Just this afternoon as I was observing the entrance I saw something unusual, I saw a white worm crawling at the entrance of the hive due to my curiousness I opened up the hive and saw numbers of them but they were still few in numbers, I have had watch some hives that are infested in youtube and have already suspected that these are wax worms for I have seen some moths flying around the area and have eliminated some. Beekeppers always want to have their combs free of these wax moth larvae because it is a very destructive insect pest in the beehive. As a beekeeper in the Philippines we have small information about how to treat this but thanks to the help of technology beekeepers nowadays can share thoughts and ideas on the internet. The adult moth is a heavy bodied small moth about ½” to ¾” long, wings vary in color from grayish to brown and the underside is light gray. The mated females will fly into a colony 1 to 3 hours after dark and lay their eggs and then leave before daylight. The eggs are laid in masses and are light in color. Immediate action needs to be taken if a web has already been spun, larvae is described to be fat, pointed at both ends with a brown head and can get up to 1" in length, stay in the larvae state from 18 days to 3 months, prefer darker comb and will chew out oval depressions throughout your hive, destroy the comb and wooden ware, begin spinning a cocoon that can cover your frames. While these wax moth larvae are in the hive there are no chemicals approved to kill them, but if the combs are in storage they use "moth crystals" to kill the larvae but I still would want a safe control rather than chemical control, the only sure way to keep this from becoming a problem in the hive is to keep the bees strong and healthy so they can manage them successfully on their own. Depending on the extent of the problem there are several options: remove the infected super and add it to a very strong colony that will clean it up, place the comb inside a plastic bag and place in a freezer for 2 days. In my case it is still a minor infestation so what I did was I pulled out any larvae I can see and clean out all webs as of what I said earlier that there are only a few numbers of larvae, I was just too lucky to have detected it early.
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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. 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. Last week while inspecting I had a hard time finding the queen bee, and I was on doubt on what happened to the Queen since I really can't find her, the bees on the hive already made some queen cell and one problem that I encountered as an amateur bee keeper was the type of queen cell that the bees have made. In our seminar the bee technician told us that there are three types of Identifying the queen cell: Supersedure Cell, Emergency Queen Cell and the Swarm Cell. Queens are raised in specially constructed cells that start out as queen cups for the resident queen to lay eggs in. Queen cups are larger than the worker and drone cells and are oriented with the cell opening downward. When the queen cup is occupied is called a queen cell. Queen cells that begin from a queen cup are either swarm cells or supersedure cells. After an egg is laid in a cup, the worker bees extend the cup into a queen cell in which the queen is raised. Worker bees do not extend the queen cups into queen cells unless they have had eggs laid in them. The completely constructed queen cell is somewhat shaped like a peanut pod, usually 25-29 mm (1-1½ inches) in length and hangs downwards from the comb. The new queen spends its stages in the cell as it develops from egg to larva and then pupa. The worker bees feed the larva abundantly on royal jelly for the entire larval stage. This special feeding produces a female with fully developed reproductive organs. When the larva is ready to pupate they cap or seal the cell with beeswax. When the virgin queen is ready to emerge, she will bite her way through the bottom of the cell. When she has emerged the cap may still be attached to the cell. The queen bee needs 15-16 days to develop and leave her cell, depending on the temperature. Bees usually raise several queens at the same time. The first queen to emerge from her cell will immediately sting the unhatched queens to death while they are still inside their cell. If there is more than one queen in a colony, the queens will fight to the death. After about 4-7 days, the virgin queen is ready to mate. The newly mated queen can commence laying eggs after two to three days. I admit I am still an amateur and this is the first time I encountered this problem in actual that when I opened the hive and found the queen cells, I was tempted to destroy them as a swarming prevention measure. It is just lately that I've realized while having a chat with our bee technician that not all queen cells are necessarily swarm cells. As I mentioned previously, there are three types of queen cells. Only the presence of swarm cells indicates that the colony is preparing to swarm. The other two types are present for different purposes. Destroying queen cells may lead to queenlessness and it is vital to be able to identify and understand the different types of queen cells to perceive what is happening. Identification of Queen Cell Types: 1. Emergency cells are built when a colony becomes queenless. The queen may have been killed accidently, or dropped onto the ground during hive manipulation. Emergency cells are also started if the queen is removed from a colony by the beekeeper when making an artificial swarm. 