For everyone - educational information about bees and the honey they collect. Brief information about bees

All about bees - up-to-date information about wonderful pollinators and hardworking nectar collectors. These amazing insects easily find their way home, and their family has a complex organization and distribution of roles.

General characteristics of bees

There are about 21 thousand species and 520 genera of insects living in the world. They are common on all continents except Antarctica. Insects eat nectar and pollen. Nectar primarily acts as a source of energy, and pollen is used as a protein supplement and a storehouse of other nutrients.

Bees have long proboscis used for nectar extraction and antennae: 13-segmented in males and 12-segmented in females. Among the males there are individuals with 11/12-segmented antennae and 12-segmented ones. So, for example, in some representatives of the genus Systropha the antennae can be either 11 or 12 segmented, and in some males of the subgenera of the cuckoo genus - Pasites and Biastes - only 12 segmented. tyarcular. The range of body lengths ranges from 0.21 to 3.9 cm.

The largest is Megachile pluto, which lives in Indonesia. She's in the center of the photo.

Description of a worker bee

The worker has a small head, elongated towards the bottom. On the head there is a pair of large (faceted) ones located on the sides, and a trio of simple eyes in the center a little higher. Compound eyes provide near vision, while simple eyes provide far vision. Eleven-segmented antennae are located in the middle part of the head, performing the function of organs of touch and charm. At the bottom of the head there is a proboscis, used when collecting nectar and pollen. The upper jaws (mandibles) are small in size and are used for kneading wax and processing other building materials.

The neck, sinewy and muscular, connects the head to the chest. The legs and wings of the insect are attached to it. Inside the neck there are three pairs of spiracles, united into respiratory system. The breast is divided into three ring-shaped sectors, on which three pairs of legs are located. The limbs are used for better fixation on flowers, cleaning the body after collecting and transferring pollen, and in a number of construction works.

Between the third and second segments of the legs there are wings, which provide increased speed and help increase the carrying capacity of the insect. The maximum flight speed without wind resistance and load can be 65 km/h. The wings themselves are a collection of small sections of thin chitin.

The abdomen is mobile and contains the most important vital organs of the insect: the heart, dorsal and abdominal diaphragms and tracheal tubes. It is connected to the thoracic region by a thin stalk. In adulthood, it is a seven-segmented section, the last two pairs of which are intended for the accumulation of wax. Its weight is 100 g.

Difference between hive and field worker bees

The class of workers is divided into two types:

• hive
• field.

The individual subclasses differ as follows:

Nest temperature is a very important parameter that determines future profession a worker who is in a state of pupa. To maintain appropriate temperatures in the hive there is a subclass of oven bees. The maximum maintained temperature of one insect is 44°C, and productivity is up to 70 pupae.

Depending on the bee family, there can be from one to several hundred “stoves”.

Worker Bee Instincts

The behavior of hive workers is regulated by simple, complex and conditioned instincts (reflexes). Simple instincts include:

• Ventilating the hive during hot and dry periods for conditioning and preventing overheating;
• cleaning the home from waste products and bodies of dead family members;
• reaction to smoke exposure during processing.

Under the influence of complex reflexes, workers collect honey and accumulate it in large quantities to feed the young, build new honeycombs for storing food and raising brood, and also protect the nesting site from attacks from other insects and bumblebees.

Conditioned reflexes are used for orientation during flights for nectar and building materials, as well as communication between family groups, for example, to transmit data about a large flower meadow.

Based on conditioned reflexes, the scientist compiler A.F. Gubin wrote a report in which he described the developed method of training to enhance the flight of insects over long distances.

Facts about bees are what every beekeeper needs to know, from novice to professional. Check out the most significant of the 100 interesting facts:

1. Insects live for about 50 million years and differ from other species by their increased activity and hard work.
2. The smoke used by beekeepers imitates a fire, as a result, the instinct of self-preservation begins to work in insects, in which insects actively collect nectar in the abdomen to eat on the road. With a full abdomen, the insect is not able to use its sting.
3. To obtain one spoon (30 g) of honey delicacy, 200 individuals collect nectar, and the same number of individuals receive and process it in the nesting area. The process itself takes a whole day.
4. To fix the cells for storing provisions, they secrete 1 g of wax.
5. When a food source, honey plant, or at a short distance is discovered, the scout or their group returns to the nest and performs a “circle” dance. When the pollen bee is located further away (from 2 km), a “waggling dance” is performed.
6. 1 kg of nectar is obtained by collecting nectar from 6-10 million flowers - about 4500 flights per day. Average daily productivity strong family ranges from 5 to 10 kg of sweet delicacy or 10-20 kg of nectar.
7. Insects have a phenomenal memory; they can fly 8 km away from the nest and return back without ever losing their way. However, they do not fly that far, since such flights are ineffective from the point of view of collecting food, and pose a danger to their lives. Basically, the flight is limited to a 2 km zone from the nest, examining large territory about 12 hectares.
8. The weight of a bee swarm is from 7 to 8 kg and numbers about 50-60 thousand individuals, which store 3 kg of nectar in special cells. In case of bad weather, such a supply will be enough for the family for 8 days.
9. One cell is a storage for 18 pollen, the total weight of which is from 140 to 180 mg. The pollen consists of 100 thousand dust particles. The daily norm of pollen brought by insects is 400 pieces - on average up to 30 kg of pollen for the period from May to September.
10. About 25-30% of the flying individuals of the family are involved in the pollen collection process, bringing 200-350 g of pollen daily, and sometimes up to 2 kg.
11. From most plants the insect collects nectar, which it feeds on along with pollen, but there are exceptions, for example, hazel, poppy, rose hips and lupine. From such plants only pollen is collected.
12. Most plants are endowed with nectar, which contains sucrose, glucose and fructose in unequal proportions (depending on the plant). A high concentration of glucose in nectar promotes faster crystallization of the finished product, and vice versa for glucose.
13. If the weight of the hive is 3 kg, then 40-50% of hive insects participate in nectar collection, bringing from 0.4 to 0.5 kg of nectar per flight.
14. A strong family weighing 5 kg uses 60% of the total number of individuals to collect nectar. By limiting the process of laying eggs by the queen during the main feeding period, the number of insects involved in assembly work will be increased to 70%.
15. Moving on an uneven surface, the insect's carrying capacity increases 320 times.
16. The death of most insects occurs in the nesting area in winter. Some individuals, even at the end of summer, sensing their approaching death, fly away from the nest and die in the wild.
17. Insects in a swarm do not usually use a sting, so you should not often use smoke when collecting and planting a swarm.
18. The queen bee does not attack people, even if she is physically harmed. However, when meeting another queen, she immediately engages in battle using her sting.
19. To feed 1 thousand larvae, 0.1 kg of nectar, 0.05 kg of pollen and 30 g of water are consumed. The annual pollen consumption of one family is about 30 kg.
20. Insects have well-developed instincts, so the basic processes of life are subordinate to them.

