BEEWise
Mind your own beeswax! Here's how:
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But keep in touch with your friendly neighborhood beekeeper for the latest buzz and bee nice to all natural pollinators!
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March 15: Beekeeper Jason Kerr had a series of very serious family emergencies this winter and wasn’t able to check on the hives as much as he would have liked. He writes: "I did try to visit the hives toward the end of December, but I couldn't get into the farm -- the driveway wasn't plowed and the snow was too deep for our car.
"I'll be checking soon on the survivors. I expect the losses to be high….we had a lot of snow. That in itself isn't too bad, but the entrances may have become blocked by the snow which would prevent the bees from taking cleansing flights."
Checking in with Jason always leads to learning something new about bees and caring for them. Here’s info about 'cleansing flights' from a site that is interesting in its style as well as the information the beekeeper provides.
“…..Honey bees generally don’t fly until the air temperature rises to 50 degrees. Cold weather for the past few days has held the bees in their hives. After several days of confinement, the bees were ready to make a cleansing flight to eliminate their body wastes. Honey bees never defecate inside their hive. This is one of their behavioral traits that serve to help prevent disease from spreading through the colony. Honey bees maintain a clean nest as a healthy place to raise their brood and store honey.” Beekeeper Richard Underhill of Peace Bee Farm http://http://peacebeefarm.blogspot.com/2009/12/bees-make-cleansing-flights.html
Here is another very informative bee site: http://www.westmtnapiary.com/winter_cluster.html______
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Backyard Beekeeping Class at CCRI Apr 18 - May 23 Warwick Knight Campus
This introduction to the basic principles and practices of natural beekeeping prepares new beekeepers to understand the basics well enough to begin their own beekeeping as a hobby or small enterprise.
Topics include biology and lifecycle of honey bees, equipment and supplies, starting a new hive, seasonal hive management, hive pests and diseases, and harvesting and marketing.
Students will have the opportunity to purchase new hives, equipment and bees to establish their own hives in the spring.
$194 + $5 Registration Fee 50269, PDEV-0014-001 M, 6-9 p.m., 6 mtgs, Apr 18 - May 23, Warwick
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An Interview with Westbay's Beekeeper
Catching up with Westbay beekeeper Jason Kerr, he provided a Q&A based on a e-conversation prompted by the bee cluster article posted below.
Jason, you spoke about the wintering process previously and the article helped add more context. These little fluffs of energy are amazing.
Q: You mentioned that any time the bees don't make enough food (honey) you need to supplement their food supply. How do you administer the food they need?
A: You can feed them into the winter ... but ... opening the hive breaks the propolis seal* and increases the chance for more cold air to circulate than would happen normally. I say "normally" because beehives aren't sealed like boxes; air does circulate in the hive naturally. So, the less meddling you do, pro'ly the better. The way I look at it, I will feed them if needed up to deep winter, then I'll leave them alone until early spring. I check on them from time to time, but I try not to open the hive until the temps are more moderate.
Q: When do you do this?
A: If they need it, I feed them in the fall and early spring. That is, I feed up to late Nov./early Dec., and start again in Mar./Apr. The rest of the winter is tougher. Most beekeepers do not open their hives through the winter, preferring to wait from late fall until early spring. Some will open the hive to check and feed on temperate days. It depends on the beekeeper, the weather, and how much risk you're willing to take by cracking the propolis seal on the lid and
hive body. My practice has been to not feed during deep winter. I'm considering changing that.
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Q: How do you actually give them the food? Do you open the hive and leave a container of syrup of some sort or give back the honeycombs you took?
>
A: There is a variety of feed. The most common, and the one I've followed, is to feed them sugar syrup while it's warm, and then some kind of "dry sugar" later. In the past I've used baker's fondant. Some beekeepers in Indiana make a kind of sugar "fluff" that they put on top of the frames**.
