Apiary Update
Apiary Update
Dave Purchase,
Apiary Manager and Seasonal Bee Inspector
I am writing this following my Sunday morning
constitutional. It is a glorious bright and frosty
winter's day. During my walk, the weather set me thinking
about the effect on our bees of the very wet autumn and
the cold start to winter.
From my own observations, it was clear that brood
rearing reduced more rapidly than in recent warmer and
drier autumns. Therefore, fewer mouths to feed during the
winter and early spring. In itself, that could be good
news.
Conversely, there were fewer foraging opportunities
which meant less nectar and pollen for winter stores.
Fewer bees and less stores could cancel each other
out. Of course, much depends on the weather during the
next three months, but I suspect that some colonies could
be dangerously short of food, particularly pollen, come
next February. If there is little natural pollen and/or
few foraging opportunities, pollen supplement could be
the order of the day.
This means that we must monitor our bees during the
critical months of February and March and feed syrup and
pollen supplement if necessary. If your colonies are in
an out apiary, visit them anyway at least once a
fortnight during the winter to check for vandalism, storm
damage, etc. Also, check varroa floor inserts if you have
them. I firmly believe that good management is a
year-round commitment rather than just a fine weather
pastime.
The Association colonies are tucked up for the winter,
adequately provisioned as far as I can judge.
Gordon has kindly donated some fine mesh to act as a
windbreak for the two colonies at Breach Farm. As
previously reported, they are exposed to the north and
west, which appeared to retard their development this
year. The colony which was heavily infected by sacbrood
was virtually clear of the problem following varroa
treatment. Sacbrood is one of the viruses for which the
varroa mite acts as vector. The colony had not been
heavily infested by varroa, but circumstantial evidence
suggests a link in this case.
It will be interesting to see how the two colonies in
St. John's Copse fare next season following this year's
queen rearing. I shall be particularly interested to
gauge their temperament.
As this year, next year's Apiary Meetings in St.
John's Copse will be held on the first Saturday of each
month, starting in April. It may be necessary to
re-schedule May's meeting if it clashes with the Meon
Valley Auction which many members like to attend. I
should know before the publication of the next
newsletter.
Coppicing in St. John's has resumed for the winter. If
you are interested in joining a working party, please
contact me for further information.
There were fifty-eight confirmed cases of European
Foulbrood in Hampshire this year, compared with forty-six
last year. There were cases close to the northern,
eastern and southern boundaries of Basingstoke. Two
thirds of the infected colonies were destroyed (several
at the request of beekeepers) and the remainder treated.
On a happier note, no American Foulbrood was found (even
though it is usually the easier of the two to identify in
the field).
I saw more colonies heavily infested by varroa this
year than last. By heavily infested I mean drone brood
riddled with mites, mites clearly visible on bees and
cappings and, worst of all, badly deformed bees. After
six years, it seems that there are still beekeepers who
have not learned the lessons. Mis-use of Bayvarol is
still common, usually in a misguided attempt to save
money. One classic was the use of two strips for twelve
weeks instead of four strips for six weeks!
Very best wishes for Christmas and 1999.
D.P.
Apiguard
A fair number of us went to Max Watkins' recent
talk at Fleet. For those of you who couldn't make it,
here's a brief update.
Max had two halves to his talk. The first was about
resistance, how the process of natural selection makes it
happen and how misuse of medications can make the effects
so much worse.
Max showed how the couple of percent of mites that
survive a treatment can become `breeder colonies' for
resistant mites. He showed also how abuses of treatments
can accelerate the problem and cited as an example some
experiences in southern Italy where people were treating
by soaking sacking in pure fluvalinate and
leaving it in their hives all winter.
In that case, they started hearing reports the there
was Apistan Resistance in Southern Italy". That
was a big surprise, mostly because they weren't even
supplying Apistan to the area.
Both Apistan and Bayvarol are designed to give a
steady controlled release of acaricide over the period of
treatment and both give a very high kill rate. The normal
agrochemical fluvalinate (e.g. Mavrik), when soaked into
wood or sacking, gives an exponential decay and even when
used in high concentrations is under-dosing quite
quickly.
As we know, fluvalinate (Apistan) and flumethrin
(Bayvarol) are very closely related pyretheroids. Max
discussed how resistance to one pyrethroid tended to
imply almost immediate resistance to the other. He also
told us that he regularly recommends rotating through
treatment types to avoid resistance, even when this means
he sometimes has to recommend a competitor's product. He
admitted he hated to do that but felt long term efficacy
was most important.
It was interesting that where people had had a
resistance shock and had changed medication, that
resistance to Apistan reduced over a few years and the
treatment was often again usable.
Vita (the current makers of Apistan), who are based
here in Basingstoke and were a management buy-out after a
takeover by Ciba-Geigy, have a range of four acaricides,
which all function in different ways:
- Apistan -- the familiar plastic strips
- Folbex -- the older smoke strips
- Apitol -- a liquid applied to the bees
- Apiguard -- a new Thymol-in-Gel preparation.
