Life is full of surprises just like what Forrest Gump always say "Life is like a box of chocolate you'll never know what you'll gonna get" and this colony of "Apis Cerana" a local honeybee surprise me today inside our well in our vacant lot, it was already an established colony of bees. Apis Cerana is smaller than the one I am keeping which is the "Apis Mellifera" or the European honeybee, Apis Cerana is the important pollinating agents for coconut palms. These are less aggressive than any wild bees and also less swarming behavior and can be easily used for beekeeping, so I decided to transfer them to a nucbox as we saw the colony, I smoke them gently with a smoker and put the box ready to catch them and as the hive fall into the box they became aggressive so I quickly put the top cover of the box and set it aside at the top of the well so they could enter at the entrance of the box I was sure that the queen was inside and when the queen was inside they could easily scent the pheromone of their queen I set it aside until 5pm and when most of the bees were in the box I already transfer the box to a new location where it would stay and will reorient themselves as they forage in the morning. I got stung 3 times but was still happy and excited as well to keep a local honeybee and I discovered new thing The sting of Apis Mellifera was much painful compare to the Apis Cerana. I haven't decided yet what type of box hive would I use for the Apis Cerana what I had in mind since Apis Cerana was smaller I'll make a box smaller than the box I'm using in keeping the Apis Mellifera, hope I could decide soon. I saw a documentary where a beekeeper said that bees choose their keeper and I guess with what happened today I'm starting to believe it.
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Bee bearding is a phenomenon wherein older bees cluster outside of the front hive during hot weather, when they do that it looks like the hive has a beard, it is usually mistaken by others as a sign of swarming but it has something to do with the ventilation of the hive when the weather was hot. This behavior coincides with the onset of the hot humid days and nights, the relative humidity is high in the Philippines, a high amount of moisture or vapor in the air makes hot temperatures feel hotter. Bearding begins when the summer temperatures reach 38°C (100°F) or more. Bearding has something to do with the temperature inside the hive, space available, and the population (crowding) of the hive. A hive with plenty of ventilation will probably have less bees gathering on the front of it. The average temperature in the beehive is between 32-35°C (90-95°F). Honeybees have the ability to regulate the temperature of their nest throughout the year.If it is cold, bees raise the temperature within the hive by huddling together to keep warm and vibrating their wing muscles to generate heat. If it is hot, they lower it by fanning their wings to circulate air through the hive. If it is really hot, they collect water for evaporation cooling.Droplets of water are placed inside the hive, then the bees stand in a line facing the hive entrance fanning their wings creating air currents that evaporate the water, thus cooling the hive. Whenever the bees does the fanning at the entrance, there are many inside the hive doing similar fanning to control the hive temperature. I am a woodworker as well as a beekeeper, as a woodworker we used a gadget to know and control the moisture of the wood, bees also control the moisture inside the hive an example of which was the honey, when the moisture of the honey was high it is still uncapped but when it reach the right moisture content the bees seal the honeycomb, sealed comb is a sign that the honey on a honeycomb is ready for harvest and won't easily ferment. It's summer and flowers are blooming one thing in the mind of a beekeeper it is honey flow season. It was April 15, 2014, Tuesday, the day we set to harvest at least 16 frames in the hive full of honey it was morning when we get the frames from the hive, I was accompanied by my dad and my high school buddy who was a partner of mine in beekeeping to get the frames, I was stung 6 times during that day but all the pain I felt due to the sting were relieved, thanking God for the bees, and the bees who gave us honey. Allan Defensor which we owe alot for sharing his knowledge about beekeeping helped us in unsealing the capped honeycomb, Paul who was a chef at Tinderbox were also there to witness how to extract honey as well as a friend of my mother along with his daughter, who was the first to buy a liter of honey. After we extracted the honey we put all the honey to a container and transferred it to the bottles and sealed it, my sister Nina helped me in filling the bottles and sealing it and I put a label on the bottle and there goes my product, after all the work was done comes our dinner we spent the night eating an imported Norwegian pink salmon brought by Paul and cooked a local dish called "LARANG". A big thanks to Vergara family for letting us borrow the Honey