A honeycomb is a wax structure built by bees for several purposes. Honeycombs are stored in honeycombs, offspring are raised and the bees themselves live. They have the shape of hexagonal prismatic cells, most of whose faces are adjacent to the same cells. According to their size, honeycombs vary depending on the individuals living in them.
How do bees build honeycombs?
The construction of the honeycombs begins in early spring, when the bees that survive the winter gain strength. It is at this time of year that special glands responsible for wax production are activated in bees. New honeycombs are built on top of the old ones, then honey is collected in them and all the same wax seals the honeycombs. This happens every year.
Bees do not use any other materials except wax for the construction of honeycombs. Beeswax has the following properties:
- it is convenient for construction in a softened state, which allows you to give it the necessary shape;
- keeps shape well after solidification;
- durable and durable;
- resistant to many external factors;
- It has an antibacterial effect that protects the hive from a large number of diseases.
The construction of the honeycombs moves down from the top of the bee house. First of all, the bottom of the honeycomb is built, then its walls are erected. Cell sizes are selected depending on the size of the hive itself and its inhabitants.
Every few hours, a bee can produce a certain amount of wax flakes. Using the front paws, the insect moves the wax flakes to the upper jaws, where under the influence of a special substance synthesized by the bee, they begin to be processed. So the wax is crushed and can be used by insects for construction.
Bees are distinguished by their high construction speed - they build up a frame of 1 sq. M under normal conditions in about two days.
Bees build honeycombs, guided only by their sense of touch. The optimum temperature for the construction of honeycombs is 35 ° C, and it is at this level that the bees have to maintain it. This figure is due to the physical properties of the wax, it allows it to compress well and fit into the desired shape.
Honeycomb structure
Bee honeycombs have long been recognized by people as a certain standard of architectural construction - with a minimum occupied area, they are most effective. Honeycombs differ in some ways and have their own characteristics.
Cell types
Honeycombs in the hive come in several types, depending on their purpose:
- Bees. These are standard hexagonal honeycombs. Working bees are hatched in them, and they are also used to store honey and bee bread. This type of cell prevails in the hive, because working bees make up most of it.
In 1 cm2 of the hive there are usually 4 such cells, their depth is about 11 mm. When the brood is not sealed, the depth is 2 times greater, after sealing up to 25 mm. When growing brood, the volume of space in the combs is reduced due to the remains of cocoons that remain in them.
The problem with a decrease in the size of the bee is usually solved by building the walls. Northern bees have more cells than southern ones. One bee cell consumes an average of 13 mg of wax. - Drone. When bees are given complete freedom to build a beehive, along with bee honeycombs, they also build drone ones. Their difference from the first consists in large sizes - the depth of such honeycombs is already about 15 mm, and for 1 square cm they fit no more than 3 pieces.
Wax per drone cell leaves much more - about 30 mg. This type of honeycomb is also used to store honey, but bees do not store bee bread in them. - Transitional. Such cells are arranged in those places where the honeycomb goes into the drone. These honeycombs do not have standard features and special purposes - they simply serve to fill the space between the above types of cells.
Transition cells can be irregular in shape - pentagonal, too elongated, jagged, and the like. Their size is the average between bee honeycombs and drone. Brood is not grown here, but these rooms are often filled with honey.
- Mother liquors. These cells are used to grow uterus and are the largest in the hive. Their bees build for two reasons: preparation for swarming or loss of the uterus.
In the first case, queen cells are called swarm, in the second - fistulous. Swarm cells are usually constructed in the area of the ribs of the cells. At the beginning of construction, eggs are laid by the uterus in them. Further, the walls of the mother liquor are completed as the larva grows. In color, queen cells are often darker than ordinary honeycombs. This type of cells is not used to store feed reserves.
Framework
In modern beekeeping, frames are used to extract honeycombs from the hive. The size of the cells on it depends on the size of the frame. Within the framework, the basis for new honeycombs is waxed wax, which is a thin sheet of beeswax, where on each side there is an extruded bottom and the beginnings for new cells.
When constructing honeycombs on the framework, the bees first pull out the beginnings of the honeycombs, and then build them up, using their own wax. Thus, a large number of honeycombs in rows of regular shapes is lined up on the frame on both sides.
On average, 4 kg of honey per frame, the volume depends on the depth of the cells. Beekeepers ensure that empty cells are filled, and also control the quality of the wax.
Honeycombs
Honeycombs in the hive are located vertically. The upper part of the frame contains thicker honeycombs; they taper towards the bottom. To pass between the honeycombs, the bees use the so-called streets, whose width is somewhere around 13 mm.
Pure wax has a white or light yellow color, which is caused by plants that the bees pollinate this wax. The walls of the rebuilt honeycombs of the bees are covered with propolis, which gives them a more yellow color. Over time, the wax becomes darker, it is caused by the influence of resin and waste bees. Sometimes insects arrange cleaning of honeycombs, which slightly increases the operating time of the room.
Even in the hive, the name “land” is applied to some honeycombs. So called honeycombs built by bees, which are not yet filled with honey.
Cell Destination
Bee honeycombs perform several important functions in the life of the entire hive. These include:
- honey storage;
- place of residence of bees;
- offspring content.
