Hundreds of swarming buzzers, complex architecture and hierarchy, a symphony of larvae, queens, drones and workers, hard work and cooperation, are just part of the wild medole that takes place in bee hives.
Although they are often presented as dangerous, and especially undesirable in summer, the fact is that you cannot live without bees. They reveal their softer side only to a few.
"Vijesti" got an insight into their tamer side in Spuz, in a small oasis of family peace of beekeepers and queen beekeepers. Nenad Ivović.
Here there are bees as well as colorful flowers in every part of the property, and their traffic from the hives to the plants does not stop.
There are no roads nearby, so the only noise is made by the honeybees, and the chickens, cats and dogs also help. Although they are not immediately visible upon arrival at the property, dozens of beehives are spread under the summer house in several meadows, and hundreds of black swarming dots swarm around each of them.
October has come and gone, but despite the expected colder days of November, life here does not die down but is bustling - like in spring and summer. It looks like the work for the already valuable bees does not stop yet, so at this time of the year it is strange to experience such an abundance of buzzers and it is to be expected that the bees are preparing for winter. That's not happening though...
Climate is everything
Ivović explained that the feeling is not deceiving, that bees are directly dependent on the climate, but that climate change creates a significant problem, because difficulties and the absence of pollen do not give bees enough room for development. He points out that this has been especially noticeable in recent years, because queens are increasingly reducing egg laying due to high temperatures. He jokingly emphasized that the bee is thrifty, that it does not want to reproduce if there is nothing to feed the young or cover the brood.
He also explained that there are about 20.000 species of bees in the world, while in Montenegro there is the Carniola gray bee, which is perfectly adapted to this climate. However, as he says, the temperature in the bee hive is 34,5 to 35 degrees Celsius, and the beehives are not like in nature, in a forest, rock, cove or tree, but in the open air, where temperatures reach 50 degrees. He added that the heat for the bee means a large intake of water and cooling, which requires food and energy, which is why the conditions for beekeeping in the system of global warming and temperature change are increasingly difficult - both for the bee and for the beekeeper.
"Everything is related to the climate, the bee should have already entered the winter mode of life, but these days are extremely warm and instead of the queen having stopped the brood, the representation of the brood is still high - which is not good. The so-called depletion of winter bees occurs, because in the middle of July and August bees are born that are "fatter" and more ready for winter. They eat enhanced and better food in order to survive the winter and be able to raise several generations in the spring. By the way, bees in nature live 35 to 40 days, and winter bees are long-lived, and it depends on what kind of generations they will be in the spring. It is important that healthy bees go into the winter with a sufficient amount of food, because the utilization of the following year depends on it, and if the bee does not succeed in wintering, we can hardly expect that the following year will be good, regardless of whether it will be honey-bearing", Ivović stressed.
The season for bees, as he says, is directly related to the weather, so man cannot dictate to them, but only adapt. He explained that it would be best if they were withdrawn already around November 1st, to rest, not to wear out and prepare for spring, but that was not the case last year, so he does not believe it will be this year either. He claims that the bees made their brood until the new year and that they almost did not interrupt that process, which is why he is also in trouble, because without winter the bees eat more, which requires additional food for their hibernation. That's why in autumn, if nature doesn't do its thing, they have to make up for it from sugar and invert syrups, cakes...
Ivović also said that he would have liked the conversation and the visit to have taken place last year because it was much better, while this year the honey flowed only symbolically, that is, it was almost non-existent.
"Simply, this region did not provide enough pasture this year, not even for development, not for harvesting some surplus. The beginning of the season was good, but then the rains started at the time when the main honey flowers bloomed in this area, so the bees could not take advantage of it. Later, unbearable droughts and heat started and it seems to me that this year there were more continuous days of 40 degrees and more, which for us is like a city for plants. That's what happened to beekeeping in our region, and I think that few people in the central part of Montenegro can boast that they were able to pour honey this year. It was a question of the survival of the bees, how to maintain and preserve them, so that the healthy and good ones enter the winter with a sufficient amount of food. Because it depends on what the utilization will be next year".
Community key matrix
A large number of beekeepers migrate bees in a certain part of the year, in order to use the flower beds from the hills and mountains, but not Ivović. He explained that he has been breeding queens for the last four years, so this process does not allow him to simply move the bees. For him, the queen is the essence of the community, which, as he says, directly depends on whether the bees are calm or prone to stings, the size of the colony, the amount of collected nectar...
