Text Transcript with Description of Visuals
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| [Music] Welcome to the third video of ABEJAS. In this video, you will learn about the different nutrients bees need. | ABEJAS Logo in front of row of honey bees drinking sugar syrup Title: Module 1.3 Honey Bee Nutrition |
| Nearly all animals have the same basic nutritional needs to sustain life, though the types of food we consume may be very different. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera Bees flying and landing on white and purple flowers |
| Bees, just like other animals, need the following components to make up a healthy diet: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and salt, and water. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera Bulleted list appears and speaker reads off topics listed |
| [Music] | ABEJAS Logo with red background. Text on screen: Pollen and nectar |
| Bees collect nearly all of their nutritional requirements from flowers in the form of pollen and nectar. Nectar is a sugary liquid produced by flowers to attract bees to visit. Adult bees require nectar for energy to fly and move around the hive. | Bee drinking nectar from white flower |
| hen they visit a flower, they use their proboscis, or tongue-like a straw to suck up nectar from the flower and store it in a holding organ called the honey crop. | Bee drinking nectar from purple flower, red circle appears over tongue |
| The honey crop has a one-way valve that allows the bee to consume a bit of the nectar to continue their daily activities, while storing the rest for the colony to make into honey. | Bee drinking nectar from yellow flower |
| Nectars from different types of flowers contain different amounts and types of sugars and other compounds, which results in honey with very different flavors and characteristics. | Bee drinking nectar from white and purple flower Bee drinking nectar from yellow flower |
| Nectars can contain anywhere from 5 to 75% sugar, but most contain between 20 to 40%. | Bees flying and landing on purple flowers |
| Honey is made by the bees in the hive. Once a forager returns to the hive with a honey crop full of nectar, she will pass that nectar along to a honey receiver. | Honey bees crawling on frame then close up of frame with hexagonal cells holding nectar. Text on screen: Nectar stored in the hive Close up of two bees feeding each other via trophallaxis |
| The honey receiver adds enzymes to the nectar and reduces the water content in the nectar by drying it in droplets, or by fanning her wings over it. Once the nectar has reached between 17 to 18% water, the honey is considered ripe. | Honey bees crawling on frame with white wax cappings over honey stores then beekeeper gently scraping open cappings with hive tool and liquid honey oozing out. Text on screen: Honey cured and capped in the hive |
| At this stage, there is not enough moisture in the honey for microorganisms to grow, which prevents fermentation or spoiling. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| Honey is consumed as a primary food by adult bees when floral nectar is not available. | Honey bees head first inside hexagonal cells Line of honey bees feeding drip of honey on frame |
| When nectar is unavailable, such as before flowers bloom in spring, or after flowers are done blooming in the fall, beekeepers can supplement carbohydrate requirements by feeding bees a syrup made of sugar and water. | Beekeeper putting sugar syrup into hives with bees flying around Close up of sugar syrup being hosed into a feeder inside hive Bees crawling on feeder and drinking sugar syrup |
| Along with nectar, bees collect pollen as a source of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. | Bee flying to a flower, bee crawls on flower to show pollen baskets on bee’s legs. Text on screen: A honey bee collecting pollen |
| Adult bees require a little protein, but developing larvae need a lot of protein to grow through their developmental stages. | Honey bee frame cells containing pollen that is next to open and capped brood cells, red circle appears to highlight pollen stores. Text on screen: Pollen stored near brood cells |
| Pollen is collected from flowers by forager bees and is packed into balls into the flattened depression on their hind legs, also known as the corbicula or pollen baskets. | Bee sitting on flower and moving her legs to pass pollen to pollen basket on her legs. Text on screen: A honey bee collecting pollen |
| Once they’ve collected enough pollen to fill their pollen baskets, the foragers bring the pollen back to the hive, where it is placed into a honeycomb cell. | Close up of bee on frame with large pollen baskets on legs, red circle around bee appears |
| The other workers mash that pollen ball into a paste. The pollen will then be mixed with a bit of honey to form bee bread. | Honey bee frame containing capped honey, pollen, and capped brood cells. Text on screen: Capped honey, stored pollen, and brood cells |
| Worker bees tend to prefer fresh pollen over older bee bread. | Bee on a flower, pollen grains are flicking off and landing on her |
| Nurse bees responsible for caring for developing brood consume pollen to produce brood food in their head glands. | Close up of bee on frame with large pollen baskets on legs, red circle around bee appears |
| Nurse bees feed this brood food to developing larvae. Nutrients from pollen are necessary for growth and development through all stages of life. | Larvae sitting in pools of liquid inside brood cells |
| Adult bees without access to protein in the first ten days of their life have shorter lifespans. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| If bees require additional pollen, there are a variety of different pollen supplements beekeepers can provide so they can consume necessary nutrients. | Beekeeper holding hive open, bees crawling on frames, beekeeper places pollen patty on top of frames, then closes hive |
