The Bee - Nature's Perfect Creature

Hollywood has never been known to produce factually correct movies, from historical events to the intricacies of animal interactions. Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie is a case in point. In Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld plays a young bee, male of course, who wants a life beyond the beehive. He joins the "pollen jocks" - the male bees who leave the hive to collect pollen, which the male and female bees in the hive, in their dull jobs, turn into honey.

Real life is quite different. It is the female bees that leave the hive in search of pollen, the males who remain as drones to do the work of the hive. The plot of Bee Movie could have been so much better if this little fact had not been obscured, but that's a topic for another article.

Let's get back to the truth about bees. Bees produce honey, which has long been considered nature's perfect food, and bee pollen products and honey based products are becoming increasingly popular with today's consumer.

Bee pollen products

Bees (female ones) leave the hive to find pollen from a variety of flowers. When they return, the worker bees (males) take the pollen and pack it into granules, adding honey (otherwise known as nectar), which is used as food by the hive. Humans harvest this bee pollen, otherwise called bee bread or ambrosia.

What's interesting about bee pollen is that no two batches are alike. The "pollen jockettes" (if I may so term them) bring back pollen from many different sources, and this alters the composition of the pollen.

So, what do bee pollen products do humans make?

Bath and body products enriched with bee pollen are very popular today. They include products for moisturizing, for exfoliation and even shampoo.

Honey based products

Again, honey has long been considered as nature's perfect food. Indeed, people have been eating honey since practically the beginning of time - it's even mentioned in the Bible.

Today, people consume honey as a condiment on bread, on ice cream, or even on its own. It's also used as a sweetener in honey barbecue, and honey mustard is very popular.

All bees produce honey, but only the honey produced by honey bees is edible by humans. Bees create honey by a process I won't go into here (well, if you must know, they transform nectar (pollen) into honey by regurgitating it), but it is then stored in honeycombs as part of their food supply.

Honey based products include honey, of course, and even mead. Some of today's beers also use it as a flavoring ingredient. It is also used to make aromatic candles. 

Why we need bees

Lots of people find bees annoying and will kill them on sight, which is a pity because all bees perform an important service for mankind. Because they go from flower to flower collecting pollen, they also deposit pollen on these flowers, "pollinating" them, and insuring that flowers themselves survive!

So treat bees well!

5 Uses of a Chinchilla That You May Not Know Of

Some of you might know that a chinchilla is a rodent that people keep as pets. Although keeping chinchilla as a pet has been done for decades, the practice is getting popular only today. People do keep exotic animals like reptiles as pets. Yet, keeping a reptile as a pet can be dangerous, if not for you, then for your guests. However, a pet like chinchilla posts no such worry.

If you are still unsure as to what a chinchilla is, here is some general knowledge for you. Chinchillas are rodents that are found mostly in South America. These cute looking rodents are found in the Andes as well. Generally, the little ones are larger than squirrels and smaller than rabbits and are found mostly in Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The Chinchillas are basically wild rodents and therefore, taming those take quite an effort and time.

Chinchillas are used in many ways. Here is a look.

1. Pets: Chinchillas are exotic pets that need good care and handling. Since these are basically wild rodents, they need a good amount of time to get adjusted to their surroundings. These make good pets mainly because they are low maintenance pets. They are extremely inquisitive and boisterous in nature and also do not make too much noise.

2. Fur Industry: Chinchillas are quite popular in the fur industry. These little rodents have a soft lush fur which is in demand in the fashion industry. The chinchilla furs are ideal for small garments. The rodent derives its name from the Chincha people who wore its fur.

3. Scientific research: The chinchillas are used as an animal model in research. These little rodents have an auditory system which is similar to humans and therefore these are used in labs. These rodents are also used to study bacterial and viral diseases.

4. Breeding: A lot of people breed these rodents, some for the fur, others to sell them as pets. These pets are expensive.

Chinchillas are not used as food since they are small and do not have too much flesh. Whether used as pets or for their fur, the Chinchillas need to be handled with utmost care. These little ones can be aggressive and get irritated easily. When ticked off the female Chinchillas are known to spray urine. While this rodent doesn't have too many uses, it is still an expensive pet and the benefits it reaps are also rich.