My bro-in-law, Mikan, is in Serbia, where he found a major apiary right inside the city limits, at a monastery called Slanci. He visited on a Saturday evening while the monks were preparing food that they serve to all the visiting worshippers every Sunday. They get up to 200 visitors for lunch every week.
If you paste the following link into your address bar, you should be able to access the video. It's worth it to see the AMAZING beehive designed to look like a church. It's inspiring me to get creative with hive architecture, for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/ylRduLHANvc?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And I guess these are some of the original Yugoslavian bees!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
#7. Beekeeping enthusiasts fly under the radar
I've been wondering how my neighbors are going to respond to my bee hives. (I already know how my neighbor Lou, across the street, feels. He thinks I have a screw loose. But I don't think that's related to beekeeping.) So the weekend before last I approached my nearest neighbors, Tonie and Bruce. Their house is probably 200' from the 'bee yard'-to-be. I gathered myself, took a deep breath and approached them. Well, imagine my surprise when Tonie exclaimed "Really!! That's great! My father just gave up keeping bees about 10 years ago. He kept them for years - since I was a kid - in suburban Brentwood." (Long Island, not Los Angeles.) So we talked about her father's beekeeping, which was wildly successful. Tonie says he always had 4 - 5 hives, and reliably produced a couple hundred lbs. of honey a year. He only quit because of his advanced age. I asked Tonie to check with him to see if he had any equipment he might want to sell.
What a positive - and totally unanticipated - response. And then when I mentioned my 'Plan Bee' to my friend Wendy from East Hampton, she told me that as a youngster she spent her summers working on an Amish farm where she worked the apiary. She talked about how the Amish housed their bees in anything they could get their hands on - including old chests of drawers.
Then, about a week ago, beekeeping was brought even closer to home. I was talking to Joan Porco, Montauk resident and our favorite newspaper columnist, who told me that an acquaintance of hers is a local beekeeper, but he keeps it very quiet, fearing neighbors' reactions. Finally, the other week, as I was chatting with my old friend and ex-neighbor Maura - who is so supportive of the whole beekeeping/backyard chicken/self-sufficiency thing - she told me that there is some old local she knows out here who used to keep bees, and maybe still does.
I have to say, I was kind of surprised. I've never seen a hive anywhere on Montauk. And, though I have lots and lots of different kinds of bees on my property, a honey bee is a very rare sight. This would make a lot of sense if there are no beekeepers on Montauk. Honeybees, not being native to the Americas, presumably must be introduced to remote areas like this. And though bees certainly have the capacity to expand out of their hives and naturalize in the environment, wild colonies would probably spread slowly to Montauk, and in tiny geographical increments, from further west on Long Island and the North Fork. If I were a bee, it would take some doing to persuade me cross Napeague. And, presumably, wild honeybee colonies here on Montauk could easily fail without human support and management, given our hostile weather conditions.
But I don't know now. Maybe I'm wrong and there are a lot more local bees and their keepers than I imagine. Maybe they're just all flying under the radar. I will now be on a mission to locate the illusive "Montauk Beekeeper". He - or she - will have a lot of really useful information to share, I have no doubt.
Bee factoid: bees belong to the same order of insects as ants - Hymenoptera.
What a positive - and totally unanticipated - response. And then when I mentioned my 'Plan Bee' to my friend Wendy from East Hampton, she told me that as a youngster she spent her summers working on an Amish farm where she worked the apiary. She talked about how the Amish housed their bees in anything they could get their hands on - including old chests of drawers.
Then, about a week ago, beekeeping was brought even closer to home. I was talking to Joan Porco, Montauk resident and our favorite newspaper columnist, who told me that an acquaintance of hers is a local beekeeper, but he keeps it very quiet, fearing neighbors' reactions. Finally, the other week, as I was chatting with my old friend and ex-neighbor Maura - who is so supportive of the whole beekeeping/backyard chicken/self-sufficiency thing - she told me that there is some old local she knows out here who used to keep bees, and maybe still does.
