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Frequently Asked Questions (continued)
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Q
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What is the average life span of a honeybee?
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A
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In a major honey flow a worker bee lives up to 6 weeks. They will actually wear their wings out and work themselves to death in their search for pollen and nectar. During the winter months in Florida the worker bee can live from 3-6 months. The queen bees lifespan is 1 year up to 5 years.
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Q
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Do beekeepers ever get stung by the honeybees?
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A
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Yes. Larry Gruwell gets stung the most because he does not wear a bee suit. He says bee suits are for sissys. The rest of us get stung through the beesuits if you accidently smash one that happens to be crawling on you.
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Q
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Does it hurt when you get stung?
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A
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Yes, for a little while. If you quickly scratch the stinger out with your finger nail, being careful not to squeeze the venom sack to release more venom, then it hurts less.
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Q
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How do you get the honey from the beehive?
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A
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Honey is stored by bees in supers above the brood chamber. The brood chamber is the place where brood or baby bees are raised and where the queen bee is kept by means of a queen excluder (wire grid) which only the worker bees fit through because the queen is too large. Brood cannot be raised above the queen excluder and thus only honey is stored in the supers. The beekeeper adds supers throughout the honey flow and pulls these supers of honey when the flow has ended. The supers are lifted off the hive and taken to the honey house. The wax cappings are cut off both sides of a frame when ran through the uncapping machine. The uncapped frames are then loaded into an extractor where the centrifugal force spins all of the honey out of the comb. The honey is then pumped into 55 gallon drums and sealed.
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Q
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Are bee stings beneficial?
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A
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Yes if one is not allergic to the bee venmon. Bee stings are used as a treatment for joint conditions, arthritis, rheumatism, Multiple Sclerosis and other aches and pains.
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Q
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Do bees ever sleep?
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A
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No bees never sleep. They only rest. Most bees will remain motionless especially at night reserving energy for the next day.
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Q
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What about killer bees?
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A
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Killer bees are also known as the Africanized honey bees. These bees were an attempt to improve honey production in the domestic honey bee. The experiment worked but this strain of bee is much more aggressive.
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Q
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What do bees eat?
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A
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Honey bees eat what they gather. They eat pollen and nectar gathered from flowers. Pollen provides an excellent source of protein for the bees. Honey bees mix their honey and stored pollen together to feed the queen and baby bees or brood. This mixture is known as bee bread.
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Q
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Can bees communicate with each other?
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A
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Honey bees communicate to inform the other forager bees of the nectar or pollen sources. This communication is achieved by a bee dance.
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Q
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What does honey taste like?
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A
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Honey is a natural sweetner. It can be used as a healthy substitute for sugar and processed sweetners. Honey tastes good on everything from ice cream to seafood.
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