Archive for the ‘Beginning Beekeeping’ Category

Approximately one out of every ten Americans suffers from allergies of some type. Allergies are the body’s natural reaction to any foreign substance. When the body encounters one of these substances, it produces many different substances, including histamines. Once released into the body, these cause tissue swellings called allergies. Allergies can affect many different parts of the body including the lungs, skins, nasal passages, sinuses, and stomach. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can include intestinal pain, bloating, mood swings, exhaustion, throat swelling, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, swelling or bloating of the skin, watery eyes, itchy nose, and sneezing. There are many things that cause allergies including pollen, mold, flowers, dust mites, grass, and spores. Additionally, food and chemicals can be an allergy trigger. The medical community has come up with all sorts of ways to treat allergies, but many people shy away from modern day medicine because of the extensive side effects associated with some of the treatments. It is often the case that the treatment is worse than the cure.

One natural allergy remedy is butterbur. Butterbur is a plant that grows in marshy areas and has three foot leaves. They can be found across Europe, in Asia, and in North America. It is a gentle, natural remedy that is free of antihistamines for those who wish to treat hay fever. It has been used for centuries to treat all sorts of ailments, but it has been found most effective at treating allergy style symptoms. It can also help reduce the muscle spasms associated with allergies. Butterbur is typically taken in tablet form, as the plants themselves can be toxic if not properly processed. The roots are dried, beaten to powder, and combined with other natural ingredients to create the tablet. It is best to take one tablet three times a day, but consult the packaging for more specific instructions.

Another natural allergy remedy is locally grown honey. This product can assist with hay fever and other pollen allergic reactions. It is important to start with small amounts. Approximately a teaspoon per day should help. You must first ensure the honey agrees with your body. If it doesn’t, discontinue use immediately. If you notice discomfort in the gastrointestinal area, it is important not to use it again. The goal is to work up to several teaspoons per day to ward off hay fever. If you decide to use honey, be sure to do several things first. Talk to your doctor before you try any natural remedies. Remember that you might have a bad reaction to the honey. Not every treatment works for every person. You should only purchase non-pasteurized honey. The honey should be purchased from a local beekeeper or at a local farmer’s market to ensure the freshest quality available is consumed. Try to make sure the honey was collected at the same time of year that you suffer from allergies. This will increase the effectiveness of this cure. To make sure you get the best results possible, use the honey one month before your typical allergy season. Using it in the midst of your difficult season won’t be enough. Also, do not heat the honey. It decreases its natural healing properties. One last note, begin with a small amount and increase gradually.

Another natural allergy remedy is green tea. People who regularly consume green tea have noticed that they suffer less from sneezing, coughing, and watery eyes. Green tea is best consumed in purer forms. Don’t pollute it with additives like honey, and don’t use chemically processed tea either. It is important that you consume at least one cup per day. You should try to work your way up to three cups per day. It does not matter if the tea is consumed hot or cold.

An additional natural allergy remedy is Echinacea. This herb has been known to treat all sorts of problems, including hay fever. It aids in the production of interferon, which assists with decreasing the swelling in tissues, which, in turn, helps stop the runny nose and watery eyes associated with allergies.

One final natural allergy remedy is vitamin C. You become extremely susceptible to allergens if your diet does not contain enough of this essential vitamin. Vitamin C detoxifies foreign substances entering the body and strengthens your cells. Dosages can be up to one thousand milligrams per day.

