Bees are a Few of My Favorite Things

Beekeeping is not my only interest. In fact, it's very recent compared to my interest in children's books and writing. This week I'm combining them!

This week I wrote a poem in response to another poet's work. You can read about it at my other blog, www.KeriRecommends.com. 

Or, you can read the poem, below.

Bees are a Few of My Favorite Things
by Keri Collins Lewis

Worker bees flying so busy and buzzy

Covered with tiny hairs --  bristly and fuzzy

High speeding fliers with transparent wings,

Bees are a few of my favorite things.

Workers bring pollen in pink, gold and yellow

Drones mooching free food, they’re stingless and mellow

Tending our hives without one single sting!

Bees are a few of my favorite things

When a mouse nests,

When we find pests,

Queenless bees are sad,

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel so bad

Hearing a queen pipe her song to her sisters

Dreaming of bee veils outfitted with misters

Working outside while the mockingbirds sing,

Bees are a few of my favorite things

Perfectly capped frames of golden sweet honey

Vendors at meetings who take all our money

Wildflowers dancing on Bee Hill each spring

These are a few of my favorite things

When a hive dies

When my spouse sighs

When bees sting like mad,

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel so bad!

Photo by Robert Lewis, taken at our raised beds when the broccoli bloomed. Check out the pollen that bee has packed onto her legs!!

Mississippi Beekeepers Association Conference

Last Friday and Saturday we attended the annual MBA conference. For me, it was very convenient, as it was held in the conference center at my workplace -- the Bost Extension Center at Mississippi State University.

Event organizers had a stellar line-up of speakers.

Randy Oliver, whose site www.scientificbeekeeping.com is a repository of all kinds of research-based information, knocked our socks off with his keynote address. He and his sons run 1,000 hives in Grass Valley, CA. He is full of energy and enthusiasm for maintaining healthy colonies. He also convinced me that raising queens isn't as hard as I think it is. ;-)

Russian bee breeder and long-time MBA leader Harry Fulton greeted everyone and taught packed sessions on beginning beekeeping. It was heartening to see so many people interested in taking up beekeeping as a hobby. (I didn't even get up and give a testimony about how they *think* it's going to be a hobby and then it takes over their lives . . .)

Walter T. Kelley Company and Dadant were both on site to sell equipment and all sorts of bee-related goodies, like these signs.

One of my favorite presentations was given by Ed Levi, a retired apiary inspector from Arkansas. He has traveled the world to help struggling beekeepers improve their practices for more financial stability. His amazing photos included traditional hives, a house with a hive kept in the wall for instant access to sweetener, and photos of honey hunters who have to avoid tiger attacks while harvesting.

Thanks, MBA, for a great conference!

Bee Yard Inspection at Prairie Wildlife

Yesterday Mark drove out to Prairie Wildlife in West Point to add honey supers in anticipation of the soybeans blooming. He was upset to find that since his last visit two or three of the hives' lids had been blown off in the recent storms. We have no idea how long the bees had to put up with all of that light, wind, and rain! Not their favorite way to live.

So today, after the rain storm and power outage (!) he loaded the 4-wheeler onto the trailer, put heavier lids in the back of the truck, and we headed out. Thankfully, it was only 75 degrees! Not that it lasted . . .

We looked through all of the hives except the "tower of power" on the end. For the most part, they're doing well, though growing more slowly than we anticipated. Most are not generating excess honey stores yet.

We found one hive that was queenless but loaded with honey and pollen. We combined it with one of the hives that had been exposed to the elements, but still had a healthy queen. We hope they'll join forces and create a strong, healthy colony.

It was nice to be out with Mark, working the bees together. I've missed it.

Photo highlights:

It wasn't smoky . . . my lens fogged up when I got out of the truck. ;-)

All of the hives, before we inspected.

Snack time!

If you can't see the queen here, folks, I can't help you.

These bees are making use of every cell -- pollen is interspersed with uncapped and capped brood.

Pretty, fresh brood comb. Well done, Queenie!

Newspaper combining a healthy colony with a queenless colony.

Ah, Summer!

We've been busy, as have the bees!

After inspecting Bee Hill, Mark spent the 4th of July painting honey supers. He anticipates a big harvest.

