Natural Beekeeping and Organic Honey Production
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Natural beekeeping and organic honey production are closely related terms. However, the latter one is based on more restrictive criteria. You can be a natural beekeeper, but still not fulfill all of the requirements for organic honey production. On the other hand, organic honey producers have to apply natural beekeeping techniques. Today almost all beekeepers, and especially those in the commercial sector, do not apply natural beekeeping techniques that were used in the past, which has led to a large-scale weakening of bee colonies. For example, almost all beekeepers now use immense amounts of chemicals to fight mites and other diseases. In addition, they feed their colonies with syrups and other supplements. My bee colonies are healthy because I have been practicing only natural beekeeping. In this article, I would like to explain all aspects of this beekeeping methodology. There are two main aspects of natural beekeeping: the source of the nectar and hive management. 1. The source of nectar and location of the apiary Proper apiary location is a very important issue, especially if you plan in the future to certify your honey as "Organic honey". Locate beeyards in a protected area near water and flowering crops or wild flowers. In order for honey to be certified organic, the apiary must be placed in isolated areas miles from the dense population, industry, traffic congestion, and farm fields treated with chemicals and landfills. In addition "The producer of an organic apiculture operation must not maintain colonies in an area where a significant risk of contamination by prohibited materials exist within a 4 mile (6.4 kilometers) radius of the apiary, as described in the operation's organic apiculture plan." (NOSB Apiculture Task Force Report Organic Apiculture Standards October 16, 2001) Therefore, finding area which can be certified organic is extremely difficult, which is why there are so few certified organic honeys on the market. By choosing a place for your hives, also you have to think about your colonies health. According to the USDA ARS: "…shaded apiary conditions caused colonies to have more mites. Overall, keeping entire apiaries of mite resistant honey bees in direct sun resulted in colonies having the fewest mites. …Exposure to sunlight retarded mite population growth while prolonged shade accelerated it, causing the death of many of the Italian colonies." It is advisable to protect your hives from high winds. Also you have to avoid any wet areas or locations that held damp air. In the north, a south slope is desirable. Arrange you hives in a way, that the early morning sunlight will strike the front side of your hives early in the morning and wake your bees up. This will help your bees to become active early in the day, and thus gain an advantage by getting the first supply of nectar. At the same time, during the hottest hours of the day your hives should be shaded, so that the bees will not hang-out in front of the hive instead of working. Avoid placing beeyards near areas frequently used by bears. My bee yard is located in a watershed zone, controlled by DEP (Department of Environmental Protection). Therefore, there are many restrictions not only for the farmers, but also for all homeowners. In addition, thousands of acres of forest have been preserved as state land. All my hives is under full sunlight from 8 am. to 3 PM. There is partial sunlight from 7:30 am. to 8 am. and from 3 PM. to 5 PM. Here you can see my hives exposure to the sun. 2. Management of hives - Hive design (a. materials, b. ventilation, c. paint colors...); a. Materials b. Hive Ventilation c. Paint colors: Test Results are Here - Hive inspection. You should examine your bee hives only in case of obvious necessity. Before you plan to disturb your bees, think about the appropriateness of such a step. Remember, that during the honey flow season, each opening of the hive leads to significant losses of honey. Also, every time you inspect your hive there is a chance that you accidentally could damage or kill the queen. Therefore, try to find answers to your concerns based on indirect observation and outside attributes. For example, you have just settled a new colony into a hive or placed a new queen into an existing colony and want to know whether she is alive and whether she started laying eggs. Instead of disturbing your bees, look carefully at workers' behavior. If the worker bees are actively bringing pollen to the hive, it's a 99.9 percent guarantee that everything is okay with the queen. The biology of the Honey bees (Apis mellifera) explains my statement: worker bees collect the pollen and then mix it with some nectar. Such form of mixture (called beebread) is a protein-rich food used to feed the larvae (immature bees). But you definitely have to inspect the hive in a situation when the workers in that hive are not actively bringing pollen, while the workers in the rest of your colonies are. One of the reasons that workers are not bringing pollen could be absence of the queen. In a situations when you want to make sure that the queen is present, try not to do it during cold or windy weather. Usually, the queen is located in the place where there is the highest amount of worker bees. Generally, it is not recommended to take out first the frames with the most bees due to a chance of damaging or killing the queen. Therefore, it is better to start this task with the frame, which contains fewer bees, generally on the side of the hive. Take one side frame out and inspect it visually. There is still a chance that the queen could be there, therefore you should not put the frame on the ground, but use a nuc box as a temporary location. For the same purpose you can also use a Frame Holder (Frame Perch). Continue by initially shifting the second frame into the open spot on the side and then lifting it out. Inspect the frame to see if the queen is there and return the frame into the side spot. Continue this motion as necessary with the next frames, by first shifting then lifting and replacing frames in a sequence until the queen is located. Once you are satisfied that everything is okay with the queen, it is better to put back the frame with the queen in reverse motion. In other words, put the frame with the queen into an open spot and then shift it back into place. Then shift the rest of the frames towards the frame with the queen and put back the very first frame into its original place. In addition, note that it is better to inspect frames directly above the hive, just in case the queen falls from the frame. If you haven't found the queen on your first try, don't be disappointed and don't try to repeat the task right way. Sometimes the queen can be on the wall or the floor of the hive. It is better to close the hive and come back in a few hours. Chances are the queen could move onto a frame during this time. I never marked my queens... - Water source. "Bees store their food and raise their young in the honeycomb nest. Honeycomb is made from beeswax, which is secreted by young worker bees, and fashioned into the familiar honeycomb hexagonal shape. Because bees live in these wax combs, though, they have to keep the nest at a constant temperature, not only to keep the colony from overheating, but also to prevent the wax from melting. In hot weather, bees cool the colony much like your swamp or evaporative cooler does - by evaporating off drops of water. Bees collect water and spread it throughout the colony in droplets. Then they fan the air to create an air stream over the water drops, causing the water to evaporate and thus lowering the nest temperatures. When bees forage for water, they are not too fussy about where they collect it. It could be from a small, muddy puddle, a stream or your swimming pool, irrigation system, swamp cooler or birdbath." (http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/docs.htm?docid=11067&page=7) - strains of honey bees; - Package (packaged) bees installation; - wintering; - feeding; - queen breeding; - harvest More details are coming soon. |
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First Spring inspection of my hives. April 07, 2008 |
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I am looking at a two body hive.
After a cold winter, we can see a very good amount
of healthy bees in this second (top) hive body. April 07, 2008 |
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But I have to add some honey April 07, 2008 |
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and add some beebread. For the Spring and Autumn feeding I use ONLY natural honey and pollen (beebread) instead of using high fructose corn or sugar syrups and other supplemental feeding! April 07, 2008 |
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This is the first (bottom) hive body after a cold winter. The thickness of all my bottom bodies is 1 1/2"! As you can see, the wooden body is absolutely clear - there is no mold !!! How is this possible? April 09, 2008 |
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This is my KNOW HOW: bee-friendly, 100% pure sunflower oil. Apply two coats of sunflower oil on your new hive bodies (especially the bottom body) and bottom boards like a regular paint. You can use a paint brush or a small piece of cloth. Apply sunflower oil for Inside ONLY! April 09, 2008 |
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