Approximately one out of every ten Americans suffers from allergies of some type. Allergies are the body’s natural reaction to any foreign substance. When the body encounters one of these substances, it produces many different substances, including histamines. Once released into the body, these cause tissue swellings called allergies. Allergies can affect many different parts of the body including the lungs, skins, nasal passages, sinuses, and stomach. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can include intestinal pain, bloating, mood swings, exhaustion, throat swelling, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, swelling or bloating of the skin, watery eyes, itchy nose, and sneezing. There are many things that cause allergies including pollen, mold, flowers, dust mites, grass, and spores. Additionally, food and chemicals can be an allergy trigger. The medical community has come up with all sorts of ways to treat allergies, but many people shy away from modern day medicine because of the extensive side effects associated with some of the treatments. It is often the case that the treatment is worse than the cure.
One natural allergy remedy is butterbur. Butterbur is a plant that grows in marshy areas and has three foot leaves. They can be found across Europe, in Asia, and in North America. It is a gentle, natural remedy that is free of antihistamines for those who wish to treat hay fever. It has been used for centuries to treat all sorts of ailments, but it has been found most effective at treating allergy style symptoms. It can also help reduce the muscle spasms associated with allergies. Butterbur is typically taken in tablet form, as the plants themselves can be toxic if not properly processed. The roots are dried, beaten to powder, and combined with other natural ingredients to create the tablet. It is best to take one tablet three times a day, but consult the packaging for more specific instructions.
Another natural allergy remedy is locally grown honey. This product can assist with hay fever and other pollen allergic reactions. It is important to start with small amounts. Approximately a teaspoon per day should help. You must first ensure the honey agrees with your body. If it doesn’t, discontinue use immediately. If you notice discomfort in the gastrointestinal area, it is important not to use it again. The goal is to work up to several teaspoons per day to ward off hay fever. If you decide to use honey, be sure to do several things first. Talk to your doctor before you try any natural remedies. Remember that you might have a bad reaction to the honey. Not every treatment works for every person. You should only purchase non-pasteurized honey. The honey should be purchased from a local beekeeper or at a local farmer’s market to ensure the freshest quality available is consumed. Try to make sure the honey was collected at the same time of year that you suffer from allergies. This will increase the effectiveness of this cure. To make sure you get the best results possible, use the honey one month before your typical allergy season. Using it in the midst of your difficult season won’t be enough. Also, do not heat the honey. It decreases its natural healing properties. One last note, begin with a small amount and increase gradually.
Another natural allergy remedy is green tea. People who regularly consume green tea have noticed that they suffer less from sneezing, coughing, and watery eyes. Green tea is best consumed in purer forms. Don’t pollute it with additives like honey, and don’t use chemically processed tea either. It is important that you consume at least one cup per day. You should try to work your way up to three cups per day. It does not matter if the tea is consumed hot or cold.
An additional natural allergy remedy is Echinacea. This herb has been known to treat all sorts of problems, including hay fever. It aids in the production of interferon, which assists with decreasing the swelling in tissues, which, in turn, helps stop the runny nose and watery eyes associated with allergies.
One final natural allergy remedy is vitamin C. You become extremely susceptible to allergens if your diet does not contain enough of this essential vitamin. Vitamin C detoxifies foreign substances entering the body and strengthens your cells. Dosages can be up to one thousand milligrams per day.

Active manuka honey products are becoming more and more common, throughout the world.  At one time, they were only available in New Zealand, the country of origin.  But, thanks to the internet, anyone can take advantage of this unique ingredient.  Before you buy, you might like to know a little bit about the history, the grading system and some of the different skincare creams that contain it.Manuka was used by traditional healers and native tribes in New Zealand for a variety of health problems.  Taken orally, it was a good solution for a sore throat, to relieve stomach problems or to improve chronic conditions, such as ulcerative colitis.  It was also applied to wounds to speed healing and to treat infection.In recent years, scientific evaluation has shown that the honey is unique.  All honeys have been used as “folk remedies” down through time, but when compared to other varieties, manuka is the most “active” one.When you see the label “active manuka honey products”, it means that the raw ingredient was tested for antibacterial and antioxidant activity.  The product is then “graded” using what is called the “unique manuka factor” or UMF.  A UMF rating of 10 or more is required in order for the product to be considered “medicinal quality.”You can find edible active manuka honey products, as well as skincare creams that contain it for cleansing, moisturizing or healing.  Items that are available include cookies and other sweets, bar soaps and creams.  Or, you can simply order a jar of the sweet stuff.  It is a dark, rich honey, quite different in taste from clover honey.You see, it is a “mono-floral” variety.  That means that the bees gather their pollen only from the flowering manuka bush.  According to the agency that grades it, beekeepers in rural areas provide the highest quality.When the manuka is used for skincare products, it is dehydrated through a process that does not destroy its active nature.  The powder is then combined with natural oils, such as macadamia, avocado oil and Shea butter.  What benefits does the ingredient provide to the skin?The ingredient supports the cell renewal process and assists in the formation of stronger collagen fibers.  These fibers are found deep beneath the skin’s surface and are primarily responsible for its strength and elasticity.  As collagen production slows down with age, the skin begins to sag.So, active manuka honey products designed for the skin can help prevent sagging and can slow down the aging process.  Because of its antioxidant activity, it can prevent free radical damage, which is one of the primary causes of wrinkles and an aged appearance.Free radicals are formed when the skin is exposed to UV radiation from the sun or to environmental pollution, such as smoke.  Let’s say that you went out for the evening and ended up in a smoky bar.  To counter that affect, you would wash with active manuka honey products when you got home and apply a cream that contains it before going to bed.  That’s just one of the ways that you can protect your skin’s health and appearance.

