Personally I find propolis to be a monumental embuggerance, and the last thing I would do is drink it, eat it or rub it on me.
More pseudo food science can be found at yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk
30 April 2009
Propolis and other sticky topics
Personally I find propolis to be a monumental embuggerance, and the last thing I would do is drink it, eat it or rub it on me.
More pseudo food science can be found at yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk
29 April 2009
Accuracy not a strong point in BBC bee report
The announcement of a new beekeeping course also contains the usual hand-wringing about bee decline. The report includes the following:
"A decline in the number of flowers as food sources has led to a poorer environment for honeybees and is likely to have been a major factor in the 75% decrease in the number of hives over the past 100 years."
and
"The number of bees has decreased by 75% over the past 100 years."
Well, which is it? Were all bees in hives in past 100 years? Or perhaps the 75% of hives that went were the only full hives, and the remaining 25% devoid of bees?
None of the statements are sourced. For example, has the number of flowers (how do you count 'em?) declined? What about the vast fields of oilseed rape?
26 April 2009
Box-switch-queen-excluder escapade (cont.)
Max, the apiary warden, has been kind enough to check on the bees while I child-wrangle our latest arrival. Max wrote: "If you are working as hard as your bees the wife should be happy. The top super is untouched but they are filling the next one down. If this weather continues it will be fine."
Yes, providing my box-switch-queen-excluder escapade in Hive Bravo actually worked...
Pic from http://www.beesource.com/pov/hayes/abjaug85.htm, well worth a visit
24 April 2009
Who killed the honey bee... Martha Kearney?
Quite a good film on BBC4 "Who killed the honey bee" by Martha Kearney.
The odd part was, having not seen the intro titles, I was convinced that it was by Alison Benjamin and Brian McAllum, who wrote "A world without bees." In many ways, it was a televised version of their book.
www.amazon.co.uk/World-Without-Bees-Alison-Benjamin/dp/0852650922
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jzjys/Who_Killed_the_Honey_Bee
Publish Post
13 April 2009
Chancing it, yet again!
Checked the two hives today, and found that both are busy and have active queens.... except that in one hive she is above the excluder.
With limited time - my excuse is the arrival of a new daughter, 23 March - I reshuffled the supers and trust to luck that I have moved the queen below the excluder in the process.
Time will tell.
09 April 2009
MEΛΙΣΣΟΚΟΜΙΑ ΜΑΡΑΘΩΝΑ
No idea what's going on here, but it looks pretty interesting. See http://marathon-honey.blogspot.com/
MEΛΙΣΣΟΚΟΜΙΑ ΜΑΡΑΘΩΝΑ
19 March 2009
Timbals, stridulation and Scrabble
Well here's an oddity - which I forgot to report: when opened, I can hear a distinct, low thrumming from inside one of the hives!
The sound is similar-ish to the sound of a dove, but faster and lower.
Could it be a mouse? There is no sign of mice, and the anti-mouse bars were closed all winter (and still are).
Could it be the queen? Various bee books refer to the queen making cicada-like sounds. Do queens have timbals? Can they stridulate?
Competitive Scrabble, anyone?
Pic from wikipedia, more about Scrabble at http://www.scrabble.com/
16 March 2009
14 March 2009
Buzzy Bees, Sasha Felix and The Beverley Sisters
OK, possibly not the most germane link ... Sasha Felix, who created Sing & Sign (http://www.singandsign.com/) which features the 'Buzzy Bee' song, is the daughter of Teddie Beverley of The Beverley Sisters, as featured on this blog at http://mellifera.blogspot.com/2008/10/limited-intelligence-beverly-or.html.
(Next stops will be Kevin Bacon and Paul Erdos...)
(Next stops will be Kevin Bacon and Paul Erdos...)
