wax glands ( photos)

[Bee Island]

Awsome !!!

 

[village girl]

thease photos are fantastic and adds to my understanding of how bees operate, thank you for shering,

 

[burren]

exc stuff Keith, cant wait for the queen emerging, thanks.

 

[blackcavebees]

Really opened my eyes, never seen this before in hive or online - great job buddy!

 

[nonstandard]

Great photos Keith,

Can I ask how you feed syrup in an Apidea? I assume you start them with fondant but top up with syrup; do you use a float or something to prevent drownings?

 

[steve1958]

I use a small feeder that I have made from one of those Water feeder things you use in Bird Cages.

The one I have is similar to the one in the picture.
A longer feeding trough would be better, but this does work, and I havent drowned any as yet.
On a down side, you need to top it up daily.

 

[alanf]

I had goggled for wax glands on bees several times and could find nothing of any clarity, so it was on the list of photos that i needed.I alway carry a small digital camera in the pocket of my bees suit, so that i have it handy, when i see something interesting. The next on my list is a queen emerging from her cell.

Good luck with your list. Those photos are better than anything I've seen in the books. When you say "small digital camera" I'm guessing you're being quite modest. I have a compact digital which is fine for landscapes and portraits but it cannot focus anything like that close, even with a 'macro' setting.

 

[Rosti]

Great capture Keith, congratulations. R

 

[Black Comb]

Fantastic pics. Keith. Thanks for posting and also permission to use them for beekeeping.

 

[FreeFall]

Excellent photographs!

When you say "small digital camera" I'm guessing you're being quite modest. I have a compact digital which is fine for landscapes and portraits but it cannot focus anything like that close, even with a 'macro' setting.

The EXIF data says that a Canon Digital IXUS 100 IS was used.

 

[Susan1]

Fantastic. I am going to be doing a power point presentation for a school in September. I would love to use these photos. Thank you.

 

[user 3204]

Brilliant!

Simply stunning photos - very educational - thank you for showing!

 

[victor meldrew]

Superb.
The wax is almost transparent - I thought it would be yellower

Though never witnessing wax scales actually being exuded ! I have seen enough on hive floors. Always translucent but never coloured !
I think pigment is incorporated by bees manipulating same also pollen being toted will stain the wax often seen in patches surrounded by near white wax?
These picture are something else . Awesome
VM

 

[vermillion]

thank you so much for sharing , these photos are just amazing.

 

[Alphakillpestie]

those pictures are astounding, very well done what camera are you using?

 

[Luminos]

those pictures are astounding, very well done what camera are you using?

See post 30

 

[keith pierce]

Great photos Keith,

Can I ask how you feed syrup in an Apidea? I assume you start them with fondant but top up with syrup; do you use a float or something to prevent drownings?

I will 3/4 prefill the feed compartment in the apidea box. When i charge the apidea with bees, i then fill it the rest of the way up with syrup.Fondant is taken down much slower than syrup, so when i see that they are down to the fondant i top up with syrup again. The handful of floater sticks become stucK to the fondant, but i have a small screwdriver that i use to loosen them up again, so that they float to the top of the syrup. I have found that when i use fondant only, that i get absconding

 

[tonybloke]

superb images Keith ( as always) thanks for sharing, and the kind offer to use the images to promote beekeeping.

 

[newbie]

thank for sharing those astounding photos... I've never seen anything like it ! well done

 

[Stromnessbees]

different interpretation of photos

Great pictures, yes, but I would interpret them differently:

These bees are not secreting wax while they are being photographed. These are bees that were not kept warm enough during wax secretion and their little slithers of wax solidified whilst being pushed out form the glands.
Now they are impossible to remove and the poor bee is stuck with them.

I have watched the process of wax secretion in my observation hive, and the bee usually does it while festooning with others, suspended by the front legs and catching the slithers of wax with her back legs, then passing them up, chewing them to shape and adding them to the comb.

The bees in the photos are not in that position, they just cannot get rid of the solidified platelets. I think this is to do with the small size of the apidea, the small number of bees in there is not enough to keep the temperature hot enough to allow for all the wax to be processed in time.