Water Please!

Life can be a beach if you're a bee.

Everyone needs water.  Without it we don't last so long.  With quite the drought going on in my area I noticed how bees were quick to lick up every drop of water that I spilled in the yard.

They'd even land on the wet dirt after I watered the garden.  So I decided to set out some water for them.

The biggest problem for bees and water is drowning.

I put two small Tupperware containers full of water out, high enough up that raccoons can't mess them up.  I laid many pieces of grass across the surface to give the bees a landing spot.

So far I haven't seen any drowned bees.

I also put my Styrofoam hive feeder on the robbing table, but filled with water.  But so far I haven't seen bees making use of it.

An instructor from my bee course advised that the best way to build a water feeder for bees is to create a beach.  He suggested a plastic child's pool be put in a slanted position.  Then pour sand in it and finally water.

The tilt puts the water to the back and leaves a beach area for the bees to land on.  They don't even have to walk to the water's edge to drink.

I thought I'd try that next.

Summer Santa

Dearth:  Scarcity that makes dear; specifically:  Famine.  An inadequate supply:  Lack.

We're in a dearth in southwestern Ontario.

With our strange spring blowing hot and then cold the bees missed out on the nectar and pollen from the fruit trees.  There are no apples or cherries this year.

Then it got warm again and flowers bloomed.

But now it's as if the creek's gone dry.  Not too many flowers have been in bloom.  We haven't had any significant amount of rain for a long time.

I put extra supers on three weeks ago and most have only one or two frames of drawn comb.  I know the bees are workaholics so if they are able in any way, they'd be building combs and filling them.

I can feel for the bees.  They're feeling a bit unemployed.  You know bees:  They need something to do to keep them happy.  They're so much like me!

I had a large roasting pan that was full of wet cappings from the capping tank from last season. I could tell you that I kept them to give the bees in a time of dearth but I don't plan that far ahead.

Truth is I've been so busy that the pan sat forgotten.  Until now.

This would give the bees something to do.

So I played Santa Clause.  I spooned out some honey on the front porch of each hive.  Just a little appetizer.  Then I put the roasting pan on my robbing table.

The robbing table is covered with plastic sheeting and a piece of corrugated metal which provides protection from the rain.

[Photo - a leftover piece of granulated honey in the comb.  The bees certainly don't care].

They'll clean all the honey up and leave behind the nice clean wax which I'll use to make candles.

I did notice Queen Anne's Lace is coming into bloom though I'm not sure if they work that flower much... but I have tasted jam made from the blooms and it's quite delicious.

My friend Henry said that we might not get any honey this summer except from soya beans.

I think he might be right.

Beware the Queen Killer!

Sometimes we're so prepared for the 'big one' that it's a tiny little thing that takes us off guard.

My beekeeping friend Henry calls these little ones the Queen Killer.

So what is it?  When the inner cover is off and you look down at your frames often you'll see that the bees have built comb attaching the frames together.

To the bees, these are wax bridges that allow the bees to more efficiently travel from one frame to the next.  Just think, without the bridge they'd have to climb down the frame, walk to the end, cross the front or back of the hive to the next frame.  That's like taking the long way to work.  And you'd be late too!

The photo at the top shows several of these bridges that the bees built connecting the last frame in the hive.

The problem with them is that they stick out.  So when you lift out a frame the wax nub scrapes the adjacent frame while you pull it up.

The projecting bridge will kill bees as it scrapes along... and if the queen happens to be in the way, she can be killed.

Projecting bits of wax may seem innocent but keep an eye on them when removing frames, or scrape them away.

[Photo - a bee bridge between an old frame and a new one.  I find the bridges helpful when putting frames back - you'll know if you have the frame the the right way around because they fit back together like puzzle pieces.]

Bridges aren't so dangerous once a frame is removed, then subsequent frames can be shift over making more room to lift out frames without scraping.

Planting the Honey of a Garden

After reading the Honey Handbook I feel so much more informed as I prepare to put in a garden for the bees.

The Honey Handbook focuses on how to produce great flavoured honeys.  And nothing helps the bees do that more than right right kind of plants.

I'll never forget lifting the lid off the extractor after our first extraction.  The smell was like tomatoes and sweet chilly peppers.  Not what I thought honey should smell like.  The taste was different too.  I wondered what on earth the bees had gotten into.

The honey did mellow in flavour and it soon became my favourite.  I think the flavour came from Garlic Weed, an invasive plant not native to Ontario.

Plants give both flavour and colour to honey.  Stronger colours indicate a stronger flavour.  Think of Goldenrod honey from the fall and it's dark golden colour and then Buckwheat honey which is dark brown.

If you haven't tried these other honeys you should visit a beekeeper who carries this range of flavours and try them yourself.  If like to do that with friends and do a taste parade.  I set out each flavour and let them try it.  Some of these flavours I've purchased, such as Buckwheat.

The top plants recommended by the Honey Handbook to create a lovely light minty tasting honey are: Sunflowers, Thyme, Lavender, Peppermint and Borage.

The photo shows my small start.  I've learned to keep plantings close together to discourage weeds.  I left the large clumps of golden rod and asters.