09 March 2009
Don't blame amateur keepers for declining bees
If you can read past the chronically poor sub-editing, this article (below) may be of interest. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/05/beekeepers-endangered-bees)
Alison Benjamin co-wrote "A world without bees." (http://mellifera.blogspot.com/2008/07/world-without-bees.html)
Alison Benjamin co-wrote "A world without bees." (http://mellifera.blogspot.com/2008/07/world-without-bees.html)
06 March 2009
03 March 2009
02 March 2009
Woodpeckers and other varmints
Dang! A woodpecker has been having a go at one of the hives. Minimal damage so far.
Because the lifts (the outer coverings of a WBC hive) are somewhat thicker than the walls of a National or similar hive, it looks as if the bird gave up before breaking through.
I will post a video of the hive front, where you can see the damage, later on. Mean-time, enjoy the very fine highbrow Woody Woodpecker intro, or visit the Universal Site for a proper clip.
The Woody Woodpecker & Friends Cartoon Collection DVD Volume 2 Available April 15, 2008 From Universal Studios
Because the lifts (the outer coverings of a WBC hive) are somewhat thicker than the walls of a National or similar hive, it looks as if the bird gave up before breaking through.
I will post a video of the hive front, where you can see the damage, later on. Mean-time, enjoy the very fine highbrow Woody Woodpecker intro, or visit the Universal Site for a proper clip.
The Woody Woodpecker & Friends Cartoon Collection DVD Volume 2 Available April 15, 2008 From Universal Studios
27 February 2009
24 February 2009
21 February 2009
Don't panic!
Visited the apiary yesterday, in cool weather, and was surprised to find bees flying. With little time available, I opened up the hive lids without bothering to put on the bee suit - no veil, no gloves, nothing.
The bees were not particularly pleased. Fortunately, only the sky and the girls witnessed my rapid and disorderly retreat. Capt. Mainwaring would have been most disappointed.
The good news, apart from not being stung, is that there are bees.
Pic stolen from http://home.btconnect.com/howejam/dadsarmy.htm
19 February 2009
01 February 2009
09 December 2008
Incipient Granulation
Entered two jars into the Wimbledon Beekeeper's Association Annual Honey Show.
It might be fair to say that I came last. "Incipient Granulation" were the killer words - especially the capitalisation.
Never mind. I forecast an entry into the "Set Honey" category next year...
It might be fair to say that I came last. "Incipient Granulation" were the killer words - especially the capitalisation.
Never mind. I forecast an entry into the "Set Honey" category next year...
02 December 2008
Smokers in Whitehall
Oh yes, that protest in Whitehall...http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/beekeepers-protest-over-hive-deaths-992276.html
21 November 2008
Christmas Calendar
This is from Nancy Candlin, Riverford Home Delivery, 1 The Mission Hall, 49 The Grove, Crouch End, N8 8ST, 020 8341 3039:
"As you may have read, bees, and in particular the honey bee, are under serious threat from pests and diseases, and are dying out at a frightening rate.
Without the honey bee, our crops won’t be pollinated and thus our food supply reduced radically. As a farm, we owe an enormous amount to this tiny busy insect, and are completely reliant on it.
With this in mind, I am giving all the profits from every Riverford calendar I sell to the British Bee Keepers’ Association which are funding research into saving the bee. The calendars make a great and colourful gift so buy more than one and rest assured that you are helping the bee!
Please pass the word around. If you are a regular customer, just add the calendar(s) to your order and I will arrange the rest. If you aren’t a customer or don’t wish to buy anything else, simply send a cheque for £6.35 made payable to Riverford Home Delivery, including your own name and address, and I will post out the calendar(s)."
"As you may have read, bees, and in particular the honey bee, are under serious threat from pests and diseases, and are dying out at a frightening rate.
Without the honey bee, our crops won’t be pollinated and thus our food supply reduced radically. As a farm, we owe an enormous amount to this tiny busy insect, and are completely reliant on it.
With this in mind, I am giving all the profits from every Riverford calendar I sell to the British Bee Keepers’ Association which are funding research into saving the bee. The calendars make a great and colourful gift so buy more than one and rest assured that you are helping the bee!
