Misplaced Pages

#469530

107-571: A hive may refer to a beehive , an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species live and raise their young. Hive or hives may also refer to: Beehive The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax , called a honeycomb . The bees use the cells to store food ( honey and pollen ) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae , and pupae ). Beehives serve several purposes. These include producing honey, pollinating nearby crops, housing bees for apitherapy treatment, and mitigating

214-464: A glassy state and becomes an amorphous solid (noncrystalline). The viscosity of honey is affected greatly by both temperature and water content. The higher the water percentage, the more easily honey flows . Above its melting point, however, water has little effect on viscosity. Aside from water content, the composition of most types of honey also has little effect on viscosity. At 25 °C (77 °F), honey with 14% water content generally has

321-598: A supercooled solution of various sugars in water. These concentrations of sugar can only be achieved near room temperature by evaporation of a less concentrated solution, in this case nectar. For osmotic reasons such high concentrations of sugar are extremely unfavorable to microbiological reproduction and all fermentation is consequently halted. The bees then cap the cells of finished honey with wax. This seals them from contamination and prevents further evaporation. So long as its water concentration does not rise much above 18%, honey has an indefinite shelf life, both within

428-402: A Top-Bar Hive, as a general rule. The popularity of this hive is growing among 'sustainable-practice' beekeepers. The Warre hive differs from other stacked hive systems in one fundamental aspect: when the bees need more space as the colony expands, the new box is "nadired"; i.e., positioned underneath the existing box or boxes. This serves the purpose of warmth retention within the brood nest of

535-431: A beehive was called a barć and was protected in various ways from unfavorable weather conditions (rain, frost) and predators ( woodpeckers , bears , pine martens, forest dormice). Harvest of honey from these did not destroy the colony, as only a protective piece of wood was removed from the opening and smoke was used to pacify the bees for a short time. Spain still uses cork bark cylinder with cork top hives, similar to

642-532: A board cover to give an attachment for the honeycomb. As with skeps, the harvest of honey from these destroyed the colony. Often the harvester would kill the bees before even opening their nest. This was done by inserting a metal container of burning sulfur into the gum. Natural tree hollows and artificially hollowed tree trunks were widely used in the past by beekeepers in Central Europe. For example, in Poland, such

749-467: A century ago in the Southeast United States but faded from use due to a lack of portability. With the recent popularity of horizontal top-bar hives, the long box hive is gaining renewed but limited utilization. Alternative names are "new idea hive", "single story hive", "Poppleton hive", or "long hive". Variations: The beehive is a commonly used symbol in various human cultures. In Europe, it

856-408: A few types have non-Newtonian viscous properties. Honeys from heather or manuka display thixotropic properties. These types of honey enter a gel-like state when motionless, but liquefy when stirred. Because honey contains electrolytes , in the form of acids and minerals, it exhibits varying degrees of electrical conductivity . Measurements of the electrical conductivity are used to determine

963-555: A food for their larvae . To this end bees stockpile honey to provide for themselves during ordinary foraging as well as during lean periods, as in overwintering . During foraging bees use part of the nectar they collect to power their flight muscles. The majority of nectar collected is not used to directly nourish the insects but is instead destined for regurgitation , enzymatic digestion , and finally long-term storage as honey. During cold weather or when other food sources are scarce, adult and larval bees consume stored honey, which

1070-399: A good hive. Horizontal hives do not require the beekeeper to lift super boxes; all checks and manipulation can be done while lifting only one comb at a time and with minimal bending. In areas where large terrestrial animals such as honey badgers and bears present a threat to beehives, single-box hives may be suspended out of reach. Elsewhere, they are commonly raised to a level that allows

1177-517: A gum or barc, aka colmenas de corcho. Part of the reason why bee gums are still used is that this allows the producers of the honey to distinguish themselves from other honey producers and to ask for a higher price for the honey. An example where bee gums are still used is Mont-Lozère, France, although in Europe they are referred to as log hives. The length of these log hives used is shorter than bee gums; they are hollowed out artificially and cut to

SECTION 10

#1732852705470

1284-469: A honey, which may be described as "sweet", "flowery", "citrus", "almond" or "rancid", among other terms. In addition, VOCs play a large role in determining the specific flavor of the honey, both through the aromas and flavor. VOCs from honeys in different geographic regions can be used as floral markers of those regions, and as markers of the bees that foraged the nectars. Honey is classified by its source (floral or not), and divisions are made according to

1391-565: A honeycomb involves a significant energy investment, conservatively estimated at 6.25 kilograms (13.8 lb) of honey needed to create 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of comb in temperate climates. Reusing comb can thus increase the productivity of a beekeeping enterprise. The sizes of hive bodies (rectangular boxes without tops or bottoms placed one on top of another) and of internal frames vary between named styles. A variety of approximations to Langstroth's original box and frame sizes are still used, with top bars some 19 in (480 mm) long or

