Though we may not notice much more than a buzzing noise or a small black speck in the air, bees are way more important than we give them credit for. They pollinate our flowers and help plants vital to our survival. Without bees, we would have to pollinate every flower by hand! Not to mention that they make a certain sweet, sticky liquid...honey! A few weeks ago, my family and I visited a SurreyBees aviary to check out the bee houses and how they work. We also learned how to extract honey straight from the hive!
The first thing we did was put on all our bee gear! Although bees don't usually attack, they could have felt threatened by us opening up the bee box. Along with a suit and gloves, we all had to wear hats with long veils that kept the bees out of our faces. After being checked several times, finally it was time to meet the bees!
Each layer of the bee box had several frames that could be taken off and then back on. The bees had built a layer of honeycomb over each frame with beeswax. I thought it was amazing how each section was a perfect hexagon that was almost exactly the same as the rest! The first layer was for worker bees, females who collect all the nectar from flowers and turn it into honey. We also spotted a few drones, male bees which do hardly any work. If they don't die before the winter, they get kicked out by the workers, who can't afford them eating and doing nothing else all winter! I don't know if that's fair or not...
The second layer was the same except for what was under it. There were several thin metal bars with only small openings in between. Our bee guide told us this was a "queen excluder". Since the queen is much bigger than the other bees, she isn't able to get through the bars. This is because the beekeepers want to keep the honey separated from bee eggs and larvae. Those are for the third and fourth layers at the bottom of the hive. The queen lays her eggs in the empty sections of the honeycomb for younger workers to take care of. Why the younger ones? Well, worker bees live about six weeks (unless they hatch near wintertime), so they spend three weeks in the bottom of the hive caring for larvae, then in their last three weeks they gather nectar to bring to the higher levels.
So, as you can see, I learned a lot about bees and how they live during this day camp, and it was super fun, too! Now, it's time to move see how we can help the bees to survive.
Bees are incredibly important to our Earth's ecosystems, but numbers have been declining rapidly. Did you know that bee numbers have been decreasing by up to 90% in some unlucky areas? Also, about one in every three bites of food we eat has been pollinated by bees. It's definitely time to step up and do whatever we can for the bees unless you want to walk around with a paintbrush spreading pollen. (Yeah, that does happen in some places). Follow these three simple steps to bring the honeybee numbers back up!
1. Plant bee-friendly flowers
Even if you don't have much space at home, there's always somewhere that could use some flowers (and happy bees). Plant a window box or flower basket to provide some extra nectar for worker bees! Try some of these varieties loved by the pollinators!
For gardens
- Buddleia or butterfly bush
I have one of these in my backyard, and even as I'm looking out the window I can see butterflies on it! This plant can grow pretty big, has long, silvery leaves and long clusters of scented purple, yellow, or white flowers.
This is another plant with awesome smelling flowers. Again, purple with very small silvery green leaves. Lavender also works in window boxes
A very pretty herb with small leaves and small pinkish-purple or white flowers. As an added bonus, you can even eat it!
- Echinacea or coneflower
Part of the daisy family, these are bright, long-lasting flowers that your bees will love. This is another edible plant that can help cure colds!
For window boxes/hanging baskets
These plants have tall spikes of purple flowers. I have never grown these before, but I hear they're easy to care for. Leave a comment about your experience with these if you try them!
These small flowers are a beautiful indigo color that I've recently seen everywhere in lots of containers and hanging baskets, so they must be great!
I've also seen these in several places. I haven't tried them myself yet, but I have a packet of seeds and can't wait to give them a try! Unlike most of the plants on this list, these flowers are not purple or blue but bright orange and yellow! These are also edible apparently, so I can't see any reason why not to plant them!
2. Eat/grow organic food
The organic method of growing plants means not using chemical fertilizers, or more importantly in this case, pesticides. While they do their job of killing pests, these chemicals also kill important insects such as bees or butterflies. You can do your part by buying organic food which uses only natural, harmless ways of fertilizing and pest-killing (if that's a word). Even better, you can try growing your own. Currently, I have a two tomato plants and one jalapeno pepper plant. I use used coffee grounds and compost as fertilizer, and I get rid of aphids the old-fashioned way. If you don't enjoy getting bug juice on your hands, try to find some ladybugs. They eat aphids and other pests, and are used by many farmers.
3. Build/create bee habitats
I've seen lots of bee houses for sale, but they seem pretty easy to make. This is a simple way to help some traveling bees. I have never made a bee house, but try this link if you want to build your own.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-little-Bee-Houses/
4. Go wild in the garden!
After coming back from vacation, I found that clovers had sprung up everywhere in the grass and there were hundreds of bees on them! By leaving a small corner of your yard to go wild, you're providing a space where native wildflowers can grow and help bees and other species.
So, that's all about bees for today. Hope you enjoyed learning about the bee hives and how they work, and also some ways to help save the bees! It would be great if you could leave a comment on how they're working for you. See you later!
