An Encounter with Bees

8 July 2016

     Stephen (Steve) Trink has installed beehives at SpruceHaven and when he invited me to suit up and observe the art of beekeeping I jumped at the chance.

     It was something I had never done before and I welcomed the opportunity to learn about the production of the delicious honey we all enjoy so much.                                                                                                            Emma Trink, Steve's daughter whom you met in a previous post about the Barn Swallow colony, was anxious to help her dad and donned her own protective suit.

          Here are the three musketeers of the beehives, ready to begin work.

     I was entrusted with the smoker; smoke is used to pacify the bees a little, permitting the inspection of the hives to proceed without danger.

     We commenced our inspection by examining this frame, fully drawn out with wax by the bees and filled with newly-collected nectar.

     Steve was a model instructor as he explained in complete detail the various components of the hive and the condition represented on each frame we examined. The one below is moderately populated with bees from a hive box which is currently home to about 30,000 bees. Frames such as this one are ready to fill with nectar and pollen which will be the food source for developing bees after they have hatched.

     This entrance feeder contains honey from another hive to provide a much needed boost for this newly established hive. It takes about 453 grams of honey consumed by bees to produce 28 grams of wax. Wax is the most valuable product of the bees in this sense and is used to produce hexagonal cells wherein they store pollen, nectar, honey and the developing brood.

     I was so engrossed in the whole operation and in following Steve's discourse, I forgot to keep pumping the bellows on the smoker and I let the fire go out. It was quickly reignited with a few wood chips from around the hive and I became a more conscientious pumper after that!

     While dad was getting the smoker primed Emma decided to ham it up for the camera.

     The brood box below is ready for another box to be added on top; this will provide more room for the growing hive to expand.

     This frame has 90% of its wax foundation drawn out by the bees. We were looking for the queen but unfortunately it started to rain and we were unsuccessful in locating her.

     You will see the glistening nectar in the upper right corner of this frame. Once the water has evaporated the bees will cap the cells with wax.

     We can see capped brood cells in this frame. Nurse bees attend to the brood chamber and their duties include temperature regulation and feeding larvae. Also visible is the capped honey in the upper right corner. Newly hatched bees clean out their cells before starting other duties in the hive. The timeline of their activities corresponds with their development; for example, as a bee develops the ability to produce wax it participates in building wax comb.

     Having learned my lesson with the smoker I made sure that I did not let it go out again and applied smoke to calm the bees whenever it was necessary.

       Emma was right there to remind me if I didn't pump quite vigorously or frequently enough.
       In this image we see the frame from the bottom edge. Many bees can be seen busily building out right to the very bottom; larger (drone) males can be seen at the bottom right-centre of the frame. 

       The queen alone lays all the eggs in the hive. She mates with several drones on her virgin flight and lays thousands of eggs each day. In fact, she lays more than her own body weight in eggs every day of her life, two to three years on average. Towards the end of her life her egg output diminishes and this does not go unnoticed by the other bees. They take steps to replace her in a process known as supersedure. 
       The rain was becoming more intense and we had no choice but to close the boxes for the night.

        The view looking toward St. Agatha told the story.

      It was a fascinating experience and I wish again to thank Steve for facilitating it, and to Miriam who fearlessly handled the camera in close proximity to the bees without any protective equipment and without hesitation. 
      Emma was her normal ebullient, charming self and certainly contributed to the success of the whole evening.

The first of "our" Barn Swallows (Hirondelles rustiques) leaves the nest

26 June 2016

     We all assembled again to band the final four nests of young Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica with a few additional interested observers. 

     I must say again that Kevin has been absolutely obliging in terms of having an audience watch him band these birds, and has answered questions patiently and made sure that the children have enjoyed the experience and learned a good deal in the process. 

     The nestlings we have already banded are now within hours of leaving the nest, and are starting to crowd each other out.

     Here they are with their little rear ends all directed away from the nest to ensure that their droppings are shot over the side.

     Miriam was again handling the camera chores for me and she captured Kevin's banding skill very nicely in the following images.

     This little bird seems to have had enough to do with the nest and is ready to explore the world outside.

     Stephen Trink brought his two daughters Abigail, nine years old, and Emma, seven years old to watch the operation, and here they are along with Marilyn Burch, a friend of Dave and Sandy, carefully observing the goings on.

     These two little girls were absolutely fascinated by the birds and couldn't resist holding one.

     There is a degree of wonder, quite unrivalled by other experiences, in having intimate contact with wild creatures. This is especially true when children are involved and sometimes it is enough to trigger a lifelong connection to nature. I certainly hope that it turns about to be the case with Abigail and Emma, polite, engaged and delightful girls, who were anxious to participate and learn. I hope to see more of them and help them with their enjoyment of the natural world.

     Inside the barn no less interested observers and helpers watched Kevin return the banded brood back to their nest.

Josh Pickering, John Lichty, Kevin Grundy, Emma Trink, Marilyn Burch

     We had been observing this nest full of young birds.......

     .........when one decided that it was time to make an exit and flew over to a nearby perch.

     Within minutes it had moved over to the window and was feeling the first wind ever to ruffle its feathers. 

     This little bird is about to face the most dangerous segment of its young life as it learns how to cope with the world outside, and masters all the skills it takes to be a Barn Swallow. We wish it well!