I have to say, I was kind of surprised. I've never seen a hive anywhere on Montauk. And, though I have lots and lots of different kinds of bees on my property, a honey bee is a very rare sight. This would make a lot of sense if there are no beekeepers on Montauk. Honeybees, not being native to the Americas, presumably must be introduced to remote areas like this. And though bees certainly have the capacity to expand out of their hives and naturalize in the environment, wild colonies would probably spread slowly to Montauk, and in tiny geographical increments, from further west on Long Island and the North Fork. If I were a bee, it would take some doing to persuade me cross Napeague. And, presumably, wild honeybee colonies here on Montauk could easily fail without human support and management, given our hostile weather conditions.
But I don't know now. Maybe I'm wrong and there are a lot more local bees and their keepers than I imagine. Maybe they're just all flying under the radar. I will now be on a mission to locate the illusive "Montauk Beekeeper". He - or she - will have a lot of really useful information to share, I have no doubt.
Bee factoid: bees belong to the same order of insects as ants - Hymenoptera.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
#6. Yugoslavia is dead. Long live the Yugoslavians!!
At first, I thought I didn't get the memo, because by the time I got to class - early, like 6:50 - there were only 3 seats left available. For a moment, I actually thought that maybe I got the time wrong, and that I might be late, but no. A real bunch of eager beavers, I'd say. Everyone was obviously just champing at the bit. And you could feel it in the air: an almost palpable, nervous anticipation...
The bees arrive next month - before our next class. I could have sworn that Ray said they were coming in May. Not the first, nor last, time 'I could have sworn' something that was totally bogus. So yes, with exactly 3 hours of classroom training, the welfare of tens of thousands of tiny lives will be placed in our unseasoned hands. Just hope my back-ordered hives arrive in time.
Oh, and speaking about thousands of bees, my favorite bee factoid of the night - there are 4000 bees to the lb.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
Well, I took my place at the back of the class, which is now set up in rows of tables, not in a giant square like last time. And as I sat down, I noticed an omen - a mystical, magical, wonderful omen (as it turned out) - in front of me - a large, artful basket of madeleines. There they sat, speckled with a light dusting of powdered sugar, their buttery aroma wafting around the place. I queried my table mates as to their ownership, but was met with shrugs. So, of course, I ate one. Divine. Delicately crisp on the outside, just the right sweetness. Golden, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I think I will name my favorite bee queen 'Madeleine'. (And a note to my table mate Jörg, who told me he's reading the blog - Welcome, Jörg!)
Anyway, Ray was giving us a crash course in installing bees in the hives. I know I am not alone when I say that my greatest fear is killing the queen. In manipulating the hive it is common to kill bees. But you really don't want to axe the queen. Uggh. Anxiety, thy name is beekeeping.
So I asked Ray what kind of bees we'd be getting. In my reading, I found out that there are several major types of honey bees, each distinct, but capable of interbreeding, each with its own characteristic strengths and weaknesses, and they originate in different parts of Europe. Well, I thought I detected a little smirk on Ray's face when I asked the question, but hey - these are valuable bees, and we should be able to identify their pedigrees, no? So at first, he answered - "They're bees that have been developed to thrive in NY State." For a moment, it looked like he was going to leave it there, but he continued, getting to the heart of the question. "Italian bees have been very popular, but they eat a lot. They like to maintain large colonies through the winter, so they require a lot of feeding." Yes, I'd read about the Italians. Charming, of course, with yellowish stripes and very good-natured. "But", Ray continued, "we use mainly 'Cariolans' - 'Yugoslavians'". That's what he said. Not 'Bosnians' or 'Croatians', but the good, old-fashioned, now defunct 'Yugoslavians'.
WHAT? Was I hallucinating? It was all I could do to stifle a squeal. I will explain, for those of you who don't know me personally, that originally, our family name was Djurićic̀, i.e. what used to be referred to as a 'Yugoslavian' name. Then Ray (which was my father's name, as if things could not get more weird) started talking about the Russians. Russian bees are tough and resilient and much favored in current bee-breeding programs. Russian bees, btw, are Yugoslavian bees that went to Russia, got the shit kicked out of them by hostile weather and murderous parasites, and ultimately managed to survive and thrive. And, of course, I've got that base covered as well, being ¼ Russian.
Conclusion, Yugoslavia lives on, if only in American apiaries, and -
The bees arrive next month - before our next class. I could have sworn that Ray said they were coming in May. Not the first, nor last, time 'I could have sworn' something that was totally bogus. So yes, with exactly 3 hours of classroom training, the welfare of tens of thousands of tiny lives will be placed in our unseasoned hands. Just hope my back-ordered hives arrive in time.