1498-495: A little more. However, this class of hives includes several other styles, mostly used in Europe, which differ mainly in the size and number of frames used. These include: The Warré hive was invented by the village priest Émile Warré , and is also called ruche populaire ('the people's hive'). It is a modular and storied design similar to a Langstroth hive. The hive body is made of boxes stacked vertically; however, it uses top bars for comb support instead of full frames similar to

1605-687: A long and varied history, with its beginnings in prehistoric times . Several cave paintings in Cuevas de la Araña in Spain depict humans foraging for honey at least 8,000 years ago. While Apis mellifera is an Old World insect , large-scale meliponiculture of New World stingless bees has been practiced by Mayans since pre-Columbian times. Honey is produced by bees who have collected nectar or honeydew . Bees value honey for its sugars, which they consume to support general metabolic activity , especially that of their flight muscles during foraging , and as

1712-582: A mixture of unbaked mud, straw, and dung. Clay tiles were the customary homes of kept bees in the eastern end of the Mediterranean . Long cylinders of baked clay were used in ancient Egypt , the Middle East , and to some extent in Greece , Italy , and Malta . They sometimes were used singly, but more often stacked in rows to provide some shade, at least for those not on top. Keepers would smoke one end to drive

1819-491: A plastic or wax foundation on which the bees draw out the comb. The frames hold the honeycomb formed by the bees with beeswax . Eight or ten frames side by side (depending on the size of the box) will fill the hive body and leave the right amount of bee space between each frame and between the end frames and the hive body. With appropriate provision of bee space, the bees are not likely to glue parts together with propolis nor fill spaces with burr comb  – although

1926-436: A possible fire), making them less aggressive, and obscures the pheromones the bees use to communicate. The honeycomb is removed from the hive and the honey may be extracted from it either by crushing or by using a honey extractor . The honey is then usually filtered to remove beeswax and other debris. Before the invention of removable frames, bee colonies were often sacrificed to conduct the harvest. The harvester would take all

2033-631: A primary role in determining honey flavors and aromas . VOCs are carbon-based compounds that readily vaporize into the air, providing aroma, including the scents of flowers, essential oils, or ripening fruit. The typical chemical families of VOCs found in honey include hydrocarbons , aldehydes , alcohols , ketones , esters , acids , benzenes , furans , pyrans , norisoprenoids , and terpenes , among many others and their derivatives. The specific VOCs and their amounts vary considerably between different types of honey obtained by bees foraging on different plant sources. By example, when comparing

2140-449: A primary role in determining the exact temperature. Of these acids, the amino acids, which occur in very small amounts, play an important role in the darkening of honey. The amino acids form darkened compounds called melanoidins , during a Maillard reaction . The Maillard reaction occurs slowly at room temperature, taking from a few to several months to show visible darkening, but speeds up dramatically with increasing temperatures. However,

2247-518: A solid), so melting crystallized honey can easily result in localized caramelization if the heat source is too hot or not evenly distributed. However, honey takes substantially longer to liquefy when just above the melting point than at elevated temperatures. Melting 20 kg (44 lb) of crystallized honey at 40 °C (104 °F) can take up to 24 hours, while 50 kg (110 lb) may take twice as long. These times can be cut nearly in half by heating at 50 °C (122 °F); however, many of

SECTION 20

#1732852705470

2354-418: A solution of fructose and other ingredients. The density of honey typically ranges between 1.38 and 1.45 kg/L at 20 °C. The melting point of crystallized honey is between 40 and 50 °C (104 and 122 °F), depending on its composition. Below this temperature, honey can be either in a metastable state, meaning that it will not crystallize until a seed crystal is added, or, more often, it

2461-408: A specific size. The earliest recognizably modern designs of beehives arose in the 19th century, though they were perfected from intermediate stages of progress made in the 18th century. Intermediate stages in hive design were recorded for example by Thomas Wildman in 1768-1770, who described advances over the destructive old skep-based beekeeping so that the bees no longer had to be killed to harvest

2568-480: A straw beehive to give extra room for brood rearing was called an eke , imp, or nadir . An eke was used to give just a bit of extra room, or to "eke" some more space, a nadir is a larger extension used when a full story was needed beneath. The term is derived from Old Norse skeppa , "basket". A person who made such woven beehives was called a "skepper", a surname that still exists in Western countries. In England

2675-463: A viscosity around 400  poise , while a honey containing 20% water has a viscosity around 20 poise. Viscosity increases very slowly with moderate cooling; a honey containing 16% water, at 70 °C (158 °F), has a viscosity around 2 poise, while at 30 °C (86 °F), the viscosity is around 70 poise. With further cooling, the increase in viscosity is more rapid, reaching 600 poise at around 14 °C (57 °F). However, while honey

2782-423: Is a single entrance at the bottom of the skep. Again, there is no internal structure provided for the bees and the colony must produce its honeycomb, which is attached to the inside of the skep. The size of early modern skeps was about two pecks to a bushel (18 to 36 liters). Skeps have two disadvantages: beekeepers cannot inspect the comb for diseases and pests, and honey removal is difficult and often results in

2889-471: Is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees , the best-known of which are honey bees . Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primarily floral nectar ) or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in

