Wrapped in a special suit and wearing thick gloves for protection I learned from Beekeeper Cees what it takes to be a buzzing beekeeper.
To be able to work at the beehive Cees the Beekeeper uses either smoke (the bees will evacuate) or water (they will stay quietly inside thinking it’s pouring with rain).
Checking the honeycombs for honey
After the ‘smoke alert’ the bees hurry to stuff their belly with honey. They do this as a safety precaution: a smart bee doesn’t leave the beehive hungry!
Bees also collect pollen (bee bread). A colony can eat from 30 up to 50 kilogram pollen a year!
Cees the Beekeeper prepares the honeycomb by removing the wax caps which protect the honey.
Swinging the honeycombs in a honey extractor. All you need is a strong arm and a little bit of help from gravity to extract the honey.
Mjum. Fresh honey. I caught Cees the Beekeeper having a quick taste. He really loves his liquid gold.