47
SUMMER
2016
ESCARPMENTMAGAZINE
.
CA
|
Honeybeeshavebeen
presenton theEarth for
millionsof yearsandare
perhaps themost
importantpollinator
operating in the
Canadianagricultural
industry. Thenumberof
honeybeecolonieshas
dropped toabout2.5
million frommore than
4million in the1970s.
Local beekeepersare
workinghard tomakea
positivedifference.
Idonnedabee jacketand tooka tourof theirhives. Pamwarnedme thatpeopleget
stungwhen theymove suddenly in frontofabee’spath... Likequicklymovingacam-
era up to your face to takeapicture.OUCH! I found that out ina hurry. Derek ex-
plained that eachbeebox is ahive. Eachhivehas aqueenanddependingon the
sizeof theboxahivehasbetween20,000and60,000bees.Worker beesare fe-
malewhiledrones are themales, Thequeen is a verybusygirl in the summer since
she laysup to1,500eggsaday.Derekexplainedhoweach frame inabeeboxhas
ahoneycombwith thebabiesor brood takingup thecentreareawhilepurehoney
collects all around the sides. Theneat thingabout bees is that theyusuallyproduce
morehoney then theycouldeveruse. That iswhere thebeekeepercomesalongand
takes the extra honey for us to enjoy. Each hive can produce70 to90pounds of
honeyper season.
I tried to lift thebeeboxand found it extremely heavy. That is theother part of bee
keeping... it is labour intensive.Maintaining thebees, feeding thebees in theearly
season, gathering honey, processing honey andbeeswax, creaming honey, plus
hundredsof other tasks takea lot of time, sweat and requireheavy lifting. But the re-
wards include that beautiful sweet nectar as well as beeswax, pollen and other
byproducts.
Pam, Derek, Kyle and Zoey Gibson
WORKERBEES... Themajorityof thebeehive’s
populationconsistsofworkerbees - theyare
all female. On theirhind legs theypossess
pollenbaskets,whichareused to totepollen
back from the field,where it isusedas food for
thedevelopingbrood. Aworkercanvisit10
flowerseveryminute. Theyhavea lifespanof
just sixweeksduring thecolony’sactive
season. Almost all of civilization's foodsupply
dependsgreatlyoncroppollinationbyhoney
bees. Nectar issuckedup through their
proboscis,mixedwithenzymes in thestomach,
andcarriedback to thehive,where it isstored
inwaxcellsandevaporated intohoney. Poised
andalert,Workersalsoguard thehiveandonly
familymembersareallowed topass.
