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honey hunters on bbc4 now
honey hunters
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The next time I hear a bee keeper moaning about having to wait for "his" honey when using a clearing board, I am going to tell him to go and collect from the Himalayan Bees................That was fantastic!!!
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Looks like it should be a goodie, thanks for the heads up - heres the iplayer link for those that want it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00d298z/Jimmy_and_the_Wild_Honey_Hunters/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00d298z/Jimmy_and_the_Wild_Honey_Hunters/
drstitson
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looks almost as hazardous an occupation as inspecting Mons Abs' hive(s) before eventual requeening!!!!
Bee-Key-Pur
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Wow, what a great program and weren’t they nice looking bees.
But it left me with a few questions floating around my head, so I thought I would put them to the forum to see what you thought.....
He said it was the autumn honey gathering and was timed so that the comb was at its fullest, with honey.
He also said that very soon the cold and ice would return to the area and the bees would leave the comb and move further south into the valleys.
So, they will have to leave the comb behind with surely a good amount of honey and young brood still in it!
After they have moved south, do they have to build more wax comb, if so, where do they get the honey to be able to do that. Or do they return to the old comb that they would have left behind in spring before flying north to the cliffs? If the latter is the case, surely they will have no stores to see them through the winter months, because they left it behind and there can’t be that many plants in flower at the beginning of winter!
He also said that these wild cliff bees were twice the size of our bees, so does it then follow that their stomachs are twice the size, allowing them to carry twice as much nectar.
I would assume the queen was twice the size also, would that mean she could lay twice as many eggs in a season?
What are your thoughts on these questions?
But it left me with a few questions floating around my head, so I thought I would put them to the forum to see what you thought.....
He said it was the autumn honey gathering and was timed so that the comb was at its fullest, with honey.
He also said that very soon the cold and ice would return to the area and the bees would leave the comb and move further south into the valleys.
So, they will have to leave the comb behind with surely a good amount of honey and young brood still in it!
After they have moved south, do they have to build more wax comb, if so, where do they get the honey to be able to do that. Or do they return to the old comb that they would have left behind in spring before flying north to the cliffs? If the latter is the case, surely they will have no stores to see them through the winter months, because they left it behind and there can’t be that many plants in flower at the beginning of winter!
He also said that these wild cliff bees were twice the size of our bees, so does it then follow that their stomachs are twice the size, allowing them to carry twice as much nectar.
I would assume the queen was twice the size also, would that mean she could lay twice as many eggs in a season?
What are your thoughts on these questions?
Not seen it but some bits just need a modicum of thought.
If they migrate - they migrate to where there is forage - just like birds or any other migratory animal.
Doubt if they abandon a lot of stores or brood - both will decrease and migration will be at an appropriate point. Queen will go off-lay in preparation for the migration, because the workers will stop feeding her (assuming her lifestyle is similar to AMM).
Remember they have been following this migratory sequence for more than a few years.
Twice the size is a misnomer perhaps. Try doubling the dimensions of a unit sized milk carton/bottle and see hiow many litres/pints it would hold. Surprising? Maybe not.
Maybe the eggs are similarly 'twice the size'.
There, something for you to ponder.
RAB
If they migrate - they migrate to where there is forage - just like birds or any other migratory animal.
Doubt if they abandon a lot of stores or brood - both will decrease and migration will be at an appropriate point. Queen will go off-lay in preparation for the migration, because the workers will stop feeding her (assuming her lifestyle is similar to AMM).
Remember they have been following this migratory sequence for more than a few years.
Twice the size is a misnomer perhaps. Try doubling the dimensions of a unit sized milk carton/bottle and see hiow many litres/pints it would hold. Surprising? Maybe not.
Maybe the eggs are similarly 'twice the size'.
There, something for you to ponder.
RAB
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