By Charlie Vanden Heuvel
Columbia Gorge Beekeepers Association
The school season has begun once again. One has to wonder if the delight of recess exceeds their interest in book work. Let us explore learning in the absence of those strange words.
The age of television, computers, games and social media may have a grip on your children. From a personal aspect the challenge of enticing our youth in the critical aspect of science. It was not so long ago the smallest element was the atom with three particles (proton, neutron and electron). Yet, today there have been seventeen fundamental particles discovered.
Yet, facing the instruction into atoms finds the youngster’s eyes glazed over, pondering when the class will come to an end. How to entice the young mind into the awesome world of science?
The first step is to eliminate the word “science.”
The art of beekeeping is fascinating replete with biology, physiology and the synergistic partnership between nature and the honeybee hive.
The beauty of engaging children in beekeeping: none of those complex words need to uttered. The sight of a worker feeding a larva in her brood cell. The excitement of witnessing the waggle dance as the scout bee shares a great source of nectar, communicating the direction and distance.
Children’s curiosity begins with the moment of birth. Every new sound, sight and touch adds the empty brain cells waiting to be filled with new found knowledge.
Engaging in a hobby engages the young minds along with the adult parent. Both exploring the intricacies to be explored in the beehive. Simple visualization of a bee’s wings, two that link together with a zipper-like edge to bring two into one.
The tiny hooks called hamuli function like Velcro. More exciting is the lack of tendons, ligaments or muscle attachments to the wings.
The honeybee thorax is similar to the beetle’s hard shell. Muscles inside the thorax; as they contract, they cause the exoskeleton to flex, which in turn moves the wings.
Consider the compound eye of the bee. But wait, there are actually five eyes. The compound eyes prominent on the bee’s face are below the three small simple eyes called ocelli, situated on top of the bee’s head, aiding in the sense of light levels, affording the bee ability with flight navigation. It can identify the bright sky against the darker horizon.
Witnessing the bee’s body with nearly three million tiny, branched hairs that cover their entire body — including the compound eyes. As the foraging bee leaves the hive to approach a flower offering its nectar, the hair develops positive electrostatic charge which draws the flower’s pollen to the bee. A secondary purpose is to learn if the flower has nectar available. The flower’s charge is negative. Opposite charges attract. As the flower’s nectar is depleted, it changes its charge to positive, informing the bee there is no more nectar.
The forager leaves the colony to accumulate nectar, pollen, propolis or water. The positive electrostatic charge developed while in flight attracts the pollen to the myriad of hairs on the bee’s body. She then brings her forelegs upward, to add a bit of nectar to assist in creating a pollen ball which is passed from the foreleg to the mid leg and finally to the aft legs which have a flattened part called the corbiculae. This special spot aids the bee’s ability to fly with half its weight in pollen.
Exploring the lifecycle of the bee as the egg is laid in the cell, which transitions into a larva (grub-like worm), growing around fifteen hundred times in size as it nourishes on a mixture of nectar, pollen and the worker’s enzymes.
The beauty of the family moment becomes a precious moment as your child’s curiosity unfolds before your eyes, creating a bonding moment never to disappear. All in moment of your family being exposed to the biology, physiology and behavior of the honey bee.
As a child my exposure to the life of the bee entailed the daily observation of our bees clinging to the screen door in hopes some family member would open it. The focus of the bee was the bougainvillea flower with its nectar and pollen, which were growing inside the house. This vision remained in the depths of my mind, awaiting the moment to begin anew the wonder of the bee.
Where to begin? The first step is to attend a beekeeping class. The journey begins in the spring of 2027. The basics of beekeeping is your first exposure: bg-bees.com/beekeeping-class.
Consider dispensing a few dollars toward Project Apis m in support of their funding (www.projectapism.org/partners/#give).
The Columbia Gorge Beekeepers Association (www.gorgebeekeepers.org)meets on the third Wednesday of each month at Hood River Extension, 2990 Experiment Station at 6 p.m. A different subject is presented by an Entomologists or experienced beekeeper.
All are welcome. Visitors may attend in person or via Zoom. You may reach out to the club for login information at admin@gorgebeekeepers.org. You may also enjoy a visit to the Hood River Extension to view the three bee hives maintained by the Columbia Gorge Beekeeping Club and financially by the Hood River Master Gardeners, Klahre House and the Columbia Gorge Beekeepers Association.
Commented