The Purpose of Propolis, crack that is healthy!

Have you ever tried to open a beehive to inspect or retrieve honey when the hive has not been opened in a long while?  It's quite the challenge.  Depending on how long since the last opening, it can be next to impossible to lift a lid or move a frame within a super or even to separate the supers from one another.
When you finally do get your hive tool wedged and pounded in between two supers and really add some leverage (a lot of leverage) suddenly you hear a loud craaaack! And it sounds like something is splintering. The two supers separate.  What was that noise?  That was propolis cracking.

                                                    Photo From Wikipedia

Propolis is nature's glue.  Honeybees make it by taking bits of tree resin and other cellulose material from tree buds and sap flows and chewing on it and adding some salivary materials; they are then able to apply this glue to seal the hive. All open surface edges with openings of 0.3 in (6 mm) or less are sealed. (Larger spaces are of course filled with beeswax.) So any areas where pests or pathogens might try to enter are closed up. Propolising the hive also ensures proper insulation for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.  All gaps are sealed where air might leak out.  Energy is conserved in heating or cooling of the hive, which can demand a lot of the worker bees attention and efforts of fanning with their wings and vibrating their thoraces.

Propolis appears as a dark rusty color in my hive (but may be colored dependent upon the source from red to green) and is the consistency of thickened glue or chewing gum.  It shows up in heavier quantities when temperatures become more extreme-hot or cold.  So, in MD where I live, it shows up in greater quantities in July, as that's when our temperatures start to approach 100F and drought tends to set in.  Beekeepers must chip it away to be able to move frames easily for viewing and a proper hive inspection.  No matter how often you chip away at it, it will be re-propolised to some extent by the next time you reopen the hive.  So, if you never check your hive, don't expect to be able to get into it easily to inspect or retrieve any honey this time of year.  (Propolis is sticky at and above room temperature, 20 °C (68 °F). At lower temperatures, it becomes hard and very brittle.This time of year, the propolis is a bit more pliable with which to work.)

As with most hive products, propolis is claimed to have beneficial health qualities.  Propolis has a long history of medicinal use, dating back to 350 B.C., the time of Aristotle. Greeks have used propolis for abscesses; Assyrians have used it for healing wounds and tumors; and Egyptians have used it for mummification. It still has many medicinal uses today, although its effectiveness has only been shown for a couple of them.

Natural medicine practitioners use propolis for the relief of various conditions, including inflammations, viral diseases, ulcers, superficial burns or scalds.  Many beekeepers collect it from their hives, wash it and send it in to organic and health food stores where it is made into throat lozenges and chewing gum and 3% propolis containing ointments. The French have long held that these lozenges and gum keep sore throats and canker sores at bay; and throat lozenges of propolis are sold in French pharmacies.  With two small hives, I've not collected my propolis scrapings to send in, but on occasion I suck or chew a little piece if my throat is raw; I like to think it does make a difference.  Hard to know for sure.

Propolis is now believed to:

1. reinforce the structural stability of the hive;
2. reduce vibration;
3. make the hive more defensible by sealing alternate entrances;
4. prevent diseases and parasites from entering the hive, and to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth.

Some more unusual uses of propolis are as resin for musical instruments and wax for polishing cars and as sealants in endodontic procedures.

Special precautions & warnings:

There isn't enough information to know if propolis is safe. It can cause allergic reactions, particularly in people who are allergic to bees or bee products. Lozenges containing propolis can cause irritation and mouth ulcers.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding:
Not enough is known about the use of propolis during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Asthma: 
Some experts believe some chemicals in propolis may make asthma worse. Avoid using propolis if you have asthma.

Allergies:
Don’t use propolis if you are allergic to: bee by-products including honey, conifers, poplars, Peru balsam, and/or salicylates.

Check out http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/390.html for more information on the health related benefits of propolis.

The Bee Tree

The Bee Tree, ...as told to me by former next door neighbor Jim 

My former next door neighbor Jim has been gone now for about three years; but shortly before he died (at age 85), he told me a story of collecting honey from a bee tree when he was a boy of 8 years of age.  This story was brought to mind recently when I heard of a local bee tree. (More on this later.) Anyway, this story is therefore about 80 years old.

Jim grew up in  far Western Maryland near Cumberland, close to the West Virginia state line.  This remains a very rural area to this day, but was very wooded and rural at the time of this story.  Thick forests abounded. His family was not rich, few families in this area were,even today; most families fish and hunt and garden and enjoy the things in life like this that bring small pleasures, but keep food on the table, too.

But, he told me the whole family enjoyed a sweet tooth and enjoyed eating honey on flapjacks and grits and other favorite foods. One day, Jim's father told him they were going to gather honey from a bee tree.  A bee tree? Yes, a bee tree.  Jim was intrigued.

Jim's father told Jim a bee tree had been identified deep in the woods and that they would leave with a party of men at nightfall. Jim was eager with anticipation all day long. The day was spent gathering items needed to gather honey from a bee tree.  Buckets, axes, shovels, wood, rags, matches and the neighboring cousins.

Night approached and a party of 12 men and boys and several dogs went into the woods, using burning torches as guide to their way.  The tree was a tall old sycamore deep in the woods that had been identified previously by a ribbon strung around it.

(At some point, lightning had struck the tree and it had burned, but not completely; this had created a large hollow cavity within the trunk.  During deer hunting season, several of the men had seen bees making their way to and from this tree and into a small opening at the base of the cavity.  They remembered this for the following summer when they hoped to gather the honey from this tree.  The summer had arrived and now was the time.  It was after the locust tree flower bloom and the tree should be full of wonderful honey at this point, but also full of bees! Thus, their decision to approach at night when the bees would be settled within the tree.)

