Colony Collapse Disorder

For their first 100 million years on Earth the sweetness of the air was the honeybees’ universe. Emerging from their dark, womb-like nest, they’d soar into the scented air to seek out the soft moist petals which held the promise of nutritional wellbeing. Flying from above, each delicate centre is ablaze with ultraviolet glory to honeybee eyes. Each points directly to the nectary where the alchemy of sun and natural sugars create what Homer referred to as 'the elixir of the gods'.

When humans came along, honeybees guided our progress. In the 10,000 years or so that we journeyed together on evolution's pathway, honeybees and humans developed an exquisite and abundant exchange. Emissaries of ancient knowledge, honeybees passed along the secrets of interdependency. We, in turn, learned to plant that which encouraged their return and wellbeing while advancing our own understanding of the sanctity of life. Throughout the ages, we became inseparable and as a direct result, agriculture became one of the greatest success stories humankind.

For all the goodwill honeybees send our way, they are happily self reliant. With so many mouths to feed, much of their business day is all about making enough food to meet the nutritional requirements of their entire colony. Much like humans, honeybees survive on a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and water. They rely on just two natural raw ingredients to provide them with all the nutrients they need to live happy, productive lives -- nectar and pollen.

Whether wild or commercially managed, only female honeybees are foragers. Always in hot pursuit of bee goodies, the sisterhood travels up to 16 km (10m) a day to visit up to 500 million blooms. When they’ve harvested all the nectar or pollen they can carry, our flying aces cruise back home at speeds of up to 28 kilometers per hour (20 mph) guided only by the golden path of the sun’s warming rays.

Honeybee Carbs
Honeybee colonies run like a finely tuned clock. It's all about precision particularly when it comes to food procurement. Only some honeybees collect nectar. When she's returning to her nest with the harvested nectar safely stored in her honey sac, her digestive enzymes are already breaking down the natural sugar into its component parts of glucose, fructose, amino acids, antioxidants and enzymes.

The collected nectar is high in both water and natural yeasts. Left unchecked it could ferment. So once back in the nest, she starts to ‘ripen’ the sugary mixture. For up to 20 minutes the honeybee uses her body like a pump, slowly infusing the elixir with enzymes from a glucose gland located in her mouth. Gradually the sweet liquid dehydrates. Then she carefully spreads a thin layer across the honeycombs in wait for the next shift to take over the task of making homemade honey.

Much like preserves made in kitchens throughout the world, honeybees prepare the nectar to make it inhospitable to microbes. For three weeks, female worker bees continually fan the mixture to reach a further reduction of almost 18 percent. Slowly the nectar stabilizes. The resulting honey becomes naturally resistant to molds, fungi and other bacteria for years. Once the process is complete the honey is capped in the comb with wax ready to be eaten as needed.

Whether maintaining their nests, warming their wings in preparation for flight, keeping each other warm in winter, or feeding their young, natural honey is vital to the on going health of its maker and her future generations. So the sisterhood always makes more than required. A strong colony produces two to three times more honey than needed traveling over 354,000 km (220,000 miles) or six times around the world to make 2.2 kg (5 lbs) of honey.