Caste System in The Honey Bee Colony: Worker Bee's Childhood

Worker bees everywhere! (Can you spot the queen?)

The worker bees are the smallest and most abundant in the honey bee colony. They are all females but unlike the Queen bee they are unable to reproduce. Their population in a single hive can reach up to 60,000 depending on the size of the hive. In the winter months, which are the less active months in the hive, they are capable of living from 4 to 9 months. Their main priority is to keep the hive at a constant 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit by densely packing themselves together in one spot, this is known as clustering. When they do cluster in the winter months, they will do so around the queen since she is the most important in the hive. An interesting fact about honey bees is that they are house trained. Therefore they will not excrete waste inside the hive. So during the winter months they will hold the longing desire until a sunny day arrives in early spring and then they all sprint out the door.

Worker bees are the only caste of honey bees that have a stinger. Fortunately, they are not aggressive by nature so they only sting as a last resort to protect their hive. However once she stings the threat she will die soon after. For this reason the worker bee will first hover around and bump what she perceives as a threat to the hive. This is their way of giving a warning. Once they have shown the threat a warning they will attack as a last resort.  Soon after she will die but not until looking at her stinger pulse toxins into the menace!

Birth to Adolescent

A worker bee starts off as an egg. The egg is so small it is easy to miss. It takes an average of 21 days for an egg to change into a full adult bee. It all begins with the queen bee laying an egg at the center of a wax cell. After the third day the egg hatches into a larva. In the third to sixth day of the metamorphosis, the larva is fed by the worker bees royal jelly. However this royal jelly is not as pure as what the queen usually consumes. It’s more “watered down.” After the sixth day they are no longer fed royal jelly. From there on they are fed a combination of honey and pollen. This is known as bee bread. On the ninth day the larva is now considered fully grown.

When the larva reaches maturity the worker bees will seal in the larva in the wax cell with a layer of wax and pollen. In this sealed cell the larva will finish her transformation into an adult bee. When the cell is first sealed it is a light yellow color.  Over the next couple of days the color of the cell will change into a darker color, close to brown. This change in color signifies that the adult bee is almost ready to emerge from its cell. On the 21st day, the adult bee emerges from its sealed comb by chewing thought it. She will now join her mother, sisters and brothers. She will begin to work almost immediately.

Stay tuned for the next post about the Worker Bees adulthood. It will astonish you, at least it did me, that the worker bees task as an adult intertwine with one another which helps the hive survive. meaning that without one task there can not be another one. 

Written by Dulay

Healthy Picnic Dishes

Last week's Healthy Cooking class had an attendance of 13 people - the largest class to date!  The topic was Healthy Picnic Dishes and we focused on a number of low fat, low sodium dishes with great taste and minimal prep.

Recipes included (clockwise from top): Pasta Salad with Garbanzo beans, Mediterranean Crustini, Kale and Butternut Squash Sauté, and Beet Coleslaw.

The recipes for this month's class came from students at the Art Institute of Wisconsin. Nutrition instructor Renee Scampini led the class and covered various topics.  An interesting bit of information that I didn't know beforehand was that washing pre-washed bagged salad greens can actually increase the chance of eating a foodborne disease! Bacteria thrives in water so if you purchase a bag of greens (e.g. spinach, lettuce mix, etc) that contains a few leaves of contaminated food, washing it will just encourage that contamination to spread.  Eating a couple leaves of spinach with a bacteria is much better than an entire salad! So if it says pre-washed, DON'T wash it!

Renee reviews food safety tips for summer picnics

We also reviewed Picnic Food Safety tips.  Try to use cold food or nonperishable food for picnics - it's easier to keep food cold than to keep it hot.  But if you are cooking, make sure to use a food thermometer to know that you're cooking to a safe temp: steak, pork and lamp chops to 145F; poultry and ground beef to 165F.   Cooked food should not be out for more than 2 hours - bring it in and just pull it back out when you're ready to eat.

Our 'work bench' after less than an hour of prep and cooking! 

Next month's cooking class will instead be food demonstrations during the farmer's market: Garden Fresh Meals on Saturday, July 20th 11-1:30pm.

