Day #166 Hive Autopsies

I’ve been reading about how to do a hive autopsy—that’s the process for figuring out why all the bees in a hive died off.

I hope I never have to use this knowledge. Natural Beekeeping, the book I bought recently, has a chart (I love well-organized charts) with all the symptoms in the left column and the probably causes in the right. The last symptom on the list, caused by pesticides or chemical poisonings is: “Sudden collapse of the hive. Numerous dead bees lying around in front of the hive with their tongues sticking out” (p. 61).

If that image isn’t enough to stop you from using pesticides on your lawns and gardens, I don’t know what will. The thought of all my brave little worker bees dying, gasping for air, with their little tongues flailing, brings tears to my eyes – and I don’t even have my bees yet.

BEEattitude for Day # 166:

       Blessed are those who refuse to buy pesticides, for they shall contribute to the health of Mother Earth, and the world will be a better place for them and for us, the bees.  

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       Cowan’s Book Nook in Ellijay, where I signed my books yesterday. They’re having to close that store (not enough sales), but they will keep their store in Blue Ridge GA open.

FRANattitude for Day #166

      Blessed are those who buy books from real bookstores, for they shall help keep that breed alive and well.  

http://www.franstewart.com

Day #120 Fat Bees

Fat bees? That's not what I want.

Commercial beekeepers have created bees that are 30% heavier than bees are meant to be. The change to large-cell foundation has forced the little bees to grow bigger, presumably so they can create more honey. But the final result has been bees that are more susceptible to diseases.

o   Fat bees can't easily forage in cold weather or in hot weather.

o   Fat bees can't dig out the bug pests that invade a hive.

o   Fat bees can't fly as far from the hive to gather pollen, propolis, or nectar.

o   Fat bees are not as healthy as the bees sized by Mother Nature, so they need to be medicated regularly by the beekeepers.

Why would anyone want to propagate fat bees, when Mother N's been telling the bees all along (for more than a hundred million years) how to stay healthy and happy?

Let's hear it for Mother Nature! And the next time you buy honey – find out about who produced it and how.

BEEattitude for Day # 120:

       Blessed are they who let us live as we were intended to live, for they shall have their gardens pollinated and shall eat healthy honey.

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       April Myers, the managing editor of The Pen Woman magazine.   

http://www.franstewart.com

Day #119 Switching to Natural Hives

Since the bees I'll be picking up in seven weeks (only SEVEN!) will have been raised on pre-formed foundations, and since they will have been treated with various medications, because that's what the bee farm where I'm getting them does for its bees, it's liable to take me a while to wean the bees off those conditions and into the natural set-up I want to encourage.

For "natural" beekeepers, survival of the fittest is a way of life. Hives that are not strong enough to fend off invasions of small hive beetles or varroa mites will ultimately fail. I plan to put in vegetable oil traps to help get rid of some of those pesky beetles, but what I truly want to do is raise bees with a minimum of intervention.

Keep reminding me of this, will you?

BEEattitude for Day # 119:

       Blessed are they who live simply, for they shall move with a light heart from one day to the next.

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       My daughter with whom I can now talk “woman to woman.”    

http://www.franstewart.com

Day #45 The Post Office

Yesterday I went to the post office to mail a package to a friend in Australia

and some books to the Bartram Trail Regional Library in Washington GA. They’d bought some of my books, and I told them I’d donate some others. I love libraries. Anyway, while I waited in line, one of my favorite postal workers, Debbie, told a man at the counter that the way to measure a box was along the longest side and then all around the shortest way. How on earth would anyone ever remember that? But then she added, “Head to toe and around the waist.” Don’t ya’ love it?

The bad news was that the postage for four books to Australia was over $40. On the other hand, what’s the cost of flying a really long way? I guess $40 is well worth it, since hand-delivery would be impractical.

Bees never have to worry about that sort of stuff. They gather their pollen and nectar within a five-mile radius of their home hive. Of course, large commercial beekeepers transport hives all around the country on huge flat-bed trucks to follow the large commercial crops, rather like my flying to Australia to deliver a present of books. Wouldn’t it be nicer if we encouraged bee tending all over the country?  Think of it. Every house with a hive or two. Every orchard or garden with dozens of them. Let the bees do their thing. Don’t worry about medicating them. Don’t use pesticides on the crops. Don’t try to force honey production.

I know – that’s a Mother Earth News kind of mentality – and there are plenty of folks who simply aren’t interested in keeping bees or eating pesticide-free food. But, just for a moment – imagine! Wonderful, isn’t it?

BEEattitude for Day # 45:

       Blessed are they who, like our field bees, deliver gifts, for they shall rest assured that their hive is safe.

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       The nice people at the Lawrenceville GA Post Office on Buford Drive.