Bee Amazed!

Bee Amazed!

Is there anything more amazing in nature than honey bees? Nature itself is amazing! Now, let’s take a closer look at honey production. Grab a jar of honey (we have some available in the store). If you are looking at an 8oz jar of honey, it is equivalent to approximately 48 teaspoons. A bee, during its lifespan, will make between 1/12 and 1/4 of a teaspoon. It took between 192 and 576 bees to make one jar of honey! The color and taste of honey is affected by which flowers and blossoms the bees visit.

Did you know? Honey never spoils!

Honey is one of the rarest of foods…when placed in an airtight container it has an eternal shelf life. Honey is naturally acidic and low in moisture, making it an inhospitable environment for bacteria. How does this happen? While transforming nectar (honey’s main ingredient) into honey, bees flap their wings so hard that they draw excess moisture out of the initially water-filled substance. Bees also have a special enzyme in their stomachs that helps to break the nectar down into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, the latter of which acts to further prevent the growth of bacteria and other organisms in the honey.

Medicinal Honey

The properties of honey ensure it never spoils, which is one of the reasons it can be used as a bandage on cuts and burns to protect from infection. It is also used to treat allergies and stomach problems. Studies are ongoing for use of bee products including honeybee venom in many medical solutions.

Honey was used in Medieval times to sweeten beer and is also used today by brewers.

Pollination

While the honey bee was making honey, it was also pollinating flowers and blossoms. The blossoms will go on to become fruit, to be consumed by humans, animals, birds and insects.

Of all animals, bees are the most dominant pollinators of wild and crop plants. They visit over 90% of the world’s top 107 crops.

In other words, bees are essential for the growth of many plants, including food crops.

Our Honey Harvest

The harvest was well attended by adults and children. The bee keepers delivered the honey frames. And the process begins, removing the wax caps, and collecting the beeswax.

TeamWork

The Bee Team at work! From the honey frames (with caps removed) they are placed in the honey extractor. This machine is hand-cranked for 5 minutes in one direction, and another 5 minutes in the opposite direction. The honey is collected and strained.

There is limited space in the facility so between team shifts adults and children practiced crafts.

Message from the Bees?

On the Queen excluder/separator we discovered a message. A request to leave honey for the bees? Do you know what it says?

Made by bees on Queen Excluder

At GreenFriends Farm we always leave plenty of honey for the hive. Thank you to everyone who helped, and the cleanup crew.