From all of us at http://www.kissmybees.com/ we welcome you to another bee article! Many people who use our candles and lip balms occasionally ask us “Where Do You Get Your Bees Wax From?” and also “How Does Bees Wax Get Made?”. Well we are here to answer those questions today.Our Bees Wax candles are made out of 100% pure beeswax with no additives. We get our beeswax mostly from local Florida bee-keepers. The beekeepers are the ones who house and support the bee colonies and as a result produce honey and bee wax. Below is a perfect description from our friends at The Bees Wax Co. on the formation of beeswax by honey bees.It all begins on a flower in the field. Bees collect nectar from the flowers and bring it to the hive where it becomes either beeswax or honey. A bee’s diet consists primarily of honey, and any honey not consumed by the bees or in the raising of brood is stored as surplus and is ultimately consumed in the winter months when no flowers are available. It is the other use of honey that is of interest to us here: the conversion into beeswax.

The production of beeswax is essential to the bee colony. It is used to construct the combs in which the bees raise their brood and into which they store pollen and surplus honey for the winter.

Worker bees, which live only around 35 days in the summer, develop special wax-producing glands on their abdomens (inner sides of the sternites of abdominal segments 4 to 7) and are most efficient at wax production during the 10th through the 16th days of their lives. From about day 18 until the end of its life, a bee’s wax glands steadily decline. The bees consume honey (6-8 pound of honey are need to produce a pound of wax) causing the special wax-producing glands to covert the sugar into wax which is extruded through small pores. The wax appears as small flakes on the bees’ abdomen. At this point the flakes are essentially transparent and only become white after being chewed. It is in the mastication process that salivary secretions are added to the wax to help soften it. This also accounts for its change in color.

The exact process of how a bee transfers the wax scales from its abdomen to its mandibles was a mystery for years. It’s now known to be done in either of two ways. Most of the activities in the hive are cooperative so it should be no surprise that other worker bees are willing to oblige and remove the wax scales from their neighbors and then chew them. The other method is for the same bee extruding the wax to process her own wax scales. This is done using one hind leg to move a wax scale to the first pair of legs (forelegs). A foreleg then makes the final transfer to the mandibles where it is masticated and then applied to the comb being constructed or repaired.

Beeswax becomes soft and very pliable if the temperature is too high (it actually melts at 149 F). Likewise, it becomes brittle and difficult to manage if the temperature is too low. However, honeybees maintain their hive at a temperature of around 95 degrees Fahrenheit which is just perfect for the manipulation of beeswax: not to hot to be at the point of dripping and not to cold to so as to be brittle.A honeycomb constructed from beeswax is nothing short of a triumph of engineering. It consists of hexagon shaped cylinders (six-sided) that fit naturally side-by-side. It has been definitively proven by mathematicians that by making the cells into hexagons, it is the very most efficient: the smallest possible amount of wax is used for the volume of honey it contains. It has also been shown to be one of the strongest possible shapes while using the least amount of material.

