Organic Beekeeping Journal - Newsletter

Winter 2002 This Issue: Avoid Starvation in Late Winter Preparing for Swarm Season To Swarm or Not to Swarm Planning for Next Winter: The Double Deep Hive Organic Beekeeping Classes Our Purpose The focus of our efforts is to develop special manipulations, methods and formulas which help facilitate Nature's Wisdom. As Organic Beekeepers and Honeybee Stewards, it is not our intention to outsmart or outdo nature, but to work within this sacred framework to renew balance where it has been lost. Please note that pamplets requested since the Fall Newsletter will be sent out in March. Avoid Starvation in Late Winter Checking the Colonies on a Warm Day During the late winter, your honeybee colonies are the least populated. The honey stores at the center have been depleted or exhausted and clusters are sometimes seen "huddling" around the syrup jars at the top of the hive. The brood rearing is just starting up again, inspired by warmer days and the first pollens brought back to the hive. This is a critical time for the colonies and checking the hives is of great importance. On a warm day of 50°F or more, open the first hive. Observe the area where the bees are clustered. Gently lift the frames out and check for brood. Make note of the amount of honey and the number of bees clustering around the brood. If the frame is "bone dry" with the exception of the bees and brood, a smear of honey beside the cluster is a good idea. First lift the frame from the hive. Be steady and move slowly and you will not disturb the bees. Check the cells for eggs and larva before selecting the exact area. A rubber spatula from the kitchen is an excellent tool for this project. Smear the honey gently to avoid breaking the wax. This must be done carefully to avoid a drippy mess that could drown bees below. The angle of the cells will keep a moderate amount of honey from dripping out. Each frame with brood should be treated the same way. If the honey is already present, the bees should be okay. After identifying the frames with sealed brood, larva or eggs, the honey is moved from the outermost part of the hive to the spot directly next to the brood frames, placed on either side of the cluster. (Do NOT separate brood frames....Do NOT break the cluster) A new box (deep or shallow and full of frames) should be placed above the cluster, and frames of honey should be positioned directly above the bees and brood. Taken from: Organic Beekeeping Lessons -- Winter Season Preparing for Swarm Season Feeding the essential oil syrup is an excellent way to strengthen a hive after winter. A sugar syrup (sucrose, corn, etc.) will mimick a nectar flow and stimulate the queen to lay eggs for worker bees.You can then enjoy the benefits of a strong population when the true nectar flow begins. This method will also require early attention to whatever method of swarm management you choose to use. To Swarm or Not to Swarm The conventional beekeeping system promotes a complete resistance to swarming. The queen cells are destroyed on a regular basis and the bees just keep trying to fulfill the swarm impulse. This swarm impulse, however, may serve as a natural remedy for parasitic pests of the honeybee. To see the connection, let us follow the events of a natural swarm. The queen rearing begins in the hive. Upon the sealing of the queen cell, the mature queen will leave with approximately half of the hive population loaded with honey. The swarm then will begin to build wax comb and set up house in a new location. In a natural setting, the queen will not start to lay eggs again for about one week or so. The new home will be fresh new wax free of any debris or pests. The only mites present are those riding on the backs of worker bees. Back at the original hive, queen cells remain with sealed brood and young worker bees (and drones). It will likely be 2-4 weeks (sometimes more) before the new queen is hatched, fertile and laying eggs. Such a lapse in brood rearing is a natural control on the reproduction of the mite population. (Note: The mites require the larval stage of bee brood to reproduce.) This is not a promotion for swarming. Prudent practices should be investigated and innovated for allowing the natural benefits of the swarming nature of bees to manifest in controlled circumstances. The "forced swarm" or false swarm sometimes called "splitting the hive" would work to these ends with a few modifications. See: Organic Beekeeping Society Erfan Fetrat Hive Manipulation pamphlet Planning for Next Winter: The Double Deep Hive To properly winter your colonies, the preparation begins in spring. What food supply will your bees be taking into the winter? It is not likely the single hive body and a shallow super will be enough food for even a moderately sized colony through the winter. It is recommended that the "double deep" hive be used. This requires two brood (deep) boxes per colony. After the two deep boxes are full of honey, then the supers for harvest honey are placed above. Often this means there is not much harvest from a colony in the first year, but we find it works well for the sake of the bees. Organic Beekeeping Classes After spending a considerable amount of time and money researching and experimenting, we have accumulated more useful information than we could ever include in a series of newsletters. We have decided to include the information in Organic Beekeeping Classes. We have put a great deal of thought into how these classes should be conducted to make certain the student benefits in the greatest possible way. The classes may be started any time of year and will follow the seasons of the honeybee with pertinent information being covered simultaneously with seasonal events. Our intention is to offer timely guidance throughout the seasons of a full year. Available to Organic Beekeeping Society members: Organic Beekeeping Class: For fairly new beekeepers - There will be a great deal of attention paid to "spotting the queen", successful wintering, options for swarm management, syrup-formula options and other general beekeeping subjects which include our Organic Beekeeping modifications which will increase your beekeeping success. We will work closely with students. Click Here for more information

Peace and Bee Well
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by Regina: ibn Fetrat the Year: Two Thousand and One (anno domini)

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