Tien Pham- Bee Extraction - Service Learning
Event: Bee Club Honey Extraction
Number of hours volunteered: 3 hours
Name of the event organizer: Mary Whitfield
Sponsor: Bee Club
Purpose: The purpose of this event is to extract the honey from the honeycombs from over the
winter and to petrify the left over wax.
winter and to petrify the left over wax.
Duties: During this event my duties were to uncap the wax frames in order to extract the honey
as well as clean up the room after the event.
as well as clean up the room after the event.
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| Honey can be uncapped by either a comb to scratch or a hot iron to melt |
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| Me holding a frame of honey I uncapped and a frame with the honey already extracted |
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| Frames added to a machine and warmed up in order to make the extraction process easier |
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| The frames were spun in the machine so that the honey will leave the frames, hit the walls, and drip down into a bucket |
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| Wax from the frames and filtered |
The experience gained from participating in the honey extraction reinforced my thoughts
on the importance of learning and applying science to society. For instance, it is necessary
to understand how honey is made in order to mass produce honey. Biology teaches use to
observe their behavior in collecting nectar, making wax, and that bees are able to make honey
because of enzymes secreted by their glands will mix with the nectar to break it down into honey.
Science can even be applied to simply tasks such as removing the honey from the combs by spinning
the frames because physics tells us that when an object is spun at high speed, loose items will be
pushed away towards the walls. My involvement with honey extraction is not only a service to
myself because I can gain knowledge and experience, but also a service to the community.
The honey extraction is an example of local services being involved in the community, so in return
the community helps the service. Being involved in community service is important because it allows
the flow money for local economy, connections among the people, and goes to be passed around.
on the importance of learning and applying science to society. For instance, it is necessary
to understand how honey is made in order to mass produce honey. Biology teaches use to
observe their behavior in collecting nectar, making wax, and that bees are able to make honey
because of enzymes secreted by their glands will mix with the nectar to break it down into honey.
Science can even be applied to simply tasks such as removing the honey from the combs by spinning
the frames because physics tells us that when an object is spun at high speed, loose items will be
pushed away towards the walls. My involvement with honey extraction is not only a service to
myself because I can gain knowledge and experience, but also a service to the community.
The honey extraction is an example of local services being involved in the community, so in return
the community helps the service. Being involved in community service is important because it allows
the flow money for local economy, connections among the people, and goes to be passed around.
A direct connection between this event and our biology course was the idea of genetic drift. Genetic drift is most simply explained as random selection that is not based on the traits or abilities of an individual. During the honey extraction, genetic drift had happened because when the frames were removed from its box, bees would get trapped onto the frames, which would either kill or injury them. The injured bees would still die during the uncapping process when a hot metal iron is pressed against the frame and cook them. The bees killed during the process is an example of genetic drift because their death was not due to their survival abilities, but instead was due to outside forces. These deaths could push biologist to experiment on more ways for honey extraction to prevent the death of bees and saving money for the owners that have to purchase for bees due to the loss. Biology is extremely useful when trying to find solutions because it is interdisciplinary, meaning it is related to more than one branch of knowledge. For example, when trying to find a cure for poison, it will require the fields of biology, chemistry and medicine to work together. Doing service learning is a great way for people to understand the importance of all fields of science working separately and together.
- Why were the red solids stuck to the frames made by the bees unsafe to ingest?
- Is there a chance that the bees will overpopulate to the point where the given frames will not be enough?
- How much honey will need to be produced in order to offset the cost of supplies and make a profit?
- What are the dangers to having a bee farm, both to the people and environment?
Great job with your connection to genetic drift. I wouldn't have thought of that as a connection to our curriculum. How often do bees get stuck in the frames? Do you think that enough bees die randomly in this way to significantly change any characteristics of the honey? What are some ways that honey varies from bee to bee or hive to hive?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful post.
Great post! Yes bees can overpopulate and by dangerous to the enviroment and humans. My grandmothers bees created a swarm, they would form outside their hives and not go back in. This happens when the queen dies, so my grandmother had to call someone to come get rid of the bees because they stayed on her property. Also I wonder if your connection would be more genetic drift and bottleneck effect because i dont think genetic drift by itself has a death factor. I like the format of your post, how there is text and then pictures and then more text.
ReplyDelete