Several of the men built and lit a small  fire near the tree and got the flames rolling well, before throwing wet leave on the fire to create plumes of smoke.  This burned Jim's eyes, but would keep the bees from the working party of men.  Two of the men then started chopping with axes at the base of the tree to fell it.  The old sycamore soon fell with a deafening crack and crash to the forest floor below.  Bees and buzzing were everywhere as total confusion reigned within the now broken open hive.    But, it was dark and the smoke kept the bees from stinging, as most of them had swallowed honey in anticipation of a fire.  (Their abdomens were now full and they could therefore not bend their abdomens to sting).

Men brought the buckets near the tree and hacked open the trunk with axes.  Honey and comb was fully encased inside and the honey was freed now to flow.  Men began scooping up the honey and comb with their rag covered hands and with their shovels. They ate some of it themselves, and put the rest in their buckets.  They gathered  28 gallon buckets full of honey.

The boys who were along were then given the buckets to transport the honey back home while the men doused the flames and cut the wood for home fireplaces.  Jim said his two buckets were very heavy and bees were following him where there was light that they could do see to do so.  He had to be careful not to stumble over tree roots and lose this precious liquid gold that they had just gathered. Another younger boy held a torch to guide him back home all the way.  Evenso, bees found him and he got stung twice on his nose.  He told me his nose swelled twice it's normal size, but this may have been hyperbole, as he was given to such.

When back at home, they stored the honey in a cool basement area of the house, and exhausted and hurting, went to bed, anticipating honey on flapjacks for breakfast!

I was reminded of Jim's story recently when our local beekeeping association sent out a message requesting whether anyone wanted to rescue a feral hive (and associated honey) in a bee tree at a local farm.  It is rare to see feral bees anymore because of all of the mites and other parasites and predators that take out bees. Most feral bees in trees now have come from someone's hive that swarmed and escaped. The email's sender thought it would be educational for members to see it. Here is the text of the email message:

Do you know of anyone who might want the adventure of moving a feral honey bee hive from a tree?  One of the farmers/owners is allergic to honey bees so they really feel they need to get rid of the colony.  I’d love to play with this but it’s just more work than I want to get into right now, as hot as it is.  The tree is big, the colony is active and seems pretty strong based on the traffic.  I plan on taking a fiber optic scope over to see if I can tell how big the cavity is either tonight or tomorrow.  Here are some photos (see below).  It’s the big tree in the picture.  The other shows how small the opening is.  The tree looks ideal for them, if it weren't located by the farmer's gate between the pastures.

The farmer says he can wait a couple of days before he kills them if someone is interested.

I am hopeful that a beekeeper was available to step up to do this.  I will investigate to find out the rest of the story for readers.

In Jim's story above, the tree and the hive were unfortunately destroyed in the process of retrieving the honey.  This has traditionally been the case for centuries as various cultures sought honey from hives.  It's only really since the 1800's that the keeping of bees in Langstroth type hives in the US has allowed honey retrieval with sustainability of the hive.  That's best for all parties involved.

Trifecta of stings

This week there is a full moon which could explain why unusual occurrences are happening, such as royal baby births and the like (which, by the way, occur in beehives daily, with no fanfare whatsoever, boy or girl!)

Anyway, last Monday evening, I was stung by a bumble bee on my ear while feeding my cats near the cone flowers planted by my porch.  I was slightly offended, as I like bumble bees and promote their well-being. To be fair, it wasn't entirely her fault.  I swatted at what I thought was a fly. And, she retaliated.

Saturday afternoon, while mowing the lawn, I ran over a nest of German yellow jackets and was stung on the ankle by a very upset guard that was upset at the smoke, noise and vibrations; that nest no longer exists. I feel no love for yellow jackets, even as an entomologist, even though they are good predators.  People get killed every year at this time by simply mowing their lawns and having these nasty beasts attack. How I got by with only one sting I do not know!

Then, yesterday, while going through my hives, it was very hot and humid and my bee veil clung to my neck where I was sweating; darned if one of my girls didn't sting me there!  Maybe it's time for a new stiffer veil! Geeze.

In each case, I took two benadryl pills (maybe I should buy stock in benadryl?!) and held ice to the wound after removing the stinger with the edge of a credit card, so as not to pump more venom from the venom sack into the wound.  I also told someone (Walt) to watch me for any breathing irregularities and call 911, if need be.  I wasn't sure how I'd react to bumble bee or yellow jacket venom, since I've not been stung by these in a long time. I am stung by honey bees all the time.

I was fine, with little swelling, and great drowsiness, in each case. But, I figure I've been really challenging my immune system and adrenal cortex quite a lot of late! Which got me to thinking about the fact that beekeepers tend not to get cancer.  I found this little tidbit, a little bit dated now, but I thought I'd share. Enjoy. But, stay healthy and safe out there, and remember, just because you don't react this time to a sting does NOT mean you won't next time.

From Apitherapy News

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Beekeepers Have Low Incidence of Cancer

Honeybees Health Benefits and Cancer
Inform Africa, December 25, 2011

…Beekeepers have the lowest incidence of cancer of all the occupations worldwide. This fact was acknowledged in the annual report of the New York Cancer Research Institute in 1965. Almost half a century ago, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 9(2), Oct., 1948, published a report by William Robinson, M.D., et al., in which it was claimed that bee pollen added to food (in the ratio of 1 part to 10,000) prevented or delayed the appearance of malignant mammary tumour.

