Page 9 - 2001 DT 4 issues

What’ s Inside!
Featured Articles
Nevada’s Buzziest Workers................1
Special
In Sympathy.....................................5
Survival!...........................................7
Departments
June 2001 News & Notes....................................2

Programs & Hikes.............................4
Desk Schedule...................................6
Bulletin Board...................................8

Nevada’s ○ the brood. The brood cells are polished ○ ○
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○ out carefully in readiness for the queen ○ ○ Help Wanted:
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Buzziest Workers ○ to lay her eggs, one to each cell. These ○ ○ ○
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○ are then sealed and the eggs will even-
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by Dan Wray ○ ○ tually hatch into bees which will chew ○ ○ ○ Have a few hours a week to
spare? The Canyon Bookstore
their way out. ○
○
or centuries man has depended on ○ ○ ○ The new bees will be sterile fe- ○ ○ ○ needs volunteers from 11:00
domesticated creatures. He has ○ males, but as the ○ a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekends
Fkept them for food. He has kept ○ ○ queen grows older ○ ○ to help re-stock merchandise
them for companionship. He has fenced ○ ○ she becomes less ○ ○ and assist with the jewelry case.
them in. He has taken them into his home ○ ○ productive. The ○ ○
and yet probably the most useful crea- ○ ○ workers sense this ○ ○ Call Kathy Adrian at 363-7592.
ture which he keeps is completely wild. ○ ○ and start to build ○ ○
It pollinates his crops, provides him ○ ○ unusual ice cream ○ ○
with wax, royal jelly and perhaps the ○ ○ cone shaped cells. ○ ○ A swarm of bees may be a fearsome
most familiar product of all—honey. ○ ○ The queen dutifully lays an egg in each, ○ ○ sight but really, if you are caught up in
A colony of bees is a highly orga- ○ ○ but this time the workers feed royal jelly ○ ○
○ ○ one (killer bees excluded!) you are rela-
nized community at the center of which ○ to the emerging pupae before sealing the ○ tively safe provided that you remain
is the queen. She is the largest bee in the ○ ○ cell. These bees will hatch into virgin ○ ○ calm. Don’t panic. Bees can actually
colony and has both strong jaws and a ○ ○ queen bees. ○ ○ smell that you are afraid and your fear
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sting. Most of the bees in a colony are ○ ○ Even before they emerge, they emit ○ gets them frightened. Don’t flail your
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female and are ster- ○ ○ a shrill piping sound which can be heard ○ arms around or they will think you are
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ile. Their job is to ○ ○ above the buzz of the hive. The old queen ○ attacking them and will respond.
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do all the work, ○ ○ can hear this too, and as there can be ○ If you do get stung, your first reac-
hence their name ○ ○ only one queen in the hive she will sting ○ ○ tion is to swipe away the offending
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“worker bees.” ○ ○ the occupant to death. The workers will ○ insect. The bee’s sting is corkscrew-like
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Only the queen is ○ ○ try to stop her with the result that there ○ and normally she
fertile and her sole ○ ○ will be, for a short time, more than one ○ ○ would walk round and
duty is to lay eggs and thus ensure the ○ queen in the hive. ○ ○ round anti-clockwise
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future of the colony. The remaining bees ○ ○ The loyalty of the bees will now be ○ ○ to unscrew it. Swiping
in the hive are male or “drone” bees. ○ divided. Some will stay with the old ○ ○ her away will tear off
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Their sole contribution to the colony is ○ queen, but the majority will seek new ○ ○ part of her abdomen
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for one of their number to mate with the ○ pastures with a new queen. As they don’t ○ ○ which contains not only the sting but the
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virgin queen on one occasion. ○ yet know where their new home will be venom sacks, so if you use tweezers you
The workers exude wax which they nor when they will be able to stock up will simply squeeze in more venom. Sim-
work into the familiar shaped cells us- with honey, they will gorge themselves ply scrape out the sting with your
ing their jaws. The cells are used for the with honey from the stores before they
storage of honey and for the rearing of leave.

Buzziest continued on page 6