We're in the final stages of redesigning our logo and honey labels, and I'm *very excited!* I'll give you a sneak peak when everything is finalized.

Today I met the new Extension apicultural specialist, that is, beekeeping expert. I've got a news release about him coming out this week at work, which I'll post here after it's out. He came to MSU from USDA's bee breeding lab in Louisiana, but has been a beekeeper since he caught his first swarm at age 8. Welcome to MS, Dr. Jeff Harris!

My garden is surviving. The hummingbirds are in constant battle over the feeders -- and we have 3! I'm selling honey in fits and starts through a couple of different Facebook pages. The spring harvest is almost gone. The soybeans are in bloom.

Tonight Mark is assembling frames to make cut-comb honey. This involves papery thin sheets of wax, bobby pins, and teeny-tiny nails.

All in all, life is good at PBBF. I hope your summer is going well, too!

Golden Triangle Beekeepers' Meeting

Last Thursday we hosted a meeting for local beekeepers. Reid Nevins, the Lowndes County Extension Service director organized it. We took a field trip to our bee yard, and Mark talked about some of the new equipment he's trying, such as a slatted bottom board for more ventilation, and the oil traps to control small hive beetles.

Several very experienced beekeepers attended, so newer beekeepers had plenty of people to talk to -- if they would. Beekeeping tends to attract some solitary, quiet individuals!

Thanks to everyone who joined us. I can't promise I'll remember your names, but the more we get together, the greater the chances are!

P.S. Bob, from this post, joined us.

Robbing the Bees, by Holley Bishop

Last night I finished a marvelous book that satisfied my longing to know more about bees and beekeeping history without reading a dry, musty old volume written in the 1800s. Bishop's book is very well-written, thoroughly researched, and fun. Thanks to Audrey for the recommendation!

You can read my review on my other blog, Keri Recommends.

Image from The Nibble.

Know Your Local Bees: A Cautionary Tale, Episode II, Part 1

Saturday, March 17th, did not bring me the luck of the Irish.

I started out without my gloves (they're still lost) and got a sting on my bare left hand. Ouch. Yes, I'm a whiny baby.


At about 8:15 a.m. Mark's phone rang, and since he was out busting beaver dams, I picked up the call. A swarm out in the Steens area, in a 91-year-old granny's ash box on her chimney, right by the front door. Now, those of you who know me understand I have a soft spot for grannies. Apparently the bees were causing enough of a problem for her going in and out of the front door that her granddaughter wanted them gone.

After lunch, we loaded up the truck for a 2-part adventure in beekeping. Part 1 ended up being so dramatic that Part 2 will have its own post.

Yes, friends, it's time for the next installment in "Know your Local Bees: A Cautionary Tale."

Imagine a brick house with a yard surrounded by blooming trees and shrubs: dogwood, wisteria, red bud, azaleas, camellias. "If I were a swarm I'd come here," I said to Mark. "This place is bee heaven."

Little did I know it was far from heaven . . . in the opposite direction of heaven, in fact.

We thought it was a swarm. They said it was a swarm, that it had been around back the day before and had ended up out front.

Mark got set up for a swarm removal.

We had to remove the Guard Gnome to get to the bees.

 Mark got his bush clippers and cut back the bush so he could get closer to the action.

Mark set a hive box close by for scooping bees into.

Unlike last year's cautionary tale, this time he brought his smoker!

As soon as Mark opened the door . . .

he said, "This is not a swarm."

And was he ever right.

But there was a 91-year-old granny sitting on a chair behind her glass door watching the proceedings while eating her lunch. "Move over so I can see," she said to me at one point. So it's not like we could just close it up and tell her to call an exterminator.

Beekeeper Yoga ensued.

My wonderful husband proceeded to carefully remove several large pieces of comb from her ash box, all the while vacuuming bees.

I thought the brood pattern was shaped like a pear. Did I mention it was hot outside?

Once I started cutting the comb and attempting to put it in the hive box, propped between frames, my gloves got so nasty the photo-taking stopped.

Yes, we attempted to vacuum up bees. The first transfer saw them all boiling back out of the hive box, which was reminiscent of last year's debacle. On the second attempt I sprayed them with sugar water while he transferred them, to deter their flight somewhat.