I also planted Russian Sage.  I have no idea what its honey will taste like but every summer when it blooms the honey bees in my area go crazy over it.  It has a very fragrant sage aroma.  I wonder if it may help deter mites.
At my office downtown there's a shrub across the street which at this time of year is completely covered in little white flowers.  It's very fragrant and can be smelt from yards away.  I like the smell.  It's common privet.  So I cut some clippings in spring and put them in water and they have put out roots.

I also bought a couple shrubs to plant in my yard.  Any foraging bees in my area would be welcome to come and forage from it.  But the book says that common privet, although bees love it, produces an awful tasting honey.

I've heard this same thing about the almond honey produced in California.  That honey is inedible--or at least tastes terrible.  So California is all about pollination.

Mono floral honeys can be sold for more money and because bees practise flower fidelity--sticking to the same flower while foraging--it's possible to collect these precious honeys.

Plants can mature very quickly and peppermint is an herb that can be invasive which is great if you want a lot of it in a short period of time.  And I do.

The long and winding road

Today the Beatle's song is going through my head.  The long and winding road.  It often leads to unexpected places.

In this case my mind is saying, "back home."  In truth I don't know where I'll end up.

Today I join with millions of other Canadians and citizens around the world that have or are experiencing the terror and uncertaintly of unemployment.

For many of us the future is uncertain to a degree.  Will I get sick with cancer?  Will the economy in my area totally collapse?  Will my investments go bust?  Will my reduced pension be enough to live on?

All I can say is that I have been especially blessed in life with a job for 31 years.  I thank God for that.  I will do my best to look to a bright future and stay positive.

That's where the bees come in.  They help me.  They keep me going.  They don't necessarily need me as we know--they're pretty good at taking care of themselves--but they allow me to dip into their lives every so often and watch as this social insect works together for the common good.

In so many ways they exemplify how I think humanity should work.  But it doesn't.  That's when I hold steady to those folks out there that I've met that hold the same ideals.  And most of them are beekeepers.

They say that when one door closes another will open.  I believe that.  I hope I choose the right door.

Middlesex, Oxford, Elgin Beekeepers Association Annual Bee Yard Meeting

Every year in June the "MOE", Middlesex Oxford, Elgin Beekeeper's Association (moebee.com) meet at a beekeeper's yard.

It's a chance for the experienced and non experienced to get together where we can get some hands on the bees and learn from those that have been beekeepers for years.

[Photo - Albert Devries holding up a frame of queen cups]

I remember a couple years back when we held the event in my bee yard that I learned more in 10 minutes with an experienced beekeeper than reading all kinds of books.

You just can beat some good old fashioned hands-on training.

This year we met in Elgin County at Albert Devries' home where he raises Buckfast bees.

He was trained as a beekeeper in Guelph but for a while other occupations kept him busy.

Recently he's started working for Clovermead Apiaries.  He was quick to recommend following your dreams and was very content to be doing work that he loves.

On his property was a lovely ravine with a creek.  Multiple hives were nestled there among the trees.

Dappled sunlight was lovely, mixed with just enough shade to make it comfortable.

We geared up and formed groups of beginners and queen rearing wannabees.

I was asked to mentor a group of beginners and so we gathered around a grouping of hives.

Albert breeds and sells queens too.  He demonstrated queen breeding, showing a frame filled with queen cups.

This is when I learned that when grafting tiny larvae into the queen cups that they cannot be flipped.

They only have breathing spiracles on one side of their body.  So if the larvae is flipped in the pool of royal jelly it will drown.

Everyone took turns prying frames from hives and holding up the bees.

We saw queen cups (empty), drone cells, drones and workers.

[Photo - new beekeepers try their hand at grafting larvae into queen cups]

Frames were passed around and even my mother got in on the act and held up a frame--with no veil or hat on!

Afterwards we returned to the shade trees and our lawn chairs and enjoyed some cool drinks and sandwiches.  Of course the talk was all about bees, naturally.

It was a good day.

If you're interested in purchasing Buckfast queens you can contact Albert at 519-868-9429 or via email at devriesfour@gmail.com 

[Photo - my Mom holding a frame of bees.]

Book Review: The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook: A Guide to Creating, Harvesting, and Cooking with Natural Honeys

In the first two minutes flipping through this book I got the perfect answer to how to warm my honey up slowly without using too much heat (how to build a warming box which I will report on in the near future).

[Photo - of the book on Amazon.com]

This book would be enjoyed by a beginner, giving them information they can use but I think the perfect reader for this book is a beekeeper with a couple years experience or one who is preparing to expand their business.

There are many large colour photos throughout which add to the written descriptions.

The primary focus of the book is giving pointers on how to preserve the flavour and quality of the honey right up to point of sale. The secondary focus is on how to produce artisan honey - those lovely unique flavours from mono floral sources.

The third focus is a review of all the equipment and techniques used to remove frames of honey from the hive, and covering all the equipment used for extracting--showing hobbyist equipment right up to equipment used in a large commercial operation.

Honey house layouts are pictured and explained from a small corner in a room to a warehouse sized operation.

Flowers that provide great tasting honey and also not so great are covered. (I knew bees loved common privet but I had no idea it made a horrible tasting honey).

The back of the book has numerous recipes that include honey.

The author is a bit repetitive about not overheating honey and mentioning the value of artisan honey but the rest of the book has enough information to satisfy the reader.