![[hives]](/web/20061229045825im_/http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/aboutind/products/plant/images/hives.jpg) Honey
WHAT IS HONEY?
Beekeeping is also called apiculture, named after Apis, the Latin
word for bee. Bees live in colonies. A colony consists of 1 queen
bee, several hundred male bees (drones), and in the middle of
summer, as many as 60 to 80,000 female worker bees. Honey is the
sweet, sticky substance that bees produce from the nectar of
flowers.
WHERE IS HONEY PRODUCED IN BC?
Honey bee colonies are kept virtually throughout the province.
Compared with other provinces, BC's agriculture is limited by
topography and climate, therefore, this also limits the size of
beekeeping operations. Apiarists often move bee hives into orchards
or vegetable fields to provide pollination services for those crops.
Despite its size, beekeeping in BC is critically important to the
annual production of over $100 million of crops.
HOW MUCH HONEY DO WE PRODUCE?
There are approximately 2,200 registered beekeepers in the
province operating between 45 and 50,000 hives. Most beekeepers are
small and part-time. The majority of the honey comes from 300
commercial operators. Other hive products include beeswax, pollen,
royal jelly and propolis. A small number of beekeepers breed bees
and queens which are sold to other beekeepers in areas where it is
difficult or costly to over-winter bees.
HOW IS HONEY PRODUCED?
It takes about 1 year to establish a bee hive. A queen bee will
mate with up to 10 drone bees shortly after she is born. The sperm
she recieves is stored in a special organ, and is enough to last her
lifetime. Once a queen has returned to her colony, she will start
laying eggs. A queen can lay up to 2000 eggs a day. An egg develops
over 21 days. A beekeeper will try to have the hive at maximum
population during the "honey flow" in June, July and
August. The hives are placed near flowering crops or other nectar
and pollen sources. On each foraging trip, bees visit many flowers
where pollen is transferred from flower to flower, fertilizing them
in the process. Some floral sources may only offer pollen to bees,
or only nectar or both. The pollen bees collect is used for the
development of the bee brood. A colony may produce a few kilograms
of honey in a season or as much as 200kg depending on the area and
the weather.
WHAT DOES HONEY LOOK LIKE WHEN I USE IT?
Honey is used as a spread on toast and bread or as a sweetener in
many baked products, including breakfast cereals. Beeswax is used
for candles, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Pollen is collected for
feeding bees, but is also sold in health-food and drug stores as a
diet supplement, and sued in special animal feeds. While nectar is
the carbohydrate food source and provides energy, pollen is the
principal protein food source of bees and is essential for the
development of bee brood (larvae).
Propolis is a resinous material bees collect from buds which they
use as a putty to close off holes in the nest, or embalm foreign
materials that they can not physically remove, for example, a mouse.
Propolis has strong antimicrobial characteristics and has been
widely used in homeopathic preparations and by the pharmaceutical
and cosmetics industries.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE HONEY LEAVES THE FARM?
Honey is extracted from the honey comb frames by removing the
small wax caps covering each cell. The frames are then placed in a
drumlike machine called an extractor, which works like a centrifuge.
Extractors may hold anywhere from two frames at a time to more than
120. The frames are spun around rapidly causing the liquid honey to
flow out of the cells. The honey is then collected, and pumped
through filters before being stored in a tank. Small honey
containers are then filled and brought to market.
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE HONEY PRODUCER FACE?
Because bees keep a nice warm nest (approx. 33 to 35°C), some
microbes and other organisms are attracted. Some of these have
become diseases or pests of honeybees. Most of the diseases caused
by microbes are controllable through the careful application of
medication. More recently, beekeepers have also been confronted with
two different types of parasitic mites. The Tracheal mite is
microscopic and lives inside the honeybee's breathing tubes. The
mite may not kill the bee right away, but weakens it severely,
causing early death. The Varroa mite is much larger, lives on the
outside of the bee, and parasitizes both the bee brood and adult
honeybees. This mite is very destructive and can kill a whole colony
in only a few months. Varroa mites are controlled through Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) which involves the carefully timed use of
management and chemical cotnrols. Until now, no honey bees have been
developed that are resistant to varroa mites. Tracheal mites on the
other hand, have become manageable after the development of trachael
mite resistant bees.
WHO'S INVOLVED IN PRODUCING HONEY?
- Beekeepers
- Bee Breeders
- Orchardists and Berry Producers
- Honey processors and graders
- Beekeeping equipment supplier
- Manufacturers of jars and other containers
- Trucker/transporter
- Entomologists (Apiculturists)
Interesting Fact About Honey:
Honey has been collected by humans for thousands of years.
Until the Middle Ages, honey was the primary sweetener in food.
In Canada, almost $1 billion (Canadian) of annual agricultural
production can be attributed to bee pollination, while in the
United States, it is estimated at over $12 billion (American)
every year.
For every ½ kilogram of honey produced, bees fly over 50,000
kilometres, which is more than once around the earth.
Although worker bees live only about 6 to 8 weeks in the
summer, a queen (bee) can live for as long as 5 years.
Contacts and other resources:
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