LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 40 that protect the hive; worker bees, females that spend their days foraging for pollen and nectar; and the queen, a female whose primar y job is to lay eggs ― up to 2,000 eggs per day during the spring. Yes, you read that correctly: 2,000 per day. To keep things in perspective and develop an even greater appreciation for the delicious honey you enjoy in your morn- ing tea: It takes about 10,000 bees har vesting eight million flowers to produce one pound of honey. Talk about hard work! The newly hatched bees, or 'brood,' are nurtured by the queen at the center of the hive, and are fed a special diet until they are ready to join the work- force. During the lar val stage, bees feast on royal jelly, a gelatinous substance produced in the head glands of nurse bees. Royal jelly is composed of approximately two-thirds water, one-eighth proteins, 11 percent simple sugars, small quantities of vi- tamin C, and various trace min- erals and enzymes. 1 ) Later they move on to a diet of bee bread, a mixture of pollen and nectar that makes the bees sterile. Some females continue to be fed royal jelly and develop into queens. Eventually, a fight to the death will ensue among all those fortunate to become queens; there is room for just one queen per colony. Unlike the other bees in a hive, whose lifespan is generally less than six weeks, queens can live any- where from two to eight years. Worker bees collect the nectar, storing it in their stomachs, where digestive enzymes begin the alchemy of transforming it into minute amounts of liquid, which they share with other bees. They continue the process and drive the conversion of complex sugars into honey. Once the honey is moved to the hive's cells, bees flap their wings with great gusto, creating convective air currents that evaporate excess water, keeping humidity in check and pre- venting mold. This also helps the nectar condense into the thick syrup that we so enjoy. Bees have unique, geometric ways of communicating with each other as they map out flight paths to the best flowers, and relay information on how far that flight is and how much time it might take to accomplish their work. As one appreciates the mathematical integrity of a honeycomb, the commitment and coordination involved in working together, the ability to communicate subtle and intri- cate messages, and the exact delineation of responsibilities among the different bee castes, their apparent intelligence is as- tonishing. All of this is incredible enough, but when you dig deep- er and wonder about how all this takes place, who or what di- rects this incredibly well-orchestrated activity, and how each bee seems to know its role, you come away scratching your head. It appears that no one bee or smaller group of bees is in charge; they simply know their purpose; it is embedded in their DNA . Linda Gillilland, executive director of Clinton County Cor- nell Cooperative Extension and lifetime beekeeper at Ben Wever Farm in Willsboro, New York, recently reflected on her relationship with her bees: "Being a beekeeper means you have the opportunity to en- ter and learn about a completely different world. It is really

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