BEE BULLETINS

Photo by feverblue on flikr and used under this Creative Commons license.

This article describes a study from the Journal of Human Evolution that compares a complex tool set invented by chimpanzees to acquire honey with Stone Age human tools. It makes me wonder: If we went back far enough, did the common ancestors of humans and chimpanzees use tools to obtain honey or did this behaviour emerge separately in both species?

When you consider estimates that humans branched off from our common ancestor with chimpanzees 5–7 million years ago (source: Wikipedia) and that honey bees have been thriving for at least 40 million years, it is hypothesized that honey bees have been a major influence in shaping the evolution of the human species and societies (eg favouring tool use, feeding on honey bee pollinated foods, developing agriculture, etc). Vice-versa, with feral colonies disappearing at an alarming rate, the role of beekeepers with integrated pest management and the role of bee breeders in selecting honey bees for disease resistance, gentleness, honey production, hygienic behaviour, etc has probably never been more important, influencial, and essential in establishing the future of the honey bee.

I just spent some time in Washington, DC and snapped these photos of Obama’s backyard and beehive. The hive had two standard Langstroth brood chambers and two shallow honey supers. I was too far away to identify the red flowers planted around the bee's drinking fountain, but hope that they are a source of nectar and pollen for the honey bees. If anyone knows what they are, please add a comment or send me an email.

It is great that Obama has taken this step to promote an understanding and appreciation of honey bees. Hopefully people will be inspired by this to keep bees in their own backyards and call their cities to task if bylaws exist preventing them from doing so. A theme that I picked up from Washington is that “Freedom Is Not Free”; does your municipality allow you the freedom to keep bees?