Science News – World Bee Day

On Friday, 20 May, girls were buzzing with excitement for World Bee Day. Students in the Secondary School celebrated the day by inviting Anthony Sweeney, an enthusiastic Sydney Beekeeper to speak about his European Bees and also our Sustainability Co-ordinator Sue Zipfinger who discussed Native Australian Bees.

Girls were amazed to find out about the Bee Waggle Dance where bees come back to the hive and do a special dance that shows the other bees where to get food. The ingenious system includes the time taken to do the waggle section, which indicates the distance to the food source, and the angle that the dance is completed indicating the direction to the food, based on the angle from the sun. The girls also enjoyed hearing stories about when the bees had decided to nest in a neighbour’s yard, and the trials and tribulations of removing the hive from their garden.

Students learnt about the different layers that beekeepers use in their beehives including the process of keeping Queen bees separated from other layers of the hive, and how to smoke the bees out when humans need to interact with the beehive.

Mr Sweeney discussed the effect of weed-spraying and back-burning. The essential role that Bees play in our ecosystems, including for food, biodiversity and ecosystem health, was also considered.

Ms Zipfinger also spoke to the girls about native Australian bees. These are stingless bees that require little maintenance, but which perform a vital role in pollinating the local flowers. Some of the hives that her bees had produced were remarkable!

Overall, it was an enlightening experience and many girls were convinced that they should start having beehives of their own!

Mia Sharma
Science Teacher