Analysis: what happens and who does what inside this highly evolved yet miniature society?
Honeybees are semi-domesticated insects that live as a highly structured social society. The hive's survival depends on how well the members of the three castes - the queen, the workers and the drones - perform in their respective roles.
Estimates suggest that there is only a small population of wild hives in Ireland. Most honeybees are part of a managed colony and have a beekeeper. As a beekeeper, I have become acquainted with the detrimental effect which seasonal shifts can have on beehives. Poor foraging weather, reduction in flower abundance, prevalence of diseases and pests and increased use of insecticides all have an impact. Honeybee colonies navigate these challenges by adapting their daily routines through continuous signalling within the hive that allows them to make it through each season.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, Anthony Broxson from Mill River Apiaries on life as a beekeeper
The queen is one of a kind in the hive. She is responsible for the continued survival of the hive as she is the only one that can lay eggs as the only fertile female in the hive. She is solely responsible for dictating and keeping all the workers and drones in check.
The queen secretes a scent which will ensure her workers stay loyal to her - that is, if the scent is produced in high amounts. If this scent is not produced in high amounts, hive mutiny will occur whereby workers will build new queen cells. The supersedure process has begun. Virgin queens will start their lives by searching out other queens that may have emerged and compete in a battle royale. The winner earns herself the right to rule the hive exclusively. Virgin queens will initiate mating flight with drones from surrounding hives.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Jane Stout from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan on the growing buzz around the sale of bee hotels
Drones are the males of the hive, similar in size to the queen with numbers ranging between 3,000 and 7,000. Their only role within the hive is to mate with virgin queens expanding the genetic diversity within apiaries. Drones spend their days consuming honey produced by workers. When the time is right, they will take flight and join the mating swarm. Only the queens return from these flights as a drone’s life is limited to the time that it mates, as upon mating it subsequently dies.
Workers are the smallest bees in the hive, but make up the largest proportion of the colony with their numbers reaching up to 80,000 in the summer months. Workers are infertile females and are most likely to be the honeybees you will see on flowers in parks and gardens. Workers’ pivotal role in the hive is everything from cleaning cells to building comb, to foraging for nectar, resin and pollen.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Fidelma Butler from UCC's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences on a possible threat to the Irish honey bee
Workers emerge from brood cells with no sting and are unable to fly. They are grey and fuzzy in appearance and will remain around the brood frames (nursery) for the first two to three days, cleaning empty brood cells and feeding from nurse bees. Nurse bees are between five and seven days old. Their role is to produce bee milk to feed larvae and pupae. They will also produce royal jelly, a high nutrient food used to feed the queen.
As workers age, they move away from brood frames towards the door of the hive. On their way, they will build honeycomb structures around the hive, become undertaker bees, or use resin collected from trees to plug any holes or large spaces in the hive (bees are very particular about having too much space). As workers approach 19 days old, their role involves more contact with the outside world. Workers will digest nectar into honey, guard the hive from intruders, interact with foragers and help store gathered nutrients. At this age, workers will also take their first test flights to stretch out their wings.
By day 29, workers are ready to begin foraging. These bees will fly around the surrounding areas foraging for pollen, nectar, resin, and water. Foragers usually fly about 1km out from the hive to gather food stores. Each time they fly home, they are weighed down by large pollen baskets or full honey stomachs. Foragers are the last age group of workers, leaving a workers' average lifespan between 57 and 60 days old.
The hive is a carefully balanced society. Premature loss of foragers due to bad weather or insecticide exposure, results in builder and guard bees accelerating their role progression to become foragers at a younger age, replacing the ones lost. Should a large number of nurse bees succumb to Varroa mite infestation, foragers will return to the hive and begin nursing duties.
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From RTÉ Archives, Alan McCullough reports for RTÉ News on the 1986 summer meeting of beekeepers at Gormanston, Co Meath
Honeybees continuously monitor their environment inside and outside the hive. By doing this, they can stock their hives for winter and pollinate gardens in the process. A hive is a complex microcosm of honeybees working towards the production of sweet honey. Each time I step into my apiary, pushing the anticipation of stings to one side, I hear a metropolis of this advanced species of insects, working harmoniously together in their highly evolved yet miniature society.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