L.J. Hayes, M.D had the courage to announce, “Bees sterilise pollen by means of a glandular secretion antagonistic to tumours.” Other doctors, including Sigmund Schmidt, M.D., and Ernesto Contreras, M.D., seem to agree that something in pollen works against cancer.

Dr W. Schweisheimer also said that scientists at the Berlin Cancer Institute in Germany had never encountered a beekeeper with cancer. A French study concerning the cause of death of 1,000 beekeepers included only case of a beekeeper that died of cancer. The incidence of cancer-caused deaths in a group of French farmers was 100 times higher than the group of beekeepers.

Till date, no study has faulted the fact that beekeepers have very low, almost negligible incidence of cancer worldwide. Due to the weight of this fact and coupled with his experience, John Anderson, Professor of beekeeping, University of Aberdeen, unequivocally declared: “Keep bees and eat honey if you want to live long. Beekeepers live longer than anyone else”.

But why and how do bee stings prevent or heal cancer? First, the major component of bee sting venom is mellitin, which has powerful bacterial and cytotoxic properties. The mellitin in bee venom activates two main glands – adrenal cortex and the hypophysis, which in turn begin to secrete hormones that have strong anti-inflammatory effect. Cancer and many other degenerative diseases are often preceded by inflammation. Bee venom also stimulates the immune system and cancer is less likely to gain a foothold in those with strong immune system.

Nothing promotes blood circulation better than the bee venom, which dissolves plaque in blood vessels and flush it out to ensure free flow of blood. Bee venom contains proteins and amino acids (18 of the 20 obligatory amino acids). When small doses of bee venom gets into the blood they compensate for the deficit of amino acids, make active hormones and vitamins, lower the level of cholesterol and have a positive effect on fat metabolism.

The article goes on from here, but I would have had to subscribe to the journal to get more....

Protecting Bees: Federal Bill Suspending Neonicotinoid Use Forthcoming

Federal Bill Suspending Neonicotinoid Use Forthcoming (reprinted from ePestWorld 7/16/13 newsletter of NPMA, the National Pest Management Association, and my former employer).

An Oregon Congressman last week announced plans to introduce federal legislation suspending certain uses of neonicotinoid pesticides until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews these chemicals and makes a new determination about their proper application and safe use. The measure specifically suspends the use of neonicotinoids for foliar treatments on bee attractive plants, soil applications and seed treatments within 180 days.

Congressman Earl Blumenaer's Save America's Pollinators Act was precipitated by a massive bee kill last month in suburban Portland that state investigators determined was caused by an application of a neonicotinoid pesticide application. Refer to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/07/legislation_to_restrict_pestic.html  
to read the Oregonian's story about the legislation and refer to:
http://blumenauer.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2233:blumenauer-announces-legislation-to-protect-pollinators-prevent-mass-bee-die-offs&catid=66:2013-press-releases
to read Congressman Blumenaer's press release announcing the Congressman's intention to drop the bill.

Black clouds do not always bring rain! The swarm that wasn't!

Black clouds do not always bring rain!  The swarm that wasn't!

I've been reflecting on a small bee swarm event that occurred in my backyard two weeks ago...the bees always keep me guessing and I guess that's why I find them so interesting to keep.

Bee Journal entry: Thurs. June 27, 2013  7:30 pm

I was just in the second hive.  My co-beekeeper has been busy with a move and work and a family wedding and has not been able to get out to check on that hive.  It is day 13 since it was last checked, and it takes 14 days for a queen to form per the textbooks, so I'm a bit nervous that they could swarm and impact my neighbors if I don't get in to do something. I've got his permission.  In fact, he has agreed that maybe with his busy summer schedule, it's best if I just buy those bees back from him and care for them from here on out.  So, I'm in the hive after work in my backyard on a Thursday night;... kind of late to be doing this, but it's supposed to storm tomorrow and I need to see what's going on in there.

I find immediately that I'm glad I came!  I see there are 21  swarm cells; 5 of them are fully formed! (Swarm cells are the newly forming queens made by a hive that has outgrown it's space or that detects the queen is not up to par.  These cells hang down like peanuts from the bottom of a frame in a super.)  They are on the frames in the middle 2 supers of this 4 super hive. 

I see that in one of the swarm cells, the presumptive queen has already started to nibble her way out, so she would likely have precipitated a swarm tonight or tomorrow as she emerged and kicked out the current queen and half of the hive. 

I knock down all of the swarm cells including hers.  ( I know this will make some beekeepers cringe. You didn't save that queen?)  I also see 2 small hive beetles (a pest) in the top super. There are very few drones as compared with my other hive. There is however lots of nice brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) in the bottom 2 supers and some in the 3rd. Only some honey is capped throughout, and mostly in the 3rd super. The top (4th) super seems really slow to develop-maybe two weeks behind my other hive, so I debate taking it off, especially since the nectar flow is slowing down. 

I see her royal majesty in the bottom (1st) super. She surprises me and actually walks up on my glove and poses; I've never had a queen do this before. She looks pretty healthy. She flies off of my gloved hand and ...into the hive?  (or so I think!, ...little do I know!)

But, there are so many bees in the mix, I assume she flew down into the hive super.  But, in retrospect, I think she must have flown up into the maple trees above.  And, because I’d been knocking down so many queen swarm cells, most of which were ready or almost ready to emerge, I think I must have released a swarm pheromone in so doing.  She flew up, and older worker bees must have gone with her.  (But, I still didn't know this; I'm just happy to be done and out of the beesuit in this hot 95F plus degree and 100% RH weather.  It's like a sauna!)  