The color of beeswax comprising a comb is at first white and then darkens with age and use. This is especially true if it is used to raise brood. Pigmentation in the wax can result in colors ranging from white, through shades of yellow, orange, and red all the way to brown. The color has no significance as to the quality of the wax (other than its aesthetic appeal).Try one of our famous Florida Bees Wax Lip Balms or one of our hand-poured beeswax candles for a true treat any time! Shop online at http://www.floridaherbhouse.com/, or http://www.sharpweblabs.com/! We welcome your questions always! Sincerely,Stephen C. Sharpwww.KissMyBees.com

Hey kids, do you have any brothers and sisters?  Imagine living in a house crammed wall-to-wall with thousands of your sisters, and you have a bit of an idea of what it’s like to be a honey bee. A working bee hive in the summer can be filled with thousands of bees, and if you look closely (with the help of a trained beekeeper, of course!), you might discover three different kinds of bees – it’s discoveries like these that make science fun!

The only male bees in the hive are called drones; they’re big and fat, they can’t sting, and have to be fed, cleaned, and cared for by their sisters. There are only a few of them in the hive, and their only job is to mate with new queens. That may sound like a nice, easy life, but in the winter, their sisters kick them out of the hive to freeze. Ouch!

There are two kinds of female bees. The biggest bee in the hive is the queen, and there’s only one. She’s big because her body is filled with eggs; the queen is the mother of the hive. On a busy summer day, one queen can lay up to 2,000 eggs.

Most of the bees in the hive are worker bees. Worker bees are all females without eggs, and they take care of all the work that needs to be done.

A worker bee’s life begins as a tiny egg. The egg hatches into a white larva, like a small worm or caterpillar, and for the next seven days or so, all that bee larvae does is grow and eat. Once it grows big enough to fill its cell in the honeycomb, an adult worker builds a cap of wax over the opening to the baby bee’s cell, and that little larvae turns itself into a pupa. A pupa is a little bit like the coccoon of a moth, and inside that pupa, that baby bee is changing from a shapeless white blob into a grown-up bee, with legs, wings, antennae, and a stinger. One good thing about learning science online is you don’t have to risk a nasty sting!

When the change is finished, the new bee chews its way out and gets to work. The youngest bees start their lives cleaning up the hive, licking the cells clean with their tongues and carrying out bits of debris with their strong jaws.

Older bees have the job of nursing the baby larvae, bringing them the food they need to grow strong. Sometimes nurses have the job of feeding special larvae full of a substance called royal jelly. This will make the larvae turn into queens instead of a workers. To make sure they get a good strong queen, the workers will feed several larvae with royal jelly, and the new queens will fight to the death when they hatch! The queen who lives takes over the hive.

After they grow out of nursing, older bees will move to the entrance of the hive and become soldiers, guarding the hive from any invading insects that might eat the larvae, and stinging anything that tries to attack the hive. They will only sting if they have a good reason, though – once a honeybee stings, she dies.

The oldest bees are the foragers. Their job is to travel away from the hive to bring back nectar and pollen to turn into honey. It’s an important job, but it’s also a dangerous one – in the summer, an adult bee lives about two weeks.

It may be a difficult life, but the end result is a hive full of golden, sticky honey. It’s food for the bees in the hive, and it’s also a tasty treat for us!  Now that’s a sweet idea.

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Of all of the hive products it is propolis that is probably the least understood. Propolis is a resin-ous substance collected by the foraging honeybee from the bark and buds of specific trees and plants. This resin is mixed with the saliva of the honeybee and packed away into her hip pockets or pollen bas-kets. It is here that the mystery begins. And what a mystery! Literally millions of dollars have been spent trying to discover exactly what makes up propolis and how mankind might synthesize this “bee glue”. But try as we might, it cannot be done. Propolis is just too complex. A virtual cocktail of organic compounds including caffeic acid, acacetin, ketone and benzoic acid, all of which are known fighters of inflammation and infection and histamine reactions. Propolis also is rich in vitamin P or Bioflavanoids. These remark-able compounds are being found to heal leaking capillaries and blood vessels among a multitude of other benefits including attacking viruses and tough medically resistant bacteria. Studies from around the world have shown propolis to be healing to teeth and gums, healing to burns and infections and even, to be a killer of cancer cells!

