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Something new for Sweetwilliam Farm for 2010. We are currently
adding bee hives. You will be able to join us in Spetember for harvest days. One day we will extract the honey
combs from the hive. And we will be extraction the honey from the combs on another day.
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Who lives in the hive...
Queen Bee: There is only one queen per hive. The queen is
the only bee with fully developed ovaries. A queen bee can live for 3-5 years. The queen mates only once with several male
(drone) bees, and will remain fertile for life. She lays up to 2000 eggs per day. Fertilized eggs become female (worker bees)
and unfertilized eggs become male (drone bees). When she dies or becomes unproductive, the other bees will "make"
a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a diet of "royal jelly". For queen bees, it takes 16 days
from egg to emergence.
Worker
Bee: All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce. Worker bees live for 4-9 months during the winter
season, but only 6 weeks during the busy summer months (they literally work themselves to death). Nearly all of the bees in
a hive are worker bees. A hive consists of 20,000 - 30,000 bees in the winter, and over 60,000 - 80,000 bees in the summer.
The worker bees sequentially take on a series of specific chores during their lifetime: housekeeper; nursemaid; construction
worker; grocer; undertaker; guard; and finally, after 21 days they become a forager collecting pollen and nectar. For worker
bees, it takes 21 days from egg to emergence. The worker bee has a barbed stinger that results in her death following stinging,
therefor, she can only sting once.
Drone
Bee: These male bees are kept on standby during the summer for mating with a virgin queen. Because the drone has
a barbed sex organ, mating is followed by death of the drone. There are only 300-3000 drone in a hive. The drone does not
have a stinger. Because they are of no use in the winter, drones are expelled from the hive in the autumn.
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Interesting bee facts:
Honeybees are not native to the USA. They are European in origin, and were brought
to North America by the early settlers.Honeybees are not
aggressive by nature, and will not sting unless protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly provoked.Honeybees represent a highly organized society, with various bees having very specific
roles during their lifetime: e.g., nurses, guards, grocers, housekeepers, construction workers, royal attendants, undertakers,
foragers, etc.The queen bee can live for several years. Worker bees live for 6 weeks during the busy summer, and for 4-9 month during the
winter months.The practice of honey collection and beekeeping
dates back to the stone-age, as evidenced by cave paintings.The
honeybee hive is perennial. Although quite inactive during the winter, the honeybee survives the winter months by clustering
for warmth. By self-regulating the internal temperature of the cluster, the bees maintain 93 degrees Fahrenheit in the center
of the winter cluster (regardless of the outside temperature).
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Enter supporting content here
Sweetwilliam Farm
153 North St. Upton, MA 01568
508-529-2000
* seasonal hours *
Current Hours:
Sat & Sun: noon-5pm
Closed Jan -
Mar, re-opening April 1st
Scout, school and party functions may be held any day.
members
of: Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce
NOFA - Northeast Organic Farmers Association
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