Please pass the word around. If you are a regular customer, just add the calendar(s) to your order and I will arrange the rest. If you aren’t a customer or don’t wish to buy anything else, simply send a cheque for £6.35 made payable to Riverford Home Delivery, including your own name and address, and I will post out the calendar(s)."
10 November 2008
27 October 2008
Sheakleyville bees
Honored as I am, I can only assume that this blog reader became diverted for 29 minutes before jumping to http://www.beeculture.com/!
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
20 October 2008
Limited intelligence... Beverly or Beverley?
Rather a good site, http://www.beverleybeekeepers.co.uk/, with good links to other sites and films on beekeeping. All somewhat spoiled by Beverly Sisters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverley_Sisters popping into my head.
26 September 2008
25 September 2008
Oscar Wetterblad
In case you were wondering, the "Death by Sting" data was found by Oscar Wetterblad, who is Swedish and has his own web site, http://www.wetterblad.com/oscar.html
18 September 2008
16 September 2008
A short history of robbing
Went to check the hives, add anti-varroa treatments, remove the feeders and settle the bees for the winter. As I packed up, carelessly as it turned out, a great gob of sugar solution dropped out of a feeder, SPLAT, on top of the frames and dribbled right through down to the floor.
Within moments, the air was FULL of robbers, with a no-holds-barred wrestling free-for-all at the hive entrance.
So, all things considered, preparing for winter went, er, well...
11 September 2008
What the bees know and what they do not know
Much as I admire L. Fejes Tóth, bees do not build hexagonal cells. They build tubular cells of circular cross-section, and follow closest hexagonal packing (with some clever rhomboid-stuff at the base).
09 September 2008
Death by Sting (bee, not Gordon Sumner)
Gordon Sumner's nickname, Sting, came about because he wore a stripey black-and-yellow jumper that made him look like a bumblebee.
08 September 2008
05 September 2008
03 September 2008
No honey at Christmas?
Initial estimates show that English hives produced just 6,000 tons of honey this year - half the usual annual level.Stuart Bailey, chairman of Rowse honey, which supplies several major supermarket chains, said the company has been able to source just 125 tons of English honey this year forcing it to rely more heavily on foreign suppliers despite rocketing prices.
"We will be out by Christmas there is no doubt about that," he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/02/eahoney102.xml
29 August 2008
Parasites Are Killing Off Honeybees
Catherine Jacobs, Environment Correspondent at Sky News, makes a splash with "Parasites Are Killing Off Honeybees."Sadly, her own story makes the point that this is probably not true. I might also criticise the subs for a dreadful headline.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/British-Honey-Bees-In-Rapid-Decline-By-Virus-As-Experts-Call-For-Research-Funds/Article/200808415088927?lpos=UK%2BNews_4&lid=ARTICLE_15088927_British%2BHoney%2BBees%2BIn%2BRapid%2BDecline%2BBy%2BVirus%2BAs%2BExperts%2BCall%2BFor%2BResearch%2BFunds
A trail of freshly ground pepper
Possibly one of the least likely beekeeping gadgets: an electric peppermill with integrated LED torch...I wanted to check the shed for bee disasters, and the only opportunity was after dark. With no torch handy, the best I could do was the peppermill.
At around 22:30, I crept around the shed looking for angry or dying bees, making whirring noises and leaving a trail of freshly ground pepper.
www.peppermills.com/
28 August 2008
The Polish for 'bee' is 'pszczoły'
Collected seventeen frames of honey - all from one hive. Sweet.
All went well - I simply brushed the bees off the frames - until I parked the loaded frames in the shed, back home. It was a hot day, and other bees caught a whiff and started to pile into the shed.
Unfortunately, the shed is being used by half-a-dozen Polish builders during our house renovations. The Polish for 'bee' is 'pszczoły,' though that's certainly not the word the builders were using.