Honeybees use this wonder within their own hive as a building material and a tool for sterilization within the hive. For smaller gaps and cracks in the structure of their hive, these are filled in by the worker bees with propolis. Propolis is used to “glue” the boxes together making them impervious to wind and is also used to “glue” the frames of comb in place making them permanent structures in the mind of the hive.

But perhaps the most remarkable use of propolis by the honeybee is how she uses this amazing substance for sterilization of the hive. Worker honeybees literally line the inside of the hive with propolis and polish the insides of the comb cells there by leaving the cells operating room sterile! Sterility within the hive is of upmost importance and the queen will not lay any eggs unless the cells within the brood comb are sterilized by propolis. The worker bees will also put down a layer of propolis on the “landing pad”, where the foraging bees will enter the hive. This is designed to disinfect the feet of the bees as they enter the clean confines of the hive and minimize the risk of infection from the outside world!

It was my father who first taught me the benefits of propolis to the mouth. He began experiencing pain in several teeth and was eventually told by his dentist that he needed to have five root canals. Not one to be excited about visiting dentists or doctors, he began to suck on the propolis which he would scrape from his hives during hive inspections. He had learned from one of his farmer’s market customers, a research doctor visiting from Poland and working at one of Chicago’s premier hospitals. This doctor informed my dad that in Eastern Europe, persons suffering from tooth pain packed their problem tooth with propolis to not only provide relief but to heal the tooth. His experience was no different than what the folklore reme-dies relating to propolis promised. When he went back to his dentist one year later for a cleaning, the dentist, remembering the sad state of dad’s teeth, was amazed that he had never received the root canals prescribed. In fact, the dentist was utterly amazed that dad’s gums did not even bleed when the dental hygienist cleaned his teeth! When the dentist asked what dad was doing differently, dad told him about his propolis and always having some in his mouth. This angered the dentist particularly since dad told him that he sleeps with propolis stuck to his teeth at night. The problem with using hive products medicinally is that it flies in the face of modern and sophisticated medicine. What has worked for centuries, the readily available and inexpensive, folk-lore remedies, just don’t excite the elitist modern medical movement, results be hanged!

When I first began studying propolis and the other hive products, I came across an article in a main stream bee journal describing a scientist studying honeybees opening up a hive and finding a dead mouse. Knowing how obsessive compulsive our beloved friends are when it comes to cleanliness within their hives, the scientist left the dead rodent to see what the bees would do to compensate for the source for decay and bacteria now laying on the bottom board of their hive. On the next visit to the hive, our intrepid scientist discovered that the honeybees had completely em-balmed the mouse in… propolis. The propolis sealed the mouse completely from the hive. After in-vestigating her observations, the scientist found similar stories from old timer beekeepers and then, after digging around in her research found that the ancient Egyptians not only incorporated the use of propolis into their embalming process, but first learned this art from the honeybee and her use of that natural preservative that is propolis. And Propolis is a great preserver, hence the embalmed mouse and pharos. It has also been discovered that propolis was used by a seventeenth century instrument maker named Antonio Stradivari. It seemed Mr. Stradivari understood propolis to be a superb preservative resin and added it to the finish for his famed instruments.

One of the amazing qualities of propolis is that samples from areas of varying flora yield unique products. In recent years, a growing number of apiaries in Brazil have turned away from honey production and toward propolis production in order to feed a ravenous Japanese market. It seems that the Japanese have been studying the effects of propolis on cancer cells and have been impressed with the results. According to their published results, propolis from the jungles around Sao Paulo in Brazil is among the most potent. Known as Brazilian Green this special concoction of rainforest and honeybee goodness has a sweet and pungent aroma that can quickly give even the most ardent admirer a splitting headache. It is only collected by the Africanized honeybee of Brazil.