2996-414: Is also affected by water content, because a high percentage of water inhibits crystallization, as does a high dextrin content. Temperature also affects the rate of crystallization, with the fastest growth occurring between 13 and 17 °C (55 and 63 °F). Crystal nuclei (seeds) tend to form more readily if the honey is disturbed, by stirring, shaking, or agitating, rather than if left at rest. However,

3103-599: Is an important food for virtually all hunter-gatherer cultures in warm climates, with the Hadza people ranking honey as their favorite food. Honey hunters in Africa have a mutualistic relationship with certain species of honeyguide birds. Possibly the world's oldest fermented beverage , dating from 9,000 years ago, mead ("honey wine") is the alcoholic product made by adding yeast to honey-water must and fermenting it for weeks or months. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

3210-403: Is called a "cut out". Black bears destroy hives in their quest for honey and protein-rich larvae. Grizzly bears will also eat beehives and are harder to dissuade from taking several beehives. Hives can be protected with an electrified enclosure and livestock fence "shocker" base. Systems available are grid plugged(120v) or solar (dc) for remote spots ( more info ). Honey Honey

3317-408: Is collected from wild bee colonies or from domesticated beehives. On average, a hive will produce about 29 kilograms (65 lb) of honey per year. Wild bee nests are sometimes located by following a honeyguide bird. To safely collect honey from a hive, beekeepers typically pacify the bees using a bee smoker . The smoke triggers a feeding instinct (an attempt to save the resources of the hive from

Hive - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-563: Is commonly used in modern mead production. Mead varieties include drinks called metheglin (with spices or herbs), melomel (with fruit juices, such as grape, specifically called pyment ), hippocras (with cinnamon ), and sack mead (high concentration of honey), many of which have been developed as commercial products numbering in the hundreds in the United States. Honey is also used to make mead beer , called "braggot". The physical properties of honey vary, depending on water content,

3531-594: Is in a "labile" state, being saturated with enough sugars to crystallize spontaneously. The rate of crystallization is affected by many factors, but the primary factor is the ratio of the main sugars: fructose to glucose. Honeys that are supersaturated with a very high percentage of glucose, such as brassica honey, crystallize almost immediately after harvesting, while honeys with a low percentage of glucose, such as chestnut or tupelo honey, do not crystallize. Some types of honey may produce few but very large crystals, while others produce many small crystals. Crystallization

3638-433: Is in keeping with the way bees build wax in a natural cavity. Because the unsupported comb built from a top bar cannot usually be centrifuged in a honey extractor, the honey is usually extracted by crushing and straining rather than centrifuging. Because the bees have to rebuild their comb after the honey is harvested, a top-bar hive yields a beeswax harvest in addition to honey. Queen excluders may or may not be used to keep

3745-415: Is in their own honey stomachs, the hive bees regurgitate the nectar, repeatedly forming bubbles between their mandibles , speeding its digestion and concentration. These bubbles create a large surface area per volume and by this means the bees evaporate a portion of the nectar's water into the warm air of the hive. Hive bees form honey-processing groups. These groups work in relay, with one bee subjecting

3852-605: Is limiting access to humidity. In its cured state, honey has a sufficiently high sugar content to inhibit fermentation. If exposed to moist air, its hydrophilic properties pull moisture into the honey, eventually diluting it to the point that fermentation can begin. The long shelf life of honey is attributed to an enzyme found in the stomach of bees. The bees mix glucose oxidase with expelled nectar they previously consumed, creating two byproducts – gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide , which are partially responsible for honey acidity and suppression of bacterial growth. Honey

3959-399: Is many times as energy-dense as the nectar from which it is made. After leaving the hive, a foraging bee collects sugar-rich nectar or honeydew. Nectar from the flower generally has a water content of 70 to 80% and is much less viscous than finished honey, which usually has a water content around 18%. The water content of honeydew from aphids and other true bugs is generally very close to

4066-421: Is normal. At very low temperatures, honey does not freeze solid; rather its viscosity increases. Like most viscous liquids , the honey becomes thick and sluggish with decreasing temperature. At −20 °C (−4 °F), honey may appear or even feel solid, but it continues to flow at very low rates. Honey has a glass transition between −42 and −51 °C (−44 and −60 °F). Below this temperature, honey enters

4173-416: Is not necessary to buy or assemble frames. The top bars form a continuous roof over the hive chamber, unlike conventional frames which offer a bee-space gap so that the bees can move up and down between hive boxes. The beekeeper does not usually provide foundation wax (or provides only a small starter piece of foundation) for the bees to build from. The bees build the comb so it hangs down from the top bar. This

4280-573: Is often pasteurized , to kill any yeast, by heating it above 70 °C (158 °F). Like all sugar compounds, honey caramelizes if heated sufficiently, becoming darker in color, and eventually burns. However, honey contains fructose, which caramelizes at lower temperatures than glucose. The temperature at which caramelization begins varies, depending on the composition, but is typically between 70 and 110 °C (158 and 230 °F). Honey also contains acids, which act as catalysts for caramelization. The specific types of acids and their amounts play