None of these functions can be called unimportant, so honeycombs play a significant role in the life of bees. In beekeeping, man facilitates the work of the hive to create certain buildings. In the wild, bees can spend more time on construction, which prevents them from spending most of it on honey production.
The average size of the hive is characterized by the presence of eight vertical honeycombs, which are placed at an equal distance parallel to each other. The upper cells are used for honey storage, in the lower part of the hive it is more free - there the bees stack the pollen and flower nectar they collected, enriching them with special enzymes and acids. As honey is ready in the lower tiers, it is transferred to the upper.
Composition and benefits
The main component of bee honeycombs is wax. To date, science has studied more than three hundred substances that it contains. Complex fats, comprising 3/4 of wax, stand out among them, and about half of the remaining components are free fatty acids. Also, wax contains paraffin hydrocarbons, aromatic oils, hydroxy acids, keto acids, triterpenes, cholesterol, various minerals, resins, plant pigments and much more.
Due to its composition, cell wax is practically not susceptible to the effects of many microorganisms, because it lacks the enzymes they break down.
Propolis and wax have many useful properties, among which their bactericidal, healing, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects are especially appreciated. Honey and pollen saturate the honeycomb with a large amount of nutrients.
It is understandable why bee honeycombs are very useful for the human body. You can often find honey on sale in them - it costs more than ordinary honey. This price is due to both the greater health benefits of this product and the difficulties of its transportation.
People use cell wax for various purposes, but for the most part it is used as a medicine. Beeswax helps:
- boost immunity;
- normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
- strengthen the walls of blood vessels;
- weaken gum inflammation;
- improve the condition of the respiratory system;
- neutralize many allergens.
This is just the beginning of the list of useful properties of bee honeycombs. Also, wax is often used for cosmetic purposes, creating various scrubs, masks and creams on its basis.
Storage
Given the great benefits of bee honeycombs, it is important to be able to maintain their qualities for as long as possible at home. Propolis in honeycomb is an excellent natural preservative. Increased resistance to most microorganisms gives honeycombs a fairly long shelf life.
Among the threats to bee honeycombs extracted from the hive, the main ones are worth highlighting. These include:
- Moisture. If the permissible moisture limits are exceeded, honey in cells begins to deteriorate. Therefore, the humidity in the honey storage room should not exceed 60%, it is also necessary to ensure adequate ventilation.
- The sun. Under the influence of direct sunlight and high temperatures, the destruction of honey in honeycombs is accelerated. So honey should be removed from the sun and heat.
- Insects. The most common pest here is wax moth. She is especially active in the hot season. Well-ventilated rooms with an air temperature not exceeding 10 ° C enclose honey in honeycombs from such insects.
- Mold. It develops at too low humidity, and getting rid of it is quite difficult, so you should not allow its appearance.
After considering the dangers threatening honey in a honeycomb, it will not be difficult to protect it from them. The optimal storage conditions for the honeycomb are a suitable temperature - from 3 to 10 ° C.
Also, when storing honey, you should know that it absorbs foreign odors well, so you need to keep it separate from sharply smelling products. Storage utensils should always be covered with a lid. Honey in honeycombs, subject to all conditions, can be stored in a liquid state for up to 3 years.
Can I eat honeycombs?
You can eat bee honeycombs, but certain conditions must be observed. It is difficult to extract honey from honeycombs on your own without proper experience, while preserving all its useful properties in the best possible way.
An important factor here is the correct separation of the layer from pollen, bee bread and propolis when extracting honey - all these components should not remain at the bottom of the cell. Therefore, the best option for obtaining all the beneficial properties of bee honeycombs, according to most beekeepers, is to chew them like a regular chewing gum.
It is recommended to slowly chew small pieces of honeycombs cut out of the frame - about 2x2 cm in size. Chew them until the sweet taste disappears, usually it takes about 10 minutes. You can also chew the remaining wax for a long time, there are plenty of useful qualities in it. , but there will be no taste advantages here. At the end of chewing, the wax is simply spit out, it is not worth swallowing it.
Ingestion of a small amount of wax will not cause health problems. In addition, natural wax is an excellent absorbent, so that it absorbs a lot of harmful substances and brings them out.
Wax can have a negative effect on the human body only with its targeted use in large volumes and in some individual cases, including late stages of cancer, diabetes mellitus, the active phase of gastritis, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis, and elevated body temperature.
Honeycomb in folk medicine
Traditional medicine has long been using honey in honeycombs. It well strengthens the immune system, increases hemoglobin, stimulates appetite, and promotes the physical and mental development of children.
With the help of honey honey, diseases of the thyroid gland, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, heart and blood vessels are treated. Honey in honeycombs helps to activate metabolism and normalizes blood pressure. Its use in the prevention of caries and getting rid of nicotine addiction is also popular.
Honey in bee honeycombs is a healthy natural product that has been used by humans for many centuries, both for food and for medicinal purposes. It has a beneficial effect on the health of most people. In the absence of contraindications to the reception of honey, you should regularly use it - this will significantly improve your health, and it’s just very tasty.