Extractor. "Beekeeping is LOVE". Mactan Island Bee Farm had launched a facebook group page at this address: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beesmactanislandbeefarm/ the picture on the left was our bee technician/consultant Mr. Stephen Jamio Bastida, he is the one who taught us how to keep bees in a span of 4 Sundays at Vergara Residence/Apiary at Pajo Lapu-Lapu City, you will never forget his name once you had a seminar with him for he always remind beekeepers that bee sting is a therapy. One of the quote you'll also learn from him during his seminar was "Bees for Environment and Economic Sustainability". My companions during our seminar were Christian Maningo a highschool friend and my dad, we had a great time experiencing those pain from bee stings and the taste of honey and mangoes during break time,. When a bee sting a person, they inject venom through their stinger into the skin of the victim. Bee Venom is known treat not only pain but arthritic conditions, multiple sclerosis, and other health woes however if you are allergic to bee stings the normal reaction to a bee stin is the skin is reddened and painful. Swelling and itching may also occur, but the pain usually disappears over a few hours. In the so-called large local reaction to an insect sting, the swelling, redness, and pain may persist for up to a week. Areas adjacent to the site of the skin may also be involved in the large local reaction. In a systemic allergic reaction, the entire body is affected. The victim may develop hives, redness, or swelling at sites on the body distant from the site of the sting. Symptoms can also include: In a systemic allergic reaction, the entire body is affected. The victim may develop hives, redness, or swelling at sites on the body distant from the site of the sting. Symptoms can also include: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and dizziness. In anaphylactic reactions, victims experience wheezing, difficulty breathing, and a drop in blood pressure that leads to shock if not treated promptly. These type of reactions usually occur within minutes of the bee sting. Since most people who have allergies to bee stings will have a worsened reaction to every subsequent sting, those individuals with bee sting allergies should talk to their doctor about taking special precautions, including carrying an injectable form of the drug epinephrine (used to treat anaphylactic reactions) at all times. If the person does not have severe allergy symptoms: 1. Remove the Stinger Scrape the area with a fingernail or use tweezers to remove it. Don't pinch the stinger -- that can inject more venom. 2. Control Swelling Ice the area. If you were stung on your arm or leg, elevate it. Remove any tight-fitting jewelry from the area of the sting. As it swells, rings or bracelets might be difficult to remove. 3. Treat Symptoms For pain, take an over-the-counter painkiller like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Do not give aspirin to anyone under age 18. For itchiness, take an antihistamine. You can also apply a mixture of baking soda and water or calamine lotion. 4. Follow-Up It might take 2-5 days for the area to heal. Keep it clean to prevent infection. If the person does have severe allergy symptoms (anaphylaxis): 1. Seek Emergency Seek emergency care if the person has any of these symptoms or a history of severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), even if there are no symptoms: Difficulty breathing or wheezing, tightness in the throat or a feeling that the airways are closing hoarseness or trouble speaking, nausea, abdominal pain, or vomiting, Fast heartbeat or pulse, Skin that severely itches, tingles, swells, or turns red, Anxiety or dizziness, Loss of consciousness 2. Inject Epinephrine Immediately If the person has an anaphylaxis action plan from a doctor for injecting epinephrine and other emergency measures, follow it. Otherwise, if the person carries an epinephrine shot or one is available: Inject epinephrine if the person is unable to. If the person has a history of anaphylaxis, don't wait for signs of a severe reaction to inject epinephrine. Read and follow patient instructions carefully. Inject epinephrine into outer muscle of the thigh. Avoid injecting into a vein or buttock muscles. Do not inject medicine into hands or feet, which can cause tissue damage. If this happens, notify emergency room staff. The person may need more than one injection if there's no improvement after the first. For an adult, inject again after 10 to 20 minutes. For a child, inject again after 5 to 30 minutes. A person should always go to the ER after an epinephrine injection, even if the symptoms subside. 3. Do CPR if the Person Stops Breathing For a child, start CPR for children. For an adult, start adult CPR. 4. Follow-Up Make sure that someone stays with the person for 24 hours after anaphylaxis in case of another attack. Report the reaction to the person's doctor. |
Dilan's Apiary
Address: Kagudoy Road, Basak, Lapu-Lapu City Archives
June 2022
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