What the Bees Can Teach Us
By Mariana Riquelme Harmon
About the author: Maria Riquelme Harmon is one of the founding members of the Siskiyou County Beekeepers Association. Its purpose since 2016 has been to foster the wellbeing of bees, to be aware of their cycles and needs, and to mentor beekeepers in the art.
I am a beekeeper of five years and I know that I am but a child when it comes to understanding them. They are my teachers, patient, forgiving and emulating a world for us to live by. As I sit by their hives I listen to each hive’s distinct humming. Each one is telling a story to us and all we need to do is listen, watch, and learn. Over infinite years these wise ones have developed a fascinating, remarkably organized society. They live a way of life that is interdependent as a superorganism as no bee can survive on its own. There is a division of labor, and every bee must carry out its own duties and cooperate with the others for the hive’s survival. They all take turns carrying out all the duties at specific ages in the hive. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we as a human society would emulate this same pattern to benefit all equally?
What they teach us is vital and invaluable for us as humans. No one is higher than the other. Even the queen is interdependent upon the workers and the drone for her survival. This is their story of how they work together and is a perfect example for us to see how their hive works and learn from this for the benefit of all beings. What follows is a description of each function within the hive and how they communally work together.
Let’s start with the queen bee and her life. She is the heartbeat of the hive and her vibe holds the energy of all that are in it. If mama is happy and peaceful, all are happy and peaceful! The queen is the only fertile female in the hive and dictates the ratio of brood that is female and male. She emits a pheromone which keeps the workers sterile and also to assure the hive that she is alive and well. She lives her entire life in darkness laying eggs after being fertilized on her mating flight after birth. The only time she will emerge from the hive is when conditions are compromised within the hive, and for the safety and wellbeing of all, she absconds taking most of the hive with her. This is when you see swarms of bees up in the trees or moving into buildings. If the queen is not performing up to task (getting old and not laying adequately, or sick) the workers will kill her and create a new queen from her brood. Feeding royal jelly to some of the larvae will turn them into a queen and the shape of the cells looks like small peanuts.
The workers, all girls, are the most amazing and versatile ones within the hive. Rotating duties, the girls handle all of the responsibilities and welfare of the hive. Living approximately six weeks, they take turns with duties starting with being a cleaner. After one or two days the youngsters start with cleaning the insides of the cells for the queen to lay more eggs. If not cleaned adequately, the queen will not use the cell and it will need to be recleaned. Next the girls become undertakers as they make sure to remove any dead or diseased bees. Pulling them from the hive, they are carried far away. After a few more days they become nurse bees and carry out multiple tasks. They are in charge of incubating and caring for the developing larvae, as well as taking nectar and pollen, bee bread, into the cells as food for the colony. The queen is the only one who is exclusively fed royal jelly by the nurse bees. At twelve days they mature enough to secrete wax to make beeswax for the hive. The girls must consume large amounts of nectar and honey to be able to make the wax. The next duty that they share is becoming the temperature controllers for the heat regulation of the hive. These ones will sit directly at the front entrance and you’ll see them fanning their wings with their abdomens pointed up to the sky. They have fellow bees going to get water to drop on their backs and fan the cooled water vapor into the hive. Beekeepers also can help with ventilating the hives for them with different types of openings for the boxes which can help cool the hive. As a last task before becoming a forager, they help with being the guards at the entrance. The guards inspect each arriving bee for the familiar scent of their pheromone from the queen. If they do not pass inspection then the guards do not allow them inside. If there is an attack on the hive from invaders if the hive gets weak, the guards are the first to be in the battle. Yellowjackets and stronger hives will move in and try to take the hive over. This is the interesting part as a beekeeper on how to handle this- another long story. The last job that they have at the age of about fourteen days is foraging. They forage for pollen, nectar and propolis, from sunrise to sunset within an approximate three mile radius. They will do this until they pass into the sunset, hopefully upon a beautiful flower.
Each one is reliant upon the others and if there is unrest within, the welfare of the whole hive comes first. There is no one bee governing the outcome as some may believe that the queen dictates how all is done. The power truly lies with the workers. Each one supports and guides the next generation as there is no ego, greed, jealousy. There can sometimes be anger within the hive but that is when someone not of the hive disturbs them. What I have learned is that it IS possible for a large group of beings (each hive is approximately 40,000 bees) to live harmoniously together. We humans have so much to learn from them and it’s upon us to focus on making changes within ourselves now so we can make changes outside ourselves for the benefit of all life. Being of service to the greater whole and placing the bigger picture ahead of personal desires. We may need to break up into small hives to accomplish this, meaning small groups, but it is possible if we want to change the path we are on. Bees are showing us amazing examples each moment if we just take the time to sit, watch, learn and listen. I am a grateful and humble beekeeper who is a perennial student of these incredibly wise ones who provide life to so many. May we all open ourselves to our elders.