Oh, and speaking about thousands of bees, my favorite bee factoid of the night - there are 4000 bees to the lb.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
Well, I took my place at the back of the class, which is now set up in rows of tables, not in a giant square like last time. And as I sat down, I noticed an omen - a mystical, magical, wonderful omen (as it turned out) - in front of me - a large, artful basket of madeleines. There they sat, speckled with a light dusting of powdered sugar, their buttery aroma wafting around the place. I queried my table mates as to their ownership, but was met with shrugs. So, of course, I ate one. Divine. Delicately crisp on the outside, just the right sweetness. Golden, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I think I will name my favorite bee queen 'Madeleine'. (And a note to my table mate Jörg, who told me he's reading the blog - Welcome, Jörg!)
Anyway, Ray was giving us a crash course in installing bees in the hives. I know I am not alone when I say that my greatest fear is killing the queen. In manipulating the hive it is common to kill bees. But you really don't want to axe the queen. Uggh. Anxiety, thy name is beekeeping.
So I asked Ray what kind of bees we'd be getting. In my reading, I found out that there are several major types of honey bees, each distinct, but capable of interbreeding, each with its own characteristic strengths and weaknesses, and they originate in different parts of Europe. Well, I thought I detected a little smirk on Ray's face when I asked the question, but hey - these are valuable bees, and we should be able to identify their pedigrees, no? So at first, he answered - "They're bees that have been developed to thrive in NY State." For a moment, it looked like he was going to leave it there, but he continued, getting to the heart of the question. "Italian bees have been very popular, but they eat a lot. They like to maintain large colonies through the winter, so they require a lot of feeding." Yes, I'd read about the Italians. Charming, of course, with yellowish stripes and very good-natured. "But", Ray continued, "we use mainly 'Cariolans' - 'Yugoslavians'". That's what he said. Not 'Bosnians' or 'Croatians', but the good, old-fashioned, now defunct 'Yugoslavians'.
WHAT? Was I hallucinating? It was all I could do to stifle a squeal. I will explain, for those of you who don't know me personally, that originally, our family name was Djurićic̀, i.e. what used to be referred to as a 'Yugoslavian' name. Then Ray (which was my father's name, as if things could not get more weird) started talking about the Russians. Russian bees are tough and resilient and much favored in current bee-breeding programs. Russian bees, btw, are Yugoslavian bees that went to Russia, got the shit kicked out of them by hostile weather and murderous parasites, and ultimately managed to survive and thrive. And, of course, I've got that base covered as well, being ¼ Russian.
Conclusion, Yugoslavia lives on, if only in American apiaries, and -
BEEKEEPING IS MY DESTINY!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
#5. Waiting for the hives
Contrary to the flattering suggestions of a couple of my esteemed readers, I am not going to be designing and building my own hives - not this season, anyway. As a matter of fact, I did, indeed, take the plunge and ordered a couple of hives and other supplies from Betterbee, a company in NY State, after consulting with mentor Ray Lackey. I stuck with the 8-frame system, and when I asked Ray to weigh in, he suggested using all medium-depth boxes, for both brood rearing and honey supers.
I just called Betterbee to see when I could expect delivery. And, like the other novice beekeeper who ordered from them and reported back to our Yahoo Group, was told that some supplies are on back order and it might be a month or more before my stuff arrives. The timing should be fine since the bees are not scheduled to arrive before May. I should use the time to organize my 'bee yard'. I need to level the ground a bit, get up some deer (and dog) fencing, and put down landscape cloth topped with mulch where the hives will be placed. We've been warned that green growth underneath and around the hives is a no-no. It can obstruct the entry to the hive and invites unwanted critters - like mice - that can devastate a hive.
Spring is in the air. Last night I heard the spring peepers singing their song for the first time this year, and though there weren't that many yet, soon their chirping will fill the night air. I hope I see some of the tiny frogs this year. Last year I was thrilled to come across one of them sitting on my basement steps. Found another one hiding in a flower pot. Charming little things.