How to escape from bees that fly into your territory?

It’s quite simple to escape from insects and protect the area from their encroachment, so follow these steps:

1. A blind fence 2-3 m high is installed around the site.
2. Melissa or mint are planted around the perimeter of the site. The plants have a strong and spicy aroma that is unpleasant to insects.
3. Special traps made of brightly colored plastic are installed on trees or under the roof of a house.

The above actions are a set of protective measures against insects. Each of them can be performed separately.

There are situations when insects form nests under the roof of houses or in the building itself (space between walls). In such cases, they turn to specialists in beekeeping. If a nest is found between the walls, together with an experienced beekeeper, open the wall and remove the honeycombs with larvae.

Concreting and sealing the nest is strictly prohibited, as such actions will provoke aggression in insects, forcing them to look for new ways to get out.

Sometimes in the neighborhood there may be earth-type insects that live in burrows underground. To protect against this type of insect, perform the following actions:

1. Take 5 liters of boiled water and gradually pour it into the hole.
2. Repeat the same action several more times.

Water is usually poured in the evening, when all the individuals return from the fields and begin to rest. When processed during the day, there is a risk of being stung repeatedly by the fierce defenders of the nesting site.

Bees will always find their way home. How do they do it?

Insects have excellent memory and a complex five-segment visual system, thanks to which they see the surrounding space in the form of separate fragments. This perception helps them remember the landscape while flying for food sources. Location information is stored for 5 days.

Insects have an innate ability to navigate the terrain. It awakens with the first flight and is adjusted with each new flight. They use the following objects as reference points:

• Landscape or natural compass.

From the very beginning, insects remember the landscape surrounding their nesting site. As you grow older and gain more experience in flying, the frequency of returning home increases. At the same time, the distance over which insects fly increases, as well as the number of individuals returning to the nest.

Insects remember well the features of the terrain (mountains, reservoirs, fields, etc.) that they flew through in search of nectar or building materials. Objects are remembered by insects and subsequently identified by the visual organ.

• Sun.

It is the main reference point for insects. The orientation of insects is also carried out based on the position of the sun and the polarization of light. The adaptive process on the ground is highly accurate, since thanks to the unique visual system, they can see not only in daylight, but also in the dark.

Insects fly at a certain angle relative to the sun, and their eyes control the light flux that falls on the lens. Regardless of the difference between the starting and ending points of the route, the eyes of insects accurately determine the position of the sun and record the objects illuminated by it. The combination of adaptive ability and excellent memory contributes to an effective and easy return to the nesting site.

Tell us how insects find their way home in bad weather? The answer is simple: if the sun is not on the horizon and it is cloudy outside, then the insect is guided by fluctuations in the plane of polarization of light.

• Smell.

Communication between individuals is carried out using complex system, based on biological characteristics, a specific method of transmitting information, as well as individual features of objects: smells, shapes and colors. Basically, when collecting nectar, insects are guided by the smell emanating from the scouts and use it to get to the honey plant.

The olfactory organs of insects are located on the antennae and have a small pitted structure, which is covered with porous plates. They connect to sensitive nerve cells that perceive odors and transmit signals to the brain. Insects perceive the smells of objects using the so-called contact method, that is, they feel them with their antennae.

Bees are able to identify members of their family by a specific odor secreted by the nason glands, which are located between the 5th and 6th segments of the lower abdomen. Each family has its own unique and individual scent.

Transfer of information

Insects have a very unusual, but at the same time very interesting way of transmission, depicted by rhythmic movements that resemble dance. It is typical for scouts or their groups. After discovering a flowering field, the scout returns to the nest and begins to dance, encouraging other insects to fly to the source. The dance begins with wagging the lower part of the abdomen from side to side, which is accompanied by an increase in the activity of movements, depending on the proximity of the honey plant. During the dance, the scout steps several times in a certain direction in a straight line, and then sharply turns to the side and begins to repeat the dance 20 times.

The higher the belly wagging activity, the closer the honey collection is to the nest. The direction of the wobble indicates the location of the source.

When there is darkness in the nest, the contact identification method is used. At the moment of the scout's dance, the insects that are in the hive touch the dancer's antennae and receive information about the movements, and then repeat them. After several repetitions, workers go to the nectar collection site. The distance to the place is determined by the rhythm of the dance and the timing of the figures. The beginning and end of the dancer's figure is recorded by the buzzing of her wings.

Basically, the location of the honey collection area is indicated by the sun. If the area is located towards the sun, the dance movements will be along a top-down trajectory, but if it is located in the direction from the sun, then the movements will be performed in the reverse order. For other directions, the dancer will turn in the appropriate direction.

Video: 10 amazing facts about bees

Classification

The modern classification is a multifamily structure consisting of many genera and species. In it, sphecoid wasps, which have some similarities with them, are combined into one group with bees.

Photo gallery of bees

Carpenter insects are large black insects with a small layer of fur covering the entire body; some individuals may have a metallic blue tint on the head and chest. The body length is from 2 to 3 cm and depends on the subspecies of the insect. They are considered solitary insects and are distinguished from others by their bright blue wings.

Organization of bees

Representatives of the bee section are highly organized insects. So, for example, insects belonging to the social class fly together in search of food meadows, building materials and other necessary things. The construction of a home and its protection from common enemies are also of a group nature. Honeycombs are built in the nest, and the young and the queen are cared for.

Social and semi-social bees

Insects are able to live alone, regardless of other individuals, but they can also unite into social formations - colonies. Colonies are mainly formed by honeybees and stingless individuals, as well as most bumblebees. The social character of insects has undergone repeated evolution, and in the absence of dependence on each other in different groups.

In some varieties, females belonging to the same group are sisters to each other. In many colonies there is a system with a clear distribution of labor, then they are called semi-public. In social families, in addition to the division of labor, there is a social hierarchical system, where the highest link is the uterus - the queen, the middle - males and females, and the lowest - working insects that obtain food. If there is a division solely within the framework of behavior, the structure is called a primitive social group. With morphological differences in caste layers (family links), the group is highly social.