I close up the hive still unawares.  And, I pour myself an adult beverage and sit down under the apple tree in a lounge chair with my pup Clifford at my feet. Boyfriend Walt is at a church council meeting.  The sun has already set, but there is still lots of light yet in the sky.  There is also  the slightest hint of a late thunderstorm approaching.  I am relaxed.

Then I suddenly heard a loud humming or buzzing noise. It sounds natural, not synthetic or mechanical.  It seems to be approaching and growing louder.  Not obnoxiously loud, but an ever steady humming.

I looked up toward the sound, and there above my neighbor's roof is a slow moving black cloud-of bees! Oh my!  They are moving slowly up high and headed into my yard.  (The black humming moving cloud reminds me of a childhood cartoon with Bugs bunny.)  

The black  buzzing cloud makes its way to hover right over the 2nd hive that I had just closed up.  As they get closer, the humming noise grows slightly louder.   It is now about 7:50 pm and getting a bit darker in the sky.  

The black cloud hovers over the hive for a few seconds and then moves way up high into the tops of the maple trees which are very tall above the hives.  Now realizing these are most likely my girls with my queen up there,  I beg them, Please please do not leave my yard! I hastily look around to see if any neighbors are watching.  Nope, thank goodness! It's too late in the evening.  All is quiet. Good.  I have great neighbors and I cultivate these relationships with jars of fresh honey and other hive products and education.  But, you just don't want to push it, you know what I mean?

So there they are, up high; all swirling and flying and buzzing around, a small group of about 500 workers.  I could not see where the queen had or was landing.  I saw no cluster of bees forming and hanging down anywhere.  I kept scanning the tops of the maple crowns and thinking, man I don't have a ladder that tall if they do cluster up there!  How will I collect them?  Then, I briefly wondered if maybe she would fly back down into the hive? Around 8:10 pm the black cloud seemed to be slowly settling back down-less flying around the tops of the maples.  Were they going back into the hive or clustering somewhere up high? 

Then, I looked down and saw an amazing sight!  The bees still in the hive were lined up at the front porch entry door of the second hive fanning with all their might!  (Fanning is flapping of wings rapidly to release a pheromone from the abdomen in a plume directing wayward bees that can no longer use sunlight to navigate to get back to the hive.) They were trying to call the queen and 500 workers back into the original hive.  Come back, come back, dear queen!  

It was getting darker still.  Storm was now approaching.  Had someones of them figured out there was no new queen in the hive remaining, and that they would all die if she didn't come back? Maybe they detected the low pressure approaching. Any clustered swarm hanging exposed from a tree limb at night would be killed in a downpour of rain. 

Interestingly, by 8:30 pm there was suddenly no more activity at all- flying, buzzing or fanning.  And, it was dark.  Everyone who had been on the front porch entry was now inside.  I wondered, is she back in there?

Bee Journal entry: Fri., June 28, 2013 7:00am

11 hours later, next morning, I went out to scan the tops of the maples and surrounding structures  and neighbor’s homes, etc.  No clusters of hanging bees.  So,…I think and hope and pray, she is inside the hive where she belongs!  Otherwise, I have no idea where she is.  But, i dare not open the hive as they need no disturbance for a bit.

Bee Journal entry: Mon., July 1st, 2013 6:00pm

I just opened the 2nd hive; it's been three nights since the "swarm." I went through all of the supers. I see no queen, but I see brood and I think I see newly laid eggs.  I think??? Is she in here? I really don't know for sure.  I sure hope so.  I checker board the hive to prevent further notions of swarming.  Then, i knock down any newly forming swarm cells. 

Bee Journal entry: Mon., July 4th, 2013 2:00pm

I just opened the 2nd hive;  I went through all of the supers. In the bottom super I see her.  The queen is here!  She looks healthy as she walks around dipping her abdomen into each cell and laying a new egg.  I tell her, "Your royal highness, you gave me a scare and it's good to have you back!"  I see brood and newly laid eggs and very few swarm cells. The true swarm seems to have been successfully averted.  And, from an entomology standpoint, it was a little exciting to boot!  

Observations on my entry into my hive last evening

Observations on my entry into my hive last evening...

Bee Journal entry 6/25/13:

I got into my bee hive about 7: 30pm.  (I don't get home from work until about 6:15pm).  It was slightly cooler at that point, than the 93F it had been around 4:00pm, but it was still very hot (90F) and humid (90%).  With my full beesuit on, I was sweating buckets like in a sauna.  (This can be a problem if your skin sticks to the suit because of the sweat and the bees sting you easily through it.)

It was almost too late to be in the hive really.   I killed a lot of my girls accidentally as I moved supers and frames around as they were all there at home this late in the day, and not out foraging like they would be at mid-day with the sun up high; that's the preferable time to be in the hive.  I also had to use a lot of smoke to calm them.  A low pressure thunder storm was on its way.  They hate low pressures!  They also hate high temperatures.  So they were irritated.  I would be, too!  (A few puffs of cool smoke calmed that behavior, until the next super's work of going through each frame by frame to check things.)  Then, repeat again.

There's a bit of a derth of moisture despite the afternoon thunder boomers we've had recently.  The clover is beginning to look all dried up and brown or burned.  The nectar flow is slowing way down.  But, my queen still has a very nice brood pattern in the first three bottom supers (brood chambers); I complimented her.  She seems healthy. I didn’t actually see my queen, her highness, last night, but there was evidence of her being there-eggs and c-shaped larvae and capped larvae becoming pupae-the brood. 

There is also a lot of pollen in those bottom supers; really it is too much-pollen bound, and she is laying some eggs in strange places on the end frames as a result.  Normally, the eggs and brood tend to be in the center frames of the super. 