Some (I can't remember which) of these will be
approved for use by next year's season. Apistan is one.
Apiguard will be approved as a Non-Medical
preparation, with the added benefit that it appears to
have a good efficacy at killing varroa.
Amongst the things Max mention was the ratio between
varroa kill dose and bee kill dose. In
the case of fluvalinate it was of the order 20,000:1,
i.e. it takes 20,000 times more fluvalinate to kill a bee
than a varroa. By comparison, the ration for Apiguard's
active component, Thymol, is only around 10:1. That
certainly shows how careful you have to be with
Thymol.
Apiguard comprises a Thymol-containing gel in a
shallow aluminium tray. To use it, peel back the foil
cover and place the tray on the top bars of the hive and
left for three (I think) weeks. Then replace the old tray
with a new one and repeat the treatment.
Vita believe that Thymol, when used like this, may act
in several ways against the mite. In particular, they
think that there may be both contact and systemic
vectors.
All the treatments attack the nervous system of the
mites, however they also all attack it in different ways,
helping to defer resistance for as long as possible. But
that will only work if we are careful about how, when and
with what we treat our bees
G.S.
Bee Research
With a little help we can achieve more.
Norman Hughes
God helps those who help themselves so the
saying goes and, after all, is it right that we should
expect others to provide the things we need without some
contribution from ourselves. This was very much in mind
some five years ago when it became very clear as to the
problems we faced now that Varroa was amongst us. What
was needed was for properly constructed trials to be
undertaken to provide the practical advice and
information necessary if we were to successfully confront
the mite in our own apiaries.
It was clear that there was little chance of these
trials being undertaken without some stimulus from
beekeepers themselves and it was for this reason that
BBKA entered negotiations with MAFF. Resulting from these
negotiations was the agreement that MAFF would inaugurate
a trials programme headed by Dr. Stephen Martin to study
the population dynamics of the mite and that BBKA would
contribute towards the costs involved.
The aim of the programme was, not only a better
understanding of managing the mite, but also to provide a
practical means by which the beekeeper could determine
when treatment of a colony was necessary. The programme
was successfully concluded in the summer of last year and
led to the provision, to every member of BBKA, of the
Varroa calculator.
The BBKA contribution came from the funds raised by
requesting all members to contribute £ 1.50 per
annum and, over the four years, the BBKA contribution
totaled some £ 40,000. A magnificent effort, you
might say, but here in Basingstoke we failed to play our
part. I am sad to say that very few of our members made
any contribution.
However, we have a chance to redeem ourselves. In
order to encourage the Government to invest more on our
behalf, BBKA are to continue the fund and to contribute
towards a project being undertaken at Rothamstead to
study the foraging characteristics of bees. Contributing
and thus stimulating work in this area, will also have
the knock on effect of releasing funds for the study of
other aspects such as the transmission of viruses.
For the coming year, your Association is recommending
that there be no increase in subscriptions. In turn
Hampshire Beekeepers Association is not only recommending
no increase in capitation, but that they will absorb the
50p increase being recommended by BBKA. The result is
that, for 1999, there will be no increase to Basingstoke
members. Can I therefore urge you to contribute £
1.50 to the BBKA research fund in order that we in
Basingstoke should play our part.
N.H.
120 year old observation hive
Matthew email@omitted.anti.spam
Someone called me with a truly unusual bee-hive
removal. Their stone-built house was constructed around
1880. Halfway up the stairwell was a 2' by 1' glass pane
which opened into the wall. Bees resided behind the glass
pane and went about their business as if no-one could see
in.
The homeowners of 25 years had never opened the
beehive, simply co-existing with them. No obvious damage
was ever done to the inside of the house since it was
constructed of fir timbers surrounded by stucco. When
they hired a crew to replace their roof, the bees took
exception to this idea and sent the noisy `trespassers'
scurrying - which is why the homeowners called me to
remove the bees. The owners think the hive was built for
the tenants to retrieve honey simply by opening the glass
door. There used to be a door at both ends of the
stairway, which they suspect was used to trap the bees
from entering the remainder of the house.
The house used to be a stagecoach stop when there were
no other houses within 10 miles or so (according to
someone who stopped in to visit the house whom lived in
there from 1910-1917). No information on the beehive was
discussed with this person when they visited. Today the
house resides on the outskirts of South-Denver and is
surrounded by housing developments and office
buildings.
Upon opening the glass, I found the brood directly
behind the glass, so I'll assume the bees kept warm from
the house. The hive was split between fir 2x4's which had
1" holes drilled between them (for? bee-access?). One
side of the hive contained the brood - which ran probably
four feet up & down, by what looked to be 18" from
timber to timber. The other side of the window was 100%
capped honey (same dimensions). This honeycomb was SO
hard it literally cracked like concrete when enough force
was applied. I was able to remove comb in both directions
around 12-15" up & down from the top & bottom of
the window, but the old comb appeared to continue
`forever' up the wall. The bottom appeared to stop within
arm's reach from the window. What I found MOST curious of
this hive was that is was only 3"-4" in width, stopping
at the outside Fir boards (followed by 18" or so of
stone).