26 August 2008
Colony nutritional status modulates worker responses
And here is that paper in full: http://www.springerlink.com/content/e051wn16651434w7/fulltext.pdf
21 August 2008
Computer model of bees probes the hive mind
Extract from New Scientist 16 August 2008:
"GIVEN a choice between two different flower beds, how can honeybees hunting for nectar be sure they've chosen the best patch? A new computer model may provide the answer, as well as insights into the workings of a "hive mind" that could be used to guide swarms of robots.
To test this hypothesis, Ronald Thenius of the University of Graz in Austria built a computer simulation of a hive containing 5000 independent virtual bees. Each forager started out visiting one of two different flower patches, but would switch destinations if it had to wait too long to be unloaded or was being serviced by too many receivers.
The results, presented at the Artificial Life IX conference in Winchester, UK, last week were promising. The virtual bees moved to the better nectar source at similar rates and in similar proportions to those observed for real bees. "It's like a new pub has opened with cheap beer: everyone's trying to find it," says Thenius. "The hive can gain up to 20 per cent more nectar this way."
Read the full article at http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19926696.200-computer-model-of-bees-probes-the-hive-mind.html and visit http://www.newscientist.com/
20 August 2008
A single hive with its bees and full combs of honey can easily be worth a thousand dollars
The recent outbreak of hive theft is not new, it seems. This clip from The Independent online is from 2002 (good to know I'm right up there and current, eh?).
"Angry as the buzzing hives they carried in protest, dozens of Israeli beekeepers lined a road with burning tyres today to demonstrate against the thefts of thousands of their beehives.
Wearing protective work suits and net masks, the beekeepers demanded that Israel and the Palestinian Authority stop what they said was the theft of their beehives by Palestinians in the West Bank.
The demonstrators at Jalameh Checkpoint near the West Bank town of Jenin had planned to release the bees they brought with him as a protest, but police stopped them.
The beekeepers suspect Palestinians are entering Israel by night from the West Bank and making off with the hives, since most of the thefts have taken place in areas near the border between Israel and the West Bank.
"I have nothing against the Palestinians," beekeeper Roni Feldman said. "But Israeli agricultural workers are paying the highest price for peace."
According to Feldman, 2,600 hives were stolen in 1999. A single hive with its bees and full combs of honey can easily be worth a thousand dollars."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/beekeepers-protest-at-hive-thefts-724851.html
16 August 2008
11 August 2008
03 August 2008
Bees on Bloomberg
Would you believe it, even Bloomberg is up in arms about bees: "Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- John Chapple stands among a hum of honeybees flying in and out of 10 hives in the gardens of Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's London residence by the River Thames. The insects are buzzing. For now.
Eighteen months ago about two-thirds of the 40 hives that Chapple keeps across the capital died off, including all 12 in his own back yard. London's beekeepers collectively lost half of their colonies in the past two years. During last winter alone, almost a third of hives across the U.K. lost their bees."
Eighteen months ago about two-thirds of the 40 hives that Chapple keeps across the capital died off, including all 12 in his own back yard. London's beekeepers collectively lost half of their colonies in the past two years. During last winter alone, almost a third of hives across the U.K. lost their bees."
30 July 2008
Bees join hunt for serial killers
"Bees join hunt for serial killers," adds a tiny snippet to my pitiful store of knowledge:
"The researchers' analysis describes how bees create a "buffer zone" around their hive where they will not forage, to reduce the risk of predators and parasites locating the nest. It turns out that this pattern of behaviour is similar to the geographic profile of criminals stalking their victims."
Dr Nigel Raine, from Queen Mary College, University of London, came up with the theory, based on tagging and observing foraging patterns of bumble bees.
Dr Raine also states "Bees' pollination 'services' account for about one in three mouthfuls of food that we eat as humans. They pollinate a huge diversity of our fruit and vegetable crops."
Does he mean all bees, from bumble to honey, I wonder?