There are quite a lot of insects with a primitive social system, but there is still little information about them. They mainly belong to the halictid family.

Insect families are small. The workers are small in number, and their largest group consists of 12 individuals. The queen and workers differ only in their dimensions. During wintering, only fertilized females survive. The life cycle of a colony for these insects is 1 year, however, in some it is several years (the number of individuals is much higher). Individual representatives of the genus Euglossin have similar biology.

Specific interaction between older individuals and young animals is observed in certain species of insects belonging to the tribe Allodapini. IN to a greater extent it concerns the way the younger generation is fed. In families, nectar is supplied in doses as the larvae develop. A similar feeding arrangement is characteristic of honey-bearing insects and some bumblebees.

Solitary bees

Other insects:

• alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata);

• Osmia lignaria;

Solitary insects are excellent pollinators. During flights, they collect pollen and nectar, and in the nesting area they mix them and feed the resulting mass of larvae. Most insects are wild, and only a few species are farmed for use in pollinating agricultural products. They are very selective feeders and tend to collect nectar and pollen from a limited list of plants.

Sometimes certain insects are associated with specific plants, meaning one species pollinates one plant. Accordingly, the death of individuals of this variety puts the life of the plant at risk.

Nests of solitary insects are located in underground burrows of rodents, sometimes in tree hollows or blackberry bushes. During laying, the queen builds an individual cell (honeycomb) for each egg, places it there, pours in a little mixture of nectar and pollen, and then seals it. The number of cells in a nesting site varies; there may be either 1 or 30 cells. When organizing a nest in a hollow, there are honeycombs with male eggs at the exit. After laying, the queen stops caring for the offspring. As a rule, queens die after creating several nests.

Some insects have a primitive social structure. Their queens build nests close to the nests of families that belong to the same species. Certain varieties of solitary insects live according to the so-called “communal” principle, that is, different queens lay eggs in the same nest and jointly care for the young, each of them replenishes the individual food cells belonging to its family. The main advantage of such an organization is the sequential protection of the nesting site. Carpenters live by a similar principle, only the queens of the genus immediately after laying move to the entrance to the nest and stand in its defense until the first adults hatch.

Honey bee colony organization

In the families of honey insects there is a pronounced social order and with a clear division of labor system. The conditional factor that determines the functions of a particular individual is its biological age (up to 9 months) before the end of wintering.

Workers also have another age - life expectancy during the bribe, which is 30-35 days. It is used to indicate the stages of life and development of insects.

The first to hatch are the workers, who immediately after birth begin to feed the queen and larvae with royal jelly. At the age of 7 to 10 days, their wax gland is activated and wax begins to be secreted. During this period, individual individuals retrain and begin to equip or supplement the nest. With the beginning of spring, active construction of honeycombs takes place white. By the 15th day of life, the productivity of the wax glands drops, and the insects begin to care for the nest, that is, work is done to clean the honeycombs and clean the nest. On the 20th day, some insects begin to ventilate the bay to maintain optimal temperature. From 22 to 25 days of life, active collection of nectar and pollen occurs. After 30 days, insects collect water.

There are situations when cuckoos remain in the nesting area, but only if it belongs to social owners. In such cases, the eggs are not tossed, but laid, and the previous queen is replaced or killed.

Honey bees

The bee family is a unique biological unit. Each of them has individual qualities and inherent hereditary characteristics.

Honey-bearing insects live in large families consisting of a queen, an army of thousands of workers, and, closer to summer, male and female individuals who participate in the reproduction process. None of the castes can function separately from each other, since there is a close relationship between them. The only survivors after wintering are the fertilized females, who create new families.

The main breeds of honey insects are:

• Central Russian;
• Caucasian;
• Carpathian;
• Krajina;
• Ukrainian.

Large insects with a dark green color and no yellowness and a long proboscis from 0.059 to 0.064 cm. They are very hardy and hardworking, with high efficiency. They differ from others in the duration of wintering and low food consumption (1.0-1.2 kg per street) during the period. Easily adapt to different temperatures and can collect nectar between +12 and +37°C. They are quite aggressive and can sting if they are neglected.

Caucasian breed

Miniature, with a long proboscis up to 0.075 cm. The average productivity of the uterus is 2 thousand eggs per day. They have good cold resistance, so they collect nectar until the beginning of September. They are low-aggressive and do not attack even when inspecting the hive.

Carpathian breed

Krajina breed

Insects with a gray color shimmering with silver. The abdominal segments are black with a grayish ring around each of them and a small white fluff. Closer to the Danube, the color acquires notes Brown, and near the Adriatic they appear yellow stripes. They are of medium size and stand between the Central Russian and Caucasian breeds. The queen is large and fertile - 200 thousand eggs per day. Insects are developing actively in early spring. The feed is distributed for its economical use during wintering. They are distinguished by high honey productivity and are able to collect nectar at an altitude of up to 1.5 km.

Ukrainian breed

Insect color gray, like the Central Russian breed, but it is a little lighter and with more yellowness. The wingspan is slightly larger and the legs are longer. The proboscis is relatively long, from 0.0634 to 0.0663 cm. This length allows you to collect nectar from clover flowers, which are the most preferred.

The uterus of the Ukrainian breed is distinguished by a red color with pronounced black stripes along the abdomen. She is very hardworking and lays from 1.95 to 2.3 thousand eggs per day. Character varies from peaceful to evil. They become more aggressive as weather conditions worsen.

Bee food

The main food of insects is nectar. A greater tendency for food collection can be seen when the sugar content of the nectar is 50%. Higher concentrations of the substance make the process more difficult. After the nectar is collected, insects add salivary secretions to it, thereby removing excess water, and then convert it into one of the components of everyone's favorite treat.

On average, water in nests with normal ventilation evaporates in about 5 days, however, if the ventilation of the room decreases, there is a delay in the removal of liquid, which can be up to 20 days. To remove 450 g of water, insects consume 100 g of sugar. After processing the nectar and adding honeydew to it, a honey delicacy is obtained - a mixture of fruit and grape sugars, consisting of: water from 21 to 47%, organic acids, nitrogenous and mineral substances, vitamins.

