Thread: Beekeeping

Here is a topic that rarely comes up, so lets give it a whack!

First off, let me state that I am NOT a beekeeper, and I do NOT currently have any hives in my possession at the moment, although I hope to change that soon.

Alright, lets just address the fact that bees sting, and the sting is moderately painful, and some people are deathly allergic to the proteins in the bee venom. If you know you are deathly allergic, this topic may not apply to you, but there IS a way to slowly increase your tolerance to bee venom if some individuals. Consult your doctor about this course of therapy, because it is risky, and it isn't a sure thing... but you can go from deadly allergic to very tolerant in some cases... your mileage may vary! If you aren't 100% sure you can safely undergo the task of beekeeping, then avoid it just to be on the safe side.

Ok then, on to the actual topic of keeping bees, and why more people, even people living in the suburbs, should consider raising a hive or two... or at least dedicate a yard or two on every block to housing a beehive.

First off, bees are natures beautifier. They are what makes spring time feel like spring time. They are what make the fall harvest a harvest at all. Without bees, we would have an incredibly bland diet.

If you've ever enjoyed an apple, pear, orange, tulip, rose, bouquet of flowers, or any numerous other fruits, berries, etc... you have to thank a bee for the privilege! Without bees, only the wind, and possibly the odd butterfly would be the pollinating force, and they just don't have the drive and detirmination that the bees do. Bees are like the ferraris of the pollination world. They do their job very fast, very efficiently, and they look damn good while doing it!

Ever try starting a garden, but then spray pesticides everywhere, and then wonder why nothing grows right? Its because you ruthlessly murdered every bee that tried to help you.

As much as the folks at Monsanto, DuPont, and DOW Chemical want you to think that they are gods, and that they little concoctions that they produce such as MiracleGro, RoundUp, and all the various chemical fertilizers are miracle working substances... when in reality, they produce nothing but instant gratification basically for vanity purposes, and in the long-term they leave a wake of nightmarish damage to the environment, food supply, and people.

I know this is a little preachy, but just bear with me... because I really believe that I am onto a better way of life.

If you have a garden, switch it over to organic, and if you are already 100% organic, then good for you for being ahead of the curve! Going organic, and using 100% natural means of fertilizing your garden, is not only the smarter thing to do for the environment, it is also much better for your body in terms of health.

Beekeeping relates into this because if you have an organic garden, you pretty much need bees to keep it alive and healthy and pollinated. The more bees the better. The more flowers you can pack into your yard, in terms of food, such of beans/peas/potatoes/tomatoes/fruit trees/etc, the happier you'll be when you don't need to go all the way to the grocery store for a delicious and healthy snack, and the bees won't have to over extend themselves to find food, and they will be able to produce a little bit of honey as a by-product of your garden, some of which can sell for a good chunk of money if its made right... or you can keep it for yourself and use it in a variety of dishes, or even make your own candy!

All you need to get started is any number of Langstroth Hives, which are the typical wooden-frames that house the honeycombs you see on most beekeeping farms It is possible to promote the bees to build their natural paper-pulp style hives as well, but for uniformity and ease-of-handling and honey collection, its probably better to use the Langstroth hive. These are extremely simple devices, its just 4 walls with a handle attached, and the bees pretty much take care of the rest on the inside. You also need bees. You will need a queen bee, which can be ordered off the internet, or you could probably visit your local beekeeping expert and he/she will be able to either hook you up with a queen or tell you where to find one, and you will need drones/workers.

To control the bees and make them useful to you, you need the following tools:

A beekeeper suit - This can be anything from a super-fancy air-cooled unit with electric fans, or you can basically drape a mosquito net over yourself and hope for the best.... or if you're really traditional and in-tune with the bees, or just completely insane, you'll forego the suit altogether!

A smoker - Used to keep the bees calm... helps drown out the panic-chemical that bees spray when stressed out.

Sugar water- 2 parts water to 1 part sugar - gives the bees the strength to build up the honeycombs.

If you are interested in obtaining the honey, there are other tools that are specialized for that department, such as a honeycomb knife, presses/extractors, filters, etc.

Explaining in text how to install your bees isn't worth the time or effort... so here is a video that explains it way better than I could through text.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Ek7dDtZ0lK8

DO YOUR PART! HELP BRING THE BEES BACK!