>
Q: There are also a variety of methods for feedings. In the past I've used feeder frames, which are water-tight boxes shaped and sized like a frame, and top feeders, hive bodies with plastic basin for the feed. (Check out this page in Mann Lake's online catalog ... the top of the
> list contains a feeder frame, and a top feeder http://www.mannlakeltd.com/ListProduct.asp?idCategory=10
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Q: Based on how much they eat you know when to return?
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A: Yes. One of my mentors has a good guide. He says you want to have eight frames of honey stored in the fall, going into the winter. If they don't have that, you feed them and keep feeding them until they do.
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Q: I can't believe how interested I am in this!! :)
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A: I keep telling you, you ought to give it a try!
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> Jason
Glossary
Propolis: a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Propolis is used for small gaps (approximately 6 millimeters (0.2 in) or less), while larger spaces are usually filled with beeswax. Its color varies depending on its botanical source, the most common being dark brown. Propolis is sticky at and above room temperature (20° Celsius). At lower temperatures it becomes hard and very brittle.....Natural medicine practitioners use propolis for the relief of various conditions, including inflammations, viral diseases, ulcers, superficial burns or scalds....
.....Propolis is also believed to promote heart health, strengthen the immune system and reduce the chances of cataracts....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis
Frames:
The square structures on which bees build their honeycomb.
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/how-to-assemble-bee-hive-frames/4de069767dc531800b6a4de069767dc531800b6a-280873010585?q=bee%20hive%20frames&FORM=VIRE1
NOTE: There are photos of propolis and frames on our Picasa Web Album. Click on the orange square with the two curved lines and dot inside to link. Click on the beekeeper photo album.
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Do honey bees hibernate?
Nicole Thomas explains
......It may come as no surprise that honey bees spend the cold winter months in their hives. But what they don't do is hibernate. Instead the bees form what is called a "winter cluster." The worker bees huddle and swarm around the queen bee, who is at the center of the cluster, and shiver in order to keep the center warm. The worker bees move in and out of this cluster so that no bee gets too cold in the outer layers of the cluster. I suppose this is similar to a March of the Penguins style when the males watching the eggs during the coldest months of antarctic winter form a rotating huddle and move in and out of the huddle to keep each other warm.
Studies of over-wintering honey bees have shown that the hive consumes about 30 pounds of stored honey during the winter months. The honey that bees work so vigorously to store during the spring, summer, and fall makes the hive's survival possible. Heat energy is produced by the oxidation of the stored honey and this heat is circulated throughout the winter cluster by the wing-fanning of worker bees. The center of the cluster hovers around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the outer edge stays around 46-48 degrees Fahrenheit. The colder it gets outside, the tight the cluster becomes to keep everyone warm.
So why were there two dead honey bees near my front porch this morning? Honey bees stop flying from the hive when the temperature reaches around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. At this time the temperature gets too cold for the bees to be able venture far from the hive without risking death of exposure. There is also not much reason for the bees to leave the hive because there are no flowers in bloom from which to collect nectar. But the bees still need to be able to eliminate their bodily waste, as bees are very tidy creatures. On warmer days, the bees will venture out of the hive to do this. These flights are very short and the bees generally do not venture far because they can't make it back to the hive if they get too cold.
This must be what happened to my resident honey bees. It did get rather warm on Sunday afternoon and yesterday afternoon and the bees were probably taking advantage of the few hours of radiant sunlight. There must be a hive somewhere near my house, but a bit too far for the bees to make it back safely. Hopefully these two will be the last that make it this far before heading back home to the life-sustaining warmth of their hive.
eco-logicalgirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/do-honey-bees-hibernate.html
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There is more information and a few photos on the farm blog. Photos of bees and beekeepers are located on the photo database: picasaweb.google.com/westbaycap
Beekeeper Jason Kerr provided an update on the bees. he says that late August is more about patience, preparation and anticipation than obvious outwardly-visible action.
We're coming to the end of the summer dearth. From late July through early September very few plants blossom, so for weeks there's little or no nectar or pollen. The bees have to rely on the honey and pollen they have stored up from the early summer nectar flow. From the outside, the hive will seem quieter, as the foragers drift about in search of food. Activity inside also slows, as the queen lays many fewer eggs.We'll know the flow is on when the asters and more goldenrod are blooming together. Story continues on the wordpress blog.
