We expanded the family!
The life of the hive
We all know that bees are critically endangered.
So, we, Cognac Légier, decided to act for them!
We have been in partnership with Thomas, a beekeeper from Charente, for several years. He came to the estate to install hives so that they could have shelter, water and something to forage in. Thus, we want to promote our local ecosystem and ensure that our vines are full of life. Thanks to them we have now a harvest of honey in addition to grapes 🙂
We want to carry this project over several years in order to increase the number of hives present on the estate.
Since we were interested in these little creatures, we wanted to know how they work so we studied them to be able to keep them properly. So, let’s explain it to you!
Like any business, bees form a very organized society. Moreover bee is the first pollinating insect, especially for the pollination of trees and flowers.
The queen, who lays eggs throughout her life, is surrounded by around 50,000 bees working to ensure the survival of the hive. Its lifespan depends on its month of birth. In fact, a bee that is born during spring or summer will only live 35 to 45 days.
On the other hand, a bee that is born in the fall lives several months to ensure the survival of the colony in winter.
During its life, a bee will perform up to 8 different tasks:
In the first days of its life, the bee works to keep the hive clean and healthy.
The nurse is responsible for feeding, watching over and protecting the larvae. In total, a larva receives 1,000 feeding visits and 7,000 check-up visits from its conspecifics.
She is responsible for building the combs of the hive. To do this, they secrete wax scales, produced in their wax glands, which they stick together with their saliva.
The handler collects the nectar from the foragers before storing it in the cells.
She regulates temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide in the hive, just by flapping wings. Also, she dries nectar.
Located at the entrance of the hive, she controls the incoming bees using its sense of smell. Each bee indeed emits a specific odour, which is controlled by the guardian to know if the bee is from the colony or not. This control helps protect the colony from looting.
Finally the forager looks for nectar, pollen and water. These are the essential elements for the survival of the hive. They travel from 10 to 100 times a day (depending on the distance of the flowers) to supply the colony.
