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So much going on, so little time in a summer day…
Well, it was another long delay since my last episode. I finally got this one together and published for you all. Lots of great stuff here. Enjoy!
Best,
-=Craig
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Hi All,
Back by popular demand it’s John Seaborn from Wolfcreek Apiaires here to talk more about small-cell bees, winter die offs, swarming and much more.
Enjoy,
-=Craig
Hello members of the Association of Southern Maryland Beekeepers. Thank you for attending the meeting last night and listening to my presentation on, “Organically Managed Beekeeping.” I enjoyed it and I hope you did as well.
Here is the information I mentioned:
Food-Grade Essential Oils:
http://www.lorannoils.com
West Virginia University Research:
(essential oil studies for bee health)
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/varroa2.htm
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa06.htm
A few mail order sources for Diatomaceous Earth to combat Small Hive Beetle:
http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/product/diatomaceous-earth-food-grade
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php
XenTari BT (certified Organic for Wax Moths)
http://www.hidhut.com/catalog/xentari-bt-p-31.html
Stimulant Recipe:
5 Pints of Water
5 Pounds of Cane Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Lecithin Granules (Emulsifier)
30 Drops Spearmint Oil
30 Drops Lemongrass Oil
(Optional: 2 Teaspoons of Tea Tree Oil)
Directions: Prepare following the instructions for making inverted sugar syrup. In a blender add about 8 ounces of water along with the spearmint oil and lemongrass oil and lecithin granules. Blend on low speed for about 10 minutes to assure oil surface tension is broken and oil is thoroughly emulsified. After syrup is ready pour in mixture from blender and stir in well before feeding mixture to bees.
1:1 Inverted Sugar Syrup:
5 Pints of Water
5 Pounds of Cane Sugar
3 Tablespoons of filtered Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions: Bring water is a rolling boil in a large pot and slowly pour in the sugar. Continue stirring until the mixture is back to a rolling boil. Add the vinegar and boil for 20 minutes to sufficiently invert the sugar in the syrup. Stir occasionally during boiling to prevent caramelization of the sugar which may harm the bees. When done properly the invert syrup has a shelf life of up to six months so don’t worry if you make extra because you have six months to give it to your bees. *If bees are suffering with Nosema then vinegar can be increased to up to 6 tablespoons.
_________________
Also, I will obtain a copy of the club roster and email this information plus a copy of the Powerpoint presentation I used during my talk if you are interested.
Best,
-=Craig
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This is the series conclusion with more in-depth how-to information on bee-acupuncture. We cover a lot of ground and there is truly a wealth of information in this episode if your mind is open to it.
Once again, I kept the play time just small enough to fit onto an audio CD for those that would like to burn a copy.
The next Podcast will be back to beekeeping. Stay tuned!
-=Craig
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With the third part of the series we really start to move into the how-to portion. The next and final episode in the series is probably the most heavily into the how-to with tips and tricks.
I kept the intro and outro very brief and it sounded like I was speed talking I suppose but I had to keep the audio under 80 minutes so people could burn this podcast onto a CD if they want to. Some people have told me they enjoy listening to these while they drive so I made a conscious effort to make this recording (and the next) just small enough to fit.
-=Craig
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Here is part two in the series with Amber Rose. This time we have a free-form discussion that covers the writing of her book, her life’s journey and the road to becoming a bee-acupuncturist. The next installment will get into the mechanics of bee sting therapy and how to actually do it.
I also do a shout out to Phil Chandler, a previous guest on the show and mention his Podcast. He recently devoted an episode to follow up on the topic of swarming which we talked about here in the interview I did with him. It is a very well thought out supplement on the topic of swarming and is worth a listen.
And finally, the post show commentary includes a quick update on my top bar hive beekeeping which is going well so far.
Enjoy!
-=Craig
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This is the first episode in a series of Podcasts with Amber. We will start off with products of the hive and in later episodes move more into bee-acupuncture and how to do it! (a.k.a. BVT or bee venom therapy) Amber worked with Charles Mraz, the founder of the American Apitherapy Society among many others. She has done over 50,000 treatments and has many stories of miraculous successes. I find this to be fascinating subject matter and I hope you enjoy the series.
Best, Craig
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I saved the best for last. This half of the interview is truly entertaining and informative at the same time. If nothing else, try to reflect on the philosophy here. Leave the bees alone. Kirk says at one point, “People want to treat their beehives like aquariums. They want to look at them everyday.” His truly hands off approach is amazingly successful and his bees live year after year with absolutely no treatments whatsoever, not even essential oils.
Ask yourself, “What is the way forward for sustainable beekeeping, treatments or breeding bees that survive on their own?”
Best -=Craig
The European Hornet (Vespo Crabro) has found my hives and is preying on my honeybees. I have to say it was disturbing to first witness the giant hornet swoop down, pull out a guard bee by its head and immobilize it in seconds. They are truly giant and sound like helicopters in the air!
Even though they are relatively gentle as far as stinging insects relate to humans, they are meat eaters and prefer live insects. Here are a few pictures of them in case you have never seen one yourself. The above picture on the far left shows the Hornet next to a Honeybee to illustrate the size difference. Its no contest.. The middle picture shows the massive and powerful mandibles which they use to bite off the wings and head of the honeybee. The picture on the right shows the hornet curled around and eating a bumble bee!!
As I mentioned, their size is enormous compared to a honeybee. I would say they are one to two inches long and their exoskeleton is extremely tough making them very hard to kill. I must admit after I saw what I was dealing with and realized that my girls have no defense against them I mentally declared war. My first thought was to locate their hive and destroy them. I soon calmed down and realized that since I didn’t create them, I have no right to destroy their nest. Then I thought about targeting just their scouts which hunt at my hives. They hunt at night too (I hear them hitting against my screens trying to fly to light) so I knew the scout hunters would be vulnerable to a certain type of trap. (Motorized Light Trap) I thought about building my own version of that trap but I doubt I will.
I have since concluded that it is a pure numbers game and the hornets, although they take quite a number of bees, will never be able to take enough to collapse my colonies as long as they are healthy. In true natural beekeeper style I have resolved to let nature be.
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This time around we have “Kirkobeeo” on the horn from Los Angeles, CA. Kirk was a lot of fun to interview and has a very different perspective on natural beekeeping which I find refreshing. Part 1 is a little subdued as we find our rhythm with the interview. Be looking out for part 2 because Kirk had me laughing so hard my side was hurting. I literally had to mute my microphone so my belly laughs wouldn’t drown out his audio! He hit my funny bone a number of times, what a blast.
Anyway, this episode features a lot of information on swarming which I think is appropriate this time of year. Enjoy!
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