Well there is a hive for that.
Gorgeous concept, but practicality is very low, what with the whole not wanting to open the hive in the living room. On top of that, it is one of the more expensive systems I've seen.
Polliwog wrote:LouZiffer wrote:This is one of the most interesting threads on GWJ, and it's nearly all you Igneus. I get the feeling there are lots of lurkers like me.
I live in an apartment, so the opportunity to keep bees is nil. But I really enjoy gardening and look forward to having a house in the future, at which point I'd like to explore beekeeping. In the meantime, I live vicariously through Igneus, polq, and others. I appreciate all of the discussion!
This is my situation as well.
What about beekeeping draws your interest? Is there any aspect you would like to see more of? There are honey farms that let you sponsor hives, if the legwork is done for you would you be interested? If your living vicariously would you like me to wear a mask of your face on my bee veil (I wont, that would be really creepy)?
Most of what I post is a collection disjointed thoughts as they come to me. I LOVE it when polq shares his experiences as he is figuring it out like me. Robear and another? talk about when they did it many years ago, man I eat that up.
My interest really flows out of my core interest in biology, which is what drives a lot of the rest of my life personally and professionally. Hearing about how the hive operates as a population and as a super-organism. About how we understand them and how our understanding changes. How they react to different foods, and different hives, and different challenges like parasites or unusual weather. The stories about the struggles and triumphs and the little details of how the bees behave interest me a lot. I don't have any specific requests, i just enjoy reading what is here and keeping up.
Also please don't steal my face and wear it for your bees...
I can tell you that I learned a ton just watching the bees and caring for them, day after day. The demo hive was around 30,000 bees, and this was summertime, so I did things like put out pie pans with water-soaked paper towels for them during the day. Every season, I would go stand around the entrance to the hive for a while, talking with the beekeeper. The bees would learn my scent and transfer it to the others. The first time or two I approached the hive, I got lots of bees crawling on me and rushing back to the hive; after that, a few of them would and then after a minute or so, they would just fly around me. I had the sense they knew I brought them water, or at least was familiar.
The bees maintained a 15 foot perimeter, maybe more, that they patrolled, even crawling around in the grass. Anything that went in there was inspected. If something attacked, they would respond quickly until it was killed or went away.
It was interesting watching the way the hive was ventilated, especially on hot days. They worked hard to move the hot air out (and we had small vents so that cooler air could move in at the same time, in the edge of the hive frame; it had two big glass sides so everyone could see in, too.) The glass meant that I got fantastic views of the waggle dances. We had an Ag Extension guy who could "read" the gross motions of the dances and make a good guess where the bees had found new food sources; then we could go out back and see them streaming off in the direction he'd said they would. I never got that good, that I recall.
I just got so comfortable with the honeybees that I've never worried about them (or been stung by one) since. I also learned a lot about hornets and wasps at the same time, and those *do* worry me. 
We have miner bees in our neighborhood, and every year I check to see where they will colonize, and talk to the homeowners about how harmless and helpful they are. So far no one has gone all Terminix on them. They are very different from honeybees, but still very interesting to watch.
To tie it back to site subject, I think part of the appeal of a hive is similar to the appeal of certain kinds of games - games like Dwarf Fortress, city simulators, village simulators, dungeon management games, various agent-based games. A hive is more engaging than watching a plant grow, and more systemically interesting than other small livestock. Maybe. Other hobby farmers will probably disagree.
On another level, honey bees are just tremendously appealing little creatures. Like jumping spiders or preying mantises, they're really kind of adorable. But, finding that appeal can take some work. For most of my life, I've been quite squeamish and phobic about bugs. I can still be unsettled by them very easily, but the feelings of panic and revulsion have faded in recent years. Choosing to start beekeeping involved a bit of a gut check. And, it's a been an interesting exercise in restructuring my feeling and attitudes towards things that creep me out in order to accomplish the tasks that I need to do.
Also, I have a sweet tooth and I really like good honey.
To tie it back to site subject, I think part of the appeal of a hive is similar to the appeal of certain kinds of games - games like Dwarf Fortress, city simulators, village simulators, dungeon management games, various agent-based games. A hive is more engaging than watching a plant grow, and more systemically interesting than other small livestock. Maybe. Other hobby farmers will probably disagree.
I have never thought about it like that, but I can completely agree.
So had our first County Keeper meeting of the year last night. A lot of organizational stuff was talked about. Then our State of the Bees talk, which is always good. One thing that caught me off guard was the speaker reminding us that we need to register our apiaries with the state. I did not know that. While i checked a bunch of local laws, i guess i didn't check enough state laws when i got into this. I am basically against most forced registration of any kind. Some things you can't get away with it like registering motor vehicles. But do we really need backyard keepers to be registered through the state?
But do we really need backyard keepers to be registered through the state?
I would say yes, due to the prevalence of species-threatening pests and illnesses among honeybees. In Maryland, the registry is used to identify beekeepers so their hives can be checked for health issues, and the state can thus track problems and hopefully deal with them before they get big.