We worked for over two hours, I think. it was over 90 degrees out when we drove away. We left two hive boxes facing each other, with hopes that the queen was in one of them, and the bees would find her. It's unlikely we got her out of the ash box, but we tried our best. If we didn't get a queen, we'll newspaper combine these bees with a strong hive that has a good queen.

The granny said, "You're not going to leave that mess, are you?" (Of course not!)

So we found a hose and sprayed all the dead bees and honey drips from her sidewalk, cleaned up our equipment, and drove away.

Part 2 begins with her neighbor down the road saying, "If you'd have asked me, I'd have told you those bees have been there three or four years."

When will we learn?

An update on Monday afternoon.: the granddaughter called Mark to come and remove the boxes. While he was en route, she called and said she'd sprayed everything down with pesticide. Including our equipment, which will have to be burned. Including the drawn out frames of comb, which are like beekeeper's gold.

All ruined, because she wouldn't wait 20 minutes for him to get there.

All that work for nothing, and the money wasted to boot -- deep boxes, bottom boards, tops, screens -- several hundred dollars worth of equipment ruined.

We're both just sick. So sad.

This bee season is not off to a very good start.

Beekeepers in The New Yorker

You know beekeeping is mainstream when bees get attention in The New Yorker.

Of course, they're New York bees, atop the Whitney Museum, but their country cousins in Mississippi are happy with the attention given by such a prominent publication.

Thanks to Caleb for the link!

An Interview with My Beekeeper

This afternoon Mark went to the bee yard at Barhams'. I wanted to go, but had to work.

Here's his report:

"I have six hives over there. Four of them have serious populations. Three of those have adequate honey stores. One does not. The two weaker hives probably should be combined with stronger hives, if I can find those two queens and kill them. Both of them are loaded with honey because there's not a big enough population of bees. So next time I'm over there, I'm going to break them down, find the queens, and boot 'em out. Then I'll distribute the boxes at Harley's and on the hive that needs honey stores. I changed the oil in all of the traps. I didn't see any small hive beetles."

Then he went to Harley's. He changed the oil there too.

"I don't have honey supers on any of the three hives there. All three of them are jam-packed with bees. One of them has enough honey, the other two do not. So, when I break down those two weak hives at Barhams', I'll take their resources, and put them on the two hives needing honey."

All of the strong hives have capped brood, which is the result of the warm winter weather we've had. Normally there wouldn't be a lot of brood in February, as the potential for cold weather still exists, and there usually isn't a lot in bloom to stimulate the bees.The reason he's able to get into the hives so early in the season is persistently warmer temperatures. According to Harry Fulton, the bees are 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule. This means we'll have to watch for over-crowding and a desire to swarm. I'm working with Harry on a feature story this week, and when it's released I'll post it here on the blog.

Mark says if it's nice tomorrow, he'll get all of this accomplished while the weather is good. I wish I could go!

We've officially sold out of all of our honey. I guess I'll have to start the waiting list for our spring harvest!

A Warm Winter & A Project

I'm no meteorologist, but it's been a warm winter. In mid-January, the porch bees were busy flying in and out of both entrances.

It was good weather for a beekeeper's list of winter projects.

Mark worked outside in short-sleeves to assemble bee boxes.

And, being the OCD kind of guy he is, he had it down to a science. Our bees deserve perfectly square boxes!

I love it when he concentrates so hard he sticks his tongue out. Adorable.

Cary Haycox, the art teacher at Heritage Academy came by to check out our hives and talk about a project. About a week after this photo was taken, Mark delivered 65 deep supers to the art room. The art students in the upper grades at Heritage Academy are going to paint our hive bodies. We're supplying the paint, Mr. Haycox is supervising the process, and we hope to have 65 unique and creative homes for our bees when we make our splits. Mark got the idea from one of the beekeeping magazines.

After the guys rode down to Bee Hill without me, I made Mark take me so I could get some photos. Bees were *everywhere*!

The entrance reducers prevented the bees from flying in and out easily, so it almost seemed like summer time when they beard on the outside of the hives.