2. Supersedure cells occur when the colony has decided to replace the current queen. The supersedure cell is started as a natural queen cup. The colony raises only a few cells, commonly 1 to 3, and they tend to be nearly uniform in age. They are typically raised on the face of a brood comb and in the same comb, not along the comb edge and near the bottom bars like swarm cells. These cells are usually long and heavily covered with beeswax. Supersedure cells can occur any time in the active season when a queen is failing. 3. Swarm cells are the most common type, built from queen cups for raising new queens when the bees preparing to swarm. Swarm cells are the most numerous; about six to twelve are generally produced. Some colonies build up to 50 of them. These cells are typically located on the bottom portion of the comb or in gaps in the comb within the brood area. In general, several cells are started at intervals during a period of several days and are seen at various stages of development. Our bee technician went to see the hives that I have a problem with for consultation on what to do, by that time we found that the queen is there, the queen cells that the bees had developed on the hive was a supercedure cell and 2 emergency cells, the bee technician decided to split the hive into 2 since the bees develop a supercedure cell and the 2 emergency cell was eliminated, a close brood and a cell full of honey and pollen goes into the nuc box. now I have 7 colonies to maintain. A honey bee box is made up of a hive stand, bottom board, hive bodies (brooder), honey supers, and a cover. The lower hive body is separated from the supers above by an excluder. Since I am still in the stage of building up, I still don't have honey supers as of now but I'm getting ready at it and I'm still on the lower hive, and I already bought a queen excluder in case I'm ready to have honey supers. In my own set-up of a bee hive box I bought a 3/4"TCK sheet and a 1/2"TCK sheet of plywoods to make 6 pcs of bee hive box which would contain the 9 pcs of frames, the paint I bought was enamel since bee hive box needed to be painted because it is placed outdoors. I already bought another sheet of a 3/4"TCK plywood for the honey supers and will process it soon, my set-up for the honey supers are the same size as the brood box. The standard style hive for 75% of the world's beekeepers was invented by Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth, he patented his design on 1860, He built a hive with frames that hung from the top ends of the hive, leaving a 3/8 inch space between all sides of the frames and the hive body. His clever design used the principle that bees usually do not build comb in 3/8 inch passageways. If the space is bigger than 3/8 of an inch, the bees will build comb. If it is less than 1/4 inch, they will attach propolis.Langstroth's frames were easily handled without breaking the comb. Today we refer to the 3/8 inch passageways as a "bee-space." This practical hive is the direct ancestor of the modern hive that is most popular today. In describing the benefits of his hive with movable frames, Langstroth wrote: "The chief peculiarity in my hive was the facility with which they could be removed without enraging the bees. I could dispense with natural swarming, and yet multiply colonies with greater rapidity and certainly than by the common methods feeble colonies could be strengthened, and those which had lost their queen furnished with the means of obtaining another.If I suspected that any thing was wrong with a hive, I could quickly ascertain its true condition, and apply the proper remedies." - L.L. Langstroth in Langstroth on the Honey-Bee, 1860. It is said that the word “medicine” derives from “mead” (honey wine). Whether or not this is true, honey and the products of bees have long been used as medicine. Apitherapy is the medical use of honey bee products, honey, beeswax, propolis
and bee venom, used in bee-sting therapy, are the main bee products used in apitherapy. Honey Honey has antibiotic properties, it is a sterile solution with a high sugar concentration that prevents the growth of micro-organisms. It is highly acid. It contains enzymes which produce hydrogen peroxide that kills bacteria. Honey is good for healing wounds and for skin treatment, its hygroscopic property is good for drying out wounds, and its permeability allows oxygen to pass through it. Hangovers? Honey is a great way to help the body deal with the toxic effects of a hangover, scientists say. The fructose in honey helps the body break down alcohol into harmless by-products. Honey also contains powerful antioxidant properties that can neutralise the harmful effects of alcohol. Enjoy two tablespoons of honey on its own, or on toast. Bee Venom Bee Venom can be of benefit in treating a large number of ailments. Bee venom therapy can be useful in both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, helping with both pain and swelling. In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid nodules can lessen in size. Other connective tissue diseases such as scleroderma have been (anecdotally) helped by Bee venom therapy Even systemic inflammations not related to joints, such as ulcerative colitis or even asthma, may warrant a trial of bee venom. This is presumably due to stimulation of endogenous cortisol through the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Acute and chronic injuries. Bursitis, tendonitis and other areas of injury respond well to bee venom therapy. In this case, the effect is probably a local anti- inflammatory effect, involving the humoral and cellular immune responses to a foreign protein. Chronic back and neck pain may respond, as can other aches and pains. Scar tissue. Keloids and other scar tissue are broken down and softened by the substances in the venom, and can flatten out and fade in color. Internal scar tissue, such as adhesions from previous surgery, may respond to treatment over the area. Royal Jelly Royal jelly is used for asthma, hay