Hives that have been set up near coniferous forests also yield a propolis with plenty of chutzpa. When I first began my research in developing a better tool for harvesting propolis, I noticed that one particular apiary of my father’s produced a propolis that was so hot in flavor that it was difficult to keep a small piece in one’s mouth. This sample came from hives located along the Rock River in South Central Wisconsin where pine trees abounded as well as nettles, scrub brush, honey-suckle and virgin Oak trees. Propolis samples from these hives tended to clear one’s sinuses much quicker than samples from most any other location. In spite of its peppery flavor, the propolis had an earthy, sweet and floral bouquet that was truly a delight to the pallet. The hot taste of this propo-lis is due to the presence of a large amounts of bioflavonoids within the propolis. This is a very good thing and makes propolis from this location that much more potent!

The beauty of propolis is that unlike the synthetic treatments of modern medicine which do not necessarily only target sickness but will often lead to damage in surrounding tissues and sys-tems, damages that we are told are “only mere side-effects, and nothing to worry about”. Propolis is known for its nourishing and support of healthy cells and tissues while at the same time, some of its components are actually capable of inhibiting growth of malignant cells and can even stop the proliferation of these same cells.

Propolis has been trusted and depended upon for thousands of years by even the most re-veared of medical practitioners. One noted European doctor wrote that western medicine would take the gifts from the honeybee more serious were they simply not so tasty! Another famed doctor who relied upon the healing powers of propolis wrote, “Pollen is for health and propolis is for life!” This noted physician was none other than Hypocrites, author of the Hipocratic Oath and father to modern medicine!

The phenomenon is called colony collapse disorder (CCD). Bees by the millions abandon their hives and vanish, leaving behind a myriad of theories as to the cause. Mite infestation, fungi, bacteria, even cell phone interference has been blamed. How serious is the problem? As serious as food is to human survival. For the survival of the long list of food crops that require pollination, not to mention the people who eat them, the need to explore all possible theories cannot be overstated.One such theory is the use of conventional pesticides. I’m referring to the stuff you spray or squeeze on your dogs and cats as well as the super toxic industrial strength agri-overkill stuff we justifiably drag out of the closet every five or ten years and blame everything on. Commercial beekeepers fumigate their hives with pesticides to kill varroa mites. Reports of decimated bee populations and plummeting honey production have flooded the news media over the past decade. On the other hand, organic beekeepers who use no pesticides, have reported no instances of colony collapse disorder. None!Am I missing something here or is the problem just too obvious?Is this proof positive that pesticides are to blame for CCD? Maybe not. But unlike the bureaucrats who want to form endless committees to study the problem until there’s no one left on the planet, there is something that you and I can begin doing right now to help avoid potential disaster.As you know, not all flea and tick products are the same. Some use conventional pesticides that can harm a lot more than fleas and ticks. Some have been linked to breast and prostate cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Ask yourself, if pesticides can cause these problems in adult humans, what are they doing not only to our environment but to our children and pets?If you are a pet enthusiast like me, the one thing you can do right now is find a natural remedy to kill fleas and ticks without harming honeybees, the environment, your children or your pets. In today’s market there are a number of very effective all-natural flea and tick solutions for dogs and cats that use botanical extracts and essential oils. Some botanical flea and tick treatments are too noxious to a dog’s heightened sense of smell. Some are too weak to get the job done. Fortunately, some have found that sweet spot with just the right blend.Keep searching until you find the one that’s right for you and the ones you love. Who knows, in addition to keeping the planet green and your kids and pets healthy, you just might help a few honeybees find their way back to the hive.

The 2008 calendar indicates that another spring has arrived in North America and the signs of the new season are everywhere. Buds have appeared on trees, heralding the arrival of new leaves. The increased daylight and the warming sun act as harbingers for the appearance of flowering plants that will soon begin their summer cycle of growth. Nurseries and home improvement stores; such as, Home Depot and Loews, are selling plants, rakes, shovels, mulch, and fertilizer.

