10/02 - She (Tricker) made me do it Sunday!

[JenniLeigh]

Yeah, but somehow poop seems less bad than barf in this context.

That's fucking' weird Homie

 

[electrolyte]

I seriously thought you were making robot noises.

Maybe I am.

 

[Tjololo]

BEE. POOP. (cc: @Tjololo)

Not poop. More technically puke.

Bees suck up nectar into their honey crop (like a second stomach) and then regurgitate it back into the cells. They then spend time evaporating the water out, stirring it, etc. When it gets down to a certain water content, it becomes what's known as "honey".

Fun fact: the honey crop adds some enzymes into the honey (why infants can't have it) which contribute to the non-spoiling quality. That, combined with the low water content and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, means that honey will never spoil unless mixed with water or something. Honey may crystallize depending on the ratio of glucose:sucrose, which is dependent on the flower the nectar originally came from. To un-crystallize your honey, put it into a tub of warm water, or run warm water from the tap over it to melt it back down...Though crystallized honey spreads similar to hard butter, and goes great on toast!

Don't microwave your honey, or heat it up too much. Doing so will kill the enzymes, which will ruin the spoilage-resistence (as the enzymes cannot continue to produce hydrogen peroxide)

When purchasing honey, get unfiltered, and make sure it's unfiltered. The reason is that companies will heat the honey to >100 degrees so it flows like water. This kills the enzymes, and turns it into just sticky sweet stuff.

If at all possible, get honey from local apiaries. Not only are you supporting local business and keeping beekeepers in the black, but you'll get MUCH tastier, specialty honey than you would in the store for much cheaper. The apiary I get my supplies from sells for $18/qt, so $72/gal of several different flavors. Wildflower is my favorite, locust is good, so is fireweed, nettle, and pokeweed. The grocery store nearby has honey 10oz for ~$5, so it's at least comperable price-wise. They sell smaller quantities too for $2-4.

One last fun fact: a worker bee will live for about a month, total, during the summer, and about 4-6 months in the winter. This is because they work themselves to death. They have specific jobs from the time they exit the cell, from cleaning cells, taking care of young, disposing of the dead, collecting nectar/pollen, guarding the hive, collecting tree sap (for propolis), and even designated for robbing honey from other hives!

Now I'm going to bed, stop pinging me jerks If you've got more bee questions I'll answer them tomorrow

 

[electrolyte]

Not poop. More technically puke.

Bees suck up nectar into their honey crop (like a second stomach) and then regurgitate it back into the cells. They then spend time evaporating the water out, stirring it, etc. When it gets down to a certain water content, it becomes what's known as "honey".

Fun fact: the honey crop adds some enzymes into the honey (why infants can't have it) which contribute to the non-spoiling quality. That, combined with the low water content and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, means that honey will never spoil unless mixed with water or something. Honey may crystallize depending on the ratio of glucose:sucrose, which is dependent on the flower the nectar originally came from. To un-crystallize your honey, put it into a tub of warm water, or run warm water from the tap over it to melt it back down...Though crystallized honey spreads similar to hard butter, and goes great on toast!

Don't microwave your honey, or heat it up too much. Doing so will kill the enzymes, which will ruin the spoilage-resistence (as the enzymes cannot continue to produce hydrogen peroxide)

When purchasing honey, get unfiltered, and make sure it's unfiltered. The reason is that companies will heat the honey to >100 degrees so it flows like water. This kills the enzymes, and turns it into just sticky sweet stuff.

If at all possible, get honey from local apiaries. Not only are you supporting local business and keeping beekeepers in the black, but you'll get MUCH tastier, specialty honey than you would in the store for much cheaper. The apiary I get my supplies from sells for $18/qt, so $72/gal of several different flavors. Wildflower is my favorite, locust is good, so is fireweed, nettle, and pokeweed. The grocery store nearby has honey 10oz for ~$5, so it's at least comperable price-wise. They sell smaller quantities too for $2-4.

One last fun fact: a worker bee will live for about a month, total, during the summer, and about 4-6 months in the winter. This is because they work themselves to death. They have specific jobs from the time they exit the cell, from cleaning cells, taking care of young, disposing of the dead, collecting nectar/pollen, guarding the hive, collecting tree sap (for propolis), and even designated for robbing honey from other hives!

Now I'm going to bed, stop pinging me jerks If you've got more bee questions I'll answer them tomorrow

SEE. I knew you'd have a tl;dr for us on this topic.

 

[Barbwire]

Maybe I am.

 

[JenniLeigh]

Not poop. More technically puke.

Bees suck up nectar into their honey crop (like a second stomach) and then regurgitate it back into the cells. They then spend time evaporating the water out, stirring it, etc. When it gets down to a certain water content, it becomes what's known as "honey".

Fun fact: the honey crop adds some enzymes into the honey (why infants can't have it) which contribute to the non-spoiling quality. That, combined with the low water content and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, means that honey will never spoil unless mixed with water or something. Honey may crystallize depending on the ratio of glucose:sucrose, which is dependent on the flower the nectar originally came from. To un-crystallize your honey, put it into a tub of warm water, or run warm water from the tap over it to melt it back down...Though crystallized honey spreads similar to hard butter, and goes great on toast!

Don't microwave your honey, or heat it up too much. Doing so will kill the enzymes, which will ruin the spoilage-resistence (as the enzymes cannot continue to produce hydrogen peroxide)

When purchasing honey, get unfiltered, and make sure it's unfiltered. The reason is that companies will heat the honey to >100 degrees so it flows like water. This kills the enzymes, and turns it into just sticky sweet stuff.