This week was our kickoff Rooftop Farmer's Market! The weather was amazing, the wind was relatively calm for the rooftop. Our volunteers came prepared and ready for action, and  were very helpful to all of the attendees.

Buyers at the National Cafe stand.

We had a very large amount a people come for this being our first farmer's market. Around 50 to 60 people came, which was excellent. Mostly everybody was excited to learn about the other programs that CORE/El Centro has to offer.


Our vendors included the National Cafe, Organo Gold, Tortilleria El Sol, Lorganix, and a musical instrument vendor.

The wonderful Organo Gold vendors.

On Saturday, June 8 we will have Organo Gold, Tortilleria El Sol, Lorganix, and Kat Made Soaps. We are continuing to work to bring new vendors to the market.

If you know somebody who is interested in having a table, or if you want to have a table at our farmer's market please contact Stephanie.




Written by Food and Nutrition Intern: Chloe.

Caste System in The Honey Bee Colony: The Queen

The Honey bee colony is composed of three different castes of bees. The Queen bee, the workers bees and the drones (males). They all have a purpose they serve and if one of them is not present the colony cannot function properly. Above the other caste of bees, the queen in the most important.

Our Rooftop Queen (circled in red)

            The queen bee’s life starts off the same way a worker bee does. However, there are small significant differences that the queen bee has that worker bees do not. For instance, the queen bee is but into a different cell that looks similar to a peanut this helps her grow bigger and is not limited to the size of the average worker cell. Also, unlike the worker bees the queen bee is fed royal jelly throughout her life time. The Queen will live an average of three to five years when the average worker bee will live approximately 30 day.

Queen cell

            The queen is the only bee in the colony that is able to reproduce. Interestingly, she only mates once in her lifetime with multiple drones, male bees. She is able to store all the “genetic make-up” that she has attained. In addition, she can also choose what “genetic make-up” from a specific male she would like to use next. The rest of her life is mainly devoted to laying eggs. She is capable of laying 2000 eggs in one day.

            Although the queen is very important she can be replaced under certain circumstances. For instance, if the queen recently dies the worker bees will create a queen cell that looks like an outline of a peanut or a tear drop. Then they would take the youngest larvae and put it in the queen cell. Like every queen this larvae will be fed extensive amounts of royal jelly.

            The worker bees will raise a queen under different circumstances. In this case, the queen in not dead but rather the colony believes the queen is getting too old. As the queen gets older her pheromone output diminishes. Thus deeming the queen less useful to the colony and the colony eventually decides to replace her. The worker bees will do the same process as if the queen died. The only difference is that once that replacement queen has been born the colony proceeds in killing the older queen by clustering around her until she dies of overheating. The bees also use this for defense purposes in case a swaps or an unknown bee decides to disturbs the colony.

            On the other hand, a new queen does not always mean bad news. The queen herself can lay a new queen or in this case an heir. This only happens when the queen feels that she has accomplished her duty to one hive and leaves to create another. Before she begins her journey she first lays multiple eggs in queen cells. Once the new queens are capped and before they emerge the old queen and 60% of the worker bees leave the original location. This is called swarming.

            The queen is unique to most colonies since most colonies only have one queen. She provides continues life to her colony. However, she can be replaced if the colony or the queen chooses to.

Stay tuned in for later blog post concerning the other caste of bees in the colony. Next up is the worker bees and their multiple roles throughout their 30 day lifetime.

Written by Dulay

Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Last week, Judy Andino joined CORE/El Centro to offer a Healthy Cooking Class focused on quick and easy protein-packed breakfasts. The attendees learned that having a healthy serving of vegetables doesn't taste all that bad, especially in a smoothie! 

The mix of ingredients we started out with.

There are many other ingredients to use in a smoothie other than fruit. The most interesting vegetable used was kale, but some other unusual ingredients were chia seeds and flaxseed. Kale, chia seeds, and flaxseed are sold at most major grocery stores. Kale is found in the vegetable aisle, and chia seeds and flaxseed can be found in either the natural aisle, supplement aisle, or baking aisle, depending on what store you're in.

