Fossils of honey bees have been discovered relationship again 150 thousands and thousands years in the past, nonetheless, the earliest depiction of people accumulating honey solely goes again about 10,000 years in the past. Along with honey’s candy style, it has quite a lot of medicinal makes use of and advantages. Honey possesses antibacterial properties, that means it may be used to battle infections. It may also be used to deal with burns, battle chilly signs, cut back stress, and help in lots of different diseases and illnesses.
Within the continued effort to maintain a optimistic working relationship with the atmosphere, Pacific Missile Vary Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, has a program to assist protect these important pollinators. The set up’s bee program is absolutely maintained and operated by volunteers.
“I at all times attempt to let folks know they aren’t my bees, I don’t personal them, they’re the bottom’s bees,” mentioned Kenny Thompson, a management tower operator and lead for the bee program. “Actually, I feel as a neighborhood we needs to be sustaining the bees one of the best we will.”
PMRF might not have many flowers, nonetheless, the crops which might be discovered on the set up are all pollinated by these bees. The vast majority of the honey from the bottom’s hives comes from the pollination of kiawe. Though volunteers might be able to take dwelling a few of the contemporary honey from the hives, the intention of this program just isn’t revenue, it’s preservation.
“We’re sustaining our footprint right here on Kaua`i,” mentioned Thompson. “We wish to preserve a superb relationship with our surroundings and I feel having the bees on base, we’re doing that.”
There are at present 4 common volunteers who go to test on the hives each two to 4 weeks. The very first thing the beekeepers are in search of is any type of infestation. The first pests that pose a risk to the hives on PMRF are hive beetles and wax moths. As soon as any pests are taken care of, the beekeepers can concentrate on retrieving honey and guaranteeing the hives are clear and wholesome for the bees.
“We’re in search of absolutely combed honey, however we don’t wish to take all of it as a result of that’s additionally the meals for the bees,” mentioned Thompson. “So there’s often a give and take of what you wish to take and what you wish to depart within the hives. The method is admittedly easy. The bees do all of the work, I simply come to gather the honey and clear out the hive.”
Not harvesting the honey poses no actual health-threat to the hives, nonetheless it can be crucial that the honey is harvested. If all the honey is left within the hives, the colonies will merely outgrow the hive. When this occurs, the queen could have no room to put her eggs resulting in her and round sixty-five % of the colony leaving to discover a new dwelling.
“Final time we bought 4 gallons of honey and it was simply the three of us,” mentioned Thompson. “That’s various honey for simply three people, so we jar it up and attempt to give it away to as many individuals as doable.”
The honey is jarred and given away to mates, household, coworkers, or different folks locally. Thompson’s spouse works on the Nationwide Tropical Botanical Backyard and can usually take the honey to provide away there as properly. Not one of the honey given away is for revenue.
“The largest factor is the truth that we do have them,” mentioned Thompson. “Folks want to grasp that simply since you don’t like bees doesn’t imply we must always exterminate them, possibly we decelerate a bit of bit and see about possibly sustaining these honey bees.”
One of many predominant issues when individuals are contemplating bee conserving is getting stung. After all when tending to the hives, the bee keepers are at all times carrying correct clothes to scale back the danger of getting stung, nonetheless Thompson admitted that he’s sometimes stung, even via his bee swimsuit, however that’s few and much between. The chance of the bees stinging anybody is pretty low. So long as the bee keeper strikes methodically however rapidly, it’s pretty unlikely {that a} bee will sting.
For extra details about PMRF’s bee program or to develop into a volunteer, contact Kenny Thompson at (360) 929-0297 or electronic mail him at Kenneth.m.thompson2.ctr@us.navy.mil.
