Drying Wet BeesDrying Wet Bees

You WILL be Judged By How Your Bees LookYou WILL be Judged By How Your Bees Look

Sam DroegeSam DroegeMark IndaMark Inda

Before you Dry You Must Before you Dry You Must WashWash

Bee Washing is Covered in a Separate Bee Washing is Covered in a Separate Slide/Power Point PresentationSlide/Power Point Presentation

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?: Bees are WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?: Bees are covered in Pollen, Nectar, and Sludge if covered in Pollen, Nectar, and Sludge if you don’t wash all that off before you dry you don’t wash all that off before you dry them then their hair can remain matted them then their hair can remain matted no matter how much you dry themno matter how much you dry them

Whose fault is that then?Whose fault is that then?

There are Three Main There are Three Main ApproachesApproaches

Paper TowelingPaper Toweling

Blow DryingBlow Drying

The Bee AutodryerThe Bee Autodryer

The Paper Towel The Paper Towel Slow, but can be done anywhereSlow, but can be done anywhere

First we must honor Frank Parker for First we must honor Frank Parker for developing the art of not only developing the art of not only catching bees in bowl traps but catching bees in bowl traps but developing ways to wash and dry developing ways to wash and dry themthem

Frank developed the paper towel Frank developed the paper towel techniquetechnique

The Paper TowelThe Paper TowelWhat kind to use?What kind to use?

Highly absorbent paper towels are Highly absorbent paper towels are betterbetter

But any will do in a pinchBut any will do in a pinch

Getting Wet Bees Onto the Getting Wet Bees Onto the TowelTowel

Drain and snap as much water out of your Drain and snap as much water out of your bee washer as possible (see associated bee washer as possible (see associated slide show about making a bee washer)slide show about making a bee washer)

Or drain the bees through a tea strainerOr drain the bees through a tea strainer Removing wet bees from a tea strainer is Removing wet bees from a tea strainer is

easier and faster than removing them from easier and faster than removing them from a wet jara wet jar

Hint: Use alcohol as your last rinse in the Hint: Use alcohol as your last rinse in the bee washer to speed the drying processbee washer to speed the drying process

Bee SnappingBee Snapping

Snap the tea strainer onto the paper Snap the tea strainer onto the paper toweltowel

Move the bees around on the towel Move the bees around on the towel to absorb waterto absorb water

Bee ManeuversBee Maneuvers

Move the bees to a dry paper towelMove the bees to a dry paper towel Fold the towel over and rub the towel Fold the towel over and rub the towel

over the beesover the bees Bees are tough so its OK to be Bees are tough so its OK to be

vigorousvigorous

PaddingPadding

Its best to use several layers of paper Its best to use several layers of paper towels. In that way the bees are towels. In that way the bees are cushioned as you dry themcushioned as you dry them

And Move Them All AboutAnd Move Them All About

Rub and move the bees around until Rub and move the bees around until there are no more wet spots on the there are no more wet spots on the toweltowel

NOTE: These paper towels can be NOTE: These paper towels can be used over and over againused over and over again

Shake Until DryShake Until Dry

Now, pull the 4 corners of towel together Now, pull the 4 corners of towel together and then the corners of those corners and then the corners of those corners (this keeps the bees from flying out of (this keeps the bees from flying out of the towel) and hold them together with the towel) and hold them together with your fingersyour fingers

Shake them around for about 1 – several Shake them around for about 1 – several minutes until their wings are popped out minutes until their wings are popped out and their body hairs are dry and fluffyand their body hairs are dry and fluffy

Yes, it’s quite OK that they are bouncing Yes, it’s quite OK that they are bouncing around, that’s what you wantaround, that’s what you want

HintsHints

If you have to process 1 million SMALL If you have to process 1 million SMALL batches of bees, then you can short cut batches of bees, then you can short cut the process and save yourself a lot of the process and save yourself a lot of time by dropping them directly onto time by dropping them directly onto the towels from the alcohol they were the towels from the alcohol they were stored in and then doing a quick rub stored in and then doing a quick rub down. They won’t look quite as good down. They won’t look quite as good but it can save a huge amount of your but it can save a huge amount of your time.time.