The smoothies we learned about are fast and extremely easy to make. The class favorite was a twist on a tropical fruit smoothie:
-1 1/2 carrot
-1/2 banana
-A handful of greens (spinach, kale, etc.)
-A handful of tropical fruit (which is best if bought frozen)
-A tablespoon of chia seeds or flaxseed
-Water of fruit juice
You can play around with smoothies and make them how you prefer them.

Everybody was attentive and eager to learn about the art of smoothie making.

Quotes from class participants:

"I didn't know you can add kale, spinach, different seeds (chia, flax), and spices and fruits together and have great meals!"

"Was nice to share in a group and especially the motivation for healthy living."

"I learned that we can replace some of the protein from meat with vegetables and seeds."

"Being able to experience the tastes will help me to continue using the recipes I learned today." Written by Chloe

NEW! Rooftop Farmer's Market

Come check out our gorgeous rooftop space at CORE/El Centro! Our first day will be Saturday, June 1st from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. We will be operating rain or shine every Saturday at the same time through September 17th. If rain, the market will be held on the first floor in the lobby. Core/El Centro is located on 130 W. Bruce Street.

Vendors

We will have a variety of different vendors to make our farmer's market very interesting for everyone. Some of these products these vendors would sell include cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, tortillas and other bakery items, coffee, fish, and rotating vendors selling jam and honey. We will alos have a few different prepared food options such as fresh, delicious salads. 

Photo taken at Walker's Square Farmers Market 2012

Photo taken at Walker's Square Farmers Market 2012

Why shop at a local farmer's market?

There are many benefits to shopping at a farmer's market. For one, the products are fresher and this helps add more flavor. Shopping at your local farmer's market can even decrease your carbon footprint. It only takes the farmer one truck to deliver their products to the market instead of the many trucks it would take to deliver these same products to a grocery store.You know where the produce is coming from as well. You get an opportunity to talk to the farmer who is selling the product. Buying things from these farmers means that you are helping support their farm. Most of these farms are small, family operated farms. When you shop at a grocery store, only 16 cents of each dollar you spend on food  actually goes to the farmer. Shopping at the farmer's market ensures that the money is going directly to the farmer.

We hope to see you on opening day!  Click Here for the Flyer

Written by Samantha

Community composting at Edible Skyline

In partnership with the Kompost Kids, a non-profit organization in Milwaukee, CORE/el Centro will offer signage and education on it's rooftop.
Last weekend a second compost bin was installed by volunteers, utilizing chicken wire, burlap bags and recycled pallets. The ingenuity of this design is that the bin door isn't attached directly to the sides of the bin, but is held on by pvc piping which is connected by metal anchors. See below for step by step photos of the process.
It is usually a good idea to build at least two compost bins so you can have one 'active' pile that you are adding to and another 'resting' pile that is breaking down (it will break down faster of you can turn out regularly.) Composting doesn't need to be done in a container, but having one helps the image and can deter critters from rummaging through your pile looking for dinner.
Here are the steps we took to build our community compost bins.

Step 1: Gather Materials

We were fortunate to receive burlap bags and pallets from donors. It helps to have large scale coffee roasters in town. You will also want chicken wire to line the bin, screws to hold it together and pvc pipe for the doors. You can also use up old paint by decorating the outside of the bin. We are planning to decorate ours more, we just ran out of time this day.






Step 2: Construct Frame

Because we already had one bin built we used the side of that bin to build our second bin. Using screws and an electric drill, fasten the sides together. Because we are on a rooftop with a gravel surface, we put down a tarp to be able to easily collect the finished compost. If you are building on your backyard you can put your compost right on the grass. It will become the most fertile place on your yard after a few years!

Step 3: Line the Inside of the Bin


 We used a layer of chicken wire covered by burlap bags. The burlap will degrade over time, so in a few years we will need to replace the bags. You can also use landscape fabric instead off this double later process, but we were interested in spending the least amount of money!

Step 4: Attach the Door

Before attaching, line the door with the chicken wire and burlap and paint if you'd like.

Attach Pipe Straps to the sides of the frame, using the pipe as a measurement, to make sure they line up.  Once attached at top and bottom, place the fourth pallet (door) in the frame to measure where to connect the pipe strap to the door.

The pvc pipe will then hold the door in place.  When it is time to turn the compost, simply remove the pvc pipe and take off the then-freestanding pallet door.