Opportunities to fly during the winter are good in that the bees need cleansing flights -- they won't soil their own nests, so to speak. But, the downside is that all of the extra flying = more energy burned = more food consumed. We left them a lot of honey, but Mark needs to go around and check and make sure they all still have enough.

Beekeepers in south Mississippi are talking about splitting hives earlier than normal due to the warm weather. We have a bunch of henbit blooming across the road, and pear trees are starting to bud. And it's not even February yet! Hold on bees! Wait until it's time!

Organizing a Local Beekeepers Club

Last night Mark and I went to the Clay County Extension office for what we thought was an organizational meeting for a local beekeepers' club.

Lucky for us, Harry Fulton was doing an overview for beginning beekeepers.  We saw a few familiar faces (Art Potter, John Buckley) and met some new friends (Hi Mr. Ted, Mr. Benny, & the rest!).  We learned a bit more about how to handle swarm management in the spring -- you can bet we'll be watching our hives and swapping the positions of the deep brood chambers *every three weeks* to keep the build-up strong.  We'll also add more honey supers, even if it looks like they won't fill them for a while. It's better to give them more room than they need than risk losing bees to a swarm.

Thanks to Reid Nevins (Lowndes County Extension agent, beekeeper, and pumpkin grower) and his wife Kate for getting the Golden Triangle Club off the ground. We'll see you in January!

A Design for an Urban Beehive

Friend and follower Mari sent me a link to an urban beehive design by Philips.  (Thanks, Mari!)

Here is how they describe their company:

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”.

I appreciate what they're trying to do -- help the global bee crisis by encouraging urban beekeeping. Plus, wouldn't it be fun for the kids to be able to watch the bees? The bee bubble, as I am calling it, has a shape and color similar to a bee's body.

But that's where its similarity to real bees and hives ends, in my opinion.

There is more than one fundamental flaw.  Some of them are more evident if you look at the labeled design on their website.

1. How do you get the bees in the hive in the first place? I mean, the hive body is in your house, against your window. You can't install a package of bees through that tiny entry hole.
2. The bees are *inside your house*. There's a hole and stopper-on-a-stick "for smoke application." It seems relatively certain you will end up with bees coming out the hole at some point and flying around your house/apartment.
3. Bees do not like to build at an angle going upward, as evidenced in the frames they've built into the bubble (that they have textured in a honey comb pattern to encourage the bees to build). In nature, they build from the top down -- not sideways. My guess is that they would dislike the varying amounts of space along the edges of the bubble and attempt to build comb from the top of the dome. A mess will ensue.
4. A tiny plant outside your window (which has an arrow and is labeled "pollen" -- I laughed) is not sufficient to feed a colony of bees. Yes, they could forage in the city and do well, but it seems a bit naïve and disingenuous.
5. The mechanics of handling the bees -- either to replace a queen or deal with the dead bees that are going to pile up in the bottom because dead bees can't be carried out the entrance tube (and will therefore stop up your smoke hole) -- are mind boggling. (See #2.) Do you unscrew the bubble from the window attachment? Spin those bees around and then release them into your house?
6. Is this thing attached to a sliding window you'll have to move to water the plant?  Sliding bees = bad idea. Is it on your balcony where you will no longer be able to sit because of bee traffic?
7. Climate control -- the bees are inside your house.  This can mean drastically different interior and exterior temperatures in various seasons, depending on where you live. Not good for your bees.
8. Size: I don't think there is enough space in this bee bubble to sustain a colony over any length of time, meaning they will swarm off or die off. Plus, there wouldn't be any surplus honey to eat!

In my opinion, this urban beehive will be a lot of money spent for little return.   Anyone else have any thoughts to add?

Photo from Philips, which kindly offered high resolution photos for download.

Introducing Beekeeping to the Next Generation

One day this summer while Mark was at the Barhams' Bee Yard, their granddaughter Elizabeth expressed an interest in learning more about the bees. Sarah served as the documentary photographer from a distance, and Elizabeth suited up in my gear to get a closer look at the hives.  She is adorable!

 Mark loves to talk about bees, and was thrilled with her interest.  She had a great time and found the process intriguing.  Even if she never becomes a beekeeper, she hopefully left with a better understanding of the role bees play in pollination and a new appreciation for honey.