There is a lot of...less than logical legislation around beekeeping.
For instance, in our city, you are required to have 3 acres to keep bees. We keep them anyway on about half that. The logic of this, when bees forage for literal miles around, eludes me. (Especially since the much, much larger city adjacent to us has no such restriction.)
It's to keep the bees away from your neighbors, I bet.
I agree, Minarchist, but there is a need for some kind of centralized disease monitoring, to prevent epidemics from taking hold. Given the situation for pollinators in the US (and the fact that it's likely to get worse, with the current deregulation fever), I think it's wise.
The problem I have is with any forced registration for something like this. Local groups can offer better hive monitoring then maybe having a state inspector come out once every other year.
The can't have hives unless you have 3 acres thing is a bit much as well. My local association has a hive in the community garden. Which is illegal cause the local laws for the municipality prohibit hives.
Well, it's much more than that.
I’ve heard the registries in places like Florida are also used to plan routes and send warnings when aerial and truck based mosquito straying is used, because the sprays will also kill foraging bees.
It would be a lot more expensive to devolve that to the county/city level, I would think.
Beekeepers, yes … they've gotta want to be – "I want to be a beekeeper! I wanna keep bees! Don't wanna let them get away; I wanna keep them! They have too much freedom … I want bees on elastic, so when they get pollen, they come back here! My father was a beekeeper before me, his father was a beekeeper before him; I wanna walk in their footsteps." And their footsteps were like this: [running wildly from imaginary bees] "I'm covered in bees!" - Eddie Izzard
Bee Time Fun Time*
A time and place when we discuss something that I find fascinating about the hobby of beekeeping. If you don't find it fascinating then I can't help you when your so wrong.
Today's topic? Famous** people of beekeeping. These are in no particular order. At least that's what I want you to think.
Aristotle - You may of heard of him. He seems to be pretty famous. He wrote a little something called Historia Animalium (The History of Animals, website doesn't have all the text look at the the text file especially book V and IX) back around 350BC. In book IV He gives rise to the idea that bees collect their young from flowers. He gets a lot wrong about them, but he gets a lot right too. I think the translations are an interesting read.
Winnie the Pooh - Well he wasn't a keeper, more of a raider. While not one to make any vast achievements to enrich beekeeping, he is famous and has shown what not to do. Such as I now know it is unwise to raid a hive while covered in mud and holding on to a blue balloon. While the theory it was sound (tricking the bees into thinking he was a storm cloud) it did not function in the way that was hypothesized. I am unsure if any modern keepers have tried to work upon his theories or if they have been completely written off as the musing of a hungry bear (warning, link is NSFPiglets, but perfectly ok for work).
Abbe Warre - He was a priest*** back in the late 1800's early 1900's. He wrote a book Beekeeping For All. It goes on to describe the "People's Hive". He wanted to make something that most anyone could afford and keep. Noble intentions aside the dude knew bees.
Brother Adam (Karl Kehrle) - Another clergyman. This dude knew bees so well he developed his own breed. Let me rephrase, HE MADE HIS OWN BEE! It's called the Buckfast Bee, named for the Abbey. The man traveled the world in search of bees with desirable traits. To breed in traits took something like 10 years. He spent over 70 years doing this.
End of part 1****
*Who is it fun for? Me!
** It's beekeeping, so famous is used in a pretty liberal context.
*** You will find a lot of clergy folk on this multi part list.
**** Really isn't this enough. What more do you want from me!
Today's topic? Famous** people of beekeeping. These are in no particular order. At least that's what I want you to think.
Neil Gaiman.
Further google searching suggests that both Sylvia Plath and Steve Vai were relatively serious keepers.
Also, Edmund Hillary.
It's a weird, weird hobby.
Igneus wrote:Today's topic? Famous** people of beekeeping. These are in no particular order. At least that's what I want you to think.
Neil Gaiman.
Further google searching suggests that both Sylvia Plath and Steve Vai were relatively serious keepers.
Also, Edmund Hillary.
It's a weird, weird hobby.
Hey your getting ahead of me!!! I didnt know about Gaiman, but Steve Vai (one of the best guitarists alive) has some great interviews about it. In a future post I will hit on how Sir E. Hillary funded his climbing through a successful apiary.
Bees work for man,
and yet they never bruise
Their Master's flower,
but leave it having done,
As fair as ever and as fit to use;
So both the flower doth stay
and honey run.
- George Herbert, The Church-Providence
Bee Time Fun Time
A look at some info that may or may not be true.
Today's topic? Famous* people of beekeeping. Part 2
ROCK STAR EDITION
Flea - Bassist for the band Red Hot Chili Peppers. You may have heard of them. Looks like he started just a couple years ago. The band has often taken up political and social causes. This appears to be another one.
Steve Vai - There is a good chance you've never heard of him, but heard him. Arguably one of the best guitarists in the world. He is passionate about bees. The interview is a little old. But there are a bunch of interviews out there that talk about his music and bees. Some are very interesting reads. My real question is what does he do if he gets stung on the hand?