Drone cells (housing male bee larvae and pupae) are building up in numbers as happens this time of year. Drone cells normally are on the bottom of frames and are more elongated out than regular worker brood cells.   I actually knocked some down, as I hate the Varroa mites that come with them (and the associated viruses the mites can bring, like the deformed wing virus that my girls in the past have gotten).  Not all beekeepers do this; most do not; I'm experimenting a bit.  And, in fact, you do need 20% of your hive make up to be drones for a healthy hive.

I also knocked down several swarm cells.  They were mostly in the lower supers where space is at a premium.  There is a plenty of space at the top in those supers.

The girls are thirsty with these hot temperatures of late that are burning up the clover and starting to eliminate the nectar flow out here.  The top three supers that had had capped honey last week had been reduced by consumption, so I actually took one full honey super off to save for whenever I extract honey, so they don’t eat it all up first! 

But, since they are hungry, I gave them some older full frames of honey I had stored in the basement freezer and thawed; (these were from a hive I had last year that had died.)  The girls were all over them immediately-very thirsty. 

There was lots of propolis (the sealant they make from tree cellulose and their saliva to plug cracks) as they tried and sealed the hive completely shut to allow for best air conditioning flow.

I saw no hive beetles or other pests or signs of disease.  (I did a 24 hour ipm-integrated pest management-mite drop last week, where I slipped an ipm board covered in pam spray into the bottom of the hive for overnight. Only two mites fell and stuck to it, so we seem mite healthy for now.  That will change as drones increase in number.)

They did try and sting me through my gloves, as the storm approached.  That's when I used more cool smoke to calm them and rid my gloves of the associated alarm pheromone-actually smoking my gloves.  You don't want to use hot smoke and singe the girls or their wings, antennae, etc., or you!

Lots of bearding was going on.   As it gets hot, the girls move out to the front porch and sit out there to cool down until after sunset, when they go back in.  Totally normal behavior.

As I closed up the hive, there was fanning of wings and associated pheromones going on for stragglers to find their way home as the sun was no longer in the sky. 

Summary:
The hive looks healthy and good.  Few swarm cells.  The queen appears well, as does her brood. I had 6 supers on the hive, but took the one off that was full of honey and added some old frames with honey in lower supers.  There are likely close to 80,000 - 100,000 bees inside at this point.  No pests, disease or parasites present.  But, they do seem hungry.  I will monitor this.  I may need to start feeding them sooner than normal (end of July) if the nectar flow dries up.  I will next be in the hive within the next two weeks, but likely sooner to monitor the feeding and hunger concern and build up of drones.

Buzzbumping at the tiki torch bar happy hour!

The other night, I was swinging on my porch swing and sipping an adult beverage with cats and dog at my feet and boyfriend by my side; the sun was setting, and I was admiring how the torch lilies were blooming like gang busters in front of me.  I had originally planted only two plants; but, now these lilies had budded and split in the intervening two years and grown into mega clumps, which maybe doesn't sound attractive, but actually is.  A torch lily jungle lay before my eyes and truly looked like little tiki torches; too bad they aren't real lights in the dark, as they'd be very romantic.

I discovered torch lilies, also known as "red hot pokers", after a trip to England to survey cottage rose gardens on a trip that my mom, a Consulting Rosarian, lead 10 years ago. I had never before seen them, but the British have them blooming in every garden accenting their rose blooms in the month of June, and I decided I had to have some for my own rose gardens when I got home.

These lilies, like many flowers, bloom from the bottom up.  Their flowers are clustered in a circle around the core stem and continue from about 4 inches from the top all the way to the top; they aren't very big flowers, and they are yellow or orange or red. And they really don't look like they'd support much in the way of either nectar or pollen.  Ah, but there was one of my honey bee girls buzzing around them.  On closer look, there were many of my honey bee girls buzzing around them! 

And, on an even closer look, there were my girls, bumble bees, sweat bees, bee flies, leaf cutter bees, and several kinds of paper and mud dauber wasps buzzing around them.  In fact, they were being quite territorial, and buzzbumping each other off of the flowers to get to the ones they wanted; "I was here first!"

Those that were successful were climbing all the way up into the tiny flowers to the point that their little abdominal butts were all that was left visible.  As they did so, their pollen sacs were being loaded with a bright orangey yellow pollen. 

The sun was almost set and it was now 8:30 pm; we'd been watching for about an hour.  The summer solstice was upon us, so the days had become much longer.  But, there was still a lot of light in the sky.  The girls kept coming, flying from the backyard hives, over the house, and into the lilies.  The word was obviously out!  It's happy hour at the local neighborhood tiki torch bar! Come one, come all!

Since bees use the sun to navigate to and from their hives, I was wondering how late they would stay.  I soon got my answer.  Promptly at 8:35 pm, no more honey bees.  The bumble bees lingered a bit longer sipping in the nectar.  But, all the other bees and wasps were now gone, too.  A hummingbird dropped in briefly for a sip, and was gone. Last call, the bar doors were closing.  By 9:00 pm, the bumble bees were all gone, too.

Bayer Breaks Ground on North American Bee Center

This from PCT (Pest Control Technology) e-newsletter this week..., and on the heels of the EU's banning neonicitinoid pesticides for the next 3 years!  A little pressure appears to go a long way.

Bayer Breaks Ground on North American Bee Center

Supplier News
As part of its continued commitment to honey bee health, Bayer CropScience broke ground on its North American Bee Care Center.

| June 4, 2013

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – As part of its continued commitment to honey bee health, today Bayer CropScience broke ground on its North American Bee Care Center, a recognition of the importance of these pollinators to agriculture. Senior company managers, bee health experts and representatives from the community were on hand to begin work on the new facility, approximately a 6,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building which will complement an existing Bee Care Center that was established last year at the company’s global headquarters in Monheim, Germany. 