Smart bees
This was published on 15 January this year. Always nice to be up with the news, eh?
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Why-some-of-our-bees.3675906.jp
25 July 2008
CCD: You really should read this...
Take a look at http://mistressbeek.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/bee-massacre-a-massive-overnight-die-off/
How sad, and how alarming.
23 July 2008
CCD: We are not brought down except by ourselves
Feral bees are subject to nature's ailments: varroa, nosema, acarine, viruses and more. The selective pressure on wild bees is for reproductive success and survival, a heavy element of which is dictated by the ability to resist disease. Hardy bees will tend to be selected.
Commercially kept bees are to some degree insulated from disease. The selective pressure imposed by beekeepers is directed towards honey-making. Productive, unstingy and unswarmy bees will tend to be selected.
Diseases borne by feral bees will, from time to time, transfer to the commercial population. The disease variants will tend to be vigorous (they have contended in an arms race with the much hardier feral bees), and, on some occasions, entirely new to the commercial population.
The result is CCD.
We are not brought down except by ourselves.
Commercially kept bees are to some degree insulated from disease. The selective pressure imposed by beekeepers is directed towards honey-making. Productive, unstingy and unswarmy bees will tend to be selected.
Diseases borne by feral bees will, from time to time, transfer to the commercial population. The disease variants will tend to be vigorous (they have contended in an arms race with the much hardier feral bees), and, on some occasions, entirely new to the commercial population.
The result is CCD.
We are not brought down except by ourselves.
21 July 2008
A World Without Bees
A world without bees hunts for the answer to the CCD calamities facing modern commercial beekeeping.Worth reading, even if the quote from Albert Einstein is utter twaddle.
You can order A world without bees, by Alison Benjamin & Brian McCallum, from http://www.guardianbooks.co.uk/
16 July 2008
Jammy devil (it's all turned out well)
With a little help from Peter B, it turns out that (brace yourself) both hives *do* have brood in them.Clearly, better eyesight would help, alongside a dose of patience.
As Peter put it, "Despite doing almost everything wrong, both hives are thriving, full of bees, brood and honey. You're a jammy devil."
Pic from http://www.coil.co.uk/
14 July 2008
Aaagh.
After consulting with Peter B, things do not look good.
The hive split was on 21 June. If things went well, there should now be new queens (21 June + 16 days = 7 July). Assuming they are mated and laying, the new queens would have started to produce brood cells by now.
On inspection on 12 July, there was no visible brood.
Aaagh.
The hive split was on 21 June. If things went well, there should now be new queens (21 June + 16 days = 7 July). Assuming they are mated and laying, the new queens would have started to produce brood cells by now.
On inspection on 12 July, there was no visible brood.
Aaagh.
12 July 2008
Now I am *utterly* baffled
To recap: the single original hive had larvae both above and below the queen excluder, so I moved half the frames into a new hive, and (re)placed queen excluders on top of both. The aim was to split the original confused colony into two hives, and hope that the bees would re-queen as necessary.
Well ... it seems to have worked. I now have two thriving colonies. And yet bizarrely, I could find absolutely no trace of brood in either hive.
After a full hive inspection - right down to the bottom board and looking at every frame - I saw no larvae. No drone cells. No queen cells. Yet the bees are very busy, and I even took four frames of honey out of each hive.
What on earth is going on? Now I am *utterly* baffled.
Well ... it seems to have worked. I now have two thriving colonies. And yet bizarrely, I could find absolutely no trace of brood in either hive.
After a full hive inspection - right down to the bottom board and looking at every frame - I saw no larvae. No drone cells. No queen cells. Yet the bees are very busy, and I even took four frames of honey out of each hive.
What on earth is going on? Now I am *utterly* baffled.
25 June 2008
Time will tell
During the madness of jumbling up the supers and brood frames, my ultimate solution was to split the colony. Failing to think on my feet, I choose to put half of the frames in a new hive, working on the basis of creating an artificial swarm. The basic idea was to end up with one original hive (with a queen) and one new hive (with no queen).