In addition to nectar, insects eat flower pollen, which is used as a protein and vitamin supplement for feeding young animals. In the process of collecting pollen, they mix it with saliva and nectar, producing small lumps - pollen. The pollen is carried in pollen baskets located on the hind legs.

From raw pollen, insects make beebread, which they put into separate cells and preserve with saliva and nectar. Preservation ensures the process of lactic acid fermentation, which preserves the beneficial properties of bee bread and prevents it from deteriorating.

What colors do bees prefer?

The flowers that are most attractive to insects are purple and blue-green flowers.. This was proven during the experiment. Scientists built a structure in which they placed flowers of different colors and insects. The latter immediately went to the purple and yellow flowers.

Surprisingly, they are able to determine the type of pollen that suits them from a distance, so among beekeepers the amount of nectar and pollen is considered the main criterion for choosing a particular flower in insects.

Another interesting feature was revealed by Professor Lars Citka and his colleagues. She conducted an experiment in which flowers were purple and pink. Moreover, the purple ones were warmer than pink flowers. It turned out that 58% of insects gave their preference to the first flowers. To confirm the theory, scientists conducted a reverse experiment, where pink flowers were warmer than purple ones. Here the result was more interesting: the percentage of insects choosing honey plants increased and became 61.6% of the total, and preference was given to flowers with a higher temperature. The professor connects the peculiarity of choosing a food source with the natural need to regulate body temperature, which is necessary for survival within a certain climatic zone.

Nectar temperature is a source of additional energy that helps increase speed this process, and the color of a flower is an identifier that insects remember and later use it to identify the warmer ones.

Bee enemies

Insects have a fairly large number of enemies and are therefore very vulnerable to them. They differ both in their species and in the nature of the damage caused to the family. The enemies of adults are the following categories:

In my own way appearance it is similar to an ordinary wasp, but only with a larger head and a bright yellow abdomen. The habitat of the bee wolf is the central part of Russia and the southern stripes of the country. The burrows represent tubular shape up to 1 m long. Queens usually establish nesting sites on cliffs or slopes to provide protection and inaccessibility to the home. Places of mass habitat of the phylanthus can be identified by slopes riddled with round holes, which are the norms of the insect. They eat nectar extracted from flowers and a honey treat from bee crops. When attacking, the bee wolf attacks the worker, killing him with a sting, and then turns him over on his back and presses on the abdomen, thereby causing an outflow of honeydew from the goiter into the proboscis, which is then eaten by the bee wolf.

If the purpose of the bee wolf's attack was honeydew, then after consuming it, it leaves the corpse of the insect at the site of the attack. When he needs food for the young, the philant takes his prey to the nesting site, where he carefully places it in the center of the dwelling, and then lays an egg on the chest of the corpse. The hatched larva is very hungry, so it immediately begins to eat the insect on which it was born.

• European bee-eater

A small and beautiful bird with a greenish-blue color, golden-yellow throat, brown-brown back and bluish-green tail. The body length is 0.26 m. The nesting sites are steep slopes. The nest itself is a hole dug in the ground, the length of which can reach up to 2 meters. In the underground part of the dwelling there is a large space where birds live. The laying season lasts from early May to early June. During the period, the female lays up to 8 eggs. Flight of chicks begins in June and ends in July.

Bee-eaters cause enormous damage to apiaries, since they do not fly alone. The attack on insect nests occurs in flight, after which they grab the insects and fly away. On average, one bird can catch up to several dozen insects.

• Bee eater

One more predator birds. They are distinguished by a dark brown back, white belly interspersed with dark brown spots. They are large, their body length is 0.65 m. Bee-eaters are common throughout Russia. They nest during May. The average clutch per season consists of 3-4 eggs, on which there are dark brown spots. The diet of bee-eaters consists of all insects of the order Stem-bellied.

Large, wasp-like predators with a yellow head and anterior thorax. The first segment of the abdomen is dark brown, edged with a narrow yellow stripe, the remaining segments are yellow interspersed with black spots. They live in large families consisting of workers and a queen. Towards the end of the summer period, the queen lays eggs with males and fertile females, which will hatch by autumn. Spring is the time of construction of nesting sites, erected under the roofs of residential buildings or in tree hollows. Hornet larvae eat animal food.

Video: general concepts about bees

Evolution of bees

Insects, like ants, evolved from wasps. Their distant ancestor was a family of sand wasps, which were predators. The wasps primarily ate workers who collected pollen. This preference presumably gave impetus to the transition from eating insects to feeding on nectar and pollen. The evolution of the wasp superfamily (vespoidea) followed a similar scenario.

In 2006, the first representative of the oldest species of insect was discovered in Burma, sealed in Hukawng Valley amber. It was named Melittosphex burmensis. It is a transitional link from the predatory lifestyle of wasps to the first pollinators. The hind legs of the discovered individual are characteristic of predators, but the thick hairs covering the body are more suitable for pollinating insects.

Bee diseases

The classification of diseases is very extensive, however, all the diseases included in it are divided into two large groups:

• contagious;
• non-contagious.

The main diseases that insects suffer from most often are:

• Varratosis

Infected individuals develop weakness, which without a prompt response will lead to their death. The main sources of the disease are: insects that got into the nest when they were transplanted into a weaker family, and larvae affected by mites.

An intestinal disorder of insects caused by protozoan organisms. Its characteristic features are: liquid waste products that are found throughout the nest, and abundant death of insects. In some cases, nosematosis causes the uterus to die.

Infected insects have a noticeably enlarged abdomen compared to other individuals. Basically, nosematosis occurs due to poor and insufficient care of insects, the presence of impurities that should not be in the food, insufficient preparation of hives for winter and a small number of young insects.

• Ascospherosis

A fungal pathogenic disease that can develop after insects are infected by the varroa mite. The greatest likelihood of infection with ascospherosis appears during bad weather with high humidity air, since the conditions are most favorable for the proliferation of pathogens.

• Filamentovirus

A disease that occurs as a result of exposure to a virus that attacks DNA. It is typical for individuals of the older generation. The disease develops gradually and may not be detected at the primary stage. From the third to the fourth day, the insects weaken and move sluggishly around the hive, and the next day the hemolymph becomes cloudy and becomes milky white. Insects die, as a rule, on the 8-12th day. The queen is more resilient and lays eggs for about 6 more days, and dies approximately on the 17th–18th day. A distinctive feature of the disease is a large death near the family's entrance during winter.

