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Beekeepers get a buzz from building beards
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August 7, 2003
More than 500,000 bees will help a handful of beekeepers take a little science a long way — from chin to belly — when participants of a four-day convention at SFU sport 'bee beards'
Beekeepers wearing removable pheromone-treated wax discs (which give off an attracting scent) hope they will flock to them and create beard-like trails from their lower face down their torsos
Pending good weather (the event will be cancelled if it rains), the bees will be released at about 1:30 p.m August 15 on the university’s lower unused playing field.
A similar demonstration was carried out at SFU 10 years ago. None of the participants was stung. That may be in part because the bees are well-fed and "nicely settled" before being released, leaving no reason for them to be agitated, says Heather Higo, research assistant in the lab of SFU biologist and bee expert Mark Winston.
The idea may sound ghastly but beekeepers are known to find it invigorating and even enjoy the sensation. "It’s an activity that some beekeepers really want to do, and once they’ve done it they often want to do it again," says Higo. "It shows the harmony that exists between bees and beekeepers, who know to react slowly and calmly. It’s a matter of mutual trust."
Naturally, participants need to be familiar with bees and bee behavior. As a final precaution bits of cotton are placed in the participants’ nostrils and ears.
Organizers are usually able to collect most of the bees after they remove the pheromone discs and further distract them with queen bees shortly after the beards have been formed. The bees will be obtained from research colonies located in the Fraser Valley.
About 200 beekeepers from the Western US and Canada are expected to take part in the Western Apiculture convention on campus Aug. 13-16. They’ll look at everything from how to evaluate good queens and the intricacies of pollination to the business of honey production. Winston will also provide an update on SFU’s research and talk on writing about bees.
-30-
Contact:
Mark Winston, 604.291.4459/4163; mark_winston@sfu.ca
Heather Higo, 604.291.4163; heather_a_higo@sfu.ca
Website:
Western Apiculture: www.bcbeekeepers.com/was/about_was.shtml
Beekeepers wearing removable pheromone-treated wax discs (which give off an attracting scent) hope they will flock to them and create beard-like trails from their lower face down their torsos
Pending good weather (the event will be cancelled if it rains), the bees will be released at about 1:30 p.m August 15 on the university’s lower unused playing field.
A similar demonstration was carried out at SFU 10 years ago. None of the participants was stung. That may be in part because the bees are well-fed and "nicely settled" before being released, leaving no reason for them to be agitated, says Heather Higo, research assistant in the lab of SFU biologist and bee expert Mark Winston.
The idea may sound ghastly but beekeepers are known to find it invigorating and even enjoy the sensation. "It’s an activity that some beekeepers really want to do, and once they’ve done it they often want to do it again," says Higo. "It shows the harmony that exists between bees and beekeepers, who know to react slowly and calmly. It’s a matter of mutual trust."
Naturally, participants need to be familiar with bees and bee behavior. As a final precaution bits of cotton are placed in the participants’ nostrils and ears.
Organizers are usually able to collect most of the bees after they remove the pheromone discs and further distract them with queen bees shortly after the beards have been formed. The bees will be obtained from research colonies located in the Fraser Valley.
About 200 beekeepers from the Western US and Canada are expected to take part in the Western Apiculture convention on campus Aug. 13-16. They’ll look at everything from how to evaluate good queens and the intricacies of pollination to the business of honey production. Winston will also provide an update on SFU’s research and talk on writing about bees.
-30-
Contact:
Mark Winston, 604.291.4459/4163; mark_winston@sfu.ca
Heather Higo, 604.291.4163; heather_a_higo@sfu.ca
Website:
Western Apiculture: www.bcbeekeepers.com/was/about_was.shtml