Housed in the Bee Care Center will be a full laboratory and teaching apiary; honey extraction and workshop space; interactive learning center; and meeting, training and presentation facilities for beekeepers, farmers and educators, as well as office space for graduate students. Although the North American Bee Care Center will have its own honey bee colonies for teaching and demonstration purposes, the facility will be supported by other research apiaries, located nearby the Research Triangle Park area, to coordinate and extend research projects directed toward bee health.

The Bee Care Center, a hub to promote worldwide bee health initiatives, will serve to support scientific research and help educate stakeholders and the general public about the importance of honey bees to agriculture by providing pollination of crops that help meet the growing global demand for a nutritious and abundant food supply. In order to address food challenge issues, the Center will bring together significant technological, scientific and academic resources to protect and improve honey bee health and sustainable agriculture.

In its recent comprehensive assessment on honey bee health, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted that bees are suffering from a complex set of stressors, including parasites and diseases, lack of genetic diversity, and inadequate nutrition, while stressing the need for collaboration and information sharing among all stakeholders as a critical component in promoting best management practices. The North American Bee Care Center is being created with these goals in mind.

Bayer CropScience is also expanding its Clayton research apiary, known as “Beesboro,” to include an appproximately 1,200-square-foot building with an office, a wintering cold room, extraction area, bee hive maintenance area and storage areas. This facility expected to be operational in late summer 2013.

“At Bayer, we have been committed to bee health for more than 25 years,” said Jim Blome, President and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP. “The Bee Care Center is the latest example of our dedication to sustainable agriculture, and we hope to continue to provide the research necessary to ensure the health of colonies and honey bees around the world. Our scientists are working to help solve some of the most pressing honey bee health problems, as their importance to the global food supply cannot be overstated.”

Additionally, the Bee Care Center will be a highly sustainable facility, which will help Bayer CropScience reduce its carbon footprint in an effort to promote corporate environmental stewardship. For more information on the North American Bee Care Center and Bayer CropScience’s commitment to honeybee health, visit http://www.bayercropscience.us/our-commitment/bee-health.

Bee swarms do not always good neighbors make!

If you have never experienced the excitement of a bee hive swarming, you haven't lived!  Suddenly out of the hive there is a tornadic like black mass of honeybees swirling around as half of the hive leaves with the old queen.  A new queen has emerged and ascended to the throne to take over reign of the hive, and no house can host two queens! The new upstart stays with the brood and the young workers and nurse bees that cannot yet fly.  But, half of the hive, which may be 30 thousand bees this time of year, leaves with the old queen!  All buzzing and flying.  They head to the closest structure that the scout worker bees have identified as being a temporary staging area.  The old queen flies there and soon the tornadic mass of older workers flies to meet her and to get as close to her pheromone on her body as possible. 

Swarming is how hives naturally reproduce.  When the current beehive runs out of room, it's time for some of the worker bees and the old queen to move on.  The hive runs out of room because: a) the queen has exhausted all available areas for laying new eggs-she lays over 1,000 a day, b) there is so much honey in the hive there is no more room left to lay eggs,  or c) the hive is "pollen bound" and has stored so much pollen that there is no more room left to lay eggs.

This sight can be one of awe for entomologists, or for laypeople who are unfamiliar or entomophobes (one who is afraid of insects), one of a worst nightmare.  The fact is, bees that are swarming are actually very gentle and are not at all interested in stinging.  They just want to find and be with their queen. 

When they find her, they form a hanging ball around her.  Where they land initially is just a temporary platform.  The scout bees are still looking for a place to call a new permanent home/hive.  In the wild, this can be a hollowed out tree or stump.  Unfortunately, in ever increasingly urbanized America, this can often sometimes be someones' back porch or eave or attic or backyard swingset or picnic table.  So it is important to catch new swarms before they move to such areas.  Usually the temporary location is left within two to three days for the permanent one.

Responsible urban area hobbyist beekeepers know that to prevent the emergence of a new queen (and subsequent swarming) of their hives, they need to get into their hives at least once every 14 days. (Fourteen days is the amount of time required for a new queen to develop from egg to adult.)  But, informed beekeepers also know that the bees don't read the literature written about them, and that it is more prudent to be in the hive once every ten days!  (Higher temperatures increase metabolism and can quicken developmental times.) 

When you inspect your hive once every 10-14 days, you are looking for swarm cells.  These are the developing queen cells.  They are very obvious.  They hang down from the bottom of the frames like a peanut; in fact, they kind of look like a complete peanut in the shell.  Simply take your hive tool and cut them away so they do not develop.  (Of course, it is important to check first to make sure your existing queen looks happy and healthy!  You may in fact want a new queen to develop, if not.)

There are different beekeeper schools of thought out there on whether you should knock down swarm cells or not.  If you leave them and the swarm occurs, you introduce new genes into the neighborhood population, and new bees into the area with the new queen and hive.  If you are on 50 acres of land and have no close by neighbors, that's perfect, and I'm all for it.  If you have near neighbors, then you don't want this.  Swarms do not good neighbors make!  At least, usually.  Just to be prepared for it, I always give my neighbors free jars of honey!

Another reason to discourage swarming is that it divides your workforce, and suddenly you have half the workers bringing in nectar and making you honey.  Thus the familiar 17th C. proverb,...

"A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly."