Unfortunately for Sarah, one of the hives swarmed while they were there and came flying straight towards her . . . and she didn't have any gear on.  Even though she knows bees aren't aggressive while swarming she was unnerved. For those who know Sarah you understand that "unnerved" means completely freaked out and screaming. When I asked her if she followed them into the woods to see where they went she looked at me like I was insane.

I guess she won't be apprenticing any time soon.

The Peace Bee Farmer on Moisture in Honey

For those of you interested in just how the bees deal with moisture in the nectar they bring back to make into honey, check out this blog post from Richard.

Is Your Local Honey Really Local?

When we travel, we like to meet local beekeepers and try local honey. What we've found is that just because honey is sold locally doesn't mean the bees are gathering nectar and pollen locally. For some people, it doesn't matter, as long as the honey doesn't come from China or hasn't been super-heated to the point all of the beneficial enzymes are dead. As long as it tastes good, that's all they need to know.  

This post is not for these people.

Image from yourhealthdetective.com

 For people hoping to use honey as a natural remedy for allergies, where the bees forage is extremely important. The idea is that local pollen, found in local honey -- especially comb honey -- will help the immune system build up a resistance to the pollen in question.

Pollen the bees are storing for their protein needs.

For those of you interested in honey for this purpose, here are some questions to ask the next time you see a road-side stand or farmer's market booth advertising local honey:

1. Are you a beekeeper?
2. If yes: Where do you keep your bees?
3. If no: Where does the beekeeper keep the hives? Or, where does the honey come from?
3. If the honey is gathered from multiple sites, is it bottled separately or combined?
4. Is there a primary nectar source for the bees?
5. Is your honey heated? (Once honey is heated -- some say above body temperature -- you lose some of its enzymes and health benefits.)

Now, the label may tell you some of this information.  Some honey is labeled "buckwheat," "clover," "sage," or "wildflower." That tells you the primary nectar source or dominant flavor of the honey. The label may say "single estate" which generally means the honey comes from one place. Most people don't bother to have their honey tested, and in general it would be hard to say that the bees foraged only on one particular plant type.

Here is a story to illustrate the importance of these questions.  While in California earlier in the summer, a friend mentioned she'd seen a guy set up on a corner, selling local honey. She wanted to try some for her allergies.  Mark and I saw him and stopped.  Here is our conversation:

Keri: "Hey, are you a beekeeper?"
Sales Guy: "I used to be, but now the Mexicans do all the beekeeping for us."
Keri: "Oh. Where are your hives?" (Tries to keep her surprise and disappointment to herself. Looks down, sees several varieties of honey based on plants she knows don't grow in the area.)
SG: "This honey comes from hives down around Ojai. This comes from a couple different places south of Santa Barbara."
Keri: "Oh."  (Thinks to herself, honey from over 100 miles away is NOT local honey. It won't help her friend's allergies at all.)

Now, to be fair, the honey was delicious, pretty in the jar, fairly priced, and tasty -- he let us sample and we bought some. We didn't care about the local factor, but we made sure to tell our friend that it wasn't really local honey.

I'm not trying to undermine anyone, and I want all beekeepers to be able to sell their products. But, I also want consumers to be informed. It is a common practice for beekeepers to sell their honey to someone who is more interested in the marketing side of honey, and that person resells it. Sometimes the  middle man is a beekeeper. The honey in question may or may not come from the same county or region of the state, but it's all bottled under the same label. Therefore, most people assume when they buy this honey, it's local, because they bought it from a local beekeeper. It may be local, and then again . . .

Another possibility is that someone buys honey in the 55 gallon drum from a commercial beekeeper, then bottles it and sells it. This person isn't a beekeeper, but a honey purveyor. The product is still better than what you'd buy off the shelf at a super store, but it may not be local honey. 

This is not an argument about quality. I've eaten honey purchased in all of these situations. It's a matter of knowing where your food comes from and getting truly local honey if that is what you're after.

So be an informed consumer. Just because a local individual is selling honey doesn't mean it's local honey. Investigate. After all, you might meet some beekeepers, and they're crazy nice people.

