bees and honey

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Bees & Honey

 

Bees are manipulated to produce many products for human use; honey, beeswax,

propolis, bee pollen, royal jelly and venom. They are intelligent insects who

have been described as having a complicated form of communication second only

to human beings.

Because bees are seen flying free, they are also often considered free of the

usual cruelties of the animal farming industry. However bees are treated

exactly the same as any other farm animal. They undergo routine examination

and

handling, artificial feeding regimes, drug and pesticide treatment, genetic

manipulation, artificial insemination, transportation (by air, rail and road)

and

slaughter.

 

Queen for a Year - Maybe Two

 

Queen bees are artifiically inseminated with sperm obtained from decapitated

bees. Queens are systematically slaughtered every two years because over a

period of time their egg producing abilities decline so their whole hive

becomes

unproductive and uneconomic. In Israel they are killed and requeened every

year.

 

Bees Crushed

 

When bee keepers manipulate combs many bees are crushed and killed. Hives

have smoke puffed into the hives to calm bees down and make them easier to

handle. Special excluders or devices which violates the bees' space are

attached to

hives to collect bee products from bees as they enter hives. Bees are

separated from their hives by being shaken vigorously or jetted out with

powerful

streams of air. They may have their legs and wings clipped off.

Clipping the wings of queen bees prevents them from swarming (flying off!).

Swarming is the natural way for reproduction, increase and suvival of the

species, at least in the wild. However, bee keepers are constantly trying to

prevent this natural phenomenon and will use artificial pheromones and wing

clipping

to keep their colony under control.

 

Artificial Feed

 

Beekeepers feed artificial pollen substitutes and white sugar syrup to

colonies, often to replace the honey that has been removed. If these

practices are

carried out over long periods of time they lower hive productivity and

lifespan. Colonies fed on their natural food - honey and pollen - resulting

in larger

emerging bees and more vigorous bees.

 

Pesticides

 

Beekeepers have become dependent on the use of synthetic pestcides and

antibiotics to combat pests, and this has led to problems of toxicological

hazards

to beekeepers and bees, and risks of honey contamination.

 

Bees - Transported

 

Bees are bought and sold worldwide. Transportation means bees may suffer

stress, suffocation, overheating or cold. Many die entombed in their

coffin-like

packages. Exotic bees are transported to strange countries and cause problems

in the natural environment by spreading disease. They are subsequently

treated

as feral and nests are destroyed by pouring petrol in hives or bees killed by

spraying with liquid soap.

 

Moneymaking

 

In a bid to improve the economics of honey production in South America in the

1950s, the government ordered research into the use of the African honeybee.

These bees are the most prolific honey producers in the world. Unfortunately,

they are also extremely aggressive. All the native bees of South America were

stingless but only three species made honey and certainly not in large

quantities. Unfortunately, the African honeybees escaped. Thousands of hives

of

Africanised bees are now destroyed each year in the USA because they have

been

breeding with and destroying the more docile European honeybees, and they

have

stung and killed over 600 people.

 

Pollination

 

In many countries bees' services are bought for pollination purposes

resulting in the bees (and their hives) being transported hundreds or

thousands of

miles. The food industry is now looking to artificially managed honeybees to

pollinate crops because wild bees and other insects (who would naturally

pollinate

crops) have been and are being destroyed by housing development, industrial

pollution, pesticide poisoning, intensive farming practices, destruction of

hedgerows, etc. The use of honeybees for pollination is now big business

especially in places like New Zealand and America. However, even in the UK

commercial

beekeepers move hives (to find sources of nectar for honey production, and

for

pollination). Pollination fees are a very important component of the

commercial beekeepers income. Commercially reared bumblebee colonies are now

also

extensively used to pollinate some glasshouse crops, particularly tomatoes.

 

Vivisection

 

Bees are also victims of vivisection and a vast number of experiments are

carried out worldwide on these creatures. Unfortunately their generally quiet

nature makes the honeybee easily manipulated and it has been claimed they

make an

ideal laboratory animal. Many experiments are conducted for research and

development into colonies that will produce more honey and thus make more

money.

In Japan they have irradiated bees to make their sting ineffective in an

effort

to achieve a 'stingless' bee for easier handling and in Australia trials are

being undertaken on a protein in bee venom to treat cancer.

 

Health Risk

 

Honey and other bee products are widely used in folk medicine. However,

people with asthma or allergies have been strongly recommended not to take

honey or

royal jelly after several deaths and severe illnesses. Honey is also not

suitable for children under twelve months of age because of the risk of

botulism.

Bees have been seen drinking from sewage plants and have been known to

collect

tar, adhesives and paint instead of propolis!

In addition a nutritional comparison of the major nutrients in honey and

demerara sugar shows sugar is higher in protein, calories, potassium,

calcium,

magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper, chlorine, B6, folate, pantothenate and

biotin. The sometimes dubious health benefits of bee products do not warrant

the

use and abuse of honeybees. There are many other proven non-animal

alternative

medicines that are available.

