Blessed Bee Community Apiary & Bee School

A happy bee with willow pollen posing for the paparazzi.

My friend Joe of www.joewasp.com is helping local bumblebees by rescuing them from homes and businesses in the Lower Mainland.  You can contact Joe through his website.  There is a charge because Joe needs to earn a living but what he charges is comparable to paying someone else to toxify your home, garage or backyard while killing these harmless but vital pollinators. 

There are many plants that require buzz pollination such as tomato, pepper, eggplant and blueberry.  What bumblebees bring that honeybees are not so good at is their buzz.  What they do is land on a blossom and vibrate at a particular pitch (a C note).  The sonic resonance they create releases the pollen from the flower.  I kid you not, they almost literally sing to the flowers to coax the pollen from them.  As the pollen falls from the stamens it brushes against the stigma and fertilization occurs.  A fruit is born.

Honeybees can come in later and help tidy up the pollination but it is bumblebees that do this best of all.  If you like your blueberries and tomatoes you’ll support businesses like Joe’s.

What Joe does is amazing, pulling bumblebee nests out of walls and from between the inconvenient cracks and crevices they establish themselves in.  And then he gives the colonies to the Pollinators Paradise Project of the Environmental Youth Alliance.

Environmental Youth Alliance

Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program

            Hartley Rosen of the EYA and I started this program four years ago.  Hard to believe it’s been that long. 

The program is something I really pushed for.  Much knowledge about honeybees and beekeeping is embedded in beekeepers.  I suppose there are a few people out there who can labour at this activity for years without learning anything beyond what is available in books but realistically the longer one is at it the subtler and more nuanced one’s beekeeper skills become.

            If people who know this stuff don’t pass on their knowledge and skill to the next generation, who will?  Regrettably many young people learn not by working with an older person but by surfing the Internet.  Virtual reality is not the same as actual reality!

            As a volunteer mentor and one of the originators of the program I am very proud of it’s success and amazed by the energy and enthusiasm participants bring to the task of learning and to the joy of keeping bees.

            I couldn’t hope for a better program to be associated with or for a finer group of people to work with than the EYA.

            The program is one weekend morning or afternoon every two weeks from mid-April to mid-September.  Participants are expected to attend all of the sessions.  It is also a requirement to make a presentation at a community education event.

            If you are a youth between the age of 16 and 29, or know of one, and would like to be involved in this free program please contact hartly@eya.ca to apply.

Pollinators Paradise Project

           

This three year Environmental Youth Alliance project is in its second year.  Blessed Bee Farm and myself acting in an advisory capacity are helping it along.

            I will again be capturing bumblebee queens in the spring for rearing in my basement.  Not sure how my kids put up with me.  The bumblebee rearing protocols I have developed involve keeping the bees for two weeks.  If they lay eggs and begin to brood they are keepers.  Later when the first brood emerges they are released onto a farm to establish themselves there.

            If after two weeks they have not done anything they are returned to the exact location, the very same flower, where they were captured.

            The idea is not to commercialize the bumblebee (too late as this has already happened) but to help them along.  Research in the UK indicates that one of the limiting factors in bumblebee population success is the lack of nesting sites.  Forage and habitat for bumblebees are in decline.  The goal of the Pollinators Paradise Project is to increase native bee populations on organic farms and in city parks.

Ground Dwelling Bee Nests

           

After a couple years researching soil requirements of ground nesting bee species Blessed Bee Farm is placing in various spots around the Lower Mainland in coordination with the EYA Pollinators Paradise Project a Ground Nesting Bee Box.  The boxes contain a blend of local soils to attract and support these native species.

            80% of bee species both locally and world wide are ground nesting with the remainder being the more familiar opportunistic cavity dwellers.  In urban areas the ratio of ground nesting to cavity dwelling is reversed.  This is a clear indication that although we are doing a great job conserving one group of species we are doing a terrible job helping the majority of bees.

            My idea was to develop a mobile nest that can be placed in gardens or on farms to remove the need to amend soil or to explain in great depth what soil requirements are for the various species.  The answers to these questions are preloaded by putting the soil into a box.

            The question now is whether the bees will think it as clever as I do or attractive!  I’ll keep you posted.

