Swarming! A swarm of bees can be both a fascinating and a fearsome sight. It occurs when about 70% of the bees in a colony, along with the queen, leave the hive to set up a new home elsewhere. While this may be a natural phenomenon of colony reproduction, beekeepers are always alert to the early signs since this is the equivalent of 70% of your workforce walking (or should I say flying) off the job. What then causes bees to swarm? Let us first establish that it is successful hives which will most likely swarm. They become overcrowded with pollen and nectar stored everywhere and no place left for the queen to lay her eggs. The bees will get ready to swarm by creating queen cells and preparing the queen for her journey. The queen cells left behind will hatch as new queens thus ensuring the survival of the old colony. The prevention of this type of swarm is relatively straightforward requiring the beekeeper to avoid overcrowding by providing sufficient storage space for pollen and nectar and for the queen to lay her eggs and for brood to be reared. The other type of swarm is called a reproductive swarm and this is more difficult and often impossible to prevent. Early detection of their intention to swarm presents the best options. Splitting the colony at this time may convince the bees that the swarm has already taken place and the beekeeper ends up with two colonies instead of one. Should detection not occur early enough, nothing will deter them. There are however, a few things which can be done to make the best of a bad situation. Remember, should you come upon a swarm of bees in your surroundings, they have probably stopped to rest and will likely move on in a day or two. Given that all honeybees in Trinidad ( not in Tobago) are now Africanized, why take a risk? Call in the experts to deal with it. While there is evidence to support the theory that bees, when swarming, are unlikely to attack since they have filled up on honey for the journey and are focused on their mission, it is a theory I would urge you to leave untested.
… Gordon Deane
Bee Fact! What we see buzzing around are “Grandma” bees
What our beekeeper has been up to
From birth to death the roles of worker bees change as they age. Newly emerged bees are put to work immediately in tasks such as, feeding the developing larvae and cleaning the hive. While older bees take up the role of foragers, collecting nectar and pollen.
… Dr. Jo-Anne Sewlal
To place an order email us at: elsiesfinest@gmail.com
Gordon Deane was recently granted membership to the Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS). Elsie’s Finest would also like to congratulate fellow bee-keepers, Ricardo D’andrade and Hayden Sinanan on their membership to CAS.
News from the Apiary! — Gordon Deane In 2017 the honey flow began slowly in mid-February with the early flowering of the Rubber trees and was in full flight by mid-March. This year, because of unusually prolonged rainfall, the Rubber trees slowly began to flower in late March, significantly delaying the start of the 2018 honey flow at Mundo Nuevo Apiary in Matura. Finally, the flow began in earnest three weeks later than it did last year. The rubber trees were considerate and did not change leaves or begin to flower early but waited for the rain to abate. This is important since bees tend not to forage when it’s raining so should the trees be Working into the night preparing producing nectar the bees will not collect it during a shower of rain. honey-filled frames for transport With that said, we are off and running for the 2018 honey season. The colonies were mostly ready for the start and as usual some disappointed while others produced surprisingly well. Such is the nature of beekeeping. It does not matter how careful you are or how meticulous your records, there will always be surprises. We are now busy removing frames, extracting the honey and replacing the frames in the colonies so that the bees can fill them up again. The cycle is then repeated. Careful attention is paid to the strength of the colonies during this period since swarming is a looming threat that can dramatically reduce the workforce of bees and quickly turn an excellent honey flow into a very poor one for the beekeeper. Given the late start, the hope is that the flow will last three weeks longer than it did in 2017. We will let you know how it turned out in our next issue.
Testimonial
Norman Christie (Regional President, BP T&T)
I don’t know what “it” is. Maybe it is the stories from the bee keeper, or the assurance that the product is just as advertised, or some special magic the bee keeper isn’t disclosing. Whatever “it” is, I enjoy no other honey as much as Elsie’s Finest Honey. My wife and I are hooked. We’ll be leaving Trinidad soon, so it sounds like exports will have to be in the plans for Elsie’s Finest Honey.
Health Tips! Make honey part of your beauty routine! You can use honey to make a moisturizing face mask, just make sure you pull your hair back first! Honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts moisture from the air and into your skin, leaving your face hydrated. Just scoop a spoonful of honey into your hand and spread it onto clean, dry skin. Let it sit for 15 – 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. ... Breanne Mc Ivor
Elsie’s Finest Honey, $180 for a 750 ml bottle & $65 for a 200 ml bottle.
In This Issue Managing Editor Dr Jo-Anne N. Sewlal BSc., MPhil., Ph.D., FLS., CBiol., CSci., MRSB., FRES., FRGS., FBNA., R. Anim. Sci., MIEnvSc. Content Editor: Dr Jo-Anne N. Sewlal (this issue) Layout Design: Dr. Jo-Anne Sewlal Contributors: Gordon Deane, Norman Christie, Breanne Mc Ivor, and Dr. Jo-Anne Sewlal