption and good overwintering abilities.

Beyond the Big Three: Exploring Other Bee Strains

The episode briefly mentions a few other less common strains:

Buckfast Bees: The Cool Climate Choice - Resistant to tracheal mites and well-suited for cooler climates.

Russian Bees: The Mite-Resistant Option - Naturally resistant to varroa mites due to their long exposure in their native habitat. The USDA imported selected Russian queens to breed mite-resistant bees in the United States.

The Queen's Role in Genetics: A Hive's Matriarch

The hosts explain that a beehive's genetics are primarily determined by the queen. Introducing a new queen of a different strain can gradually shift the colony's characteristics over time.

Queen Cages and Package Dynamics

The episode elaborates on the practice of shipping bees in packages, highlighting that worker bees in a package are typically unrelated, collected from various hives, and have a diverse range of ages. A young, mated queen, unfamiliar to the workers, is placed in a separate cage within the package to allow the bees to acclimate to her scent.

Swarm Dynamics: A Hive's Division and Relocation

The hosts delve into the phenomenon of swarming, describing it as a natural process where a portion of a hive, including the queen, leaves to establish a new colony. Swarms are typically triggered by overcrowding within the hive. The hosts explain that swarming bees don't travel far and often cluster temporarily on a nearby tree branch while scout bees search for a suitable nesting site. They emphasize that swarms are vulnerable during this transition and face risks of starvation and predation.

Looking Ahead: Unraveling More Bee Mysteries

The episode concludes with a promise to address more complex beekeeping topics in future episodes, including colony collapse disorder, chemical use in beekeeping, and the role of drones in the hive.

For sources, transcripts, and to read more about this subject, visit: www.agroecologies.org

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