If the builders wanted to keep bees for honey, why
would they make the hive so shallow at the window? These
bees DID build most of their comb surrounding the window,
but I'm wondering if this was planned by the
hive-builders. If so, the builder knew something about
bees as the outside entrance ended within 2" of the
inside window ....as bees prefer to build as close to the
entrance as possible (the entrance was a well-constructed
1" hole drilled through the framing). Coincidence or did
someone capitalize on some bees which invaded their stone
house?
For those whom are curious how I kept the bees from
entering the house, I draped large drop-cloths on the
stairwell and used my bee-vacuum to remove the majority.
A Bee Removal Story
David Gaida email@omitted.anti.spam
Time to share another lesson we learned this year. I
sure hope someone is learning from these mistakes we are
making and are brave enough to share. How NOT to retrieve
a colony of feral bees from an almost dead tree.
I got a call from a lady that had bees in her front
yard. They are living in an old black walnut tree that is
almost dead. Been there for about 4 years. But she wants
them out of there, NOW.
The tree was located about 15 feet in front of their
nice, relatively new, home. 2 feet from the edge of the
single lane blacktop road. 15 feet from the other edge of
the road that had a neighbors' fence about 2 feet from
it. Another black walnut was 6 feet to one side. Three
ornamental trees were about 6 feet to the other side. The
tree was about 25 feet tall, with branches on all four
sides reaching about 10 feet out. The electric wires were
running through the tree about 15--20 feet up. More than
3/4ths of the tree was dead.
This lovely young woman was about 20 years our junior.
She was married to an up and coming young attorney. We
were the unpaid help.
At first the most important thing was to take the tree
down. Dave said he didn't think it would be a good idea
for us and maybe she should just kill the bees and have a
professional take the tree down. Well, the professional
she called said it would cost at a minimum $1,000. So
could we at least save the bees. Dave said we would
try.
I called our state university. The professor there is
attempting to breed from feral bee colonies that have
survived the mite problem. The professor gave me explicit
instructions on how to get the bees. Dave and I went back
to the bee tree.
The main opening for the bees was in a V, about 6 feet
off the ground. There were numerous, about 10, other
openings that were small but appeared to be used. We
covered all openings, except the large one, with metal
window screening. Small pieces stapled over the
holes.
We found the correct mesh size wire to form a cone.
Made the cone diameter at the base large enough to cover
the opening. Brought the opening in the cone down to
about 1/4 to 1/2". Stapled the cone to the tree.
Mounted an empty bee box, with drawn foundation and
one frame of capped honey, in front of the cone opening.
(The professor did not want any brood placed in the box,
he did not want to chance crossing with any of our bees
before he could send someone to pick up the bees.)
Went away for two days. The bees were not supposed to
be able to find the opening at the end of the cone. Most
of the worker bees would be out of the hive within three
days. The drones would probably be out in about 6 days.
If the queen sensed the loss of her workers, she may slow
down so she can fly and come out. It would be OK if we
didn't get the queen, as long as we could get some
drones.
When we got back the bees had formed a real nice beard
on the cone. We thought. Watched closer. The worker bees
were going in and out of the box, getting the honey, and
passing it through the cone to the inside bees. The few
bees that could fit through the cone opening were taking
in pollen. Called the professor. He said not to worry,
but we might want to cover the cone with something. But
the bees WOULD come out and move into the hive.
Six weeks later, the lady called and wanted us to come
and get this junk out of her front yard. If she had
wanted to exterminate the bees she would have called the
exterminator.
Might have worked if we had covered the cone at the
start. And used a bee escape on the end of the cone so
the bees couldn't go back in.
Hope they liked our honey.
Judy in Kentucky, USA
Cone method bee removal
Ralph W. Harrison email@omitted.anti.spam
I have successfully used the cone method many times.
In using it some of the tips I have are these:
Narrow end of cone should be 3/8 inch (bee space). Use
a 3/8" bolt as a guide. If you use hardware cloth cover
it with window screen material.
If you have some really smart bees you might have to
use a cone inside a cone. Larger one over a shorter
smaller one ( I have only had to do this once in 10
years)
Hive on outside should be no more that 2 feet from
cone.
Leave the cone on for at least six weeks.
Ralph Harrison Western Connecticut Beekeepers
Association Milford, CT USA
Musashi email@omitted.anti.spam
I thought I'd add just a couple of comments from my
experience. I trapped out two colonies using the cone
method this year, just finished one. They both worked
well. As suggested,
I left the cone on for 6 weeks. My narrow end was a
little ``tighter'' than the above suggested 3/8
inch--maybe closer to 1/4 inch--just enough to let one
bee out at a time. I also had the open tip of the cone
curve upwards so that returning bees looking for the
colony entrance would come in lower and not find the open
tip to try and reenter. I just used regular metal window
screen material and needle and thread to sew it together
up along the side of the cone so bees would not find a
way in or out on the side.
