Hi all,
This blog inspired by a Q at
BeeSource Portland Loves Bees Forum
Here are my 2 cents re spring start up basics.
Pre note: Setting up bees well in the fall w lots of extra honey balanced w the total population of bees and ensuring they are clustering near to one edge of their winter stores is important. Meteorologists are predicting far more regular cold wet springs . . . conditions that in England in the 1910’s wiped out 90% of bees! And that was before post WW II chemical, huge mono-cropping – which has really added burdens to those sweet bees.
. . . but at THIS time of year.
Keep brood and bees as warm as possible. I use sugar-water moistened terry cloths over all but the few frames I’m working on - even if it’s in the 80’s - chilled brood can affect their behavioral abilities.
Try NOT using smoke anymore – 20% solution of skin so soft on the hands and face and/or lightly spray them with sugar water - leaves them much happier and they’ll move for it too - to shoo bees away for frame moving.
Keep bees very dry on the inside. Good tight roof w small – ½ x 2” slot on top for moisture venting – esp true of top bar hives with their long roof / walls line.
As an emgerg measure feed with sugar and the best pollen substitute you can get. And then this fall leave them lots of extra honey.
As weather finally turns keep an eye on queen laying behavior – and keep empty frames / older brood frames on top of newly laid ones.
Shameless bee-promotion section:
If you and ours want to learn more, I have a bee education programs here in Portland: Live HoneyBees . Offered are
Be A Beekeeper
[which includes catching a local healthy swarm for yourself ],
Backyard Bee Talks and two PowerPoint presentations: More than a Bee Movie and Bond of Bees.
Stuff we’re working on right now—lots of More than a Bee Movies in area libraries (click link for audience pics ),
negotiating observation and near-by hives to schools in W Linn and Vancouver Wa.
Clickhere to say hi anytime and let me know how I can help you.
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Title: Common Bond: Bees, People & the Planet
Location: Core Source Studio
Link out: Click here
Description: Discover the magical world of bees through movie clips, stills, equipment and honey treats!
Start Time: 18:30
Date: 2010-10-26
End Time: 21:30
Share
Title: Common Bond: Bees, People & the Planet
Location: Core Source Studio
Link out: Click here
Description: Discover the magical world of bees through movie clips, stills, equipment and honey treats!
Start Time: 18:30
Date: 2010-10-08
End Time: 21:30
Share
We rely on honeybees for 40% of our food.
Bee populations are collapsing world-wide. A recipe for concern? Absolutely!
Through presentations, bee-yard tours, urban beekeeping classes, honey and candles, Livehoneybees gives you information action-steps to give back to bees.
Background
For thousands of years people have lived very closely with bees. We have:
- been fascinated by their secret and harmonious society
- coveted the honey and candle-making wax we take from bees
- relied on bees for producing thousands of varieties of staple foods
But human impact on bees in the past 50 years has created a crisis for bees - and thus humans. Today honeybees are in dire need of our help.
8 thousand year old cave painting
Most small scale beekeepers, and all but a handful of commercial beekeepers are suffering from what is called Colony Collapse Disorder. Following the mainstream/commercialized industries you would hear only of high-tech solutions - further digging the hole we have made.
A true solution is found in strengthening bees. Steps in this direction will deeply challenge our modern way of life.
This is the mission of Livehoneybees: to teach children and adults about this bees and our growing understanding of them. Livehoneybees programs fascinate, educate and motivate to return to a healthy, balanced relationship between bees and humans, upon which much depends.
Livehoneybees offers these programs:
For ages 6 and older.
A one-hour program which includes a hands-on portion, in which children taste honeycomb, look into a real hive (no bees) and handle equipment beekeepers use in the field. There is also a movie / conversation portion. On a large screen you view images and movie segments that reveal the obscured life of bees, how and why they cooperate, and many funny stories - historic and recent - about the deep relationship between people and bees.
For ages 12 and older.
A two-hour program that goes more deeply into the stories, biology and life cycles of bees. More time for lively questions and answers.
A two-hour program for ages 18 and older.
This program addresses the above, but also more adult-appropriate topics such as sexuality, spiritual and religious-myths and beliefs different cultures have held from their understanding of bee society. We also go into greater depth about the causes and actions we can take to pull back from the bee crisis.
Tours of my bee yard / apiary.
I give periodic two-hour long tours of my bee yard, located just north of Milwaukie, Oregon on a large organic garden. We dress up and open the hives, so you can learn how to handle and talk to the bees.
Purchase honey and beeswax candles.
Candles: like animal fat, toxins in a bee’s environment will concentrate in their wax. My wax comes from both my hives and local trusted sources that uses no toxic chemicals to suppress mites. They are about as clean beeswax candle as you can find, and they support Livehoneybees.
Honey: Pure Bee Honey is local and raw - a mix of my bees and honey from Charlie, a local beekeeper in Colton Oregon.
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