Bees! Ahhh!!!

Date posted: May 13, 2008

I needed to write a post just to keep the site updated, so it’s going to be about bees!

Here are some interesting facts about honeybees:

  • Pollination: Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.
  • Pollen: Bees collect 66 lbs of pollen per year, per hive. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The Honeybee uses pollen as a food. Pollen is one of the richest and purest natural foods, consisting of up to 35% protein, 10% sugars, carbohydrates, enzymes, minerals, and vitamins A (carotenes), B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid), B5 (panothenic acid), C (ascorbic acid), H (biotin), and R (rutine).
  • Honey: Honey is used by the bees for food all year round. There are many types, colors and flavors of honey, depending upon its nectar source. The bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is an easily digestible, pure food. Honey is hydroscopic and has antibacterial qualities. Eating local honey can fend off allergies.
  • Beeswax: Secreted from glands, beeswax is used by the honeybee to build honey comb. It is used by humans in drugs, cosmetics, artists’ materials, furniture polish and candles.
  • Propolis: Collected by honeybees from trees, the sticky resin is mixed with wax to make a sticky glue. The bees use this to seal cracks and repair their hive. It is used by humans as a health aid, and as the basis for fine wood varnishes.
  • Royal Jelly: The powerful, milky substance that turns an ordinary bee into a Queen Bee. It is made of digested pollen and honey or nectar mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in a nursing bee’s head. It commands premium prices rivaling imported caviar, and is used by some as a dietary supplement and fertility stimulant. It is loaded with all of the B vitamins.
  • Bee Stings: The “ouch” part of the honeybee. Although sharp pain and some swelling and itching are natural reactions to a honeybee sting, a small percentage of individuals are highly allergic to bee venom. “Bee venom therapy” is widely practiced overseas and by some in the USA to address health problems such as arthritis, neuralgia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even MS.
  • Honeybees are not native to the USA. They are European in origin, and were brought to North America by the early settlers.
  • Honeybees are not aggressive by nature, and will not sting unless protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly provoked.
  • Honeybees represent a highly organized society, with various bees having very specific roles during their lifetime: e.g., nurses, guards, grocers, housekeepers, construction workers, royal attendants, undertakers, foragers, etc.
  • The queen bee can live for several years. Worker bees live for 6 weeks during the busy summer, and for 4-9 months during the winter months.
  • The practice of honey collection and beekeeping dates back to the stone-age, as evidenced by cave paintings.

So there you go! Now you are armed with honeybee knowledge! If you want to come check out the hive let me know. I am going to check it tomorrow(5-14) if anyone wants to watch.

38 Responses to “Bees! Ahhh!!!”

  1. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER!!!!!! Bees are evil… you wont EVER make me watch you check the bees. -.-

    Gongey Kong said this on May 13th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

  2. You just need to come over and watch from within a protected suit. There is no way a bee will sting you. They are really nice!

    Gongey said this on May 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am

  3. you can even pet them with the suit on…so gentle and loving…Fun fun!!! just dont feed the stuff to your little guy until he is over 1…I am sure you know that it COULD make him really sick and end his life….that is the nicest way to say that!

    Deb said this on May 14th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

  4. WHAT?!?! We have been feeding him that so it will help make it so he doesn’t have allergies…….

    Gongey said this on May 14th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  5. very very interesting!

    mommy gongey said this on May 16th, 2008 at 8:38 am

  6. BTW, I don’t feed Elias honey. In case you missed the humor/sarcasm in my last post. ;)

    Gongey said this on May 16th, 2008 at 10:49 am

  7. Wow i’m on one this week….
    i believed you
    wow i thnk i’m going to go hit my head against a wall a couple times now….

    Undead Gongey said this on May 16th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

  8. depressing….. see what bees do….

    Gongey Kong said this on May 18th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

  9. That last post was from me.

    Gongylittle said this on May 18th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

  10. Thats funny was ciara on you computer?

    Undead Gongey said this on May 19th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

  11. She was probably on grandma’s computer… i think i used this sight last on there….

    Gongey Kong said this on May 21st, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  12. so, bee-livee me when i say the bees are good at helping with beearing big veggies in the garden,so, I have to say when the garden starts growing I want to compare your bee pollinated garden to my wasp pollinated garden, may the beegist zucchini wins!!!

    gonginatorsue said this on May 22nd, 2008 at 10:29 am

  13. I’ll be posting to ivie family -finally! Look later today and see my cool waterfall I made, as well as some family picts.

    gonginatorsue said this on May 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 am

  14. We might have to postpone the competition, I think I might be missing my queen. :(

    Finally you are posting to Iviefamily.com!!!