I stapled the bottom edge of the cone onto the tree
(or wall of the house) with a staple gun and then used
expandable foam sealant under the edges to block any
other cracks that a bee might be able to squeeze through.
The next trick is to wait about a week and go back and
carefully observe to see if the bees have either found or
made another entrance. In both cases, I found that they
had, and were still going in and out, although I had a
substantial number of bees join my hive.
Some of them will be very persistent because they have
hungry mouths to feed inside the tree or wall. You then
need to block the ``extra entrance/secret escape route''
with screen and foam or you can't finish the job.
Finally, you need to have the good will of the person who
owns the property and have let them know what you are
doing and how long you expect it to take.
I was fortunate that the people I worked with cared
about saving the bees, so although they were somewhat
disappointed when I told them it would take a month and a
half before I could move the hive, they accepted that and
were happy just to have it taken care of. If they ``can't
wait'' and ``have to have it done immediately'' then my
response would probably be ``I'm sorry I cannot help
you,'' sorry for the bees but glad I did not have to deal
with the unreasonable people. They always have the
alternative of ``paying the big bucks'' and having a
licensed professional take care of their problem for
them.
The final step of the procedure should probably be to
then remove the cone and block the hole with additional
foam sealant so other bees do not find the entrance and
start another colony in the same place. The odors are
very attractive to scouts from a swarm out looking for a
new home.
Layne Westover College Station, Texas, USA
Garth email@omitted.anti.spam
I have done a lot of bee removals in the last two
years (140+) and have had reasonable success with the
cone method in selected places.
The method works well in air brick hives - just pop a
cone over the entrance of the hive, put a nice sized hive
body with a transplanted nuc in it next to the cone -
place the hive entrance so that bees coming into the old
hive entrance hit the cone and bounce onto the wrong hive
entrance and walk through. One days chaos and thereafter
it is plain sailing.
Natural environments don't work so well as it is
difficult to block up all the holes. Trees that have
hives are often rotten and you block up some holes and
the bees just chew some more.
As regards bee vacuums - bees have their own vacuum -
if one gets them scenting you can get 99% of the bees
into a box really easily. I think the vacuum is brutal
and problematic. Just wait till the next day - all the
bees come back and cluster where the centre of the old
brood nest was - brush as many of these into a receptacle
and dump them in a box - place the box next to the
majority of the bees and it set them doing a 'lost queen'
scent. She will go to the area with the most bees
scenting and then everyone else follows. I have watched
this happen often. It is very easy.
As regards protective gear - I have a belief that the
best way of taking out bees is with none - just dress
sensibly with white clothes and short pants - don't tuck
anything in so any bees that get in can get out etc. If
one wears no gear it becomes infinitely more sensible to
treat the bees nicely - resulting in very easy
handling.
I find I usually remove combs from the outside of the
brood nest and work inwards - working very gently.
Inspect each comb for the queen and shake the bees into a
big box. If one does not get the queen this way then come
back the next day as mentioned earlier.
Bee Vacuum
Matthew email@omitted.anti.spam
Just a follow-up about bee-vacuums.
These are really easy to make and are
completely invaluable in catching hard-to reach
swarms or removing existing hives.
I've modified the design of another beekeeper to
accept most any wet-vac or other vacuum to hook up to the
box. The most important thing with bee-vacuums is that
you need to regulate the pressure so it doesn't whip the
bees into the inside ``bee-catcher'' box (which has
sidewall vents made of hardware mesh and allows air to
pass & suck up into the vacuum, trapping the bees
behind the mesh inside the box). If they hit the inside
box too hard, they'll die. It's a very depressing feeling
to find thousands of dead bees inside the vacuum so
please pay close attention to the amount of suction. If
you have too much, you'll feel their bodies bump hard
down the vacuum hose - just the right amount & you
can barely feel them fly down the hose. All you need is
just enough suction to make it halfway annoying (to you
& the bees) on trying to vacuum them off their comb
(or tree... etc). Too much & they'll rip right off
their comb (& the rip the bees off nearby comb) but
you'll find them all dead inside the box. Just the right
amount lets a few try to hang onto the inside top-edge of
the hose for a second... before getting sucked into the
inside box.
Thinking of building your own?
If you catch swarms or wish to pull feral hives,
you'll absolutely want to buy or build a bee-vacuum
(provided electricity is close by).
Here's the idea:
Inside box - rectangular shape box with a removable
bottom (mine slides on & off) and has hardware mesh
on either side. Cut a single 2" hole to match up to a
vacuum hose which is inserted through both the vacuum box
& this box... i.e. direct connection to the outside
vacuum hose.
Vacuum box: - holds the inside box which contain the
bees. You'll cut two openings: first for the outside hose
to attach to the inside box and second to attach to any
vacuum device (I use a 2 hp wet-vac which I removed off
the top of a $30 vac from Wal-mart - this is removable
and you can insert a 2" hose from another wet-vac if you
need more pressure - ... any vacuum device which hook up
to the 2" hole I've cut at the top.