4387-598: Is preferred because all bee colonies, even those in very large agricultural apiculture operations, readily leave the protection of humans in swarms that can establish successful wild colonies. Much of the effort in commercial beekeeping is dedicated to persuading a hive that is ready to swarm to produce more honeycomb in its present location. This is usually done by adding more space to the colony with honey supers , empty boxes placed on top of an existing colony. The bees can then usually be enticed to develop this empty space instead of dividing their colony through swarming. Honey

Hive - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-441: Is sometimes adulterated by the addition of other sugars, syrups, or compounds to change its flavor or viscosity, reduce cost, or increase the fructose content to inhibit crystallization . Honey has been adulterated since ancient times, when honey was sometimes blended with plant syrups such as maple , birch , or sorghum and sold to customers as pure honey. Sometimes crystallized honey was mixed with flour or other fillers, hiding

4601-569: Is stored in the upper part of the comb; beneath it are rows of pollen-storage cells, worker-brood cells, and drone-brood cells, in that order. The peanut-shaped queen cells are normally built at the lower edge of the comb. In antiquity, Egyptians kept bees in human-made hives. The walls of the Egyptian sun temple of Nyuserre Ini from the 5th Dynasty, dated earlier than 2422 BCE, depict workers blowing smoke into hives as they remove honeycombs . Inscriptions detailing honey production are found on

4708-605: Is sweet because of its high concentrations of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose . It has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose (table sugar). One standard tablespoon (15 mL) of honey provides around 190 kilojoules (46 kilocalories) of food energy . It has attractive chemical properties for baking and a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener. Most microorganisms cannot grow in honey and sealed honey therefore does not spoil . Samples of honey discovered in archaeological contexts have proven edible even after millennia. Honey use and production has

4815-399: Is viscous, it has low surface tension of 50–60 mJ/m , making its wettability similar to water, glycerin , or most other liquids. The high viscosity and wettability of honey cause stickiness , which is a time-dependent process in supercooled liquids between the glass-transition temperature (T g ) and the crystalline-melting temperature. Most types of honey are Newtonian liquids , but

4922-512: The University of Haifa said the discovery provided a glimpse of ancient beekeeping seen in texts and ancient art from the Near East . An altar decorated with fertility figurines was found alongside the hives and may indicate religious practices associated with beekeeping. While beekeeping predates these ruins, this is the oldest apiary yet discovered. Traditional beehives provided an enclosure for

5029-443: The nucleation of microscopic seed-crystals is greatest between 5 and 8 °C (41 and 46 °F). Therefore, larger but fewer crystals tend to form at higher temperatures, while smaller but more-numerous crystals usually form at lower temperatures. Below 5 °C, the honey will not crystallize, thus the original texture and flavor can be preserved indefinitely. Honey is a supercooled liquid when stored below its melting point, as

5136-503: The 3rd Degree emblems on the Tracing Board of Royal Cumberland No. 41, Bath and is explained as such: The Beehive teaches us that as we are born into the world rational and intelligent beings, so ought we also to be industrious ones, and not stand idly by or gaze with listless indifference on even the meanest of our fellow creatures in a state of distress if it is in our power to help them without detriment to ourselves or our connections;

5243-615: The Department of Agriculture. One of the most famous Slovenian beekeepers was Anton Žnideršič (1874–1947). He developed the AZ hive house and hive box widely used today in Slovenia. These are single, long, boxes, with the bars hanging in parallel. The hive body of a common style of horizontal hive is often shaped like an inverted trapezoid, but it may be rectangular in cross-section and able to accept normal frames. They have movable combs and make use of

5350-535: The Nogueira-Neto hive and the UTOB hive. Langstroth hives are named for Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth , who patented his design in the United States on October 5, 1852. It was based on the ideas of Johann Dzierzon and other leaders in apiculture. It combines a top-worked hive with hanging frames and the use of bee spaces between frames and other parts. Variants of his design have become the standard style of hive for many of

5457-571: The United States, according to the National Honey Board, "Ensuring honey authenticity is one of the great challenges facing the honey industry today. Over the past half century, a number of honey testing methods have been developed to detect food fraud. To date, there is no single universal analytical method available which is capable of detecting all types of adulteration with adequate sensitivity." Isotope ratio mass spectrometry can be used to detect addition of corn syrup and cane sugar by

SECTION 50

#1732852705470

5564-430: The ability to absorb moisture directly from the air, a phenomenon called hygroscopy . The amount of water the honey absorbs is dependent on the relative humidity of the air. Because honey contains yeast, this hygroscopic nature requires that honey be stored in sealed containers to prevent fermentation, which usually begins if the honey's water content rises much above 25%. Honey tends to absorb more water in this manner than

5671-540: The adulteration from buyers until the honey was liquefied. In modern times, the most common adulterant became clear, almost-flavorless corn syrup; the adulterated mixture can be very difficult to distinguish from pure honey. According to the Codex Alimentarius of the United Nations, any product labeled as "honey" or "pure honey" must be a wholly natural product, although labeling laws differ between countries. In