START A GARDEN!

STOP SPRAYING PESTICIDES!

Get over the childish fear (unless you are deathly allergic), and start enjoying natures little black and yellow wonder machines!

I was so excited to see this post about beekeeping! I had the joy of meeting a few beekeepers last summer while working on various farms, and it was one of the most fascinating experiences in my life so far. What a beautiful thing to see the hive opened up and all the little worker bees buzzing around busily.

I have just started my first garden and intend to keep it 100% organic. You reminded me, I should also plant some flowers nearby to attract my friends the bees!

There's still a lot of bees in my area, in fact several years ago a tree in our yard was covered thickly in bees...seems they were in the process of relocating their nest. Anyway, I agree absolutely that going natural is the way to go, I never use insecticides or pesticides in my garden, and I use natural grass fertilizer made from chicken waste. Monsanto is the demon itself when it comes to GMOs, etc. Here's an article on honeybees. http://energytimes.com/pages/feature.../honeybee.html

We can thank bees for honey and honey products like Royal Jelly and Propolis. I always have some raw, unfiltered honey around. I've tried Manuka Honey before from New Zealand. It has a powerful flavor and it's supposed to be very healthy for you, but it's too pricey to buy very often. Here's some health benefits of honey...http://www.natmedtalk.com/wiki/Honey

Hi,

I have a garden pond and a few fields away from my house are some bee hives. When the temperature gets above 90 degrees the bees swarm around my pond, and you can see them flying back and forth to and from their hives.

It's great to watch and I read that if the temperature gets above 93/94 degrees, in the hive, they go looking for water and bring it back to the hive then use their wings to vapourize the water to cool the Queen a sort of natural aircon.

I love honey bees and they are very welcome at my pond. They obviously dont feel threatend by my movements near the pond although I dont hang around too long just incase.

I love to see bumble bees going about their business too.

IT'S WASPS I HATE!! they attack for, it seems, no reason.

Chris

Very interesting Chris, about the water and cooling the queen, thanks for that info. We've had bees a couple of times in transit from one hive to another. There would be so many, they would cover every square inch of the bark of our fruit tree. Bees are good, and I don't have a problem with them being around, even in large numbers they haven't really bothered me. I have had a couple of stings in my life, but I have no allergic reactions, so it's been a mild inconvenience.

I'm with you, I hate wasps...each year they nest in the house siding, around the gutters, pretty much wherever they can. I've tried using those yellow hanging bait traps, but they haven't worked for me at all.

Because we have a swimming pool and a pond I guess we will be the local watering hole for wildlife, infact I activley encourage birds and insects. The wasps however, build their nests in the garden walls and plants and seem to think they own the place.

I have to say though that this year we havent been plagued by wasps so we have been able to eat outside with out having share a sandwhich or icecream with wasps. Whether the bees have put them off I dont know. The bees arent interested in our snacks they are quite happy going about their buisness in the flowers and taking water from the pond and I love it as I said before.

I have had many a sting from a wasp and I too do not suffer a bad reaction although it does hurt. My wife suffers more but not seriously as some people can.

I also have to point the hateful finger to flies as well. We cannot sit outside with out then trying to fly up my nose or in my ears or trying to take a bite from my tuna and mayo sandwhich. I know they are important to the food chain BUT I DONT WANT 'EM ON ME OR VOMITTING ON MY NOSH!!

Chris

Excess of any insects that are drawn to human activity is always annoying. We were tent camping many years ago in the Northwest Territories in Canada, and the mosquitos and big horse flies were really bad. The flies would cover large areas of the outside of the tent, that's how thick they were. We had to get out into the middle of the lakes by boat to get any relief from them, and even then there would be a few hitchhikers. I looked like I had a rare disease with all the bloody/scaby mosquito bites on my face and neck, lol. Of course I couldn't control my scratching. I would soak my hair and skin in oily, heavy-duty military deet-type bug dope, and that helped very little.

LOL, I was ready to read this, then noticed it will take me a few hours! Can some one give me a brief outline??

In a nutshell, we love bees because they make honey and are clever and only sting if you wind 'em up. We hate wasps, flies, mozzies and other insects that bite, sting or try to steal, or vomit on, our icecreams or bacon sandwhiches.

I hope that is brief enough

Chris
BTW I would like to congratulate McPuffin on a great opeing post.