Infection of insects can occur during feeding if the food contains particles of viral organisms or the pores of nosema (fungus) have entered it. Half of the family is affected by the disease. The virus spreads through the midgut cavity, nervous system, and also affects the areas of the poisonous and wax glands.

Bee Extinction

The beginning of the 90s was not very good for the World Union of Beekeepers, since then the first mass disappearances of honey insects were recorded, mainly during the winter period. Unfortunately, from that time until now, about 4 thousand species of insects have died. In 2006, in the United States, a similar phenomenon was given a scientific name and it became known as bee colony collapse syndrome.

Until now, scientists have not been able to fully identify the causes of this syndrome. Presumably, such a phenomenon could be caused by biotic factors or human economic activity, or perhaps both at the same time.

Since ancient times, insects have been shrouded in myths and legends. According to the ancient Egyptians, human soul after death, she transformed into a golden insect and left our world. Hittite mythology tells the story of an insect that found the god Tepin and awakened him, returning prosperity to the earth. The Greeks were convinced: god Zeus was fed with Melissa nectar. The legends of the ancient Greeks mention Aristaeus, the son of the god Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, who, according to the scriptures, taught people the art of beekeeping. However, in reality the situation was completely different.

In fact, the inhabitants of ancient Palestine were actively engaged in some kind of breeding of honey insects. At that time, swarms of insects nested on rocks, from which, in hot weather, melted nectar flowed down, picked up by people.

The value of insect nests was recognized already in the Stone Age, so Pithecanthropus collected them with zeal to extract wax and a tasty treat, despite all the danger and difficulty. The collection of honeydew by human ancestors is confirmed by rock art, such as those found in Spider Cave.

Scientists find it difficult to answer when the transition from collecting to insect breeding in the classical sense occurred, but based on archaeological data, we can talk about the first attempts at selection, dating back to a period of 6 thousand years ago, which were made by the Egyptians.

24 interesting facts from the life of bees:

The beekeeper does not calm the bees with smoke, but creates a kind of imitation of a fire. Bees, being the ancient inhabitants of the forest, pounce on honey when smoke appears in order to stock up on it for the long journey. When the bee's belly is filled with honey and does not bend, it cannot use its sting.

To obtain a spoonful of honey (30 g), 200 bees must collect nectar during the bribe during the day. Approximately the same number of bees should be engaged in receiving nectar and processing it in the hive. At the same time, some bees intensively ventilate the nest so that excess water evaporates faster from the nectar. And to seal honey in 75 bee cells, bees need to allocate one gram of wax.

A bee in a hive performs a “circular” dance if it has found a food source a short distance from the apiary. The “waggling” dance of a bee signals a honey plant or pollen plant located at a more distant distance.

To obtain one kilogram of honey, bees must make up to 4,500 flights and take nectar from 6-10 million flowers. A strong family can collect 5-10 kg of honey (10-20 kg of nectar) per day.




A bee can fly almost 8 km away from the hive and accurately find its way back. However, such long flights are dangerous for the life of bees and are unprofitable from the point of view of the productivity of their work. The useful flight radius of a bee is considered to be 2 km. And in this case, when flying, it surveys a huge territory of about 12 hectares. In such a large area there are usually always honey plants.

A bee swarm can weigh up to 7-8 kg, it consists of 50-60 thousand bees with 2-3 kg of honey in their crops. During inclement weather, bees can feed on honey reserves for 8 days.

Bees lay up to 18 pollen weighing 140-180 mg in one cell of the honeycomb. One average pollen contains about 100 thousand dust particles, the weight of one pollen is from 0.008 to 0.015 g. In summer pollen is heavier than in spring and autumn. Bees bring up to 400 pollen per day, and during the season a bee colony collects 25-30, and sometimes up to 55 kg of pollen.

In a bee colony, up to 25-30% of flying bees usually work collecting pollen. They bring 100-400 g (less often up to 1-2 kg) of pollen per day.



Many plants produce both nectar and pollen. But there are also plants from which bees collect only pollen. This is hazel, poppy. Rosehip, lupine, corn, etc.

The nectar of most plants contains three types of sugars - sucrose, glucose and fructose. Their ratio in the nectar of different plants is not the same. Honey, which bees produce from nectar with a high glucose content (rapeseed, mustard, rapeseed, sunflower, etc.), crystallizes quickly. If the nectar contains more fructose (white and yellow acacia, edible chestnut), then the resulting honey crystallizes more slowly.

Nectar containing a mixture of sugars is more attractive to bees than nectar with the same concentration of sugar alone.



During the flowering of raspberries and fireweed in the taiga zone of Central Siberia, the weight of the control hive increased by 14–17 kg per day, while for buckwheat this increase did not exceed 8–9 kg.

The highest honey yields of nectar are obtained in the Far East and Siberia. There are known cases when, during the flowering period of linden in the Far East, the weight gain of the control hive reached 30-33 kg per day. Individual bee families in Siberia collect 420, and in the Far East - 330-340 kg of honey per season.

With weight bee family 3 kg only 40-50% of hive bees take part in nectar collection. In one flight, these bees can bring 400-500 g of nectar to the hive. The remaining bees in such a family are busy raising brood, building new combs, receiving and processing nectar into honey and other hive work.



In a strong colony with 5 kg of bees, 60% of its total composition is occupied in collecting nectar. If, during the main bribe, the queen is limited in laying eggs, then the freed nurse bees switch to honey collection. Then up to 70% of the bees in the family will be engaged in honey collection. In one flight they are able to bring about 2 kg of nectar to the hive.

To fill a honey crop containing 40 mg of nectar, a bee must visit in one flight at least 200 flowers of sunflower, sainfoin or mustard, 15-20 flowers of garden crops, 130-150 flowers of winter rape, coriander or china.

On a rough surface, a bee is capable of dragging a load that exceeds 320 times the weight of its body (a horse carries a load equal to the weight of its own body).

Bees that have outlived their short life die in the hive only in winter, and in summer old bees, sensing the approach of death, leave the hive and die in the wild.



Swarm bees do not usually sting. Therefore, you should not overuse smoke when collecting a swarm and planting it. The only exceptions are swarms that left the hive several days ago. However, too much smoke can make them angry too.

The queen bee never stings a person, even when he hurts her. But when she meets her rival, she furiously uses her sting.

To raise a thousand larvae, 100 g of honey, 50 g of pollen and 30 g of water are required. The annual need for pollen is up to 30 kg for each bee colony.