5778-436: The advances in knowledge of bees previously made by Swammerdam , Maraldi, and de Reaumur – he included a lengthy translation of Reaumur's account of the natural history of bees – and he also described the initiatives of others in designing hives for the preservation of bee-life when taking the harvest, citing in particular reports from Brittany dating from the 1750s, due to Comte de la Bourdonnaye. In 1814 Petro Prokopovych ,

5885-438: The available honey and replace the entire colony the next spring. Since the invention of removable frames, the principles of husbandry led most beekeepers to ensure that their bees have enough stores to survive the winter, either by leaving some honey in the beehive or by providing the colony with a honey substitute such as sugar water or crystalline sugar (often in the form of a "candyboard"). The amount of food necessary to survive

5992-513: The bearer. In modern times, it is a key symbol in Freemasonry . In masonic lectures, it represents industry and cooperation, and as a metaphor cautioning against intellectual laziness, warning that "he that will so demean himself as not to be endeavoring to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding, may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of our protection as Masons." The beehive appears on

6099-413: The bee colony. Because no internal structures were provided for the bees, they created their honeycomb within the hives. The comb is often cross-attached and cannot be moved without destroying it. This is sometimes called a fixed-frame hive to differentiate it from the modern movable-frame hives. Harvest often destroyed the hives, though some adaptations were using top baskets which could be removed when

6206-466: The beekeeper to inspect and manipulate them in comfort. Disadvantages include (usually) unsupported combs that cannot be spun in most honey extractors , and it is not usually possible to expand the hive if additional honey storage space is required. Most horizontal hives cannot easily be lifted and carried by one person. Horizontal hives often use top-bars instead of frames. Top bars are simple lengths of timber often made by cutting scrap wood to size; it

6313-633: The bees filled them with honey . These were gradually supplanted with box hives of varying dimensions, with or without frames, and finally replaced by newer modern equipment. Honey from traditional hives was extracted by pressing  – crushing the wax honeycomb to squeeze out the contents. Due to this harvesting, traditional beehives provided more beeswax , but far less honey than a modern hive. Four styles of traditional beehives are mud hives, clay/tile hives, skeps, and bee gums. Mud hives are still used in Egypt and Siberia . These are long cylinders made from

6420-524: The bees to the other end while they harvested honey. Skeps, baskets placed open-end-down, have been used to house bees for some 2000 years. Believed to have been first used in Ireland, they were initially made from wicker plastered with mud and dung but after the Middle Ages, almost all were made of straw. In northern and western Europe , skeps were made of coils of grass or straw. In its simplest form, there

6527-440: The brood areas entirely separate from the honey. Even if no queen excluder is used, the bees store most of their honey separately from the areas where they are raising the brood, and honey can still be harvested without killing the bees or brood. The long box hive is a single-story hive that accepts enclosed frames and is worked horizontally in the manner of Kenya/Tanzanian top-bar hives. This non-stacked style had higher popularity

SECTION 60

#1732852705470

6634-481: The carbon isotopic signature . Addition of sugars originating from corn or sugar cane ( C4 plants , unlike the plants used by bees, and also sugar beet , which are predominantly C3 plants ) skews the isotopic ratio of sugars present in honey, but does not influence the isotopic ratio of proteins. In an unadulterated honey, the carbon isotopic ratios of sugars and proteins should match. Levels as low as 7% of addition can be detected. In 2020, global production of honey

6741-427: The colony to a site for a new hive. Bees generally swarm before a suitable location for another hive has been discovered by scouts sent out for this purpose. Until such a location is found the swarm will simply conglomerate near the former hive, often from tree branches. These swarms are unusually docile and amenable to transport by humans. When provided with a suitable nesting site, such as a commercial Langstroth hive ,

6848-547: The concept of bee space. They were developed as a lower-cost alternative to the standard Langstroth hives and equipment. They do not require the beekeeper to lift heavy supers when the hive is inspected or manipulated. They are popular in the US due to their alignment with the organic, treatment-free philosophies of many new beekeeping devotees in the United States. The initial costs and equipment requirements are typically much less than other hive designs. Scrap wood can often be used to build

6955-618: The constant practice, – of this virtue is enjoined on all created beings, from the highest seraph in heaven to the meanest reptile that crawls in the dust. The beehive is also used with a similar meaning by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , informally known as Mormons . From Latter-day Saint usage, it has become one of the State symbols of Utah ( see Deseret ). Beekeepers and companies may remove unwanted honey bee nests from structures to relocate them into an artificial hive. This process

7062-436: The destruction of the entire colony. To get the honey beekeepers either drove the bees out of the skep or, by using a bottom extension called an eke or a top extension called a cap, sought to create a comb with only honey in it. Quite often the bees were killed, sometimes using lighted sulfur , to allow the honeycomb to be removed. Skeps could also be squeezed in a vise to extract the honey. As of 1998, most US states prohibited