Inside this vacuum box, you'll need to brace the
inside box to keep it from being sucked up to the vacuum
(I use a couple 1" wood blocks). As well, you need about
1/2" to 1" around the two wire-mesh sides of the inside
box so air flow can get sucked out (leaving the bees
contained).
The kicker is the regulation of the air-flow... all
you need to do is cut a 2" or so hole on the top of the
box (at least 6" away from the vacuum) and use wire-mesh
to keep nearby bees from entering. To regulate the
pressure, cut a piece of plastic, tin, tape... anything
and mount it to a screw above the hole. This way you can
move the piece in front of the hole in varying degrees
and it'll cut off outside air from entering as it forces
more air to pull through the vacuum hose.
Any dimensions will work. I've read of one beekeeper
using a lunch box to catch bees. (Though I've rarely seen
the opportunity to catch such a small bunch of bees...
nor would I want to). During swarm season, you might need
several inside boxes... when one gets full, just pull it
out of the vacuum box & insert another (tape the
exposed hole on the full box, or use a square piece of
something which swivels open & closed manually).
Mine cost around $140 with fine 1/2" pressboard flamed
maple and clear-coat. If I used 1/2" plywood, I could
have built the thing for $20-$30 (plus another $30-$35
for the 2hp vacuum, if needed). The inside boxes can be
constructed of any most any sturdy material.
Other particulars:
Cardboard won't work (I've tried) as the force of
suction from even a 1 hp motor will crumple the box into
nothing. 1/2" wood is what I used for the outside box and
1/8" for the inside boxes. Plastic edge-guard (normally
used on drywall) is good material for the rails on the
bottom of the inside boxes, so you could simply slide
open the bottom of the box & knock the bees out into
a hive. My outside box has a hinged top & bottom so I
can quickly remove the inside boxes. Any method of
removing the inside box (& bees) is fine.
If I can ever find the time to draw up the design I'll
post the address here. (or, perhaps I'll find the time to
make a video)
This idea has saved me hundreds of stings and saved
the lives of a lot of bees (I wouldn't pull feral hives
without one). If you've ever tried to remove an existing
feral hive without a bee-vacuum, I'm sure you've sworn
off ever doing it again. Try it by vacuuming off the
majority of bees first - then remove the comb one by one
& vacuum the bees off each comb as you go. With less
bees in the air & on the ground you'll have less of a
chance at any unhappy bee-meeting. Plus the bees seem to
know they're in trouble when you vacuum off most of their
population - the rest will likely remain extremely timid.
At the end of the day you'll have more salvageable comb
(put back into empty frames and tie with cotton string or
rubber-bands) cleaner honey (without 1000's of bee-parts)
and a bunch more live bees.
The idea behind the `bee-vacuum' is exceptionally
simple in design and you'll have much more fun in
retrieving swarms or hives. Good luck.
Paul Nicholson email@omitted.anti.spam
I just use a regular wet/dry shop vac and a variac
(variable transformer) to slow down the motor. Or if you
don't have a variac, you can uses a thyristor motor speed
controller or lamp dimmer of sufficient wattage.
Thyristor lamp dimmers are available in electrical
stores, but the common ones are limited to 600 watts,
which is OK for a 2/3 horsepower motor or less.
Vacuum Cleaners use brush type motors which are OK to
use with thyristor speed/dimmer controllers. For a 2 HP
motor you need a 1500 or so watt dimmer.
Internet Advice
Adrian Wenner email@omitted.anti.spam
As some readers on BEE-L might suspect,
I could not help but note the following comment on BEE-L
(Excerpt from The Scottish Bee Keeper October, 1998
Vol.75 No.10):
``Ignore the Internet! On this the panel was
unanimous, the reason being that any idiot has access to
it and every idiot adds his ha'penny worth of nonsense so
that it becomes very difficult to sift the wheat from the
chaff.''
The experts (beekeepers) hailed from Belgium, England,
Wales, and New Mexico.
Some years ago I recognized the power of the Internet
with respect to how rapidly information could be
transmitted and wondered, ``Are scientists [and others]
ready for democracy?''
By now those of you who have subscribed to BEE-L for
long must recognize the value that one can receive by
attending to input from around the world that appears on
that particular network. A newcomer can have a problem,
and an expert can point the direction to a ready source
of information.
Repeatedly, for example, we have had concerns raised
about allergic reactions to bee stings. Fortunately,
Justin Schmidt published a chapter in The Hive And
The Honey Bee, one which every beekeeper and medical
person should read. When that question arises (as it does
repeatedly), those of us in the know can respond
immediately and refer the questioner to his chapter.
Another quite different example: When I first fathomed
the extent of the problem of varroa infestation in the
United States, I broadcasted a request for input on when
varroa mites first appeared in the various states. That
permitted publication of the following article:
1996 Wenner, A.M. and W.W. Bushing. Varroa mite
spread in the United States. Bee Culture.
124:341-343.
No, the ``experts'' who would unanimously insist that
one should ignore the Internet apparently have some deep
seated concern other than that expressed in the brief
message we received (as given above). In the past, for
example, the scientific community has operated under an
oppressive umbrella consisting of anonymous referees.
