?# BEES @ MY BALCONY#?    — By Dhara

Sting less Bees on Scarlet Milkweed Flower in our Balconies !!

“If the Bees disappeared Off the Face of the Earth
Man would only have four years left To Live.”  –Albert Einstein.

Many years back this statement was given by Albert Einstein, He was aware what will be the consequences if bees disappeared from here.

There are lots of questions arise in our mind
What are bees?
How they are connected to us?
Their behavior, mysteries of Hives and Honey?????

So Here is the Glimpse of Bees:-
Bees are flying Insects closely related wasps and ants.

Five important species of honey bees are Found in India as follows
1. The rock bee, Apis dorsata (Apidae).
2. The Indian hive bee, Apis cerana indica (Apidae).
3. The little bee, Apis florea (Apidae).
4. The European or Italian bee, Apis mellifera (Apidae).
5. Dammer bee or stingless bee, Melipona irridipennis (Meliporidae).

Let us talk about the Stingless Bees here !!
Yes!! These amazing insects, the Stingless Bees ,can be domesticated.
Besides true honey bees, two species of stingless or dammer bees, viz. Melipona and Trigona occur in our country in abundance. These bees are much smaller than the true honey bees and build irregular combs of wax and resinous substances in crevices and hollow tree trunks. The stingless bees have the importance in the pollination of various food crops. They bite their enemies or intruders but it’s just a tickle for us. It can be domesticated. But the honey yield per hive per year is only 100 gms , more than sufficient for a single household.
So my beautiful Journey started with these amazing Bees!!
I am rearing stingless bees in my balcony. I was very much fond of Butterflies, Birds , and now I am in love with my stingless bee hive. It’s my 4B passion (Balcony Birds, Butterflies and Bees).
I have ordered this stingless bee hive last December from all the way Kerala. I was very excited and waiting for its delivery, I use to check and track parcel status many times a day, eagerly waiting for hive.
On 24th of December 2016 when I was trying to call the courier person , while he was standing at my door and i got my hive .

And along with hive Binu The Honey Bee Man , also send me the cutting of Honey Tree (Dombeya Spectabilis) which produces abundant flowers which is the favorite food for honey bees and rich with sources of pollen.( Growing well @my Place) .

I was very much Excited to see bees and their behavior.
The Hive was made-up fo PVC pipe so it is very sturdy and water proof .This Superb design of hive is made by Mr.P.T Thampi,Founder of Madhushree Bee Farms and Research Center.
Hive is divided into two parts :- Bottom part with entrance from where the worker bees comes in and goes out for foraging and House worker made cell where Queen ,Eggs , larvae ,Pupae develop . Some of the cell in this part of the hive also hold pollen, nectar or honey that, as it is used to feed the developing larvae is called brood chamber And Top part is where the worker bees store their honey, its called as super chamber.
And hive is designed brilliantly in such a way that no bees are harmed while harvesting honey from it.
In the morning I hanged it in my balcony window. And started observing them and making videos , Notes of their behavior .On first day I saw that bees were cleaning their hive removing waste and dead bees from hive which were lost in transit.

So this way my journey stared with the stingless bees.
Its is very calming and relaxing to observe bees activities, I just love to sit hours’ n hours watching them.

Taking One small step closer towards the Nature which has no boundaries and limitation even in metro cities.????

Sting less Bees on Cheery Blossom Flower , Mimosa Flower  in our Balconies !!