7169-415: The dimensions now usual for top bee space are not the same as those that Langstroth described. Self-spacing beehive frames were introduced by Julius Hoffman, a student of Johann Dzierzon . Langstroth frames can be reinforced with wire, making it possible to spin the honey out of the comb in a centrifuge. As a result, the empty frames and comb can be returned to the beehive for re-filling by the bees. Creating

7276-409: The effects of colony collapse disorder . In America, hives are commonly transported so bees can pollinate crops elsewhere. Several patents have been issued for beehive designs. Honey bees use caves, rock cavities, and hollow trees as natural nesting sites. In warmer climates, they may build exposed hanging nests; members of other subgenera have exposed aerial combs. Multiple parallel honeycombs form

7383-497: The flora also have an effect on honey aroma properties, such as a "fruity" or "grassy" aroma from longan honey, or a "waxy" aroma from sunflower honey. Dominant VOCs in one study were linalool oxide , trans-linalool oxide, 2- phenylacetaldehyde , benzyl ethanol , isophorone , and methyl nonanoate . VOCs can also be introduced from the bodies of the bees, be produced by the enzymatic actions of digestion, or from chemical reactions that occur between different substances within

7490-455: The founder of commercial beekeeping in Ukraine , invented one of the first beehive frames which allowed an easier honey harvest. The correct distance between combs for easy operations in beehives was described in 1845 by Jan Dzierżon as 1.5 inches (38 mm) from the center of one top bar to the center of the next one. In 1848, Dzierżon introduced grooves into the hive's side walls replacing

7597-400: The frame's top bars and "about 3/8 inch" ( 9.5 mm) between the frames and hive body. Hives can be vertical or horizontal. There are three main types of modern hive in common use worldwide: Most hives have been optimized for Apis mellifera and Apis cerana . Some other hives have been designed and optimized for some meliponines such as Melipona beecheii . Examples of such hives are

7704-455: The glass jars, making the designs commercially attractive. In the eastern United States, especially in the Southeast, sections of hollow trees were used until the 20th century. These were called "gums" because they often were from black gum ( Nyssa sylvatica ) trees. Sections of the hollow trees were set upright in "bee yards" or apiaries. Sometimes sticks or crossed sticks were placed under

7811-471: The hive and after its removal by a beekeeper . Honey bees are not the only eusocial insects to produce honey. All non-parasitic bumblebees and stingless bees produce honey. Some wasp species, such as Brachygastra lecheguana and Brachygastra mellifica , found in South and Central America, are known to feed on nectar and produce honey. Other wasps, such as Polistes versicolor , also consume honey. In

7918-573: The hive with a relatively uniform bee space . It usually has a single entrance. Western honey bees prefer nest cavities approximately 45 L (1.6 cu ft) in volume and avoid those smaller than 10 L (0.35 cu ft) or larger than 100 L (3.5 cu ft). Western honey bees show several nest-site preferences: the height above ground is usually between 1 metre (3.3 ft) and 5 metres (16 ft), entrance positions tend to face downward, equatorial -facing entrances are favored, and nest sites over 300 metres (980 ft) from

8025-475: The hive, considered vital to colony health. The WBC, invented by and named after William Broughton Carr in 1890, is a double-walled hive with an external housing that splays out towards the bottom of each frame covering a standard box shape hive inside. The WBC is in many respects the 'classic' hive as represented in pictures and paintings, but despite the extra level of insulation for the bees offered by its double-walled design, many beekeepers avoid it, owing to

8132-425: The hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous. Honey bees stockpile honey in the hive . Within the hive is a structure made from wax called honeycomb . The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of hexagonal cells, into which the bees regurgitate honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as

8239-461: The honey during storage, and therefore may change, increase, or decrease over long periods of time. VOCs may be produced, altered, or greatly affected by temperature and processing. Some VOCs are heat labile, and are destroyed at elevated temperatures, while others can be created during non-enzymatic reactions, such as the Maillard reaction . VOCs are responsible for nearly all of the aroma produced by

8346-404: The honey stomach holds about 40 mg of liquid. This is about half the weight of an unladen bee. Collecting this quantity in nectar can require visits to more than a thousand flowers. When nectar is plentiful, it can take a bee more than an hour of ceaseless work to collect enough nectar to fill its honey crop. Salivary enzymes and proteins from the bee's hypopharyngeal gland are secreted into

8453-431: The honey-storage areas. This temperature is regulated either by generating heat with their bodies or removing it through water evaporation. The evaporation removes water from the stored honey, drawing heat from the colony. The bees use their wings to govern hive cooling. Coordinated wing beating moves air across the wet honey, drawing out water and heat. Ventilation of the hive eventually expels both excess water and heat into

8560-418: The honey. Wildman, for example, fixed a parallel array of wooden bars across the top of a straw hive or skep (with a separate straw top to be fixed on later) "so that there are in all seven bars of deal" [in a 10-inch-diameter (250 mm) hive] "to which the bees fix their combs". He also described using such hives in a multi-story configuration, foreshadowing the modern use of supers: he described adding (at

