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Nature
To celebrate World Bee Day 2023 the HAPSIE team announced their own beehive - The HAPSIE HIVE!
Without bees, this planet, would be unrecognisable. In fact, a world without bees, would be a catastrophe for life as we know it.
Set in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, check back through the Summer of 2023 for updates of the HAPSIE HIVE. Today spend four minutes watching these wonderful creatures, and learning about their importance.
It is all our responsibility to take actions to protect nature. The entire production was written, produced and filmed for World Bee Day for Clean Planet Foundation (the publisher of HAPSIE).
HAPSIE HIVE - Updates!
May 2023 - Solar Monitoring!
How do we keep an eye on the HAPSIE Hive when we're on other projects? Our HAPSIE beekeeper has installed a solar powered camera!
May 2023 - Live Update
A shot through the lens of our solar powered Ring camera.
May 2023 - A new queen!
A queen bee is like the mom of all the bees in a hive. She has a very special job in bee society - she lays all the eggs! She's the only bee in the hive who can do that, and that's why there are so many bees buzzing around. She might lay thousands of eggs each day. So, all the worker bees, those you see flying from flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar, are her children. They take care of the queen bee, feed her, clean the hive, and protect her, because without her, there would be no new bees. So, a queen bee is very important for the survival of the whole bee family.
A queen bee can be replaced during the season. Sometimes, the worker bees decide they need a new queen. Maybe the old queen is sick or not laying enough eggs. So, they pick a few special baby bees and feed them a super special food called royal jelly. This special food makes these baby bees grow into new queen bees. Once they grow up, they have a race, and the first one to hatch becomes the new queen. But don't worry, this is normal for bees and how they make sure their hive stays strong and healthy.
A queen bee can be replaced during the season. Sometimes, the worker bees decide they need a new queen. Maybe the old queen is sick or not laying enough eggs. So, they pick a few special baby bees and feed them a super special food called royal jelly. This special food makes these baby bees grow into new queen bees. Once they grow up, they have a race, and the first one to hatch becomes the new queen. But don't worry, this is normal for bees and how they make sure their hive stays strong and healthy.
June 2023 - First Wax!
Bee wax is a lot like the clay you use to build things, but it's made by bees! The worker bees, the ones who do a lot of jobs in the hive, have tiny pockets on their bellies that produce this wax. They chew it with their little bee mouths to make it soft and then stick it together to create the hive, those honeycomb shapes you've seen in pictures. This is their home, where they live, protect their queen, raise baby bees, and store their honey. It's like their house and their refrigerator all in one! So, bee wax is really important to help the bees stay safe and keep their yummy honey safe too.
June 2023 - Regular Checks
Beekeeping is a careful balance of overseeing our HAPSIE hive's health and allowing the bees to go about their daily tasks undisturbed.
Generally, a full inspection, where you go through the hive frame by frame, should be done every two to three weeks during the active season (spring and summer). During these inspections, you're checking for the overall health of the hive, verifying that the queen is present and laying eggs, looking for signs of disease or pests, and making sure the hive has enough space to grow.
When you're performing this full inspection, it's important to be gentle and slow to avoid harming the bees or the delicate structure of the comb. Be sure to wear your bee suit and use a smoker to help calm the bees down and make them less likely to get defensive.
In the quieter months of fall and winter, full inspections should be less frequent, perhaps once every four to six weeks or even less, depending on the local climate and how your bees are faring. The goal is to disturb the bees as little as possible during this time when they're trying to conserve heat and resources.
Generally, a full inspection, where you go through the hive frame by frame, should be done every two to three weeks during the active season (spring and summer). During these inspections, you're checking for the overall health of the hive, verifying that the queen is present and laying eggs, looking for signs of disease or pests, and making sure the hive has enough space to grow.
When you're performing this full inspection, it's important to be gentle and slow to avoid harming the bees or the delicate structure of the comb. Be sure to wear your bee suit and use a smoker to help calm the bees down and make them less likely to get defensive.
In the quieter months of fall and winter, full inspections should be less frequent, perhaps once every four to six weeks or even less, depending on the local climate and how your bees are faring. The goal is to disturb the bees as little as possible during this time when they're trying to conserve heat and resources.
June 2023 - The Smoker!