Instinct is the sole and undivided “master” of the bee family. The most important and highly perfect cycle of procurement of raw materials and the completed production of various products of the entire “bee association” consisting of 40-60 thousand worker bees are subordinated to him.



A bee cell is the most rational geometric shape of a vessel in nature; its construction requires the least amount of materials (per 100 bee cells - 1.3 g of wax), and the cell has no equal in terms of structural strength and capacity.

The maximum release of nectar by honey plants occurs at an air temperature of 18 to 25 degrees Celsius. When the air temperature is above 38 degrees, most plants stop producing nectar. With a sharp cold snap, the secretion of nectar decreases, and in honey plants such as linden and buckwheat, it completely stops.

Bees:

Bee breeds
Bees, honey bee, worker bee
Bee colony brood, Brood rearing
Queen bee
Hatching of queen bees
Nuptial emergence of the uterus
The queen begins to lay eggs
How many eggs does the queen lay per day?
Feeding the uterus
Laying of fertilized and unfertilized eggs by the queen
Queen fight
A little about the family "Bees" (Apidae)
Biology of the bee colony
Body structure of a worker bee
Optimal size of bee colonies, What is a strong bee colony?
Choosing a place for an apiary
Keeping bees in hives
Keeping Bees for Beginners
Spring development of bees
Bee hive
Honeycomb honey, Honey in combs
Honeycomb, or the Great Value of a Small Cell
Honey against hypertension, headaches and insomnia
Milk honey
Set honey
Apple honey
Useful properties of honey
The benefits of honey for humans
Composition of honey, Chemical composition of honey
The healing properties of honey
Honey in folk medicine
Zabrus: description and medicinal properties
Beeswax: beneficial properties

1. Nectar, honeydew and honey
   The right choice of honey, advice to the buyer when choosing honey
   Treatment with bee venom (Apitherapy)
   Treatment with Bees, Why Treatment with Bees is Unique
   Royal jelly, Properties of royal jelly
   Treatment with royal jelly
   Drone homogenate, Drone-brood homogenate, Drone jelly
   Drone brood (drone jelly): description, beneficial properties, application and recipes
   

Each bee has its own occupation. Some bees collect food, others clean the hive, and others make honey. Each hive has its own queen bee.
The queen bee is the largest among the female bees. When the time comes, she lays eggs and after a while small larvae appear from these eggs, but these are not bees yet. They are very small and they do not yet have eyes, wings, or even legs, they come in white.

Small larvae live in a cocoon for some time and do not come out. Adult bees look after them, give them a lot of food so that they grow faster and gain strength. After some time, they begin to emerge from the cocoon. Thousands of bees live in one hive and There are no disputes between them. Each bee has its own job and they all try to do it well.

The eggs laid by the queen bee look like white worms. Over time, they grow and become bees.
The bees are so small, but without anyone’s help they can pull out and throw away cocoons from larvae, dead bees and everything unnecessary from the hive. Do you know what they do if they cannot get some large garbage out of the hive? Worker bees make glue, which is called propolis. Then they carefully coat the garbage on all sides with this glue, which they cannot throw away. It turns out that this glue prevents the garbage from deteriorating or rotting and, thus, protects the hive from infection and the formation of bacteria. But how do little bees know about this? Did they go to school and study chemistry?
Of course, they themselves would not be able to find out. We all have a Creator who taught everything to bees and all other insects and animals and people.

It turns out that bees, in order to get propolis, fly to some tree and, flying up to the sticky buds or buds of the leaves, begin to diligently chew the resin from the leaves.

Then, when they bite off this resin, they chew it in their mouths for a long, long time and mix it with their saliva, so precious propolis is obtained from this pulp. When the propolis is ready, the bees put it in pockets on their hind legs and return to the hive.
If suddenly, while cleaning and tidying up the hive, they come across some large debris and they cannot push it out into the street, then the bee takes propolis out of a pocket on its hind leg and coats it with it on what they cannot remove. This way this substance does not deteriorate. and the bees protect themselves from bacteria that could appear in the hive if the garbage began to rot.

How do bees build honeycombs?

Several bees simultaneously begin to build honeycombs from above, and begin work not from one place, but from two or three different ends;
How do bees’ honeycombs turn out so even? After all, bees build them from several sides at the same time and do not see each other.

Bees build their honeycombs very carefully and there is no visible trace of the junction..

It seems that the honeycomb was made by one builder and consists of a single piece. And one more important and interesting detail. While the bees continue to build from different sides, each new bee that begins to participate in the construction begins to build from any place. And instead The result is a correct and perfect structure.

How do bees make honey? The most important product from which bees make honey is nectar, which they collect from flowers and ovaries of fruits and berries.

Bees, having collected nectar from flowers, then process it into honey. It turns out that honey production requires a lot of work and effort. For example, to collect just half a kilogram of nectar, 900 bees must fly and collect it from flowers all day without stopping. To produce 450 grams of pure honey, approximately 17 thousand bees had to fly around and collect nectar from 10 million flowers.

Producing honey is a very painstaking work for bees. But the bees do not get tired of this work and every day they again begin to collect nectar from flowers in order to make honey again. And what is interesting is that they do not use most of the honey themselves, but make it's for the people.

25.12.2016 0

Everyone is familiar with such an insect as a bee. This eternal worker is endowed with unrivaled internal organization. In the literature on beekeeping there are different Interesting Facts about bees for beekeepers and children.

They will be educational for those who are planning to start their own apiary or are simply interested in these unique insects. After all, bees are the only insects who were able to interact well with people. Let's look at some interesting facts from the life of bees.

