"'Bzzzzzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzzzzzz' [SMACK!] That's most people's reaction when they see a bee, if they don't get stung first. Miss Muzar and fellow classmates: The bees we normally squish are yellow-jackets and not honey bees. Lots of people get them mixed up and assume the bees we see around outdoor garbage bins and in parks are the same as the ones making delicious sweet honey. This is not true.
"Honey bees have a mission, just like the bees you may have seen in the bee movie. Some are pollen jocks or worker bees who fly many miles a day collecting pollen [and nectar]. They are found mostly in farmers' fields or flower and vegetable gardens. They fertilize the plants as they gather the pollen, making them a farmer's best friend. Other honey bees are servants: their job is to serve the queen and clean the hive, process the pollen and store the food and honey away. Some bees are nannies: they take care of the brood or baby bees; and some are guards who watch the entrance of the hive allowing only the bees who are part of that hive in and out. This is true in every hive. Natural, or man-made Langstroth hives.
"Langstroth is a man who invented an expandable and reusable hive. He presented his design in 1880 and it is the hive used by 75% of the world's bee-keepers today. You have all probably seen Langstroth hives. They are the white boxes stacked one on top of the other sometimes in groups of three or more along the edges of farmers' fields or forests. There are lots all around this area. Inside these white boxes are removable frames which allow the bee-keepers to inspect for disease and parasites, harvest the honey or to split the hive to make a new colony. In the olden days, people had to destroy their hives to get at the honey, just like a bear does when raiding a natural hive. This made it very difficult to make a lot of honey. Today, with the Langstroth hive, you can take off the lid, peek inside, remove honey, or add frames, or check your bees health, whenever you want. This makes the process much easier with way more honey for us.
"There are two main reasons people keep honey bees: to produce honey, and/or to pollinate crops. Vegetable farmers and flower farmers need bees to fertilize the plants so they produce seeds. Without the bees, plants do not produce fruit or seeds and eventually everything dies. The bee movie shows a great example of how quickly the world food supply would be destroyed without the help of our friend the honey bee. All fresh fruits and vegetables would be gone, all grains and grasses would be gone. As a result, all animals that feed on these would be gone. We would be gone.
"This summer, I am starting a Langstroth hive with my neighbour, Emily. We have assembled the hive and bought a nuc of bees. This is a small section of the white boxes with a small colony of bees inside. Now we just need to wait for the warm weather. The reasons we are starting a hive are: to pollinate Emily's and my mom's vegetable gardens; and for the honey.
"Honey bees are very interesting and only use their stingers when threatened. They are so busy making honey that they have no time to hang out in parks or around garbage cans looking for children to terrorize. I guess it must be a relief to know that the bees that normally sting us AREN'T the ones making the honey. Thank you. "
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