Even though my bees haven't yet arrived, I already find myself periodically assessing the days based on how the bees would like the weather, and wondering how they'd be behaving. (As an aside, it's annoyingly tempting to add and extra 'e' to everything that starts with 'be', as in "wondering how they'd 'bee beehaving'". Somebody please stop me!) Yesterday was gray and super foggy. Bees don't like flying on overcast or rainy days, and they wouldn't have been happy. In fact, you're not supposed to 'work' the hives during cloudy weather: the bees are cranky! Today is a completely different story - brilliant blue skies since sunrise. One of our Yahoo Bee Group members who has established hives posted about a week ago that his bees were flying a bit on the handful of bright, warmer days we've had. He said they were visiting skunk cabbage and witch hazel - 2 woodland natives that are winter-blooming.
I am having fun trying to figure out what plants my bees will ultimately be visiting. Ray had sent us a plant list, but it looked pretty basic. There were so many things that weren't on there, like Russian olive and shadbush, which are heavy, heavy bloomers, and look like they have lots of pollen, and are all over my neck of the woods. So I did a little research and came across a Wikipedia entry that was just what I was looking for: "Northern nectar sources for honey bees". Brilliant. It breaks down the data by season, plant type (shrubs and trees v. crops and flowers), whether the flowers are good for pollen, nectar or both, how useful it is to the bees, and whether it can be a source for 'monofloral' honey, i.e. honey that comes from a single nectar source only. By the way, the Russian olive elaeagnus angustifolia is a an invasive species that I have been clearing - and clearing - and clearing - from my property. It's a constant, uphill battle, since all my neighbors have it in their yards, and it reproduces rampantly by seed. Still, now there may be a silver lining to this cloud - the shrubs produce masses of flowers, and even though it's not listed in the Wiki plant list, I have seen in other places that it provides major bee food.
Nuts and bolts fans, here's how the first order from Betterbee shook out:
Order Summary:
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For any queries please call toll-free 1-800-632-3379, Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm EST and Sun 9am - 1pm EST
Bee Good, Do Good Work,
The Staff at Betterbee
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
#4. Maybe mañana...
I am procrastinating. Ray encouraged us to order our equipment or risk having our 2 main bee supply companies - Betterbee and Brushy Mountain Bee Farm - run out of stuff. Indeed, one of our Yahoo Group members has posted that Betterbee has some items on back order already. Well, I'm not going to succumb to pressure. I just can't. I'm not ready to order my hives and equipment. There are just too many decisions to make.
The first, and biggest, decision has to do with the size of the hive components. Beehives are composed of layers of bottomless and topless boxes - 'hive bodies' - traditionally made of wood, and these boxes hold rows of removable frames upon which the bees construct their wax combs. Standard hives bodies come in two versions: the smaller 8-frame or the more popular 10-frame. (Hive bodies that house the bees are 'brood chambers', and those that hold the honey crop are 'supers'.) The thing is, there are 3 standard depths of hive bodies, shallow, medium and deep. So the first decision to make is whether to go with an 8- or 10-frame system. Then, what depth hive bodies to use.
For commercial apiaries, it makes sense to go big - that is, 10-frame hives with deep hive bodies. Problem is, honey-filled supers are very heavy. And I'm going to be managing my hives alone, which means I need to be able to lift the supers by myself. From what I can calculate, a single full, deep frame of honey can weigh about 5 lbs. Multiply by 10 frames and a deep super can weigh in excess of 60 lbs. Not something I want to be hoisting. (Ray told us that there were only 2 kinds of beekeepers - ones with bad backs, and ones who were going to have bad backs.) Of course, for a commercial establishment, the deep supers mean efficiency - a greater honey-to-structure ratio, and if they're paying for the structure, and if they have mechanical lifters or brawny people doing the job, I can see how this makes sense.
Of course, I am already resigned to the fact that economics are not going to drive my apiary. So practicality and ease of operation should. That argues for an 8-frame hive set-up with shallow supers. But now what to do for the brood chambers. Turns out that in the South, most hives use a single brood chamber. And, of course, it's probably a deep hive body. But here in the North, Ray tells us that the use of double hive bodies is the norm. And I think he said that if we wanted to use shallow hive bodies for brood chambers, then we could use 3. Using all shallow hive bodies makes sense in that all my equipment will be interchangeable: all my frames will fit all my hive bodies. But I wonder, using up to 3 hive bodies for the brood chamber sounds like I'm going to have to disturb the cluster of bees a lot more when I check the hive than if I only have a 2-layer brood chamber.