Indeed, the familiar signs of spring are everywhere. However, once again this year, there is a real problem in nature which is tempering agricultural enthusiasm for the upcoming growing season. It is a problem that was first identified in 2006. The problem continues to be the disappearance of the honey bee. Once again there is little progress to report from research into this mystery surrounding the honey bee called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

CCD occurs when all adult bees disappear from the hive, leaving the honey and pollen behind. Few, if any, dead bees are found around the hive. Between 50 and 90% of the commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the United States have been afflicted with CCD and the problem is making it difficult for U.S. commercial beekeepers to pollinate crops. About a quarter of beekeeping operations were affected by CCD during the 2006-2007 winter alone. It is estimated that up to 70% of honey bees in the United States have just disappeared due to Colony Collapse Disorder. The problem has continued during the winter of 2007-2008.

In addition to the ongoing problem of CCD, consider that news reports indicate significant regional problems with dying honey bees this spring in the United States. In Hawaii, a microscopic mite is devastating Oahu’s honey bee population and the long term affects could wipe out much of the island’s agriculture. Western Washington State has a developing agricultural crisis as bees are dying from a new pathogen called Nosema Ceranae. This fungus attacks the bee’s gut, making it impossible to process food and the bee eventually starves to death.

In general, the various problems with disappearing and dying honey bees are rapidly taking a toll on the entire United States beekeeping industry. It has been reported that the number of keepers who produce more than 6,000 pounds of honey annually has declined from 2,054 in 2005, (the year before keepers started experiencing colony collapse) to about 1,100 this year.

Internationally, a lack of a sufficient number of honey bees is responsible this spring for problems in blueberry pollination in Canada. The Fraser Valley produces about one-fifth of the world’s blueberries, but no longer has a sufficient number of honey bees to support its blueberry pollination, and honey bees are now being imported for pollination.

In England and Wales, proposals to protect honey bees have recently been announced by the government. However, bee keepers complain about a lack of research funding and the slow pace of governmental response since the number of honey bees continues in decline.

It is now estimated that nearly half of Italy’s 50 billion bee population died last year. That bee mortality rate will have a drastic effect on the country’s 25-million-euro honey industry (which could plummet by at least 50% in 2008) and wreak havoc on fruit crops. The worldwide bee epidemic has also hit France, Germany, Britain, Brazil, and Australia.

The increased cost of energy in food production and transportation has already led to a world food price inflation of 45 percent in the last nine months alone. There are serious worldwide shortages of rice, wheat, and corn. The rising cost of food has recently been responsible for deadly clashes in Egypt, Haiti, and several African states.

However, if the population of the honey bee continues to decline, worldwide events from higher prices and shortages of food will have only just begun. The pollination of the honey bee is crucial to agriculture and the world’s food supply. Without the honey bee, prices of vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and dairy prices will all spiral much higher.

The disappearance of the honey bee poses a threat to eating premium ice cream as well. Haagen-Dazs, (owned by General Mills) said bees are responsible for 40% of its 60 flavors, such as strawberry, toasted pecan, and banana split. The company is launching a new flavor this spring called Vanilla Honey Bee to raise consumer awareness about the problem. Proceeds from the sale of the ice cream will be used to fund CCD research.

The ramifications to our diet and lifestyle are enormous, but government’s response to the developing food crisis has been limited and slow. The disappearing honey bee issue has not been discussed in any Presidential debate or in any campaign forum. In fact, both of our major political parties have been silent on the problem.

Hopefully, American politicians on the campaign trail in the 2008 United States presidential election like Haagen- Daz products. The truth is that Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream may be the only way to bring the candidates attention to a serious, developing, agricultural crisis. A world without sufficient honey bee pollination will create a food crisis of economic, national, and international ramifications. Indeed, it is another year without a solution to the problem of disappearing honey bees.

