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This Will Give You a BuzzAustralian HoneySince the earliest days honey has been a source of food and energy. From the first food-gatherers to the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans records show the value of the bees and their honey. Honey sold in shops comes from honeybees. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) was introduced to Australia in 1822. Honeybees were needed to fertilise (pollinate) the European crops, which were established in Australia. They honeybee is a most amazing insect. Its family (hive) consists of:
Bees collect nectar, pollen and water each day to take back to the hive so that future generations can live. The raw nectar comes from flowers. They mix this with secretions from their glands, thereby transforming it and after it is deposited in the comb, it ripens into honey. Honey is primarily of vegetable origin. Its sugars are formed by a mixture of the sun, water and carbon dioxide in the air. Bees produce:
WHY HONEY? Honey is a quick, safe and natural energy giver because its simple sugars are quickly absorbed into the blood stream. Honey contains many vitamins and minerals. Honey is made up of:
There are many recipes which use honey for flavour there are probably more than 100 different ways honey can add flavor to a food. The bee’s value however is not confined to making honey. Honeybees also help our fruit and vegetables grow. Without bees trees and flowers may not make fruit, nuts or seeds and there would be no honey. Bees, orchards, and market gardens are an essential part of our food chain. When the bee gathers nectar her body becomes dusted with pollen. As she moves from flower to flower the pollen passes from male to female stigma and cross-pollination (or fertilisation) takes place which leads to new seeds and plant regeneration. THE BUSY BEE There are three types (castes) of bees in a normal hive: The Worker This is the smallest bee, 13-17 millimetres long. The worker bee gathers food for the hive, cleans the hive and helps rear the young. The worker bee collects nectar and water through its long mouthpiece called a proboscis. Its tongue is used to suck the nectar from the flowers. On its long hind legs there are pollen ‘baskets’ to carry the pollen back to the hive. The Drone These are the future fathers. Their only task is to mate with the Queen bee. Once the drone bee mates with the Queen bee he dies. Drones have no other real purpose. They cannot forage because their mouthpieces are too short for collecting nectar. They cannot make pollen. They cannot defend the hive because they have no sting. They cannot make bees-wax. Their role is to help the Queen bee breed. The Queen Bee The queen is the largest bee and each normal colony has only one. Her sole purpose is to lay eggs. She is the mother of the hive. She leaves the hive only to mate or when the hive reproduces by swarming. Her body is especially formed for egg laying. Fertilised eggs hatch into larvae. These grub-like larvae become either workers or queens. Larvae who are fed Royal jelly only during incubation become the queens. Eggs hatch into larvae in three days. Workers take 21 days to reach maturity from when the egg is laid (drones 24 days, queens 16 days). THE HIVE In 1852 in Philadelphia in the United States of America a new kind of beehive was invented, which is still used today. This beehive is a rectangular wooden box divided into two parts:
Both sections contain lift out frames on which the bees build honey comb. When the combs are full of honey the bees add a wax cap which seals off each of them. Once the frames are full, they can be removed and the honey extracted. Each producing hive contains at least 40,000 bees and most of these are workers. A very strong hive can contain 100,000 workers. The honeycomb is white when new and becomes yellow as it absorbs pollen during storage. Its colour progresses through into a brown. Each wax cell in the comb has six sides and all cells have a slight back-ward lean so the honey does not run out. The hives are enthusiastically guarded against intruders such as:
Guard duty at the hive entrance is undertaken by the older workers who use their sting as their
defense. THE GATHERING Honeybees need nectar, pollen and water to feed the hive and make their honey. Beekeepers help the bees by moving the hives from time to time into areas where there is a good source of nectar and pollen. For example, where there are lots of flowers or blossoms as in an orchard or forest. Once the hives are in place some of the worker bees go out scouting. This is usually done in a radius of about one kilometre from the hives. The scouts then report back to the hive to indicate to the other bees where the nectar and pollen source is to be found. Sometimes, honey bees may have to fly several kilometres from their home to gather food supplies. Bees cannot talk. Instead their language is one of vibration. For example, to indicate distance to other bees in the hive, the scout bee uses a loud buzz and a demonstration dance. Wings vibrating swiftly as the bee dances in a circle indicate that the find is within 100 metres of the hive. If the source is further away, the dance will be in the shape of a figure eight. The direction in which the scout moves and at what speed also helps communicate to the others where the source is located. Once the workers know where to go they set out to gather nectar and pollen, from sunrise to sunset. Busy bees have great stamina and carry big weights! The nectar is carried in a special honey stomach, while the pollen is carried in separate pollen baskets on the hind legs. MAKING THE HONEY
