Most of my younger years were consumed with observing and analyzing the behavior and features of insects. What I am reporting in this blog is based on those observations and my own experiences and will focus on bees and honey production and some of the lesser known facts and phenomenons associated with bees, pollination, nectar and honey production. Honey is the product of a very important process, pollination which is necessary for important crops both in the commercial and natural world.
Certain varieties of Almonds, avocados and citrus fruits, would not be productive without pollination. Almonds are especially dependent on honey bee's pollination. The reason being is that they require pollination for almond production and their supply of nectar is far less than most other stone fruits. Bees are not drawn to almond trees from very far away since they are not a very attractive source of nectar. To augment this almond growers will hire or rent out bee colonies from all over the country to pollinate the almond trees. Pollination is accomplished by proper planting and spacing of trees. Two rows of trees are planted side by side with the targeted variety that bring best market value. On either side of these two rows is one row of what they call a pollinator crop. This crop also makes fruit and is edible but do not make the same quality nut that is found in the choice varieties. Since both crops produce edible friut this type of pollination is said to be reciprocal.
There are many things about honey and pollination that few people are aware of. For instance, Rosemary produces no pollen and Navel oranges produces fair amounts of nectar, useful for commercial bee production, but no pollen. Apiarists, also known as bee keepers, often place hives in areas dominated by navel oranges but will, after a few weeks, move their bees to an area where they can get pollen such as an area dominated with wildflowers. Otherwise, the developing larvae in the hive would starve to death without the pollen.
Some plants have extrafloral nectaries which are modified hairs at the base of a leaf or on the stems of plants that produce a nectar-like substance. This substance is primarily consumed by ants and bee visitation is infrequent. Some plants that are known to make extrafloral nectaries are many members of the Orchid family and the Spurge family such as castor bean. Another example of a plant with extrafloral nectaries are found on the flowering stalk of sansevieria. Ants are attracted to this extrafloral nectar and in turn protect the plant from herbivores by deterring them.
One unusual situation occurs with the common tree Eucalyptus globulus , known as blue gum. They flower in late December and early January and produce copious amounts of nectar, especially high in moisture. This is a unique situation since the nectar needs to be dried down in order to become honey. This watery substance cannot be stored in the cells of the bee hive. This is because the substance does not have enough sugar content to prevent molding and would choke up the hive with mold. This anomalous condition was reported several times in the years of cold weather when I was younger. In warm weather bees are able to evaporate some of the water off during the flight to the hive in order to produce honey. However, in colder weather, water removal is difficult and honey production from Blue Gum is. Fortunately, the weather here is warmer now and the bees are able to obtain and use the nectar from Blue Gum without the risk of mold.
The most abundant honey producer that I am aware of locally is Manihot. Manihot is in the same genus as the commercial food plant which provides tapioca and the plant which provides cassava,an important starchy vegetable in tropics. Manihot looks like a bee hive in midday with loads of bees hanging on the flowers trying to get in. This is not something that everyone would see since it does not grow around here but it is something I have seen in my own garden.
In the hive the the workers bees feed the larvae royal jelly for a period of three days followed by diluted honey or a mixture of pollen and nectar. The larvae that are destined to become queens are fed royal jelly for a longer period of time and their cells are literally flooded with royal jelly. The royal jelly contains a protein called royalactin that cause the larvae to develop into queen bees. The metabolism of protein by bee larvae is greater than at any other stage of the bee life cycle when they rely more heavily on the sugar found in nectar and honey to function.
There are some plants that produce nectar that is ignored by the bees. These are usually plants that are not native to this area. There are several examples of plants non-usable to insects. tyle:italic;">Agave maculata and Grevillea robusta have flowers that produce nectar that is non palatable to humans. Melianthus major is another plant that is non-usable to insects but produces nectar that is quite palatable to humans.
Over the last years much attention has been paid to the collapse of honey bee colonies. Honey bees face many threats and there are many arthropods that attempt to the invade bee hives Honey is a very desirous item to ants and many other insects. One of these invaders is the wax moth,Galleria mellonia L. The wax moth invades the hives and somehow avoids being stung by bees. Perhaps this is because they are immersed in the odor of the hive. The larvae of the wax moths tunnel through hives they make trails of web like strands throughout the hive. They also attach themselves to frames and other parts of the hive to spin cocoons just before they pupate causing further damage to the hive. If the population of wax moths builds up in number they can damage the hive and can become detrimental to the entire colony.
Another arthropod that is becoming a threat to honey bees is the Phorid fly. This tiny fly attacks the bees and lays eggs onside their head. For about two weeks the bees act normally until the growing larvae upsets their nervous system as it feeds on brain matter and tissue causing the the bee to die. The larvae will then chew its way out of the head of the bees. There is much research currently being done on Phorid flies and the possibility that they may be a significant cause of colony collapse.
Other lesser know threats to honey bee colonies in certain situations are skunks and bears. Skunks will eat the incoming bees as they approach the hive. They eat them at the point when they are full of nectar, sometimes destroying the whole colony. Bears will rip the entire colony open to expose the comb to go after the brood and lap up the honey. Their thick fur prevents them from being stung and driven off. In areas where bears abound bee keepers have a lot of difficulty maintaining apiaries.
This is a little more than a brief sketch of the interesting facts and complexities of nectar and honey production. Much of this is based on my lifetime observation of plants and insects. Please feel free to share with me any interesting things you may have observed along these lines.