 

Big Family

 

The most popular bee for honey production is the European Apis mellifera. In

common with all insects it has a brain and several smaller ganglia

(sub-brains) running through its body. In proportion to its size, the brain

of the bee is

very large. The ganglia have nerve fibres connecting them with the sensory

endings on the outer layer of the insect. Other fibres carry nervous impulses

from the ganglia to the muscles and internal organs, regulating their action.

On average a colony comprises 42,000-60,000 bees and can survive up to 20

years. However, the lifespan of individual bees is very short. Within the

hive

there are three types of bee: the worker, the drone and the queen. The worker

carries out most types of jobs necessary to keep the colony ticking over

including cleaning, feeding larvae, manipulating the wax, processing the

honey and

foraging or defending the colony. Foraging honeybees communicate food sources

to

fellow foragers by means of the famous " waggle dance " which involves an

intricate series of circles and movements. After the first 20 days or so of

its

life it acts as a forager, or flying bee, collecting nectar and pollen. The

life

of the worker lasts about 30 to 35 days. As far as is known the drone's only

function is to mate with the queen bee, after which it dies. Under wild

conditions the queen lives for five years or so. She has two main functions

in life;

to mate and lay eggs. She is a very important part of the colony because she

passes on her characterists and controls its size by the number of eggs she

produces.

 

Major Honey Producers

 

Some 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of honey are traded internationally every and

twice this much is actually produced. There are around six major honey

producers in the world including China, US, Mexico, Argentina, Canada and

Germany.

 

Honeybee Facts

 

The honeybee will fly about 800km in her working life and produce just half a

teaspoon of honey. A queen may produce half a million eggs in her natural

lifespan. However, she will only be allowed to live 2 years in the commercial

world producing 150,000 eggs annually during this time. In calm conditions

the

foraging bee will travel at 24 km per hour and up to 40 km for short periods

of

time and work for 7 - 10 hours a day.

 

Bee Products

 

 

Honey

 

Predigested food made by bees from nectar. The bees collect the nectar from

flowers and store it in their primary or honey stomach. Here it is partially

digested and converted into the substance we call honey. It is a food source

of

the bee and is stored in the hive for the lean winter months. The metabolism

of honey by the bee creates heat which maintains the temperature of the hive

at

17-34 degrees C. The colony requires approximately 200 lbs of honey a year to

survive. It is used by humans as a food, medicine and in cosmetics and

toiletries.

 

Beeswax

 

Secreted from eight small wax glands underneath the abdomen of the bee. The

soft wax pours into eight pockets beneath the glands where it solidifies. It

is

then removed and passed to the mouth where it is worked into hexagonal cells

called combs which are used to form the basic structure of the hive. It is

used in cosmetics, toiletries, pharmaceuticals, polishes and candles.

 

Propolis

 

A resinous substance gathered by bees from trees. It is used to fill holes,

and varnish and strengthen the hive. Bees also use it as a natural

antibiotic,

antiviral and antifungal agent. It is gathered by humans by either scraping

it

off the hive or collecting it on specially made frames. It is used as a

medicine and food supplement. It is sometimes called 'bee glue'.

 

Bee Pollen

 

Collected from flowers and brought back to the hive as a load on the hind

legs. It is a food source for the bee and is stored in the hive. A colony

requires approximately 60lbs of pollen per year to survive. The collection of

pollen

involves fitting special traps to the hive. These scrape it off and are just

big enough to allow the bee through. Bee pollen is used as a food supplement.

 

Royal Jelly

 

A creamy-white, sticky fluid which is a blend of two secretions from the

glands of the worker bees. It is the sole source of nourishment for the queen

bee

throughout her life. Since royal jelly enables the bee to become a queen,

some

people believe they can recapture their lost youth by eating it. China, where

cost saving techniques have been devised for gathering it, is a major

exporter of royal jelly. Details of methods of collection are a closely

guarded

secret. It is sometimes called 'bee milk'.

 

Venom

 

The sting of the bee and collection involves the stretching of an

electrically-charged membrane in front of the hive. When the bees fly into it

they

receive an electric shock and sting the membrane, thus depositing the venom.

Venom

is prized by some for its supposed medicinal qualities.

 

UK Statistics

 

Around 22,000 tonnes of honey is consumed in the UK each year, most of which

is imported from New Zealand, China, Argentina and Mexico.

There are around 40,000 beekeepers in the UK but probably only 320 are

semi-commercial or commercial enterprises.

 

Alternatives to Honey

 

There are many sweeteners that can be used instead of honey e.g.

 

* maple syrup

* concentrated fruit juices

* golden syrup

* molasses

* sugar

* other syrups (eg corn, date)

* malt extracts

 

from the Vegan Society