8667-549: The inconvenience of having to remove the external layer before the hive can be examined. In 1890, Charles Nash Abbott (1830–1894), advisor to Ireland's Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, designed a new Congested Districts Board (CDB) hive in Dublin, Ireland. It was commissioned by and named after the Congested Districts Board for Ireland which provided support for rural populations until its absorption into

8774-447: The individual sugars allow on their own, which may be due to other ingredients it contains. Fermentation of honey usually occurs after crystallization, because without the glucose, the liquid portion of the honey primarily consists of a concentrated mixture of fructose, acids, and water, providing the yeast with enough of an increase in the water percentage for growth. Honey that is to be stored at room temperature for long periods of time

8881-494: The middle of their life cycles they alternate between feeding on protein-rich pollen and feeding on honey, which is a far denser source of food energy . Human beings have semi-domesticated several species of honey bee by taking advantage of their swarming stage. Swarming is the means by which new colonies are established when there is no longer space for expansion in the colony's present hive. The old queen lays eggs that will develop into new queens and then leads as many as half

8988-415: The minor substances in honey can be affected greatly by heating, changing the flavor, aroma, or other properties, so heating is usually done at the lowest temperature and for the shortest time possible. The average pH of honey is 3.9, but can range from 3.4 to 6.1. Honey contains many kinds of acids, both organic and amino . However, the different types and their amounts vary considerably, depending on

9095-563: The mixture of VOCs in different honeys in one review, longan honey had a higher amount of volatiles (48 VOCs), while sunflower honey had the lowest number of volatiles (8 VOCs). VOCs are primarily introduced into the honey from the nectar, where they are excreted by the flowers imparting individual scents. The specific types and concentrations of certain VOCs can be used to determine the type of flora used to produce monofloral honeys. The specific geography, soil composition and acidity used to grow

9202-402: The nectar once it is in the bee's honey stomach. These substances begin cleaving complex sugars like sucrose and starches into simpler sugars such as glucose and fructose . This process slightly raises the water content and the acidity of the partially digested nectar. Once filled, the forager bees return to the hive. There they regurgitate and transfer nectar to hive bees. Once it

9309-402: The outside world. The process of evaporating continues until the honey reaches its final water content of between 15.5% to 18%. This concentrates the sugars far beyond the saturation point of water, which is to say there is far more sugar dissolved in what little water remains in honey than ever could be dissolved in an equivalent volume of water. Honey, even at hive temperatures, is therefore

9416-416: The parent colony are preferred. Most bees occupy nests for several years. The bees often smooth the bark surrounding the nest entrance and coat the cavity walls with a thin layer of hardened plant resin called propolis . Honeycombs are attached to the walls along the cavity tops and sides, but the bees leave passageways along the comb edges. The standard nest architecture for all honeybees is similar: honey

9523-456: The polarization plane. The fructose gives a negative rotation, while the glucose gives a positive one. The overall rotation can be used to measure the ratio of the mixture. Honey is generally pale yellow and dark brown in color, but other colors can occur, depending on the sugar source. Bee colonies that forage on Kudzu ( Pueraria montana var. lobata ) flowers, for example, produce honey that varies in color from red to purple. Honey has

9630-456: The pots made of wax and resin used by the stingless bee . Honey for human consumption is collected from wild bee colonies, or from the hives of domesticated bees. The honey produced by honey bees is the most familiar to humans, thanks to its worldwide commercial production and availability. The husbandry of bees is known as beekeeping or apiculture, with the cultivation of stingless bees usually referred to as meliponiculture . Honey

9737-431: The processed nectar to bubbling and then passing the refined liquid on to others. It can take as long as 20 minutes of continuous regurgitation, digestion and evaporation until the product reaches storage quality. The new honey is then placed in honeycomb cells, which are left uncapped. This honey still has a very high water content, up to 70%, depending on the concentration of nectar gathered. At this stage of its refinement

9844-406: The proper time) successive straw hives below, and eventually removing the ones above when free of brood and filled with honey so that the bees could be separately preserved at the harvest for the following season. Wildman also described a further development, using hives with "sliding frames" for the bees to build their comb, foreshadowing more modern uses of movable-comb hives. Wildman acknowledged

9951-415: The quality of honey in terms of ash content. The effect honey has on light is useful for determining the type and quality. Variations in its water content alter its refractive index . Water content can easily be measured with a refractometer . Typically, the refractive index for honey ranges from 1.504 at 13% water content to 1.474 at 25%. Honey also has an effect on polarized light , in that it rotates

10058-435: The reaction can also be slowed by storing the honey at colder temperatures. Unlike many other liquids, honey has very poor thermal conductivity of 0.5 W/(m⋅K) at 13% water content (compared to 401 W/(m⋅K) of copper ), taking a long time to reach thermal equilibrium . Due to its high kinematic viscosity honey does not transfer heat through momentum diffusion ( convection ) but rather through thermal diffusion (more like