If at all possible, get honey from local apiaries. Not only are you supporting local business and keeping beekeepers in the black, but you'll get MUCH tastier, specialty honey than you would in the store for much cheaper. The apiary I get my supplies from sells for $18/qt, so $72/gal of several different flavors. Wildflower is my favorite, locust is good, so is fireweed, nettle, and pokeweed. The grocery store nearby has honey 10oz for ~$5, so it's at least comperable price-wise. They sell smaller quantities too for $2-4.

One last fun fact: a worker bee will live for about a month, total, during the summer, and about 4-6 months in the winter. This is because they work themselves to death. They have specific jobs from the time they exit the cell, from cleaning cells, taking care of young, disposing of the dead, collecting nectar/pollen, guarding the hive, collecting tree sap (for propolis), and even designated for robbing honey from other hives!

Now I'm going to bed, stop pinging me jerks If you've got more bee questions I'll answer them tomorrow

I'm in love.

 

[catnapped]

No one can ever leave. That is all.

Maybe she found the secret way out?

 

[electrolyte]

I saw someone wearing this shirt today:

 

[aveline]

Maybe she found the secret way out?

What I want to know is who talked?

 

[catnapped]

I don't ever want to leave!!

You can't leave us. Who will babysit if @Liz or I can't?

 

[Tuesday]

No one can ever leave. That is all.

Oh Yeah?

 

[Tjololo]

Not poop. More technically puke.

Bees suck up nectar into their honey crop (like a second stomach) and then regurgitate it back into the cells. They then spend time evaporating the water out, stirring it, etc. When it gets down to a certain water content, it becomes what's known as "honey".

Fun fact: the honey crop adds some enzymes into the honey (why infants can't have it) which contribute to the non-spoiling quality. That, combined with the low water content and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, means that honey will never spoil unless mixed with water or something. Honey may crystallize depending on the ratio of glucose:sucrose, which is dependent on the flower the nectar originally came from. To un-crystallize your honey, put it into a tub of warm water, or run warm water from the tap over it to melt it back down...Though crystallized honey spreads similar to hard butter, and goes great on toast!

Don't microwave your honey, or heat it up too much. Doing so will kill the enzymes, which will ruin the spoilage-resistence (as the enzymes cannot continue to produce hydrogen peroxide)

When purchasing honey, get unfiltered, and make sure it's unfiltered. The reason is that companies will heat the honey to >100 degrees so it flows like water. This kills the enzymes, and turns it into just sticky sweet stuff.

If at all possible, get honey from local apiaries. Not only are you supporting local business and keeping beekeepers in the black, but you'll get MUCH tastier, specialty honey than you would in the store for much cheaper. The apiary I get my supplies from sells for $18/qt, so $72/gal of several different flavors. Wildflower is my favorite, locust is good, so is fireweed, nettle, and pokeweed. The grocery store nearby has honey 10oz for ~$5, so it's at least comperable price-wise. They sell smaller quantities too for $2-4.

One last fun fact: a worker bee will live for about a month, total, during the summer, and about 4-6 months in the winter. This is because they work themselves to death. They have specific jobs from the time they exit the cell, from cleaning cells, taking care of young, disposing of the dead, collecting nectar/pollen, guarding the hive, collecting tree sap (for propolis), and even designated for robbing honey from other hives!

Now I'm going to bed, stop pinging me jerks If you've got more bee questions I'll answer them tomorrow

I didn't mention the vegan thing. A lot of vegans disagree with the whole apiculture industry. They feel as though the bees are mistreated in the large productions, and they really are. Support local beekeepers so they can keep creating great honey for everyone. If you're vegan, consider talking to a local beekeeper to find out their beekeeping practices. Almost all of them are against using chemicals in any manner (even during pest management, we use ant spit [formic acid]), and do their best do have minimal impact on the bees.

If you're worried we're taking too much honey and that the honey is rightfully the bees, consider the fact that a normal bee life cycle would include them swarming, which means splitting in half so that half make a new hive. This WAS all well and good, but bees can barely survive in the wild now, with pesticides and mites. Bees "in captivity" are the healthiest, safest, and best-cared-for in the world.

 

[catnapped]

What I want to know is who talked?

Not I.

Probably somebody that desperately wanted something. Wonder who?

 

[Krikket]

Tjololo beetending is like meditation

 

[Tjololo]

I'm in love.

I have a beekeeping youtube playlist of me, my wife, and sometimes a friend or two working the bees this year. Almost every interaction has been captured, save for a few that happened when the camera broke. Got another one going up tonight (that's why I'm here so late), so keep an eye out for it!

 

[<Gucci>]

You can't leave us. Who will babysit if @Liz or I can't?

Mr. Gucci :whistle:

 

[Krikket]

I have a beekeeping youtube playlist of me, my wife, and sometimes a friend or two working the bees this year. Almost every interaction has been captured, save for a few that happened when the camera broke. Got another one going up tonight (that's why I'm here so late), so keep an eye out for it!

YAS! I love this channel!

 

[T. Leela]

I saw someone wearing this shirt today:

I have to buy this now.

 

[Tuesday]

It never occurred to me that honey wouldn't be vegan. I don't know why.

 

[Tjololo]

It's not up yet (still processing), but here is the video we took today with the new camera. OK, seriously, going to bed now Night ya'll

As an update, and I'll have more on this tomorrow, I got a decent bonus over the weekend for some closed-qual specialty tasks I've been working on for someone, and it was twice as big as I was expecting, so I'm taking half of it towards the trick or treat hits. This means that they're entirely funded. I'm still going to figure out if chipping in for the last batch is something everyone wants to do, but the last batch will be as big as the entire month (minus fees everywhere). If we want to make it bigger, I'm ok with that, but I can talk that out with interested parties and we can figure that out as the month progresses.