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Honey Trivia | |
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Research On Sweet Uses of Honey |
From Honey Flow to Honey Harvest
For centuries, man has hunted for wild nests of bees in search of honey. Man's demand for this natural sweetner led to the study of honey bees and how to manage them. The seasonal cycle of beekeeping has remained constant for hundreds of years.
FALL
Fall marks both the end and beginning of the annual beekeeping cycle. As beekeepers are completing their autumn honey harvest, they are also preparing for the coming year. Beekeepers check their hives to ensure that bees are protected from the chill and damp of winter. Since bees cannot find sources of nectar and pollen in the winter, beekeepers must also provide enough honey or syrup to sustain the bees until spring.
WINTER
During the winter, beekeepers monitor hives to ensure the honey bees are fed, have sufficient water and are safe from the elements. If bees are wintered outdoors, beekeepers provide thermal insulation for the hives which is waterproof and absorbs the sun's heat. Sometimes, beekeepers place their hives in special buildings equipped with automatic temperature and ventilation controls.
SPRING
By spring, honey bees are actively building the population of the colony, collecting pollen to nurture their young and collecting nectar to make honey. It is the natural instinct of honey bees to hoard food, which means a healthy colony will make plenty of surplus honey. During honey flow--the period when plants are producing nectar--most beekeepers visit their hives once a week to check honey production. Beekeepers move hives to take advantage of abundant nectar sources. Many beekeepers also move hives to pollinate fruit, vegetables, oilseed and legume seed crops. The value of honey bee pollination to U.S. Agriculture is over $10 billion, according to a recent Cornell University study.
SUMMER
A typical honey bee colony contains an average of 50,000 or more bees. As summer progresses, the hive population will reach its peak, sometimes becoming overcrowded. Bees react to overcrowding by swarming. Swarming is when some of the colony's workers will leave the hive along with the queen to find a new home. The remaining worker bees feed royal jelly to a developing larvae which becomes the new queen. Honey bees' genetic predisposition to swarming keeps beekeepers busy with swarm prevention and control activities during the summer. From honey flow to honey harvest, a beekeeper's work never ends. Beekeepers manage honey bees for both crop pollination and honey production. They provide their bees with shelter, sources of nectar and pollen, water, shade, warmth and protection.
*Courtesy of the National Honey Board *