That is, each time we who have done experiments must
submit our manuscript to a journal. The ``Gatekeepers,''
as they have become known, then can pass judgement on
whether or not the new ``truth'' should appear in
print.
That is all well and good. Such a process keeps a lot
of unsubstantiated material out of the scientific
literature. However, manuscripts (however poor they might
be) that support existing belief systems can get rushed
into print, while manuscripts that contain information at
variance with what the establishment wants to believe (as
expressed in the initial item, above) can be resoundingly
rejected.
So, folks, do not be discouraged. Any question asked
in sincerity is not a ``stupid'' question. Yes, sometimes
we see questions for which answers exist in the most
elementary books about beekeeping. However, the beginner
might not know about such books.
And that is what all the fun is about with the
Internet. I recently found a 1930s (or earlier) folk
recipe for Nosema treatment in a novel. I read and posted
the relevant quotation on BEE-L. That brief insertation
spawned several other contributions about what had worked
or had not worked for others in this day and age. Were
those comments by ``idiots?'' Hardly. Those who responded
had firsthand experience with the problem.
No, insisting that one should shun the Internet, to
me, is somewhat like insisting that beekeepers should not
exchange ideas with one another and that they should not
attend local beekeeper meetings. We all live in somewhat
of a ``pool of ignorance,'' whether we like it or not. Do
not be discouraged by what those ``experts'' apparently
agreed upon unanimously in their meeting in Scotland.
Of course, some of you might also suspect my motives
in this matter. In brief, one example might suffice. Tom
Seeley ended his ``review'' of our Columbia University
Press book Anatomy of a Controversy with the
expression: ``Reader beware.'' He clearly did not like
what he read and did not want others to be exposed to the
``heresy''. Those in other scientific fields, however,
apparently recognized the substance of our book and wrote
rave reviews about the content of our book.
Another point deserves mention. Too often those in
science defer to the ``leaders'' in their field and do
not themselves critically examine published evidence. In
short, those who wish to keep the status quo intact have
little tolerance for the free expression of ideas. It is,
in fact, intolerance that leads to controversy in
science.
I summarized that problem in a review published a year
ago, as follows:
1997 Wenner, A.M. The role of controversy in
animal behavior. Pages 3-37 in Greenberg, C. and E.
Tobach (eds). Comparative Psychology of Invertebrates:The
Field and Laboratory Study of Insect Behavior. Garland
Publishing, New York.
Anyhow, I have perhaps gone on too long. On the other
hand, some have complained in the past that this network
has had too little substantive input. Perhaps the above
contribution counters that emphasis on the practical
problems beekeepers face. So, don't be discouraged. The
Internet has far more value than limitations, I feel.
Adrian
Local Honey and Hay Fever
Some varied views from the 'Net on whether or not
local honey helps reduce hay fever
Ken Morris email@omitted.anti.spam
I am a small commercial beekeeper in Western
Australia, and today a client for whom I was removing
some nuisance bees asked a question I couldn't
answer...
Does eating locally-produced raw honey reduce ones
reaction to airborne pollen i.e. hay fever?
He had heard claims made to this effect, and thought
that, as a beekeeper, I should know the truth.
I thought it a very good question. I can see that it
might be of help if ingesting and digesting samples of
the local pollen produces any degree of tolerance. On the
other hand, I don't know that breathing and eating the
stuff are in any way equivalent vis-a-vis allergies.
I hope this first attempt to glean some information
from the BEE-L readership bears fruit. Thank you all for
the information and entertainment I have received so
far.
Ken Morris, Western Australia
Lloyd Spear email@omitted.anti.spam
My wife, who suffered from air-borne pollen allergies
for years before we were married, claims she was
``cured'' by using our unfiltered honey.
Perhaps more important, we just met a new couple in
town who are both doctors. One of the first things they
did on visiting here to look for a home was find a local
beekeeper (me) who did not extract his honey, but
``drained honey from crushed comb'' (the words in quotes
were their requirements). One of this pair has terrible
allergies. They explained they have moved several times
and found that allergic symptoms can be prevented by
eating ``raw'' honey from the new location for 6-8 weeks
before moving. They attributed this build up of
resistance to trace amounts of pollen in the honey.
For what it is worth, they claimed that any heating
destroyed trace pollens, and the amount of trace pollens
were increased by using honey from crushed comb that had
been drained.
Barbara Dalby email@omitted.anti.spam
A couple of suggestions for you. Honey in the comb,
i.e., as the bees have made it is the best for anything
like this as it has nothing taken out, is not heat
treated and contains all the honey, pollen and even small
quantities of propolis which all help with allergies.
If you require further help on this I suggest that you
contact the Apither List which is specifically for
apitherapy interests the web site of that is
http://www.sci.fi/~apither and the details of how to
subscribe can be obtained from there otherwise contact me
direct and I will give you the information.
Barbara Dalby, England.
