Blog - honey bees

wasp

Why wasps ?

by Lewis, 28 January, 2018, 1 comments

Generally speaking, honey bees and bumblebees have a "good press", wasps do not. Bees are associated with honey and the pollination of flowers and fruit trees. Wasps are often associated with being stung and with disrupting our meals when dining "al fresco". Why is it that wasps want to invade our space and our meals? Wasps, like bees, like sugary things (e.g. nectar). During the Spring and Summer, wasps can obtain sugars from the larvae that they are rearing back in their nest. The worker wasps hunt for insects in our gardens amongst the flowers and vegetables, and take back their prey to the nest. The prey is then fed to the larvae - which need a protein-rich diet in order to grow. In return, the larvae secrete (from their salivary glands) a sugar-rich fluid and the adults feed upon this. Read more...

What the bees see .......

What the bees see …….

by Chris, 25 October, 2017, 1 comments

Flower-visiting insects evolved in the Cretaceous Period (about 100 million years ago) - a time when the major flower groups (Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons) came into being. Flowers have a number of “ploys’ to encourage pollinators to visit them - for example, by their colour, scent, reflectance, size, outline, temperature, motion and nectar guides. The latter are markings or patterns on the petals and floral parts to guide bees, bumblebees or other pollinators towards the nectar and to encourage pollination. This link (click here) shows how a flower might appear to a bee or butterfly - due their sensitivity to U.V light. Read more...

Moorland, heather and bees

Moorland, heather and bees

by David R C, 17 September, 2016, 2 comments

What’s so special about heather moorland to beekeepers? Heather is a small plant known scientifically as Calluna vulgaris, or more commonly ling heather. As the beekeeping season is winding down elsewhere, the small purple flowers that are a characteristic feature of moorland’s stunning scenery are just opening. The nectar they produce results in a highly sought after and delicious honey, making it worth all the hard work (both on the part of the bees and the beekeeper) that goes into producing it. Read more...

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