The nectar provides the bees with honey for energy while the pollen is a source of protein. All the vitamins the bees need are contained in the various nectars and pollens. As the bee crawls inside blossoms in search of nectar, pollen sticks to small hairs that cover its body. When the bee grooms itself it moves the pollen to carry-bags on its hind legs. The nectar is sucked from the flower and stored in a special honey stomach. When the bee is full she returns to the hive and passes the nectar by mouth to the honey making bees. This mixture is then transferred to a honey cell in the hive. The mixture then slowly converts into honey as its moisture content drops from about 70% in the nectar to less than 18% in the honey. When the cell is full the bees seal it with a beeswax cap. The honey remains in place until it is needed as food in the hive. The pollen is also stored away; later it is mixed with honey to make a bee bread which is fed to the baby bees. THE SOURCE Australia is a great producer of honey because its climate and vegetation provide two essential ingredients the flowers and blossoms from which nectar comes. Australia’s eucalypts in particular are good sources of honey and help give the honey its distinctive taste and density. Most Australian honey comes from the native eucalypt box, gum, stringy bark and iron bark tree families. Distinctive flavoured honey is also produced by ground cover plants such as clover, lucerne and Salvation Jane which were brought to Australia from overseas. HARVEST TIME Once the honeycomb (or cell) in the hive is capped with beeswax it can be collected by the beekeeper (Apiarist). The honeycomb is removed from the hive by the beekeeper who uses a knife (or cutter) to take the wax capping off without damaging the rest of the honeycomb. The honeycomb is then placed in an extractor. Revolving baskets spin around until the honey is released. Little damage is done to the honeycomb which is then returned to the hive. The bees then set about removing any left over honey plus repairing and polishing each cell in preparation for new supplies of honey. Honey is collected from the extractor and then strained to remove any left over beeswax. Once this is done the honey can be bottled. The flowers from which the nectar is collected give the honey its flavor and color. The bees themselves are able to distinguish between the perfumes of the flowers. Australia has many, many flowers from which honey can be made. This means they have a wide range of varieties of honey. HONEY FACTS Honey has always been regarded as a food which provides health advantages and as a product which has ‘healing qualities.’ Medical evidence of honey’s importance as a health food has not existed until recent times although its value as part of folklore medicine has always been recognised. Today, reputable research organisations around the world now take seriously both the health benefits and healing properties of honey. As a natural, unprocessed and easily digested food, honey can be regarded as an important part of our diet. Try these suggestions for uses of honey:
HOME AND ABROAD Australia is among the top honey producing nations in the world, exporting about half of what is produced. Most of the honey that is exported comes from main-stream commercial beekeepers who number about 2,000 and who may own between 40 and 2000 hives. Because the seasons affect the amount of blossom, beekeepers have to move their hives from place to place to find a good supply of nectar and pollen. A strong hive has about 30,000 bees flying from blossom to blossom all day long. Each bee can visit thousands of blossoms in a single day. Beeswax In addition to the export of honey, Australia is a large exporter of beeswax. It can be used as a base in many products including lipstick, hand creams and beauty creams. Beeswax is also used for furniture polish and candles. The beeswax which caps each honeycomb is removed before the frame is spun to release the honey. The honey is then strained to remove any beeswax. Beeswax is a remarkable wax because it does not melt readily. For example, it can stand temperatures up to 60º C. FOR MORE INFORMATION WEBSITESThe Australian Honeybee Industrial Council BEST WAY TO GET TO AUSTRALIA(800) 227-4500 Qantas.com GREAT GUIDEBOOKS
Edited by Madelyn Miller |
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Bees need two different kinds of food. One is honey made from nectar, the sugary juice that collects in the heart of the flowers. The other comes from the anthers of flowers which contain small grains called pollen, which differ from flower to flower.