Holly email@omitted.anti.spam
The truth is that the placebo effect is quite
powerful. According to J. Schmidt and S. Buchmann in
their article ``Other Products of the Hive'' in the 1992
edition of The Hive and the Honey Bee
The consumption of pollen or unrefined honey
containing traces of local pollen has been widely
believed to help reduce the symptoms of hay fever.
Although testimonial evidence abounds to support these
beliefs, rigorous experimental investigations have
revealed, at best, only marginal improvements in patients
who consume pollen.
``Although some positive effects resulting from
ingestion of pollen appeared in individuals with simple
hay fever without asthma, the overall benefits were so
marginal compared to the clear benefits of subcutaneous
pollen injections (allergy shots) that oral treatments
were not justified. These results indicate that if
allergies are severe enough to merit medical attention,
the best treatments are subcutaneous allergy shots; but
if they are not that severe, there is no reason for an
individual not to enjoy locally produced or raw honey and
pollen products -- and if the hay fever is helped, that
is an added benefit.''
Tim Sterrett email@omitted.anti.spam
Does eating locally-produced raw honey reduce ones
reaction to airborne pollen i.e. hay fever? Not for me, a
beekeeper since 1971.
Tim Sterrett, Pennsylvania
Robert MacKimmie email@omitted.anti.spam
This is ``common wisdom'' that many people have
through family tradition. On a good Saturday during peak
allergy season, I have had as many as five people showing
up at the Farmer's Market in San Francisco to get their
allergy medicine refills. A blend from all hives in our
local microclimates provide overall allergy relief that
is somewhat more enjoyable than a shot in the rump.
One woman said that she stopped taking the local blend
honey and her allergies came back in about 3 weeks. We
sell it suggesting a tablespoon a day. ``They'' say it
works.
We have been unsuccessful with cat-hair and dust-bunny
allergy relief honeys thus far.
Ted Fischer email@omitted.anti.spam
Here is an example of the classic difference between
treatment based on the scientific method and anecdotal
remedies. I, too, often get requests for honey to use in
allaying symptoms of hay fever.
People want it ``raw'', ``unfiltered'', etc. But is
there any logic behind these requests? What is the
relation between inhaling an antigen (which is picked up
directly in the lungs by immune cells) and ingesting a
protein containing particle (pollen) which then
immediately goes into the digestive tract and is broken
down into its basic components before the body is ever
exposed to it? I can't see the logic at all. And, even if
it would work, why would one want to self-dose with an
antigen that could possibly kill you with a general
allergic reaction?
I always flatly refuse any such requests on the basis
that I cannot practice medicine without a license. On the
other hand, if one wants to buy honey for their own
purposes, it is not my business to inquire what it is to
be used for.
Ted Fischer, Michigan USA
Stan Sandler email@omitted.anti.spam
Antigens can affect the body through the digestive
tract. After all, isn't that how food allergies work?
However, in the case of hayfever, the antigen is picked
up by the respiratory system, and the histamines produced
affect the respiratory system. But your own post
indicates that the digestive system is a much more
resistant system and tends to break down the antigens. I
always figured that was why eating the antigen was a slow
way to acclimatize the body to the antigen and get it to
stop producing so much histamine.
The fact that beekeepers get resistant to stings shows
that the body can get used to antigens and reduce its
production of histamines.
Anyway, that is just my layman's two cents worth. But
I would not be quick to dismiss persistent folk remedies.
They arose from experimentation and experience.
Garth email@omitted.anti.spam
Ken asked about the mechanism of how eating honey with
a bit of pollen in it, from ones area may reduce hayfever
symptoms.
Lloyd, Robert, Barbara, Tim, Ted, Stan, all mentioned
a bit about this. I would like to add mine.
Pollen mainly causes allergies through it's accidental
germination in the nasal cavities, as well as the lungs
if things go wrong, where it, being a small specialised
plant grows out a pollen tubule in search of a female egg
to fertilize. This it does not find, but it does often
find a blood vessel or some tissue into which is grows
and is eventually popped by certain unspecific immune
responses - releasing all sorts of foreign particles into
the blood stream and tissue.
Your body becomes sensitive and develops a response to
this. The response is due to a range of cells that
produce the allergic response antibodies, IgEs -
which are in much lower concentrations to others like the
IgGs which usually get rid of most
infections.
If one eats a lot of pollen - even a teaspoon full of
honey will have million times more pollen than a room
full of air - about what we filter a day - your body is
posed with a huge exposure to pollen particles that do
the hayfever thing all the way down your throat.
In some people this makes them throw up - my
girlfriend cannot eat bluegum honey. I have to give her
honey from the desert where no bluegums grow. I cannot
use a super that has had eucalyptus honey in it otherwise
she gets nauseas - a strong allergic response.
However, for most of us, the exposure to lots of
pollen makes us develop a population of cells producing
IgG to that stuff, as well as special cells
which control the cells which release histamine - and the
allergy goes away. Just like exposure to a cold for two
weeks makes it go away, and so does flu and everything
else. One just has to watch out for conmen during this
time period.