Blow Drying Your BeesBlow Drying Your Bees

After washing bees in a bee washer After washing bees in a bee washer (see previous slide show) its an easy (see previous slide show) its an easy matter to dry them in their jar with a matter to dry them in their jar with a blow dryerblow dryer

Get rid of as much Water as Get rid of as much Water as you can Beforehandyou can Beforehand

The more water you remove now the faster the The more water you remove now the faster the bees will drybees will dry

Take your bee washer with the bees in it and Take your bee washer with the bees in it and snap as much water out as you cansnap as much water out as you can

By snapping we mean holding the jar firmly and By snapping we mean holding the jar firmly and bringing it down sharply to expel the waterbringing it down sharply to expel the water

We do this in the hall, holding the washer above We do this in the hall, holding the washer above our heads and then arcing it down between our our heads and then arcing it down between our legs (this also amuses our colleagues)legs (this also amuses our colleagues)

Obviously having a good grip and not being near Obviously having a good grip and not being near other objects is important hereother objects is important here

What is the best Hair Dryer?What is the best Hair Dryer?

The more air it can push out the The more air it can push out the betterbetter

Heat is not as importantHeat is not as important Size isn’t as correlated with the Size isn’t as correlated with the

amount of air as one would imagineamount of air as one would imagine Ionizers are a joke (we know we Ionizers are a joke (we know we

tested them)tested them)

Blow DryingBlow Drying

We usually put a towel down on the table first We usually put a towel down on the table first Rest the jar on the towelRest the jar on the towel Hold the blow dryer close to the jar (about Hold the blow dryer close to the jar (about

1cm or so away)1cm or so away) Too close and you will overheat the hair dryerToo close and you will overheat the hair dryer If the hair dryer overheats it will shut itself If the hair dryer overheats it will shut itself

off, at that point just put the whole thing in off, at that point just put the whole thing in the freezer and it will recover quicklythe freezer and it will recover quickly

Action ShotAction Shot

The TechniqueThe Technique

Hot air speeds things up, but isn’t necessaryHot air speeds things up, but isn’t necessary Blow into the bee washer and rotate the jarBlow into the bee washer and rotate the jar We usually bounce the jar around a bit to We usually bounce the jar around a bit to

dislodge the bees from the sidesdislodge the bees from the sides At some point the free water is gone from the At some point the free water is gone from the

jar and the bees will start swirling aroundjar and the bees will start swirling around Don’t worry they can handle that without a Don’t worry they can handle that without a

problemproblem

How Long?How Long?

Small, lightly haired bees will dry in Small, lightly haired bees will dry in about 1 – 1.5 minutesabout 1 – 1.5 minutes

Bumblebees can take about 5 minutes Bumblebees can take about 5 minutes due to their long hairdue to their long hair

The more bees you have in the jar the The more bees you have in the jar the longer it will takelonger it will take

People tend to get bored and take the People tend to get bored and take the bees out a bit too early (this is why we bees out a bit too early (this is why we now use autobeedryers)now use autobeedryers)

TipsTips

The smaller the jar the faster the The smaller the jar the faster the dryingdrying

You can use compressed air instead You can use compressed air instead of a hair dryer, BUT, if you put in too of a hair dryer, BUT, if you put in too much compressed air it will blow much compressed air it will blow them to smithereens (been there)them to smithereens (been there)

The AutobeedryerThe Autobeedryer

The ultimate bee dryer The ultimate bee dryer Allows you to wash your bees and then put Allows you to wash your bees and then put

them directly into the Autobeedryer and them directly into the Autobeedryer and walk away and do other things (like walk away and do other things (like pinning the last batch of bees) while your pinning the last batch of bees) while your bees are dryingbees are drying

Building and running an Autobeedryer is Building and running an Autobeedryer is covered in a separate slide show/ppt covered in a separate slide show/ppt presentation (to come soon)presentation (to come soon)

2 Versions of the 2 Versions of the AutobeedryerAutobeedryer

ContactContact

Sam Droege (Sam Droege (sdroege@usgs.govsdroege@usgs.gov))