| William’s stingless bees |
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William maintains a number of captive stingless bee colonies. He has been successful with two species, keeping them in small wooden boxes hanging from the eaves of his house, or in standard bee boxes, with a sheet metal cover to protect them from rain. Several times during my stay here we discussed his plans for a special exhibit with observation hives. I had a few ideas on the best approach to take for that balance of visitor viewing and colony comfort. |
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Early on when I expressed an interest in these wonderful creatures, he showed me another species he had previously collected and tried to establish in a box. It immediately left, preferring to nest in the moss and roots of epiphytic plants that adorn most trees in the area. |
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As I was preparing to leave, he decided I should get a closer look at the two maintained in honeybee boxes. These were easier to open than the others, but still took a lot of prying to break the cerumen sealing the lid to the box. |
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Between the outer lid and the inner one we found a couple of nocturnal creatures seeking shelter. William found the scorpion a little disconcerting but finding a tree frog there was OK. Inside we also found a freshly eclosed roach, just beginning to eat its exuvia. |
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Green boned frog
Hyle eleoachia
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But, it was the bees we were there to see. As you can tell by this photo, the colony only occupied about one eighth of the box. |
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At the top of the nest were several cells with fresh pollen. Some of them broke open because they were attached to the lid. We sampled it. It tasted like pollen but William couldn’t tie the taste to a particular plant. |
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The honey chambers hung like grapes from the side of the box. William scraped one off and deposited it in my hand so that I could have a taste. It was as clear as water and very sweet. Given its color, it must have been fairly new compared to that harvested with Sergio. See Journal Entry #2 to see honey more the color of molasses. |
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As soon as we had a taste, we closed it up and moved on to the congos. I since have learned that this species is a pest for banana growers as the bees scratch the tiny young bananas as they try to get to the flowers below. This colony was even more interesting, and the only one of this species in William’s collection. |
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When the lid was first removed, there were many about twenty virgin queens visible but they quickly sought shelter deep in the nest. The small ovals are the brood chambers, each containing a single bee. Those that are lighter in color are the youngest, only recently having completed their larval development. Here too, the honey chambers were attached to the wall of the box. |
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The queen of the colony was running around frantically. I snapped a number of shots off but failed to get one showing her completely. If you look close at the enlargements of these images, you should be able to pick her out by her physogastric (greatly enlarged) abdomen. |
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We had a quick sample of this honey as well. It too was crystal clear but had a distinctly different taste. Time was nil and we had to get my bags out to the road. I quickly packed while William buttoned up the boxes. |
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