Unique capabilities of bees

1. Bees have all the skills of travelers. They can easily find their way back to their hives from a distance of 8 km.
2. When cold weather sets in, worker bees have about 9 months to live. In winter, these insects die in their hives, but in summer period the sick bee flies further into the field or forest and dies there.
3. To collect 1 kg. honey, bees must complete 4,500 flights. During these flights, bees collect nectar from millions of flowers (6–10). One bee colony can collect 10–20 kg. nectar, from which 5 - 10 kg will be formed. honey
4. One bee can bring 50 grams of nectar. The bee feeds from the nectar it carries. If the hives are located at a considerable distance from the flowers, the bee will eat a significant part of the nectar; she will place only 30–40% of the initial weight of her load in the honeycombs.
5. To raise a thousand of their own kind (larvae), bees need 100 g of honey, pollen - 50 grams, water - 30 g.
6. During the year, a bee colony consumes about 30 kg of pollen.
7. Very interesting amazing fact from the life of bees is the way they communicate. They don't make sounds. Bees communicate with each other. To do this, they use pheromones and body movements.
8. The sense of smell in these insects is very developed. They are able to smell the scent of flowers thanks to their receptors from 1 km away.
9. 400 insects take part in producing 1 spoon of honey. Half of them collect pollen, the other half processes nectar inside the hive.
10. A healthy bee colony manages to fly a very long distance during the honey collection season, which is equivalent to the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
11. Bee venom is able to kill the HIV virus due to the presence of melitin in it. This component destroys the protective shell of the virus. At the same time, no negative effects of bee venom on healthy cells of the human body are observed.
12. In the old days, a swarm of bees was a kind of weapon. Vessels with bees were thrown by the soldiers of Richard the Lionheart onto the fortresses they were besieging.
13. Bees like to collect nectar not from one type of sugar, but from several types of sugars.
14. The cells that make up the honeycomb are considered to be the most rational natural geometric shape for a vessel. Their construction requires a minimum of building material. 100 bee cells are made from 1.3 g of wax. The most amazing thing about the cells is their capacity and strength.
15. A bee without load (nectar) can reach a speed of 65 km/h.
16. The strength of this insect, whose size does not seem quite large, is surprising. Due to the fact that their body is rough, they hold and carry incredibly heavy luggage. This baby is capable of dragging an object that exceeds its weight by 300 times.

We have looked at the most interesting facts about bees, now it’s our turn to talk about the product they make – honey.

Video: interesting facts - bees.

The most interesting things about honey

Interesting things about such wonderful insects as bees can go on and on. They never cease to amaze and delight us. You can also find very interesting facts about honey.

The amber product, so beloved by many of us, has existed in nature for a very long time. The first information about him is available in a book that dates back 3.5 thousand years ago. This manuscript describes the medicinal uses of honey. They treated diseases of the lungs, dermis, and eyes.

Also a very interesting mention of bees and the product they produce (honey) is a wall painting in the cave. This reference to working insects is found in eastern India and is 15,000 years old.

It is very important to remember healing properties this sweet nectar, especially in winter period. This product is also used in industries such as cosmetology, medicine, and cooking. What interesting things should we know about honey?

• The very name of the beekeeping product comes from Israel. In Russian it means “magic charms”.
• An ideal remedy for removing alcohol from the body. It is honey that is recommended to be consumed for a hangover. It can be spread on bread, dissolved in a glass of water. This bee product removes alcohol residues and toxins from the body.
• China leads in honey production. But at the same time, it is not as valuable as the beekeeping product brought from Israel. The cost of Israeli honey is over 10,000 rubles per kilogram. At the same time, not all countries allow the import of Chinese honey due to its unnatural nature. In China, bees are usually fed with sweet water, which consequently affects the condition of the insects themselves.
• Honey is considered the best preventative against various colds and some other diseases. It is enough to consume just one tablespoon of this valuable beekeeping product per day.
• The healing properties of the sweet delicacy are indispensable in the treatment of liver diseases. It is used for severe intoxication of the body; it is also recommended to use certain varieties during radiation exposure.
• Bee gold promotes longevity. This property has been proven by the example of Hippocrates, who consumed this product daily. This ancient doctor managed to live for more than 100 years. What is most interesting is that during that period people did not live more than 40–50 years.
• Honey is endowed with wound-healing and disinfectant properties. It was used during World War II to treat wounds of soldiers, because there was a critical shortage of medicines at that time.
• Honey from Bashkiria is of high value. It is necessary in the training of astronauts; it saturates their body with all the necessary vitamins and nutrients.
• Particular attention should be paid to the value of honey. It is recommended to buy a beekeeping product that bees collected from early flowers.
• In ancient Rome, residents used bee product as payment. The Romans used this product to pay for food and pay fines with it.
• This product is recommended for those who suffer from allergies. It develops resistance to pollen in sick people.
• At the moment, Siberia has become a leader in the supply of beekeeping products to Russia.
• The preservation of bee sweetness over a long period of time is surprising. At the same time, its beneficial properties are not lost. Archaeologists discovered an amphora with honey after opening the tomb of Tutankhamun. Despite the long shelf life, useful, taste qualities sweet product remained intact.
• This beekeeping product is also associated with the term “honeymoon,” whose roots go back to Norway. There, newlyweds were supposed to drink drinks with honey and eat this product for a whole month.
• Poisonous honey. Not surprisingly, this beekeeping product can exist in nature in a poisonous form. The reason for the appearance of toxic, drunken honey is the collection of pollen from plants that are considered poisonous (certain types of heather, wild rosemary, azalea). When consumed large quantity With this product, a person experiences nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, fever, and headaches.

As we can see from everything described above, there are many interesting factors in the life of bees.

The expression “works like a bee” has a factual basis. In the world of insects (except ants), there is no one else comparable to this hardworking flyer. However, unlike ants, the result of its continuous activity is an amazingly healing product - honey. Absolutely all waste products of bees have healing properties: wax, propolis (bee glue), pollen, bee venom, bee jelly and even dead bees. Beekeepers believe that even the air in the apiary is healing.

Our ancestors possessed much knowledge that still remains unsolved. However, the fact that they treated bees with reverence and care remains undoubted:

• The first images of bees were discovered in Spain and are 15 thousand years old;
• The Bible calls nectar "heavenly food";
• On coins Ancient Greece there was an image of a bee, which for a long time remained a symbol of love and fertility;
• For Egypt of ancient times, honey was one of the most important products demanded when paying taxes;
• For a long time, honey and fruits remained the main types of sweets available to humans;
• In many rituals of sacrifice and worship of various gods, honey and its products are present as the most valuable offerings.

Man has retained his respectful attitude towards bees in modern world. Moreover, people learned to be friends and help the little workers. And do this not only for profit. After all, they are the main pollinators on the planet, and their importance in the ecosystem is enormous. Up to 80% of all plants are pollinated by insects, and winged honey collectors form the basis of this group.

The main member of the bee family is the queen - without her, the hive quickly dies. After all, the lifespan of a working individual in the summer is approximately 40 days. , depending on the load on her body. If the queen does not constantly lay eggs to hatch young workers, all individuals in the hive will die out.