Local bees hard at work in Steens, MS

Inspection at Harvey's Hives

A happy beekeeper.

After our bee tree adventure, we went to the bee yard at Harley's to do a full inspection. While it's tempting to give you the blow-by-blow, I'll generalize and then show you some pictures, because we saw some pretty cool stuff.

The summary: we found evidence of queens in all of the hives, saw supercedure cells in one of the hives started from a nuc (which was very interesting, as we couldn't see a reason why they wanted to replace their queen), and found very little honey stored and little foraging happening, meaning there's a dearth of nectar. The bees were not occupying the space provided in the supers Mark had added.

The decisions: make a split from the hive with all of the supercedure cells, remove unoccupied supers from 3 of the hives, and move the four smaller colonies to the Delta, where there's plenty blooming.

The photos:

A mosaic of pollen stores.

I love the variety in the colors of pollen packed into the comb!

This is an ideal frame: honey around the edges, a solid brood pattern, uncapped larvae around the edges, and eggs.

Uncapped honey -- see it glistening?

Do you see the queen?

Don't waste a drop!

When we took off the top hive body, we tore open some brace comb the bees had built. Immediately the workers gathered around the exposed honey, drinking it in so it wouldn't go to waste. They'll relocate it to open cells in other frames, I hope.

The next morning before daylight, Mark returned, screened the entrances, made the split, and drove the bees to the Delta.  Once they were unloaded, he added the supers back so they'd have space to grow. We hope they thrive there.

Mark had already done the prep work.  Can you tell the man is OCD, with everything cleared just so?!

Where Have All the Bee Trees Gone?

"I'm just a little black rain cloud, hovering over the honey tree . . ."


Winnie the Pooh will have a hard time finding wild bee trees to satisfy his hunger cravings.

In spite of the media attention given to the plight of these honey-producing pollinators, trees with wild bees nesting inside a cavity -- bee trees -- are in a losing battle. If a swarm finds a hospitable home inside a tree, it has to fight off Varroa mites, small hive beetles, foulbrood, chalk brood, and whatever animals are willing to fight the bees for access to the honey stores. In Britain in 2006, the Guardian reported bee trees were virtually extinct.

Bee trees also have to fight animosity from humans. People think bees in trees are pests. To be fair, some bee trees are problematic because of their location or circumstances.  Bill Owens, a Master Craftsman Beekeeper, manages 60 to 100 hives and runs a side business, Georgia Bee Removal.  He has a website that lists true problems with bee trees, and perceived problems. For example, people with young children who have a bee tree located in a high traffic area are rightly concerned about the likelihood of stings.

Mr. Triplett & the Beekeeper consulting.

One of those true problems happened recently not too far from our house. When the major storms moved through Mississippi and Alabama in April, to say many trees were damaged is an understatement. Mark got a phone call from Jackie Triplett about a huge tree that had been cut down as a result of damage from the storm. He noticed honey bees flying about, and hoped we'd be able to salvage them while also making it safer to cut up the tree for removal.

My husband has some serious chainsaw skills.

We pulled up Sunday afternoon and chunks of wood littered the landscape in two yards.  A few bees buzzed about, so Mark suited up, got his chainsaw out of the truck, and got to work. In the end, we were surprised to find the nest was virtually abandoned, with dry comb, little honey stored, and no brood or dead bees in evidence.

Fortunately, a neighbor came out and said that the power company had sprayed the nest with a pesticide, which explained some of what we saw. The comb was infested with hive beetle larvae, so basically Mark cut up the tree into manageable pieces and they hauled it off with a tractor to a burn pile. A few bees were attracted to the small amount of honey exposed by the chainsaw, but not enough bees to make me think the colony had survived -- these were likely bees from another location trying to rob out stores.

Close-up look at combs inside tree.

It was lovely to meet new people in spite of the sweltering temperatures. I hope that Mr. Triplett will pursue his interest in becoming a beekeeper.  He's already an advocate!

If you have a bee tree, contact a local beekeeper.  They have the equipment and experience to trap the bees out of the hive if it's possible, and can fill the cavity so bees can't return there to nest.  If you have a bee tree somewhere on your property where you can allow them to stay, enjoy them while they last.