| We will teach you more about feeding supplemental carbohydrates and pollen in the next module. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| [Music] | ABEJAS Logo with red background. Text on screen: Water |
| Like other animals bees require water to live. Bees use water to regulate the temperature and humidity in the hive. Bees also obtain trace amounts of salt from water sources. Providing an adequate water source for the bees will help reduce the likelihood of the bees consuming pesticide contaminated water from ponds, ditches, or droplets of water and crops. Use a large container and keep it filled with water. Use items like corks or rocks to give the bees a place to land. | Bees drinking water from puddle of water Bees drinking water while sitting on tan ropy material draped over white bucket. Text on screen: This beekeeper has used buckets and burlap cloth to make a safe and clean water source where bees can drink |
| No need to keep the water crystal clear. Bees tend to visit water sources that are not pristinely clean. | Small ravine with water, bees flying over water |
| [Music] | ABEJAS Logo with red background. Text on screen: Nutritional needs of bees during different seasons |
| Bees have different nutritional needs based on the season in which developmental stage the bees are in. While each beekeeping operation has specific feeding practices, here are some important things to keep in mind during the beekeeping year. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| Before flowers are available, bees may need sugar syrup and supplemental protein as the colony begins to grow. Protein is especially important during early spring, when the colony is focused on increasing the population. | Truck driving by orchard with two beekeepers sitting on the back of the truck, then beekeepers working in an apiary to feed colonies. Text on screen: Early spring: low floral availability [Credited footage: Project Apis m] |
| During this time, the queen is laying many eggs, and the colony may not have access to enough flowers to bring in adequate amounts of pollen. | Honey bees crawling on frame with queen that is marked with a red dot on her thorax |
| Beekeepers may not need to provide supplemental carbohydrates or protein when the bees have plenty of floral resources. | Hives placed in flying in an orchard Bee climbing on yellow flower |
| During spring of summer, it is important to monitor if bees can maintain the colony’s needs. | Field of wild flowers. Text on screen: Spring and summer: high floral availability |
| Make sure a colony has honey and pollen stores in their frames and the population is continuously growing. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |
| A large population of bees will require more food. Look for a band of stored pollen around the brood nest and a minimum of a few frames of stored honey or nectar. | Honey bee frame containing pollen and brood cells. Text on screen: This frame has a good band of pollen stored around the brood nest Beekeeper holding and rotating frame that contains honey |
| Beekeepers put boxes called honey supers on hives when the bees are on a nectar flow. Beekeepers harvest honey for human consumption from the honey supers. | Person driving forklift that is carrying hive boxes, then beekeepers adding hive boxes onto colonies. Text on screen: Adding honey supers to hives |
| Never feed sugar syrup when honey supers are on the colony. Honey is made from floral nectar. Concentrated sugar syrup cannot be sold as honey. | Bottles of honey on grocery store shelf [Credited footage: Project Apis m] |
| During the late summer and early fall, beekeepers usually take excess honey from the hives to extract and sell. Beekeepers remove the honey supers to extract that honey, and will leave behind any honey in the brood boxes for the bees to consume. | Beekeeper shaking bees off a honey frame and moving into another box, then people collecting honey off frames using machines |
| Once honey has been removed by the beekeeper, it may be important to feed sugar syrup so the bees can build up their stores of carbohydrates for the winter. | Beekeepers feeding colonies sugar syrup |
| To prepare for winter, the queen will slow her egg laying in the fall, leading to less brood production. Less brood rearing means that the protein requirements will drop significantly. | Hives sitting on a large flat bed truck with sunset in the background, then hives sitting in apiary with dry foliage surrounding hives. Text on screen: Late summer to late fall: honey extraction and declining floral availability |
| Once the weather starts getting colder, and flowers are no longer available, honey bees physiologically change into their winter state, which is the topic of the next video. | Honey bees crawling into hive entrance |
| Work on supporting the needs of honey bee colonies before winter to give the bees a better chance of successfully surviving winter. [Music] | Drone footage of hives placed in a circle and beekeepers working in hives |
| You now have an overview of the different nutritional requirements that bees have in a year. This knowledge will help you make decisions about feeding as you move forward in your beekeeping career. It will help you keep your bees healthy all year long. | Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera ABEJAS logo, list of two upcoming videos, and @wsubeeprogram YouTube Logo appears |
| [Music] | Bee flying near a flower Overlay of WSU Bee Program, Washington State University, Wonderstone Films, United States Department of Agriculture, Project Apis m, Miller Honey Farms, and University of Minnesota Extension logos appear Scrolling list of people involved in development of videos appears |
| If you’ve enjoyed this video,please subscribe to the channel and leave us a comment below to let us know what additional topics you would like us to cover in future videos. | A beekeeper closing a clapperboard that says “WSU ABEJAS English” Beekeeper in an apiary talking to camera |