The nectar flow is in May and June, so you don't want to lose your workforce out there working to bring all that nectar in!  By July, the nectar flow has dried up, and it really wouldn't matter until the fall nectar flow of goldenrod and asters.  That is, if you don't have near neighbors!

An interesting thing about swarms is that March, April and May swarms tend to be found initially down low on a branch near the hive they just left.  They are very easy to put in a bucket and rehive in a new hive or even the same hive from which they just came, as long as there is just one queen-so one must go. 

June swarms are higher up, and July swarms are often in the tops of a nearby tree, or the top of a church spire or belfry.  So, it's much easier to retrieve an early swarm than a later one.  Later ones require a very long ladder, and most folks are a little nervous about being high on a ladder with buckets and bees. 

Please do try and save a hive if at all possible!  Call your local beekeeper or state agriculture extension office and ask for the state apiarist.  Or go online and google your state apiarist or University Department of Entomology for their Apiarist on staff.  Or google your local beekeeper's association.  Remember, it is alot easier to retrieve such a hive before that 3 day period is up, when they move on.  Also, do not treat a swarm with any pesticides.  Also, do not collect a swarm that has been treated with any pesticides.  You will bring the pesticides into your hive. 

If a swarm has occured long ago and the hive is now established well within a chimney or attic or wall void area, etc., you may instead need to call your local pest management company.  These hives have usually been treated with pesticide by the homeowner already.  The bees will need to be vacuumed out of the wall void where they are living.  Then the wax comb and dripping honey must also be removed.  So, the wall must be opened up generally.  It's a sticky and expensive mess!  If wax and honey are not removed, secondary pests will come to this area, including mice, skunks, dermestid beetles, flies, wax moths, woodpeckers, etc.

To prevent swarming in urban areas, provide the queen and bees room and space within the hive so she can keep laying eggs.  She (the queen) will always want to move up more than out.  So after frames are filled in one super, have another super ready to place on top.  Simply move a frame with some brood into the new super to get her to come up into it.  Knock down swarm cells every ten days or so.  Keep a journal and calendar so you remember when you've been in the hive to do this.  (This is a good idea anyway to jot down hive observations and then to compare from year to year and hive to hive and queen to queen.) 

Despite your best attempts, swarms can still occur if you miss seeing a swarm cell when you go through your hive or if you have to be out of town for over ten days.  Educate your neighbors about swarms and how gentle the bees are, and give your neighbors honey regularly; yes, I'm a mercenary! Remind them that bees are threatened currently and that the reason their yards look so good lately is that your girls have been hard at work pollinating them!  Keep the name of a beekeeper willing to collect swarms at the ready.  And, if you do go out of town, share his/her name with your neighbors.

A technique called checkerboarding can be done to try and reverse a queen who is determined to swarm and keeps laying swarm cells.  This is where you place empty frames every other frame within the top supers to give the queen space.  This usually works well.  (Of course, you also knock down all swarm cells.)

Another trick is to split the hive and start a new one with frames of brood and swarm cells attached. Be sure some nurse bees are on those brood frames and also provide some honey and pollen.  This approximates a swarm and makes the queen think that's what happened.

One other trick is to take a frame of brood and swarm cells and place with no bees on it into a weak hive.  This may boost the weak hives' health and make the old hive think they swarmed.

As you can see, there are a lot of tricks out there.  Be an attentive beekeeper and all should be well. 

In my 7 years of beekeeping, I've had only one swarm (knock on wood!).  It was about 5 years ago in early June, and I was still new to beekeeping.  It happened on a Friday evening when I was at a women's group meeting 50 miles from home.  My boyfriend went to walk my dog, and the neighbors approached him and said, "something strange is happening with Kathy's bees!"  He went to look.  The tornadic swarm was leaving my hive about 6pm and headed to the lowest pine tree branch in their backyard very close nearby.  It is quite a sight to behold and it was attracting the entire neighborhood!  Whole families had come out to watch after eating supper.  Where I live is suburban, but still rural, and the neighbors appreciate natural phenomena, thankfully. Also, the previous week, again, thankfully, I'd been the speaker at the local garden club and had spoken on bees and swarming.  So, both my boyfriend and my neighbor had heard me say how gentle they were.  He echoed this again to my neighbors.  And, he called the local bee collector of swarms.  (I call this guy Rick the bee whisperer!)  He also called me to alert me.  By the time I got home, the swarm was nicely hanging from the pine tree branch.  Rick, with no gloves or suit on, had placed a ladder below the hanging mass of bees.  On top of the ladder he placed a super and let it sit there overnight, as it was now dark.  He returned at 7am and shook the branch into the box and the whole mass dropped in.  He put a lid on it and asked me if I wanted them.  I said, no after all that work, now they are yours!  He was delighted to have another hive.  My neighbors came out to say how cool it had all been to watch and experience-nature at its best!  I breathed a sigh of relief that they shared my opinion.

Do the groundwork to make sure your hives are safe and you manage them well.  It will be rewarding for all involved.
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Some of you have written to say that the feature to post questions is not working.  I do not know why.  If you have questions, place "bee" in the email title and feel free to email me at ckheinsohn@aol.com.

Superhive...how high can you go?

The Whitehouse beehive, illustrating

                                                        a traditional Langstroth American hive

               with 5 supers.

It becomes a bit of a friendly competition each summer between neighboring beekeepers to see how high they can go with supers on their hives.  That is, how many boxes can they add to a hive to make it taller and collect more honey.  Afterall, this is the sweet tangible reward for your efforts and the stings and the money expended on equipment and tools! The harvested honey makes it all worthwhile.