Beekeepers use a tool called a smoker to puff smoke into the hive during inspections. The smoke distracts the bees and keeps them calm. It causes the bees to eat honey, which makes them less likely to sting, and it also masks the scent of alarm pheromones that bees release when they feel threatened.
For the smoke, beekeepers often use materials that produce a lot of smoke but don't burn too hot. Some examples are untreated burlap, pine needles, or commercial smoker fuel. They always make sure to use something that won't harm the bees, so nothing treated with chemicals or producing hot, fiery smoke.
For the smoke, beekeepers often use materials that produce a lot of smoke but don't burn too hot. Some examples are untreated burlap, pine needles, or commercial smoker fuel. They always make sure to use something that won't harm the bees, so nothing treated with chemicals or producing hot, fiery smoke.
June 2023 - So many Bees!
The number of bees in our HAPSIE beehive can vary a lot, depending on factors like the hive's health, the time of year, and the species of bee. However, during the active seasons of spring and summer, a healthy hive of European honey bees, which are the most common type kept by beekeepers, can contain anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 bees!
The population is at its highest during these seasons because the queen bee, who is the mother of all the other bees in the hive, can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day when food is plentiful. This helps the hive build up a large workforce to collect nectar and pollen from blooming flowers.
Keep in mind that not every hive will have the same number of bees, and different types of bees may have smaller or larger colonies. For instance, a bumblebee colony is typically much smaller, usually containing between 50 and 400 bees.
The population is at its highest during these seasons because the queen bee, who is the mother of all the other bees in the hive, can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day when food is plentiful. This helps the hive build up a large workforce to collect nectar and pollen from blooming flowers.
Keep in mind that not every hive will have the same number of bees, and different types of bees may have smaller or larger colonies. For instance, a bumblebee colony is typically much smaller, usually containing between 50 and 400 bees.
June 2023 - Might be Mites!
Varroa mites are tiny creatures that live in beehives. They're a type of parasite, which means they depend on bees to survive. They feed on the bees' body fluids and can sometimes spread diseases.
However, having a few mites in a hive is normal and usually isn't a cause for alarm. Bees have lived with mites for a long time and a healthy hive can often keep the mite population in check on its own. It's when the number of mites gets too high that problems can start to occur.
Just like people might get a little sick if there are too many germs around, bees can start to get sick if there are too many mites in their hive. This is why beekeepers keep an eye on mite levels and use various methods to control them if needed. It's all part of taking care of the bees and making sure their home stays a safe and healthy place for them to live.
However, having a few mites in a hive is normal and usually isn't a cause for alarm. Bees have lived with mites for a long time and a healthy hive can often keep the mite population in check on its own. It's when the number of mites gets too high that problems can start to occur.
Just like people might get a little sick if there are too many germs around, bees can start to get sick if there are too many mites in their hive. This is why beekeepers keep an eye on mite levels and use various methods to control them if needed. It's all part of taking care of the bees and making sure their home stays a safe and healthy place for them to live.
June 2023 - Honeycomb!
Honeycomb is made by the HAPSIE worker bees, who have special glands in their abdomen that produce beeswax. When the bees consume honey or nectar, these glands are able to turn some of the sugar into wax. The wax then comes out of small pores on the bee's abdomen, initially as tiny flakes.
The bees chew these wax flakes with their mandibles (that's a fancy word for a bee's jaw), mixing it with saliva. This softens the wax and makes it pliable, kind of like how clay becomes easy to shape when you knead it with your hands.
Once the wax is soft, the bees use it to construct the hexagonal (six-sided) cells of the honeycomb. They use their bodies to measure the cells and ensure they're just the right size. The reason for the hexagonal shape is that it uses the least amount of wax to create the most amount of space, and it's really strong too.
Once the cells are built, they can be used for various purposes in the hive. Some cells are used to raise young bees, some to store honey, and others to store pollen. Isn't it amazing what bees can do?
The bees chew these wax flakes with their mandibles (that's a fancy word for a bee's jaw), mixing it with saliva. This softens the wax and makes it pliable, kind of like how clay becomes easy to shape when you knead it with your hands.
Once the wax is soft, the bees use it to construct the hexagonal (six-sided) cells of the honeycomb. They use their bodies to measure the cells and ensure they're just the right size. The reason for the hexagonal shape is that it uses the least amount of wax to create the most amount of space, and it's really strong too.
