It's a Very Sweet Business: The Truth About Bees
At The Three Stags, we are committed to sustainability and local food – and what could be more sustainable than food that is produced right on the premises?
We are thrilled to announce that our very own hive of bees is thriving in its new environment as part of our rooftop allotment. Richard, the landlord, met Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum, authors of “A World Without Bees” in April (check out their blog at www.aworldwithoutbees.com for some interesting – and sobering reading) and was inspired to get involved in beekeeping.
Since the installation of the hive at the end of May, our beekeeper, Luke Dixon, estimates that the bees have already produced around 50lbs of honey and we have now installed a second tier to the hive to ensure they have somewhere to keep all their fabulous product. Find out more about Luke and his work at www.urbanbeekeeping.co.uk (here he is watching over our hive)
Honey bees have an amazing role to play in our environment as well as making a contribution to the economy and our health.
Background to the Hive
There are an estimated 50,000 bees in our hive:
- the queen, who is responsible for laying eggs
- the worker bees, who clean the hive, collect pollen and nectar to feed the colony, and take care of the offspring, and
- the drones, which are responsible for mating with the queen
Contrary to popular opinion, only female bees sting – and they only do it once. The stinger, sometimes called an ovipositor, is part of the female bee's reproductive system and when they do use it, the ovipositor snaps off. They will generally only sting if provoked, so providing we allow them to get on with their work (of producing honey) you should be safe from perceived attack. If you're sitting outside and see a bee, try not to swat it - they're probably from the hive and working hard to make our honey.
There are an estimated 50,000 bees in our hive:
- the queen, who is responsible for laying eggs
- the worker bees, who clean the hive, collect pollen and nectar to feed the colony, and take care of the offspring, and
- the drones, which are responsible for mating with the queen
Contrary to popular opinion, only female bees sting – and they only do it once. The stinger, sometimes called an ovipositor, is part of the female bee's reproductive system and when they do use it, the ovipositor snaps off. They will generally only sting if provoked, so providing we allow them to get on with their work (of producing honey) you should be safe from perceived attack. If you're sitting outside and see a bee, try not to swat it - they're probably from the hive and working hard to make our honey.
Honey and Your Health
The composition of individual honeys varies from location to location, depending on the plants and flowers which the bees have fed from during the production of their honey. They include local pollens during the production process, making local honey ideal for the treatment of asthma, hayfever and other allergic reactions.
Through the centuries, honey has also been used to treat conditions as varied as ulcers, pulmonary infections, kidney infections and digestive problems. For more information about honey and its healthgiving properties, visit www.beesonline.com/healthbenefitsofhoney
Bees and Pollination
“If the bee disappears from the earth, man would have no more than four years to live”
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
It is estimated that a third of the world's food is produced as a direct result of pollination by bees. Indeed, in 2007, the National Audit Office calculated the value of honey bees to our UK economy at approximately £200m. A single hive of honey bees, which contains around 50,000 bees, can pollinate up to half a million plants a day and, certainly, a lot of our local customers have commented that their flowers appear to have been pollinated as a result of the introduction of our hive.
Honey bees visit 50-100 flowers during each trip to collect the nectar and pollen from which they create honey, and can travel up to 90,000 miles (the equivalent of three orbits around the earth) to collect enough for 1kg of honey. However, one bee will only produce approx 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime – the hive really does put in a team effort to generate the end result.
Honey bees actually navigate by using their sight, which means it is important that hives remain in place during the production season. Our bees will use landmarks such as the Imperial War Museum, Waterloo Station and even The Shard to find their way around the capital on their foraging trips!
Bees can see all colours except the colour red – so the bright colours of summer flowers, as well as their scents (which bees can smell) allow the bees to find flowers which are producing pollen as they fly around. Bees brush up against the pollen in the flowerheads as they feed, and transfer it to the next plants that they visit, resulting in pollination.
Bees in London
As detailed above, consuming honey which contains the pollen from plants and other allergens in your immediate area can have a homeopathic effect in the treatments of skin problems and reactions such as hayfever and asthma. Yet many people believe, wrongly, that there are very few bees in London itself.
In fact, several enthusiastic campaigners have reintroduced bees to various points of the capital, in addition to the hive at The Three Stags. Luke and Urban Beekeeping keep hives in the Wildlife Garden of the Natural History Museum and at Kensington Palace, as well as managing hives across the city from the Swissotel The Howard to royal solicitors' Mischcon de Reya and at The London School of Economics.
The Capital Bee campaign supports community beekeepers across London, and will be holding a London honey festival in August. Find out more at www.capitalbee.org. The scheme is currently training 75 beekeepers at seven sites across London, as well as building awareness of the benefits of local honey for Londoners.
Where Next?
A webcam is due to be installed shortly in our hive at The Three Stags so that you can view activities within the hive “as live” and our customers will also be able to watch the feed on screens in the bar.
A webcam is due to be installed shortly in our hive at The Three Stags so that you can view activities within the hive “as live” and our customers will also be able to watch the feed on screens in the bar.
At this stage, our aim is to harvest our honey in early September, depending on weather conditions and other factors, so check back regularly to find out more about our plans and how you can actually obtain some of our delicious honey for yourself.