Dept of Agriculture:worker, queen, drone.
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Bees & Pollination
Honey bees are the most prolific of the pollinators.
What is pollination and who are the pollinators?
Pollination occurs when pollen is moved within flowers or carried from flower to flower by pollinating animals such as birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, or other animals, or by the wind.
What does pollination do?
The transfer of pollen in and between flowers of the same species leads to fertilization, and successful seed and fruit production for plants. Pollination ensures that a plant will produce full-bodied fruit and a full set of viable seeds.
Why does pollination matter to us?
•Worldwide, roughly 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend.
•Foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include: apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, almonds, and tequila.
•In the United States, pollination by honey bees, native bees, and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually.
Are pollinators in trouble?
•Worldwide there is disturbing evidence that pollinating animals have suffered from loss of habitat, chemical misuse, introduced and invasive plan and animal species, and diseases and parasites.
•Many pollinators are federally “listed species,” meaning that there is evidence of their disappearance in natural areas.
•The U.S. has lost over 50% of its managed honeybee colonies over the past 10 years.
•A lack of research has hindered our knowledge about the status of pollinators. The E.U. has been so concerned that they have invested over $20 million investigating the status of pollinators in Europe.
What can you do to promote and protect pollinators?
â—¦Plant for pollinators
â– Cultivate native plans, especially those that provide nectar and larval food for pollinators – FREE Ecoregional Pollinator Planting Guides
â– Install houses for bats and native bees
â– Supply salt or mineral licks for butterflies and water for all wildlife
â– Reduce pesticide use
â– Substitute flower beds for lawns
For more information:www.pollinator.org
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Bee facts
There are about 20,000 different species of bees in the world. Bees live in colonies and there are three types of bees in each colony. There is the queen bee, the worker bee and the drone. The worker bee and the queen bee are both female, but only the queen bee can reproduce. All drones are male. Worker bees clean the hive, collecting pollen and nectar to feed the colony and they take care of the offspring. The drone’s only job is to mate with the queen. The queen’s only job is to lay eggs.
www.pestworldforkids.org/bees.html
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The Importance of Bees to Our Food Supply
By Rowan Jacobsen, "...or Not to Bee," Eating Well March/April 2009
Selected excerpts:
"......Like more than 100 of our food crops, almond trees will set fruit only if their flowers are cross-pollinated between two different varieties. Like tiny farmworkers, honeybees carry the pollen from one tree to another as they forage. Corn, wheat, rice and other grains rely on wind to spread their pollen. But honeybees pollinate much of the other stuff that adds color to our plate and vitamins and antioxidants to our diet. They give us blueberries, apples, berries, cherries, melons, grapefruit, avocados, squash, broccoli, carrots, onions, and more. If it lowers cholesterol, improves eyesight or turbocharges the immune system, it was probably fertilized by a bee...."
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The Colony and its Organization
(From Fundamentals of Beekeeping)
Three types of honey bees normally found in a honey bee colony: worker, queen, and drone. Honey bees are social insects. A honey bee colony typically consists of several thousand bees that cooperate in nest building, food collection, and brood rearing. Fach member has a definite task to perform, but it takes the combined efforts of the entire colony to survive and reproduce.
A colony normally has a single queen, fifty to sixty thousand workers at its peak, and several hundred drones during late spring and summer. (See figure 1.) Individual queens, workers, and drones cannot survive by themselves. The social structure of the colony is maintained by the queen and workers and depends on an effective system of communication. The exchange of chemical secretions among members and communicative "dances" are undoubtedly responsible for controlling the activities necessary for colony survival.
Division of labor within the worker caste primarily depends on the age of the bee but varies with the needs of the colony. Reproduction and colony strength depend on the queen, the quantity of food stores, and the size of the worker force. As the size of the colony increases up to about sixty thousand workers, so does the efficiency of the colony. maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkCD/HBBiology/colony_org.html
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