Once the cells are built, they can be used for various purposes in the hive. Some cells are used to raise young bees, some to store honey, and others to store pollen. Isn't it amazing what bees can do?
June 2023 - We found the Queen Bee!
There's up to 80,000 bees in the HAPSIE Hive, and we found the queen! Can you spot her too, she looks a little differnet!
June 2023 - OUCH!
Our HAPSIE beekeeper, even whilst wearing protective gloves has been stung a few times! See how his left hand has swollen bigger compared to his right? Yikes!
June 2023 - A Bee Sting
A bee sting is like a tiny, sharp injection from a bee. When a bee feels scared or thinks it needs to protect its hive, it uses a little pointed part at the end of its body, called a stinger. It might feel like a quick, sharp pinch and then it starts to hurt and itch. It looks like a little red bump, and sometimes you can even see the teeny-tiny stinger left in your skin (like in the photo). But here's the sad part, once a honey bee stings you, it normally can't pull its stinger back out, so it ends up dying. Other types of bees, like bumblebees, can sting multiple times without dying though. For the HAPSIE bees it's a big sacrifice, so we try not to bother the bees too much and that's also why we use smoke to help calm them down.
July 2023 - Upcycled Honey Extractor!
A honey extractor is a neat device that beekeepers use to get honey out from the honeycombs without destroying them. You can think of it as a big drum that spins the honeycomb frames around really fast - just like in this video! When it spins, the honey gets flung out of the cells in the honeycomb because of a force we call 'centrifugal force' (it's the same thing that makes you feel like you're being pushed to the side when you spin around fast on a roundabout!). Then, the honey drips down to the bottom of the extractor and can be collected. People use it because it's a quick and efficient way to collect honey, and it lets the bees reuse the intact honeycombs to make more honey. So, it's good for us and the bees! Here our HAPSIE bee keeper has been talking with Upcycle Michael and made their own! We may have some honey soon!
July 2023 - Filtering Honey!
After the honey has been extracted, beekeepers filter it to remove any leftover bits that aren't honey. These bits can include parts of beeswax, which come from the honeycombs, or even tiny bits of bees, pollen, or propolis (a sticky substance bees use to build their hive). By passing the honey through a cloth or a special honey filter, our HAPSIE beekeeper catches all these little bits, so what you're left with is pure, smooth honey. The honey still keeps its yummy taste and all the good stuff that makes honey healthy, but it looks clearer and is more pleasant to eat or use in cooking or baking. Here's another homemade invention by our beekeeper!
July 2023 - First Honey!
We have our first jar of Hapsie Honey of the season! Wahoo! The amount of honey a bee hive can produce in a season varies greatly based on factors like the species of bee, the size of the colony, the local environment, and weather conditions. On average, a strong and healthy hive in a good season can produce 60 to 100 jars of surplus honey. The word 'surplus' is important as we need to keep enough honey back through the winter for the bees, as much as we like to eat it too!
And the honey keeps coming
The HAPSIE bees are really on a roll now! Five jars and counting!
Classic Honey shot!
We couldn't resist...
Queen Bee
Our beekeeper managed to get this amazing shot of the queen bee today. Can you spot her right in the centre?
Testing Moisture Content
As a beekeeper, testing the moisture content in honey is a crucial part of ensuring its quality and longevity. To do this, we use a device called a refractometer. We collect a small sample of honey and place it on the refractometer, which measures the amount of water present in the honey. Professional beekeepers usually aim for a moisture content in honey between 16% to 18.5%. Honey with less than 16% moisture can become too thick and difficult to extract, while honey with over 18.5% may ferment and spoil more easily. Recently, we tested the honey we produced in the HAPSIE Hive, and it had an excellent moisture level of 16%, falling perfectly within the ideal range. We also tested a honey from a popular supermarket brand, and it had 19% moisture. Comparing the two, we can be proud of our honey for being well within the desired moisture range, ensuring its high quality and great taste for a long time. 🍯🐝
The Refractometer
See the previous photo for information on what this does!
Want more nature?! Naeco & Ria use their video camera to help us see nature differently and #LetItThrive
click below to watch their videos!
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