A bee colony consists of a queen, hundreds to a thousand drones, as well as several tens of thousands of worker bees, and Ivović has 90 colonies. He points out that each of them is completely different and has a small story for itself, and that each of them holds together a nut. As he laughingly says, queens are bad mothers because they only give birth, while workers raise the young.
"One good hen lays from 1.500 to 2.000 eggs in a season, i.e. more than her own weight. The workers build a cell in which the queen lays an egg and the bees, after the third day, feed the larva with royal jelly, which continues until the eighth day, after which they close, and a brood chamber is created. The queen emerges from it after 16 days, and before that the scout bees find a new habitat. When the first brood box is closed, worker bees, drones and queen, and the swarm goes to a new habitat, they go in and build combs, which is the perfection of construction and done in pitch darkness", he explained this process...
As he says, rearing queens is a special and time-sensitive job, requiring timely action and work during extreme heat. The queen, Ivović points out, lays dozens or hundreds of eggs immediately after the new year, and this process is extremely precise in time, so that the bees are the most numerous when nature has the most to offer. He added that the diet of bees in Spož is mostly based on heather, and in early spring on dogwood, dogwood, fruit trees, sage, and later on meadow flowers and brambles.
The state has an ear
Asked if they have any help from the state, given that they are at the mercy of nature, Ivović emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture publishes a public call for queens every year in March or April, which makes it easier for beekeepers to buy, and at the same time, they also get money. who grow them. As he says, his job is made easier by the Danilovgrad "Honey House" to which they sell the queens, after which they further distribute them to beekeeping associations and beekeepers.
"It is not only this public call, but there are also those for the purchase of equipment, medicines, wax... It is a very significant help for beekeepers and it is said that beekeepers are one of the most organized agricultural producers. "Honey House" also makes it easier because there we can deliver wax for processing into hourly basis, at very favorable prices and everything else is much more favorable than on the market", he stated.
Ivović's fascination with bees is visible on his face, and he doesn't hide it, so he explains that these are the insects that have historically been the most studied, that there are almost no unknowns with them, and that people have been deepening their relationship with them for thousands of years. He emphasized that bees are not so numerous in nature, so their colonies usually number around a few tens of thousands, while people breed them in colonies of 60 to 80 thousand, so that they can take excess honey and extract it.
He also points out that they are the most useful when it comes to preserving biodiversity, because more than 80 percent of plant species reproduce by pollination, which bees significantly facilitate.
Ivović says that he also believes that every third bite in the human mouth is the merit of the honey bee, and that, in addition to honey, pollen and perga (processed pollen that bees feed their larvae) are also useful. He especially highlighted propolis as an antibiotic, and explained that bees use it to close cracks and disinfect the habitat.
"When a mouse happens to enter their habitat, after death they lick it off and embalm it so that it does not poison their environment, and this prevents the decomposition process. A similar thing happened in the case of the pharaohs, by examining the sarcophagus, they found that embalming was done with propolis and honey, and they also found jars of honey that was edible, but lost its quality after the passage of time. This kind of relationship has been going on since prehistoric times, until today."
Fascination is not the first thought for most when bees visit their homes unannounced in the summer, or irritate them with buzzing or stinging, but watching hundreds of insects in synchronized work in a hive is a whole new dimension. The employed peaceful swarm did not react at all when Ivović pulled them out on one of the bars.
Up close, a collection of larvae and a huge dark-yellow spot, which is actually made up of hundreds of synchronized bees, shows how they make sure that the society moves forward and that the underdeveloped ones, placed in the comb, do not lack anything.
The feeling of observing this universe in miniature from a distance of 20 centimeters, without any equipment, cannot be replaced or provided by any documentary.
Honey as a lifestyle
Ivović stated that honey is beautiful, but that the conversation always boils down to it, while ignoring the other products that bees provide, such as pollen, perga, royal jelly, their poison (for cosmetics and rheumatism), as well as inhalations of bee air. from the beehive for bronchial problems and asthma...
"There is nothing useful from bees, but it is important to include honey and products in our daily diet, and it should become a healthy lifestyle for us, so I appeal to young parents to teach their children to use bee products. It's best to check with your pediatrician, since they say you shouldn't use these products before the age of one, due to the possibility of getting botulism - since babies don't yet have defense mechanisms for some of the spores. But, after a year, everything can be used, including propolis", he pointed out.
Ivović added that he believes that bee products should be promoted in schools and kindergartens, all companies dealing with organized nutrition, hospitals, and the army, and that honey should not be used only as medicine and salve.
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