Once I get this figured out, do I order the pieces assembled or unassembled? There's the question of the frames - wood or plastic (plastic - who knew?!), and what type of 'foundation' do I want in the frames. Am I going to use queen excluders, bee escape screens, mite traps, screened bottom boards, pollen traps? Do I really need frame grips, lifters and holders? Which kind of hive smoker, veil, and feeders do I want? Should I get extra bottom boards, telescoping covers, and other hive parts?
When I get exhausted and confused devouring catalogues, and my Beekeeping Basics handbook, I gaze out the window to the tiny plateau of scrubland, just in front of the woods, where I picture my future hives sitting. I'll be able to keep an eye on the bees easily from inside the house. I can sit at the window with my binoculars and watch the individual workers taking off from their little front porch, and then return home, their tiny thighs laden with pollen. Periodically I feel the need to relax with these thoughts and refresh my addled brain. There's so much new information swirling around, and it all needs to settle. The more familiar I become with all the theory and literature, the more things will fall into place and everything will make perfect sense. I feel sure of it. A plan will emerge, and then I will able to place my order. Maybe mañana.
The first, and biggest, decision has to do with the size of the hive components. Beehives are composed of layers of bottomless and topless boxes - 'hive bodies' - traditionally made of wood, and these boxes hold rows of removable frames upon which the bees construct their wax combs. Standard hives bodies come in two versions: the smaller 8-frame or the more popular 10-frame. (Hive bodies that house the bees are 'brood chambers', and those that hold the honey crop are 'supers'.) The thing is, there are 3 standard depths of hive bodies, shallow, medium and deep. So the first decision to make is whether to go with an 8- or 10-frame system. Then, what depth hive bodies to use.
For commercial apiaries, it makes sense to go big - that is, 10-frame hives with deep hive bodies. Problem is, honey-filled supers are very heavy. And I'm going to be managing my hives alone, which means I need to be able to lift the supers by myself. From what I can calculate, a single full, deep frame of honey can weigh about 5 lbs. Multiply by 10 frames and a deep super can weigh in excess of 60 lbs. Not something I want to be hoisting. (Ray told us that there were only 2 kinds of beekeepers - ones with bad backs, and ones who were going to have bad backs.) Of course, for a commercial establishment, the deep supers mean efficiency - a greater honey-to-structure ratio, and if they're paying for the structure, and if they have mechanical lifters or brawny people doing the job, I can see how this makes sense.
Of course, I am already resigned to the fact that economics are not going to drive my apiary. So practicality and ease of operation should. That argues for an 8-frame hive set-up with shallow supers. But now what to do for the brood chambers. Turns out that in the South, most hives use a single brood chamber. And, of course, it's probably a deep hive body. But here in the North, Ray tells us that the use of double hive bodies is the norm. And I think he said that if we wanted to use shallow hive bodies for brood chambers, then we could use 3. Using all shallow hive bodies makes sense in that all my equipment will be interchangeable: all my frames will fit all my hive bodies. But I wonder, using up to 3 hive bodies for the brood chamber sounds like I'm going to have to disturb the cluster of bees a lot more when I check the hive than if I only have a 2-layer brood chamber.
Once I get this figured out, do I order the pieces assembled or unassembled? There's the question of the frames - wood or plastic (plastic - who knew?!), and what type of 'foundation' do I want in the frames. Am I going to use queen excluders, bee escape screens, mite traps, screened bottom boards, pollen traps? Do I really need frame grips, lifters and holders? Which kind of hive smoker, veil, and feeders do I want? Should I get extra bottom boards, telescoping covers, and other hive parts?
When I get exhausted and confused devouring catalogues, and my Beekeeping Basics handbook, I gaze out the window to the tiny plateau of scrubland, just in front of the woods, where I picture my future hives sitting. I'll be able to keep an eye on the bees easily from inside the house. I can sit at the window with my binoculars and watch the individual workers taking off from their little front porch, and then return home, their tiny thighs laden with pollen. Periodically I feel the need to relax with these thoughts and refresh my addled brain. There's so much new information swirling around, and it all needs to settle. The more familiar I become with all the theory and literature, the more things will fall into place and everything will make perfect sense. I feel sure of it. A plan will emerge, and then I will able to place my order. Maybe mañana.
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