All wonderful. Except I totally forgot to check that the 'new' colony had either queen cells or sufficiently young larvae to allow the bees to bring on a new queen.
Bugger.
Time will tell.
Super photo from http://www.beemaster.com/site/honeybee/qpage.htm a really useful site.
23 June 2008
“Incompetence - When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do.”
Last week, after discovering larvae above the queen excluder, I took time to analyze the possible reasons: (1) two queens {one above, one below the excluder}, (2) laying workers, or (3) a queen able to wriggle through the queen excluder.Of course, while I was busy panicking, a fourth - somewhat more probable option - totally escaped me: (4) Incompetence.
Waaaaay more likely is that during the previous inspection, I had managed to transfer the queen into the supers. The result would be that she would lay new brood above the queen excluder (which is what I found) and there would still be brood below the queen as per usual... Grrrrr.
(What's more, they may have swarmed during the week as well, although when I looked in the hive there were still *masses* of bees.)
Visit http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/excludertypes.html for an excellent description of queen excluders
16 June 2008
Mastermind
OK, see if you can solve this one.
On Sunday, I looked through the hive with the usual objectives - enough room, queen present, stores - and with a view to taking off some honey. The hive boxes are arranged as follows (from the bottom up): brood, brood, QE, super, super, super, super.
Apart from the fact the the hive is choc-a-bloc with bees and honey, I found capped brood in *all* the supers - *and* in both of the brood boxes. What are the possible reasons for this? I figure they could be:
Two queens, one above the QE and one below
One queen, small enough to wriggle through the QE
Laying workers going bonkers because there is no queen
Plus one hideous final possibility hit me, after I had closed up the hive and gone home with puzzled expression ... I leave this up to you, gentle reader, to figure out.
Pic stolen from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game)
10 June 2008
Last flight of the honeybee?
Einstein is alleged to have said that if the honeybee becomes extinct, then so will mankind.
In the UK, there are some 270,000 hives managed by 44,000 beekeepers (an average of about six hives each), 90 per cent of whom are amateurs. Defra thinks beekeeping contributes about £165 million a year through pollination services (£3,750 per beekeeper). Defra says 5,000 tonnes of British honey are sold yearly, worth £12 million (I make that £2,40 per kilo, or around £1.10 per lb).
In the US, around 80 per cent of the world's almonds come from the orchards of Central Valley, California - pollinated by bees. Trucks loaded with 500 hives tour the region, and the US$1.9 billion industry is almost entirely dependent on bees.
From the weekend magazine of The Guardian newspaper, 31 May 2008: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/31/animalwelfare.environment
07 June 2008
She's in there somewhere, the minx
Complete hive inspection with the aim of finding and marking the queen, plus checking for swarm cells.
The place is groaning with sealed brood and seething with bees. I found a few small queen cell cups, but did not have time to check every frame. Although there is plenty of room in both brood and supers, I have a bad feeling about swarming.
With the hive in bits all around me, I lifted each brood frame out in turn... could I find the queen? Could I buggery. She's in there somewhere, the minx.
The place is groaning with sealed brood and seething with bees. I found a few small queen cell cups, but did not have time to check every frame. Although there is plenty of room in both brood and supers, I have a bad feeling about swarming.
With the hive in bits all around me, I lifted each brood frame out in turn... could I find the queen? Could I buggery. She's in there somewhere, the minx.
04 June 2008
Cradle of civilization
In many ways, Turkey is the cradle of civilization. The more I look at the Turkish beekeeping blogs, the more I realise that these guys really know about bees!
Traditional Wood Hives, Turkey
HB has left a new comment on your post "Beekeeping in a barrel": "This is a Traditinal Wood Hive. There is a lot of kind of Traditional Wood Hive in http://aricilikmuzesi.blogspot.com/"