Honey Stores

Here is a listing of the stores that carry Blessed Bee Honey:

Galloway’s Specialty Foods

7860 Alderbridge Way, Richmond

#110 8620 Glenlyon Parkway

http://gallowaysfoods.com/

Consumers Nutrition Centre

#1318-6531 No.3 Road, Richmond

www.consumersnutritioncenter.com/

Southlands Nursery

6550 Balaclava St, Vancouver

http://southlandsnursery.com/

Benton Brothers Fine Cheese

3432 Cambie St, Vancouver

2104 West 41st Ave, Vancouver

www.bentonscheese.com/

West Coast Seeds

4930A Elliott Street, Ladner

www.westcoastseeds.com/

The Flower Report

A Rose by Any Other Name?

            Honey is not always sweet.  Sometimes it’s bitter and sometimes poisonous: not to us though, but to the honeybee.  A bittersweet honey sounds poetic but tastes awful.

            Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) contains potentially dangerous alkaloids that when eaten by horses can result in death.  Bees are very attracted to the flowers.  Honey from Ragwort smells and tastes awful because of those alkaloids but the flavour can be improved with crystallization.  

The honey is not poisonous or dangerous for human consumption and does not harm the bees.

Ragwort honey can make excellent mead as fermentation can transform and mature many awkward and difficult flavours.

Honey from Rhododendrons is poisonous honeybees (and to people too if the honeybees made enough of it).  It is rare to see a honeybee working a Rhododendron or Azalea.  Bees and plants co-evolved both supporting and encouraging the development of the other.  Because of this sometimes plants produce chemicals or create structural roadblocks to attract one species, which simultaneously rejects other pollinators.

Rhododendron attracts bumblebees as pollinators.  Rhodos produce a sugar that honeybees and humans lack an enzyme to digest.  That sugar becomes a free radical that binds with other chemicals in the body to form a poison.  That really would be bittersweet!

Honeybees learn very quickly not to bother with visiting Rhodos.

Bumblebees and a few other native bee species do have that enzyme so are able to digest the pollen and nectar of the Rhododendron.  As a consequence Rhodos supply plenty of nectar and pollen as a reward for the loyalty of the bumblebee.

Hive Activities in March

March comes in like a lion and leaves as a lamb.  Or something like that!  It’s more the opposite with honeybees.  They start off slow and quiet but by the end of the month are roaring strong and mighty like a lion.

This is one of the things I like about honeybees, how they are a combination of opposites.  The hive dark, noisy and crowded while they need the sun for flight.  For the bees their interior life is about sharing food, trophallaxis, and chemical communication.  Once outside they rely more on the other senses we are more familiar with: sight and smell.  At the height of summer they take the whole sky to fly in.

But at the beginning of March they are mostly stuck inside.

Significantly the ratio of brood to adult bees is reversed from the beginning of March to the end of the month.  At the end of February into the first week of March there are approximately twice as many adults as brood.  By the end of March into the first week of April there are two times as many brood as there are adults.

Brood is a beekeeping term meaning immature bees: eggs, larva, and pupa.

The incredible explosion in brood means that the next big hurdle for a honeybee colony to overcome, after having made it past the dangers of Nosema and starvation, is Chalkbrood.

Chalkbrood is a fungal disease that affects the brood.  The spores of the disease colonize the digestive system of the developing bee with the hyphae quickly branching out to infect the whole insect.  Either just before or during pupation the brood turns hard and slightly crumbly like a piece of chalk with a white, grey or black body and a yellow head.

The fungus has a non-sexual reproductive stage and a sexual reproductive stage.  One can tell by the colour of the dead brood; white is the non-sexual reproductive phase, which turns grey or black when the spores are in a sexual reproductive mode.   Whatever the colour the dead brood are shedding tremendous amounts of spores into and throughout the colony.

The large brood area is difficult for the nurse bees to keep sufficiently warm.  The chilled brood doesn’t get cold enough to die but cool enough for the fungal spores present in the hive to germinate and take hold.

There are several vectors for the establishment of the disease in a colony.  The spores are taken to flower blossoms by infected adults, who rarely die from the disease, to be picked up by bees from other colonies that feed it to the developing brood mixed in with pollen. 

The other vector is beekeeper error.  We open hives and examine frames of brood too early in the season, chilling the brood just enough for the establishment of the spores in bee larva.

Susceptibility to Chalkbrood is said to be a genetically heritable trait so many beekeepers will requeen if a colony seems to have a large or frequent problem with this disease.