The success of the colony depends largely on the quality of the queen. As a beekeeper you may notice a difference in the production of honey from one colony to the next. The difference in production can depend on several factors, one of which is the queen. Beekeepers call this trait as “queenlessness”. When the queen is in the state does less brood rearing, drone layers and shows queenlessness, must be replaced. When beekeepers spot this condition going on in one of his colonies he will, what is known as “requeen ” the colony.  Requeening is basically introducing a new queen into the colony. Although queen bees can be purchased from commercial beekeepers, but prefer to raise the queen themselves in order to continue with a queen of the strain or stock of previous queens that has produced so much success in his colonies. Purchasing queen bees from a commercial beekeeper does not guarantee a queen of from a good strain. When rearing queens it is best to use larvae that are under 24 hours old. Larvae of this age have not been exposed to the worker’s diet. It is important that the future queen larvae be fed queen jelly. Queens are raised from the same fertilized eggs as the worker bees. When the eggs are newly hatched, they are neither a queen nor a worker bee. Once the hatched larvae is 3 days old pollen is introduced into the diet of the larvae destined to become worker bees. On the other hand the hatched larvae destined to become queen bees are raised in what is known as the queen cell which has been specially built. There are requirements to raising a good queen.  The needs to be an ample supply of nectar and good quality pollen, as well as an abundance of sexually mature, high-quality drones for mating with the newly emerge virgin queens. There must be suitable weather for mating of the drones and the queens. There needs to be a good queen mother to breed from, whose offspring worker bees (and colonies) seem to have the qualities desired, such as gentle temperament, disease resistance, low swarming tendency and excellent honey production. This is a summary of the steps to be taken for queen raising.  A starter colony must be established for the beginning of raising queen cells. A cell building colony must be established. Then there is the grafting of the honey bee larvae. Last but not lest the transferring the mature queen cells to honey bee nucleus colonies for the mating stage. As a starter colony, choose a strong two-story colony that is headed by a two-year old queen. It will be necessary to locate and temporarily remove the queen along with the comb she is sitting on with bees, to a spare empty 8-frame box or nucleus hive. Then the 2-story hive needs to move about 2 meters to the rear of its original site. Now you can prepare the starter colony by placing an empty box with a bottom board and the lid on the bottom of the hive. Four combs of unsealed brood with the adult bees from the two-story hive must be moved to the empty hive. Also place a comb of unsealed honey and pollen with bees on each side of the brood. Fill in the rest of the empty box with empty combs. Take another 2 or 3 other brood combs with extra young bees and shake them into the 2-story hive. Add a feeder of sugar syrup to the starter colony. Since the bees will be what is known as “queenless”, the nurse bees in the starter colony will be stimulated to feed and produce more brood food. Return the 2-year old queen and her comb to the bottom box of the 2-story hive.

Now every one knows that you are not doing nature a service by providing the bees a place to live by setting up a bee hive, they are quite capable of doing that themselves. Your main intention is to harvest honey, and a lot of it. The best way is to set up a bee hive and regularly inspect it for the produce.
By inspecting the supers in the hive you will know that it is time to collect your share of the honey hive when you notice the supers have honey comps and are closed with caps of wax. All you need to do is to take out the honey combs and get to the honey – easier said than done!
Now harvesting the honey fro the bee hive will not be such a problem for the experienced bee keeper. You will need to wear special be keeping gear that will prevent you from getting stung by the ferocious little creatures that can get pretty aggressive if someone tries to steal their food.
Bee keeping gear consists of light colored clothes, because bees are attracted to bright colors. You must also stay calm if they swarm over your face mask. You will also need some additional tools such as a scraping tool and a smoker.
When you are sure the supers are full, you can proceed to encourage the bees to leave the super. Some chemicals available in the market will make this task easier. One very popular chemical that is used to scare the bees away is called ‘bee go’. This is applied to what is called a fumer board when the bees get a scent of the ‘Bee Go’ the bees move to the base of the hive. This leaves the hive free from any bees ready for you to take out the honey combs. Fisher Bee Quick is another good chemical that assists in removing he bees from the hive without harming them. They just find the scent very offensive and move to the bottom of the hive.
Once you have safely removed the honey filled honeycombs from the hive you need to extract the honey from it. You must first remove the wax caps from the cells. These wax caps seal the honey within the combs. You can use a metal knife to remove the wax caps, this is better achieved if the knife has been slightly heated on a fire as it melts the wax a little. It is, in fact, better to warm the knife by dipping it into a basin of hot water.
The honey will begin to drip from the comb once the caps are removed. It is best that you place the comb on a cheese cloth that has been placed over a pot to collect the honey. The honey will strain through the cloth leaving the caps behind.