fever, liver disease, pancreatitis, sleep troubles (insomnia), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), stomach ulcers, kidney disease, bonefractures, menopausal symptoms, skin disorders, and high cholesterol. It is also used as a general health tonic, for fighting the effects of aging, and for boosting the immune system. Beeswax Beeswax contains natural moisturizers that make it useful as a skin and lip balm -- the substance locks in moisture and can help keep the skin firm and plump. In some cases, beeswax may be applied to minor burns or other skin damage in order to help the skin heal. Beeswax can also be mixed with other products, such as honey and olive oil, to produce lotions and balms that can serve as natural treatments against eczema and psoriasis. Bee Pollen Bee pollen’s medicinal use dates back to the early Chinese and Egyptian societies where it was used for its near-miraculous ability to rejuvenate and heal. Bee pollen was often entombed with Pharaohs. The Romans and Greeks called bee pollen “the life-giving dust”. Bee pollens are Energy Enhancer and a skin soother, it is often used in topical products that aim to treat inflammatory conditions and common skin irritations like psoriasis or eczema. The amino acids and vitamins protect the skin and aid the regeneration of cells. In respiratory systems bee pollen contains a high quantity of antioxidants that may have an anti-inflammatory effect on the tissues of the lungs, preventing the onset of asthma. In treating sllergies pollen reduces the presence of histamine, ameliorating many allergies. In the digestive system bee pollen contains enzymes that can aid in digestion. Enzymes assist your body in getting all the nutrients you need from the food that you eat. Pollen can also be an immune system booster and is good for the intestinal flora and thereby supports the immune system. bee pollen has antibiotic-type properties that can help protect the body from contracting viruses. It's also rich in antioxidants that protect the cells from the damaging oxidation of free radicals. It also treats addictions it is used holistically for healing addictions and inhibiting cravings by suppressing impulses. Because bee pollen crashes cravings, it is a very useful research is needed into this benefit, particularly when it comes to weight management. Bee pollen supports the cardiovascular System it contains large amounts of Rutin; an antioxidant bioflavonoid that helps strengthen capillaries, blood vessels, assists with circulatory problems and corrects cholesterol levels. Its potent anti-clotting powers could help prevent heart attack and stroke. Bee pollen also serves as prostate Aid wherein men who suffer from benign prostate hyperplasia can find relief by using bee pollen. Bee pollen can help reduce inflammation to stop frequent urges to urinate. Propolis When rubbed into the skin, propolis works well to treat skin ulcers, burns, and other skin conditions. It’s been used to treat sore joints and rheumatism with its flavonoids, and is particularly effective during the colder months of the year. The same pain relieving properties can work to help with osteolytic bone diseases and bone loss. Propolis is used to kill bacteria and relieve pain after food poisoning, and is particularly effective at tackling staphylococcus auereus. In the beehive there are 3 kinds of inhabitants The Queen Honeybee which is the mother of all the bees in the beehive, The Drone which is the male bee (Unfertilized), and The Worker Bees which is the female bees (Fertilized). The Queen Bee Each colony has only one queen, except during and a varying period following swarming preparations or supersedure. Because she is the only sexually developed female, her primary function is reproduction. She produces both fertilized and unfertilized eggs, without the queens constant egg laying the entire bee colony would die. The queen also enforces the social order of the hive, she gives off the pheromone that lets all of the other bees know that everything is good in the hive, if the queen is not around the other bees get confused, she can lay egg 1,000-2,000 per day, she can live for around 2-3 years. It is the worker bees that develop the larvae into queens by continuing to feed them royal jelly, which triggers an extended development as a pupa. A queen is easily distinguished from other members of the colony. Her body is normally much longer than either the drone’s or worker’s, especially during the egg-laying period when her abdomen is greatly elongated. The Drone Drones are the male bees of the colony. Since they do not have ovipositors, they also do not have stingers. Drones do not work like worker bees their only job is to mate with the queen and dies after mating if they do not die during mating cycle they are cast out of their hive to starve to death in the fall. Drones lifespan is 40-50 days. The worker Bee Workers are the smallest and constitute the majority of bees occupying the colony. They are sexually undeveloped females and under normal hive conditions do not lay eggs. Worker Bees are equipped with stingers that result in their death after they sting. Workers have specialized structures, such as brood food glands, scent glands, wax glands, and pollen baskets, which allow them to perform all the labors of the hive. They clean and polish the cells, feed the brood, care for the queen, remove debris, handle incoming nectar, build beeswax combs, guard the entrance, and air-condition and ventilate the hive during their initial few weeks as adults. Later as field bees they forage for nectar, pollen, water, and propolis (plant sap). The life span of the worker bees is about 1-4 months |
Dilan's Apiary
Address: Kagudoy Road, Basak, Lapu-Lapu City Archives
June 2022
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