In a season with a good nectar flow, such as what we have experienced thus far, some beekeepers have been known to add as many as 10 supers or more.  (Recall that a super is the box of frames. In my case, my supers are all the same smaller size -a medium- with 8 frames, as I have an English garden hive.  Folks with the traditional Langstroth American 10 framed hives have bigger supers called either mediums or deeps.  The deeps -larger supers but still with 10 frames- are what are used for honey collection.  My supers are more like a medium super -but with 8 frames; there is also a smaller brood super for 8 frame hives.)

When a medium or deep honey super is full of honey, it is VERY heavy! This is a bit hard on a weak back when lifting; thus, my preference for the medium supers of the 8 frame English garden hive variety.

Extraction of the honey is usually after the nectar flow is over.  So, that means end of June or beginning of July for many of us in my area.  You could do it earlier, but you are going to get your honey house or kitchen or clothes and everything else all sticky and messy, so why not do it all at one time, and just make a day of it!  So, I wait until the nectar flow is over, and I do it all at once; this is usually in early July.  Once you collect the honey, you can store it until you are ready to bottle it.

There is also a second nectar flow in the fall of goldenrod and asters in my area; it occurs around the end of September and into October until a first frost; but, I've never harvested this honey, which is much darker in color and much more pungent in taste. 

The spring nectar flow is very good this year.  There will be lots of honey.  But, it's not ready just yet.  I have already added two medium honey supers to my hive, and my co-beekeeper has added one to his.  One of mine is already full, and took less than a week to get that way!  The locusts are no longer blooming, but now the wild blackberry vines are fragrantly surrounding my home and environs.  The creek bed behind the hives is loaded with these vines and their blossoms!  Clover flowers also abound around my hives.  Both red and white clover varieties.  Unfortunately, Privet, which makes less well-tasting honey is also in bloom.  But, so far, (and I've been watching) only the bumble bees and wasps seem interested in those flowers.  My girls are still going to the blackberry flowers.  (I had considered giving the Privet a haircut to remove all of its blossoms, and I will if I see my girls headed there!) But, there are plenty of other wild flowers for the honeybees to visit, and they are doing just that.

It's that time of year.  People want honey.  They see bees flying and they think "honey".  They sneeze from pollen allergies, and they think, "I need honey!"  At church, at the nail salon, at the beauty parlor, in the grocery store, at work, at home - a knock on my door ,...everyone wants to know: "when will your honey be ready?!"  And, like every other small time beekeeper, I have to say, be patient, it's coming.  I'm sold out of my stock from last year.  Besides you want fresh honey!
I used to be a part of a farmers market that was held every Saturday and Sunday in my small town.  This was timed about the same time that the buy local trend was coming into vogue.  I would set up my table and umbrella and sell my honey and wares (soaps and candles) to passersby.  I met very interesting people from all over the nation who were traveling on the C&O canal trail near where I set up my stand.  They all had stories of a friend or a grandfather who had kept bees or a story about encourntering a bee or sting, and they seemed to buy out of nostalgia as much as anything else.  And getting to know the other vendors and bartering with them for their wares in exchange for mine was great!  That was a lot of fun, but also a heavy commitment to give up every weekend.  I gained enough of a clientele, that now people tend to call me or ask me for my honey.  (I do still attend an annual German Christmas market in nearby Lovettsville, VA each December and sell my honey and wares there.  That is also a two day event, and it is well attended and very fun and festive.)

Why should your customers buy honey from you, a local honey vendor?
It tastes far better and there are significant health benefits.  Honey you buy in the grocery store is tossed in a vat with other varieties-mostly clover-from all over the nation and sometimes the world.  This dilutes the taste.  The local honey vendor has honey grown in his or her backyard or orchard.  It has a distinct (much better) unique flavor.  It also contains grains of pollen from local trees and flowers to which you may be allergic.  By eating this honey over time, you develop an immunity to these local pollen allergies. I have one customer that buys my honey just for this reason!  It helps his allergies!

Now is a good time to say, "Never feed an infant or toddler honey!"  Be sure to tell your mothers who buy your honey or mark your bottles with this information.

"Why?,"  you ask.  Well, as the bees walk around on the ground from clover plant to clover plant or other wild flower, they may pick up Clostridium botulinum spores, the bacterium responsible for Botulism, from the ground on their feet (tarsi).  If they then fly into the hive and walk over the comb-stored honey, the spores may be deposited here.  When you extract your honey, there is no way to separate out the C. botulinum spores from the resulting honey.  Fortunately, children beyond about age 2 and adults have mature digestive systems whose enzymes can easily break down these spores and rid them naturally with other wastes and no ill effects.  However, babies and toddlers do not have a well-developed digestive tract and cannot.  Babies and toddlers who eat honey can develop infant botulism, which can result in a rare but fatal paralysis.  In the U.S. about 600 cases of infant botulism in this manner are reported annually.

Keep in mind that once you, the  beekeeper, takes honey off of a hive, the colony as a whole is going to suffer an immediate and severe set back and is now more prone to illness, disease, parasites and a weakened state in general.  So, you will want to eventually balance the amount of honey you are going to steal with the health of the overall hive and queen.  Also, remember that your hive will need at least 60 lbs of honey to make it through the winter in our area. So, don't be a glutton!  Save some for your girls.  You will also be feeding them sugar water again, starting in August, to help them regain some of the honey stores you've taken, and you will add a pinch of cream of tartar to that sugar water to facilitate the transition from nectar to honey; but it's just not the same as the real stuff!  (By the way, NEVER extract honey that is made from sugar water!)

So now that the nectar flow is full blown and you are adding supers to your hive, also begin to  inventory your extraction needs, including bottles.  More on this in a later post.