In case you like to write letters the farm’s official address is:

P O Box 300021, 12051 No.1 Road, Richmond BC  V7E 0A6

            Chalkbrood wasn’t a problem for honeybees until the 1970’s when all of a sudden beekeepers started noticing it.  Emerging from the research on this new disease was the indication that perhaps it actually started with Osmia lignaria (AKA the Blue Orchard Bee).

            It is considered a low-pressure stress induced disease.  On occasion it reaches levels that cause an economic impact but most colonies most of the time are able to recover from this infection.

Update on Nosema

            In the most recent BeeScene our provincial apiculturist Paul Van Westendorp wrote that feeding pollen to bees at this time of year can actually increase the intensity of Nosema in a colony as well as increase the number of bees that become ill. 

Older bees eat the pollen to stimulate their hypopharyngeal glands to feed larvae.  This can also weaken those bees and make them more susceptible to Nosema.  I personally would have thought that feeding the bees would give them a chance to empty their guts of Nosema.  Which I suppose is true except that they do so in the hive with the result of spreading the disease to other bees.

The standard recommended practice of automatically feeding pollen patties to colonies to stimulate brood rearing should be reconsidered in light of the research finding that Mr. Van Westendorp is reporting on.  Hives that may be sick with Nosema should be allowed to forage for their own pollen while possibly being fed a medication in sugar syrup.

Tentative Steps

            March is when we can first go into the hive a little at first.  In the first week feeding sugar syrup is okay if the hives are short on supplies.

            On a warm day when the bees are in flight we can pull out a frame next to the brood area to see their progress.  What we are looking for are frames of honey.  If there are none readily available to them either consider moving a few closer to the brood frames or begin feeding if there isn’t honey.

            The Blessed Bee way isn’t to automatically feed sugar syrup or pollen patties.  Bee health comes first.  Syrup and pollen patties aren’t the best things but sure beat starvation.  As beekeepers we sometimes take missteps and do not calculate what our bees need to overwinter and use during uncertain spring weather.  Should we be dogmatic and absolutely refuse them food even though the fault is ours and not theirs?  Or should we recognize these food shortages as a learning opportunity for us to do better?  I think you can guess my answer.

March is Monitor Month

            A few Varroa mites in the colonies now, left unchecked and unknown means the hives will be overrun in a few months.  Instead of honey production you will be raising sick bees and a healthy Varroa mite population.

            Varroa mites double their population every 22 days.  That fact alone is scary enough but their reproductive dynamic is more complicated and much more rapid within the process of doubling.  This simple chart below illustrates very well how quickly a few mites can reproduce, increasing by 10 fold from an original 100 mites.

            One foundress mite is able to raise on average 1.45 mites in a worker brood cell and an average of 3 mites in a drone cell.  The chart below assumes an average of 1.4 new mites per worker cell and that each mite is able to reproduce twice.  Each sexually mature female can in fact go through 4 reproductive cycles but this is reduced to 2 for illustrative purposes.

            The mite reproductive cycle takes roughly 12 days with 7 days in between.

   

            The economic action threshold in the spring is 1%.  When monitoring one needs to take action when the number of mites found equals 1% of adult bees tested.  Because of their reproductive rate over 1% maybe too late for effective action: at 2% the Varroa population maybe already too high for any meaningful response.  A 2% infestation rate in the spring does not seem too many but is a reflection of how many more are out of reach in cells reproducing; nearly all of them are in cells.

            What the Varroa mite does is not only stress bees out, shortening their life spans, making them less than effective and forcing them to quickly move from one life stage to the next, mites have made relatively benign diseases very deadly.  Mites have turned the honeybee’s life and the job of keeping bees upside down and inside out.  Understanding the bee/mite/beekeeper dynamic is central to being a successful and sustainable apiarist.

            One of the easiest tests to use at this time of year is the 24 Hour Natural Drop.  Clean your screened bottom board.  Use a sticky board with a rubber grid over top for the bees to walk across if the bees have access to it.  There are new designs out now which have the bottom board isolated from the rest of the hive that consequently do not require a sticky board.  Clean the board; 24 hours later check it for the number of mites that fall off bees.

            This is a very rough test, giving only a vague estimate of what might be going on in your hives.  When NMD (Natural Mite Drop) levels are increasing every time you check your bottom board from mid-February on, as soon as weather permits do a more thorough and accurate test such as an alcohol wash.

            Later in the month when things are really warming up, hopefully, brood frames can be removed briefly to look for diseases and other problems.