Alternatively, one can go and have 'this or that
pollen' desensitization shots - administered by doctors
who are educated in institutions that would close down if
it were not for the 'donations' they received from the
pharmaceutical companies - i.e., doctors are told - if
somebody has hayfever give them celestamine and
desensitizing shots at 1% of their anuual income or
whatever. The celestamine will cause possible permanent
psychological problems if taken for too long, and the
expense will as well. Honey on the other hand is cheap
and nobody gets royalties for it except us beekeepers who
are not important as a tax base at all - and we don't
donate millions to universities that train doctors.
So my answer - yes sell people honey as an antidote to
hayfever. If it does not work, at least it won't damage
their brains like antihistamines do - even although these
don't really work either!!
Garth Cambray, South Africa
Thomas Cornick email@omitted.anti.spam
I tell my customers that I can't prove that honey
works for allergy relief. I also tell them that it tastes
better than bennedryl or sudafed and that the drug
companies won't make anything from it because it is
food.
Tom in CT
Editor's Note: A factor not mentioned here
is that often hay fever just spontaneously disappears. If
that happens to coincide with eating local honey, then we
have a spurious `cure'. There's no escaping though, that
many people swear it works for them -- and who am I to
argue.
Bee Space
Richard Spiekhout email@omitted.anti.spam
I have built some medium supers and hive bodies and
wanted to get the comb drawn in the hive bodies. I put
them on top of hives that consist of 1 hive body full of
brood pollen and honey and a medium super full of honey.
The hive bodies and supers that I bought have 9 frames
sitting on spacers. I did not notice that the frames rest
about 3/8ths inch below the top of the super/hive body.
The ones that I built are even with the top and have
about 3/8ths inch bee space on the bottom. This gave me
3/4ths inch bee-space which the bees promptly began to
fill with comb and honey.
I took of the supers and found comb all over the
bottom of the frames and top of the original hive bodies.
The bees are not using the foundation that I put on top
so today I switched 1 hive and put the new hive body in
the middle.
I need help! Is bee space supposed to be on the top or
bottom? How do I get the bees to draw out the comb? I'm
new but I am learning.
Peter Dalby email@omitted.anti.spam
In answer to your questions. It really does not matter
where your bee space is as long as it is consistent
throughout your equipment. That is all your equipment is
top bee space or all your equipment is bottom bee space.
It does tend to vary according to the hive type and
original manufacturer. In the UK there is considerable
controversy amongst beekeepers as to which is best and
both types are in use.
To get bees to draw out comb you need to make sure you
do not have too wide a space between the frames as the
bees will build an extra sheet of brace comb between
them. The bees will build comb most readily when there is
a nectar flow or ready source of feed around. Number of
frames in boxes again depends on your hive type.
Lloyd Spear email@omitted.anti.spam
Richard, the bee space can be either at the bottom or
top, or split between the two. The bees do not care. When
beekeepers get in trouble with burr comb, as you have, it
is because they mix different equipment. Usually this
means two or more different companies or people
manufactured the equipment.
Right now, the best thing you can do is cut down the
equipment so that you reduce the oversize space to 3/8
inch. Do it on a table saw with an old blade, and go
right through any nails. Wear Safety Goggles!
In the future look carefully at equipment you are
buying and cut it down or add strips before assembly, if
possible. It is real important that all of your equipment
be interchangeable between hives without causing
excessive burr comb.
When drawing comb, never put it on top of a super or
hive body that is 75% or more full of honey. The best
place to draw comb is directly over the brood nest. Next
best (but a poor second) is over a super or hive body
with drawn but unfilled comb, providing that on top of
the super with foundation is a super 75% or more filled
with honey.
Foundation must be drawn on a heavy flow or a light to
moderate flow with constant feeding. You do not mention
where you are, but to the best of my knowledge there is
no where in the US where you can draw foundation now. I
believe the next opportunity will be in Florida or Texas
from mid-February.
Recipe
Honey Bread
A Seasonal Fruit Bread
- 330g Warmed honey
- 150g Sugar
- 275g Light rye flour
- 1tbs Sodium Bicarbonate
- Pinch Salt
- 3tbs Dark Rum
- 1tbs Ground aniseed
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Almond Essence
- 50g Chopped toasted almonds
- 100g Chopped crystalised peel
Preheat the oven to Gas 4/150C. Grease and line a 3pt
loaf tin, greasing again after lining.
Put the honey, sugar, and 50ml of boiling water into a
food mixer and beat until the sugar has dissolved.
Mix together the flour, salt and sodium bicarbonate,
then add sufficient into the honey mixture to make a
stiff dough, but one that you can still beat. Beat hard
for five minutes, then beat in the remaining
ingredients.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin and
smooth the top with the back of a spoon dipped in water,
then bake the loaf in the middle of the oven for 1.5
hours. Don't open the oven door during this time as the
heavy moist dough may sink if cooled too early.
Allow the bread to cool in the tine for 15 minutes,
during which time it will separate from the tin. Turn out
onto a rack, immediately unwrapping it and leave it to
cool.
After cooling, firmly wrap the loaf and allow it to
mature for 48 hours before serving.
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