10165-503: The sap on which those insects feed and is usually somewhat more dilute than nectar. One source describes the water content of honeydew as around 89%. Whether it is feeding on nectar or honeydew, the bee sucks these runny fluids through its proboscis , which delivers the liquid to the bee's honey stomach or "honey crop". This cavity lies just above its food stomach, the latter of which digests pollen and sugars consumed by an individual honey bee for its own nourishment. In Apis mellifera ,

10272-475: The strips of wood for moving top bars. The grooves were 8 mm × 8 mm (0.31 in × 0.31 in), the spacing later termed bee space . Based on the aforementioned measurements, August Adolph von Berlepsch (Bienezeitung May 1852) in Thuringia and L.L. Langstroth (October 1852) in the United States designed their own movable-frame hives. Langstroth used, however "about 1/2 inch" (13 mm) above

10379-441: The swarm will readily form a new colony in artificial surroundings. These semi-domesticated colonies are then looked after by humans practicing apiculture or meliponiculture. Captured bees are encouraged to forage, often in agricultural settings such as orchards, where pollinators are highly valued. The honey, pollen , wax and resins the bees produce are all harvested by humans for a variety of uses. The term "semi-domesticated"

10486-502: The thickness of the coil of straw was controlled using a ring of leather or a piece of cow's horn called a "girth" and the coils of straw could be sewn together using strips of briar. Likenesses of skeps can be found in paintings, carvings, and old manuscripts. The skep is often used on signs as an indication of industry ("the busy bee"). In the late 18th century, more complex skeps appeared with wooden tops with holes in them over which glass jars were placed. The comb would then be built into

10593-558: The tomb of Pabasa from the 26th Dynasty ( c.  650 BCE ), and describe honey stored in jars and cylindrical hives. The archaeologist Amihai Mazar cites 30 intact hives that were discovered in the ruins of Rehov (2,000 residents in 900 BCE, Israelites and Canaanites ). This is evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in Israel approximately 4,000 years ago. The 150 beehives, many broken, were made of straw and unbaked clay. They were found in orderly rows. Ezra Marcus from

10700-425: The type of flora used to produce it (pasturage), temperature, and the proportion of the specific sugars it contains. Fresh honey is a supersaturated liquid, containing more sugar than the water can typically dissolve at ambient temperatures. At room temperature, honey is a supercooled liquid, in which the glucose precipitates into solid granules. This forms a semisolid solution of precipitated glucose crystals in

10807-717: The type of honey. These acids may be aromatic or aliphatic (nonaromatic). The aliphatic acids contribute greatly to the flavor of honey by interacting with the flavors of other ingredients. Organic acids comprise most of the acids in honey, accounting for 0.17–1.17% of the mixture, with gluconic acid formed by the actions of glucose oxidase as the most prevalent. Minor amounts of other organic acids are present, consisting of formic , acetic , butyric , citric , lactic , malic , pyroglutamic , propionic , valeric , capronic , palmitic , and succinic , among many others. Individual honeys from different plant sources contain over 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which play

10914-402: The use of skeps, or any other hive that cannot be inspected for disease and parasites. Later skep designs included a smaller woven basket (cap) on top over a small hole in the main skep. This cap acted as a crude super, allowing some honey to be extracted with less destruction of brood and bees. In England, such an extension piece consisting of a ring of about 4 or 5 coils of straw placed below

11021-500: The water content of the honey is high enough that ubiquitous yeast spores can reproduce in it, a process which, if left unchecked, would rapidly consume the new honey's sugars. To combat this, bees use an ability rare among insects: the endogenous generation of heat. Bees are among the few insects that can create large amounts of body heat. They use this ability to produce a constant ambient temperature in their hives. Hive temperatures are usually around 35 °C (95 °F) in

11128-608: The winter depends on the variety of bees and on the length and severity of local winters. Many animal species are attracted to wild or domestic sources of honey. Because of its composition and chemical properties, honey is suitable for long-term storage, and is easily assimilated even after long preservation. Honey, and objects immersed in honey, have been preserved for centuries. (However, no edible honey has been found in Egyptian tombs; all such cases have been proven to be other substances or only chemical traces. ) The key to preservation

11235-417: The world's beekeepers, both professional and amateur. Langstroth hive bodies are rectangular and can be stacked to expand the usable space for the bees. They can be made from a variety of materials, but commonly of timber. The modern Langstroth hive consists of: Inside the boxes, frames are hung parallel to each other. Langstroth frames are thin rectangular structures made of wood or plastic and typically have

11342-401: Was 1.8   million tonnes , led by China with 26% of the world total (table). Other major producers were Turkey , Iran , Argentina , and Ukraine . Over its history as a food, the main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages. Due to its energy density, honey

11449-453: Was used by the Romans as well as in heraldry . Most heraldic representation of beehives is in the form of a skep. Bees (and beehives) have some symbols often associated with them though it is not universal: So much has been written upon the habits and virtues of bees, that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon the subject .... Suffice it to say, that they imply industry, wealth, bounty, and wisdom in

#469530