    Gongey said this on May 22nd, 2008 at 10:52 am

  15. Oh no that would be bad if youare missing Mary!!!! J/k can you get a new queen? actually I didnt catch the sarcasm and i was a little worried so i was glad when you posted you were being funny…I have been supwer busy and this is the first time I have been back to read your comment thou…

    Deb said this on May 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm

  16. haha Thank you sue for that plethera of bee puns and add ins to words ;)

    Undead Gongey said this on May 23rd, 2008 at 3:22 pm

  17. haha. If your queen bee was missing bri, then that would mean the bees would bee going crazy and they would swarm every where….. I think its safe to say she is still there… Unless they are swarming and going crazy then go and buy a new queen bee…..

    Gongey Kong said this on May 26th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

  18. Unfortunately that’s not how it works. :( If the queen is missing then the workers will start to lay eggs. Worker eggs turn into drones(male bees), which do nothing for the hive. And I can’t just buy another queen because I have laying workers. They would just kill the new queen outright. I am going to check them tomorrow. We will see if there is a queen after all.

    Gongey said this on May 26th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

  19. Thats tricky business sounds like. Your still having fun with it i’m assuming?

    Undead Gongey said this on May 26th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  20. oh that sucks…. so what happened?

    Gongey Kong said this on June 7th, 2008 at 8:52 pm

  21. [tumble weeds blow past]
    wow this family is getting…… boring…..
    helllo??

    Undead Gongey said this on June 18th, 2008 at 11:42 pm

  22. Okay gongey enough with the bees. We want to know what your fam damily is up to.

    mommy gongey said this on June 25th, 2008 at 5:41 pm

  23. DO IT DO IT!!! >:(

    Undead Gongey said this on June 26th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

  24. haha we are getting boring.something interesting to talk about helps…

    Gongey Kong said this on June 27th, 2008 at 1:44 am

  25. Lets see… something interesting…What is the weirdest/grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?

    Merry said this on June 27th, 2008 at 5:34 am

  26. hrm….. probably Snails…
    they were pretty good though, i dont know i dont eat weird foods that look like they can kill me often

    Undead Gongey said this on June 27th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

  27. I ate a chicken heart. It was rubbery :)

    mommy gongey said this on June 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

  28. eww. when i was little i would eat tomatoe soup with marshmellows. and one time i made a sandwich that had Lays potatoe chips chocolate rice krispeys and sugar. i never ate it though cause it looked gross. i called it my special sandwhich. xD

    Gongey Kong said this on June 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

  29. I once ate a rocky mountain oyster. I was trying to be adventurous… It was too adventurous for me!

    Merry said this on June 28th, 2008 at 5:34 am

  30. ew…. Rocky mountain oysters are so gross. Whoever had that idea isnt right in the head

    Undead Gongey said this on June 28th, 2008 at 11:14 am

  31. LOL Rocky mountain oysters…eeek! I have had rattle snake…and yes it tastes like chicken!

    Deb said this on July 2nd, 2008 at 2:30 pm

  32. Does it really? you know what else tastes like chicken?
    Frog legs =)

    Undead Gongey said this on July 2nd, 2008 at 3:03 pm

  33. NO!! don’t eat Frogs!!!! they are my friends!

    Deb said this on July 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm

  34. my parents didnt tell me they were frogs untill i ate them

    Undead Gongey said this on July 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm

  35. yeah same with me. they were very good. you should try some! =D

    Gongey Kong said this on July 6th, 2008 at 10:44 am

  36. You wont seduce me to the dark side lord kirkvador!

    Deb said this on July 8th, 2008 at 9:54 am

  37. AHHH! A new look. I think we need to see some more pics of your little guy :)

    mommy gongey said this on July 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am

  38. A new look, but is there a new post?? oh the humanity

    Undead Gongey said this on July 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am