Worker bees are the basis of any good bee colony, the number of which can range from 25 thousand in winter and up to 80 thousand individuals or more in summer. Worker bees feed the queen and growing larvae, cool and protect the hive and, of course, fly for honey.

Another category in the family is drones. They are needed only for fertilizing the queens and, of course, not in such quantities as are present in the hive. However, the success of this process depends further fate family, so the queen bee lays drone brood in sufficient quantities. Drones do not overwinter in the hive; the bees expel them. If a beekeeper notices, when preparing for wintering, that there are drones left in the hive, this is a sign of an unhealthy family.

After hatching, each working individual goes through certain stages of training:

• On the first day he does not perform any work, on the 2nd and 3rd he cleans the cells, preparing them for laying eggs, filling them with honey and beebread;
• From the 4th to the 10th day, the young bee feeds the larvae - first the older ones, later - the younger ones with special milk;
• On the 11-12th day, the body of the young individual loses the ability to produce milk, and it makes its first flight, becoming acquainted with appearance hive;
• However, even now she is still engaged in work inside the hive - receiving nectar, processing it into honey, putting it into honeycombs and sealing them. At the same time, little workers produce wax and build honeycombs;
• The function of bees at 14-20 days of age is to remove garbage and guard the nest. At each entrance there are guards who distinguish thieving bees by smell and drive them out of the protected area;
• Around the 22nd day, the little worker begins to fly out to collect nectar, which she does for the rest of her life.

This is interesting! The lifespan of a worker bee depends on the degree of deterioration of the body. If the honey-bearing area is close (within 2 km), then the individual spends less energy on the road. The great remoteness of honey plants causes exhaustion in bees, and the danger of dying along the way increases significantly. Therefore, experienced beekeepers always locate their apiaries close to good honey plants.

In winter, bees do not die, as some people believe, but gather together in a hive in a club to keep it warm. Successful wintering greatly depends on the actions of the beekeeper, who must create optimal temperature conditions and the necessary humidity. Individuals that have successfully overwintered have a lifespan of 6-7 months.

When flying out of the hive, each bee approximately knows in which direction and how far it will have to fly. The scouts report this by making certain body movements after arriving at the hive (the so-called “dance”). If bad weather is expected, then not a single bee will fly out of the hive, because if it gets wet, it may die.

The degree of efficiency of little workers can be judged by the following facts:

• To get 1 tbsp. l. honey, up to 200 individuals collect nectar all day long. And the same number are engaged in processing it;
• Only after making 4.5 thousand flights and collecting nectar from 7-10 million honey plants, the bees will produce 1 kg of honey;
• For strong family the optimal daily indicator is the production of 5-10 kg of honey, although in some areas of Siberia and Far East cases of daily weight gain of 3-5 times more were recorded. At the same time, the seasonal honey harvest in these regions is 340-420 kg;
• Only 40-50% of individuals take part in collecting nectar, the rest are busy with other work. However, this half is capable of collecting up to 0.5 kg of nectar at a time;
• The little worker can move a load that exceeds her body weight by 320 times, provided that the surface is rough. For comparison, a horse's weight limit is equal to its body weight.

The collectors pass the nectar to young bees, who suspend it in the cells of the honeycomb to evaporate up to 50% of the water it contains. Evaporation occurs during forced ventilation, which is carried out by individual individuals. By transferring nectar from cell to cell, bees add enzymes to it that help preserve it. When the honey's moisture level drops below 21%, it is sealed with wax caps.

The main types of food for bees in the summer are nectar, pollen and honey. Sources for collection are honey plants. These can be flowering trees or shrubs, as well as herbs, vegetables and berries.

Having collected nectar from a flower and hooked as much pollen as possible onto the legs and body villi, the worker returns to the hive, where she transfers the nectar to the receivers. The pollen is shaken off into special honeycombs for bee bread - food for the larvae of worker bees. Here, under the influence of special enzymes, pollen during fermentation turns into bee bread, like nectar into honey. Both cells are sealed with wax caps (caps) only after the ripening process is completed and a certain moisture level is reached.

However, in winter, when no eggs are laid, bees only need honey. And the beekeeper should leave it in sufficient quantities - depending on the size of the family. An experienced beekeeper makes such reserves at the very beginning of a large honey harvest in order to stimulate the bees to work intensively.

Those who know about these amazing insects firsthand do not even suspect how many hidden secrets a novice beekeeper should know:

• Smoke when inspecting the hive is a play on the instincts of the bees, who think that a fire is starting and begin to “save” the honey. They try to fill their bellies more, become heavier and lose the ability to sting;
• Bees will not even sting a stranger if they behave correctly. They do not like waving their arms, wearing clothes with fur (association with a bear), or strong smells. The little workers perceive all this as a threat;
• After hatching, the queen must fly out to mate. If this does not happen, she remains unfertilized and is unable to lay full eggs, which can threaten the viability of the family;
• Both a strong drop in temperature and hot weather are dangerous for bees. The optimal temperature for their life is 25-36˚С in the summer, and during wintering the club maintains a temperature of +12 +15˚С despite external fluctuations;
• The queen does not use her sting against animals or humans. The only case when she can use it is in a fight with a rival;
• Only young individuals can secrete jelly, and it is this that serves as food for the queen and her growing larvae.

This is interesting! To maintain their vital functions, bees need not only nectar and pollen, but also water. If the winged worker flies out for nectar up to 20 times a day, then working individuals fly up to 100 times a day for moisture. Therefore, a good beekeeper always has clean water freely available. Required condition The success of an apiary is salted water (50 g per bucket).

It is not for nothing that all beekeepers have enviable longevity, and honey is always a popular product. After all, it can provide invaluable assistance in the treatment of many diseases, but only with constant use. The secret of healing lies in the rich amount of valuable substances it contains, including bee enzymes and healing plant components.

Mechanism of action components propolis, honey, dead fruit, pollen have not been fully studied, but one thing is certain - their effect on the human body triggers recovery and self-regulation processes that help fight most known diseases. For example, the same death (dead bees) is almost attributed to magical properties based on existing cases of healing.

Therefore, given the demand for bee products, in recent decades many have sought to keep bees for profit, overlooking one important point. Any economic activity, whether raising poultry or growing tomatoes, requires painstaking and regular investment of labor resources. And bees also need to be loved, since they are very sensitive in this regard. Any successful beekeeper will tell you this. And the return will only come if you invest not only finances, but also part of your soul into bee breeding.