Sir Edmund Hillary** - The man who tamed a mountain. He and his brother had an apiary said to be around 1400 hives. Through this he funded his climbs. After the mountain, he went back to keeping and other adventures.
* It's beekeeping, so "famous" is being used in a pretty liberal context.
** Rock Stars - Get it!***
*** Yeah its a lame joke.****
**** Do you expect better?*****
***** Then you are in the wrong forum for that.
Inspected the hive yesterday for the first time since I dramatically reduced the living space in early January. For the past 2-3 weeks I've been hanging old partially filled frames of honey from a nearby tree and watching as the bees stripped them down to bare wax. I'm not sure if the bees that are stripping the frames are my bees or some other local hive.
I was hoping to see that there was a whole framefull of good brood with a solid perimeter of honey and some pollen. Unfortunately, what I saw was a small cluster of bees, a few square inches, that appeared to be hanging out over a few grubs. It was hard to see for certain because the bees were covering the grubs. I also didn't see much honey accumulation either.
On the other hand, I saw the queen for the first time since I let her out of her cage early last year! She was huge and she had the remains of noticeable yellow paint mark on her back. I had thought that she had superceded in all the breeding activity last summer. She was doing the thing where it looked like she was wandering around looking for cells to lay eggs in. The size of her abdomen suggested that she may be producing eggs. But, I still don't see any signs of clear ramp up in brood production.
So, I still don't know if I have a viable hive. Maybe in several more weeks I'll have a better answer.
That is awesome. Best of luck.
“I like pulling on a baggy bee suit, forgetting myself and getting as close to the bees' lives as they will let me, remembering in the process that there is more to life than the merely human.”
― Sue Hubbell
Bee Time Fun Time*
Famous people of beekeeping, writers
Sue Hubbell - A writer who wrote some things, on paper. She has a pretty well known book on beekeeping called, A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them. Sue is one of those people I would reference as having forgotten more about bees then I am capable of learning.
Francois Huber - If you recognize this name then you probably read the twitter feed talking about bee sex. The dude was BLIND and made some of the most meaningful discoveries to beekeeping and the science of it ever. He is also credited with designing a type of book leaf style movable frame hive. His book New Observations of Bees really cemented the concept of Bee Space, and that bees banged it out.
Eva Crane - Have you ever seen someone so accomplished you say to yourself I need to do more. Well Eva invokes that for me, right before I go and vege out in front of this computer. In 1941, while in her late 20's she earned her Ph.D. in Nuclear physics. She was a quantum mathematician who fell in love with beekeeping. Eva then proceeded to pursue her research into bees till well into her later years. Her decades of pursuit resulted in two volumes taken together are over 1200 pages of material. With one being published in 1999, which put her around 87 years old at time of publication.
Sylvia Plath - A poet. Wrote what I consider the most depressing while beautiful piece on bees I have ever read. Her dad was a keeper, and considered an authority on the bumble bee. She wrote a series of bee poems. Some of them when she was going through a separation while her husband was with a mistress. Now shut up, I'm not crying, you're crying.
*subtitled:
The small break in the day when I talk about some things I vaguely think as true, till someone corrects me. Then I KNOW its true and fight to the death no matter how many so called facts are hurled at me.
or
Another day on the interwebs
If you skip over my Bee Time Fun Time, I really don't blame you. Essentially its just information vomit. But please, please, please do not skip Sylvia Plath's poem. It is just a spot of culture for all of you base creatures. It is the same poem as linked in the above BTFT.
My hive didn't make it. We've had an unusually sustained cold snap here. I've been away for a few days and just checked the colony. There's a small sad cluster of unmoving bees around a still queen.
Thats heart breaking. While its been warm enough its been raining non stop. Hopefully i can check mine soon.
Sorry to hear that Polq. Do you plan on trying again?
That's so sad!
I was feeling pretty dispirited yesterday, but yes, I'm going to try again. I probably need to burn most of my frames and disinfect the hive boxes. I also need to find a new source for bee packages - the people I bought from last year aren't selling this year.
We've got close to 50 degree temperature swings between day and night here. Bees don't seem to deal with this well, especially weak hives. Some hobbyists in my area are trying to stabilize the temperatures in their hives with reptile heaters. The local message board suggests that a lot of people are losing their hives right now.
Oh! The reptile heater seems like it might be an easy solution that won't take a ton of energy. They're not that expensive either IIRC.
Edit: You could maybe get something like this to just turn it on/off to try and keep it in a certain temp range. They might have rocks with something like that built in I suppose.
I was feeling pretty dispirited yesterday, but yes, I'm going to try again. I probably need to burn most of my frames and disinfect the hive boxes. I also need to find a new source for bee packages - the people I bought from last year aren't selling this year.
Why? its not like you had foul brood. Bees will disinfect with propolis. Most keepers will reuse the comb and everything unless a comb carried disease killed them. Hopefully you still have time to get a package.
Pages