Mason Bees

            Mason bee houses and nests can be placed outdoors at the beginning of the month.  At the end of the first week of March is when I release my cocoons: ideally on a warm, sunny and calm day.  Days like that seem to be few and far between in March, or have been the last few years; I got tired of waiting for the perfect day and now release my bees ahead of that in expectation they will sort it out.  To date I have as much success with that method as I do with any other means.

Bumblebees

            The occasional sad and stressed out bumblebee queen is found in gardens starting in February.

The major season for bumblebee emergence is early April, timed with dandelion and willow bloom.  The bees we see now are out of sync with bloom period.  They probably choose an inappropriate location in which to overwinter and heated up too soon. 

Frequently we see these queens in greenhouses and other structures that warm up faster than the outside.  Because of the chill in the air and a dearth of forage they will not survive.

            Soon though the main emergence period will begin for bumblebees. 

Honey Shares 2012

 

Blessed Bee is offering Honey Shares for 2012.  Instead of graduated shares this year there will be just one kind, a Meet the Bees share.  A full day workshop from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm that starts with an introduction to beekeeping and that finishes with harvesting honey and an extraction.  You get to meet the bees that made the honey and to experience the whole process from beginning to end.  You can be assured that the honey you take home is pure, raw, unprocessed, unfiltered and not pasteurized.

The share cost is $90 and can be purchased online at www.blessedbee.ca

There are two sessions to choose for the Meet the Bee honey shares:

Sunday July 29^th

Saturday August 11^th

Please Note: the date in July had to be changed due to a scheduling conflict!

A great backyard, a great backyard beekeeper, lots of forage, and lots of room for a Bee School class; what more could I ask for?  It’s perfect!

Sunday classes to start May 27th, two classes each day first from 9:30am to Noon and then from 1:00 to 3:30.  Sessions will be held every other week for 8 classes altogether.  To learn more visit:

http://www.blessedbee.ca/shop/courses/beekeeping-may-sunday/

This is an in-depth hands-on program that teaches the basics of backyard and small-scale beekeeping. Over the eight 2.5-hour sessions you will acquire the skills and confidence to get started in beekeeping. The cost is only $250 and includes all course materials.

Designed for those with sustainability in mind. Suitable for hobbyists and the serious urban farmer. Throughout each class emphasis will be on working with and understanding bee biology and behaviour, pest and disease cycles and the use of organic control methods.

The cost is $250 and includes all course materials. Class size is kept small and limited to 12 participants. The morning session is from 9:30am to noon. Afternoon classes are from 1:00pm to 3:30pm.

Session 1: May 27
Site selection, sourcing and assembling hive equipment, record keeping for beekeepers, and how to open and inspect a hive. Also, challenges and rewards of beekeeping in the city and in the 21^st Century.

Session 2: June 10
Spring management, bee biology, honey flows, monitoring for pests and diseases (Nosema), reading the bees and cycles in the life of the colony.

Session 3: June 24
Producing honey; Products of the hive: propolis, pollen, wax and extracting honey; European Foulbrood; monitoring for diseases and pests.

Session 4: July 8
Summer management Part I; multiplying bees, understanding swarms, chalkbrood; beecentricity; happy and healthy bees.

Session 5: July 22
Summer management Part II; Pollination dynamics and pollination guilds; American Foulbrood; Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for beekeepers.

Session 6: August 5
Preparing the bees for winter, assessing hive health, feeding, Varroa and Tracheal mites.

Session 7: August 19
Preparing the bees for winter Part II.

Session 8: September 2
Review of the program; winter beekeeping activities, getting started in the spring; final exam.

Participants are expected to arrive on time and to be prepared for each session. Hats and veils will be provided but be sure to wear white or light coloured clothing, long sleeved shirts and long pants that can be tucked into socks.

Please contact: Brian Campbell blessedbeefarm.1@gmail.com

Hi everyone!

Blessed Bee has a new website and a new look

www.blessedbee.ca

Come and visit us there for all your bee information.  We have an online store now for courses, honey and other bee and bee related products.  We think you’ll like what we’ve done to the place.

Brian, on behalf of the bees

We everyone!  For a few months now we’ve been working on another website located at www.blessedbee.ca  You can find all the latest information there, links to the latest bee news, upcoming courses and all kinds of wonderful bee stuff.  Come and visit us there or like us on Facebook!  Brian on behalf of the bees