The amazing way bees ‘air condition’ their hive
With Harold Williams:
The swarming has petered out now. There will be the odd one occurring, typically referred to as casts. These casts will only be made up of some 3,000/5,000 bees, as opposed to a prime swarm that will be made up of 40,000 bees.
Due to the settled and warm weather the colonies have really taken off and extra supers (boxes) have been added to the hives to accommodate the pollen and nectar coming in. Each super (box) contains 11 frames of wax comb for use by the bees. A frame could yield around 4lb of honey. With 11 frames per box you definitely become aware of the weight when you attempt to lift it.
Very noticeable is the collecting of water by many of the foragers and I am making sure that it is available close by. What do they do with this water? It is used to help control the temperature inside the hive! Controlling the temperature within the hive is essential for the well-being of the bees themselves – plus that of the eggs and larvae, not to mention the wax that can soften and could easily distort.
So, what do the bees do with the water? Well, each droplet that is brought in is laid on the top bar of the wooden frames and lots of bees are recruited to commence fanning their wings very rapidly and in so doing, they evaporate the water and consequently lower the temperature to an acceptable level.
However, should the settled conditions lead to a drought taking over, many of the nectar producing blossoms will themselves dry up and with colonies still at peak numbers, things will abruptly change and I may well have to provide liquid feed for the bees. A colony of some 70,000 bees can very quickly consume any in house stores when their foragers fail to find replenishments from the surrounding area. Being a good beekeeper means being alert to the changes and taking action to resolve matters.
Harold Williams
🌟This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 16.06.22 – read it in print first!
First Minister accused of ‘letting victims down’ over grooming gangs inquiry
What does my ‘Sentinel Apiary’ actually do?
Trio are sentenced over ‘drugs in prison’ plot
The bells, the bells – bringing a Time and Tide Bell to Barry
Penalty shoot out leads to Cup exit for Airport
Ring rusty Barry RFC make a promising start
