How I got into bees

Julia Common – Chief Beekeeper Hive for HumanityColony Growth, Stall & Decline & All That Lies Between

Sarah throws down the gauntlet

Leading• Risk assessment

& education

• Keeping the bees and people safe

• Urban beekeeping

Hope where there

was none before

They thrivedand survived daily miracles

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A conversation

Hives for Humanity is born

BACKYARD BEEKEEPING

• Neighbours

• Your family and pets

• Neighbourhood pests

Neighbourhood Honey Program

I

•••••• • • I

Honey bees as POLLINATORS

How can we improve bee health?

Honey bees as PRODUCERS

How can we ensure honey safety and quality?

Honey bees as BIOMONITORS

How can bees help us monitor pollution?

economic

envi

ronm

enta

l

social

SUSTAINABILITY

UBC THE ..-- - --__. UNIVERSITY OF

BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES

Tl-iF UNIVERSl1Y OF BRITISH COLUMBIA VANCOUVER

• Therapeutic Beekeeping• At-risk, marginalised

individuals and communities

Our core work

ThemUs• Less Stress

• Fewer antibiotics• Better Nutrition• Fewer toxins• Gut Health• Community • Adequate and functional housing• More Rest • More Care • More Respect • More Thought

• Advocacy (Voice)

Kindness and Love

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COLONY GROWTH , STALL ALL THAT LIES BETWEEN

(HOW TO CARE FOR OUR BEES)

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Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Nectar-Nature’s Carbohydrate

• Supplied to bees via nectar from flowers or us • 8 pounds of nectar = 1 pound of wax• High temperatures to work wax

Guts and Glands

Drone

Worker

Queen

Heart

Rectum

Stinger

Stinger apparatus

Intestine

Pollen basket

Worker Bee

Ganglia

Honey stomach

Head

1

~ Sirr.1ple w eyes

/ Antennae

Mandible

Compound ey•e

Glands• Wax glands

(comb building)

• Nasanov glands (wayfinding)

WORKER BEES

• Day 12-17: Wax production, builds and repairs cells, takes pollen and nectar from foragers

• Day 18-21: Guard the entrance

• Day 22-45: Foragers

OPTIMAL CONDITIONS TO BUILD COMB

• Nature – nectar flow plentiful

• Beekeeper – 1:1 syrup – until the comb is all drawn

• Internal – 97 degrees and plenty of bees of the correct age

• Higher up in nest = warmer

• Swarm is a wax machine !

Life Cycle of HoneybeesLife cycle of honeybees

queen lays egg

egg

w0<1<er feeds larva and seals cell once larva reaches fu ll growth

larva day6

larva day 10

pupa day 15

pupa day 18

adult day 2 1

© 2013 Encyclop~dia Britannica, Inc.

WORKER BEES

Workers start their life in the middle of the hive and work their way out of the hive-eventually dying while forging.

• Day 1: Finds food and pollen, stays near brood

• Day 2-5: Cleans cells, removes waste

• Day 6-11: Hypopharyngeal Glands begin working, feeds royal jelly to larvae and feeds queen, still cleans

Wet and plumptious eggs & larvae

OPTIMAL CONDITIONS FOR BROOD REARING

• Warm brood area

• Nurse bees to feed larvae

• Adult bees to keep brood warm

• Worker normal – 21 days – 34.5 and 35.5

• Plentiful and available bee bread stores and nectar

• Think about how you are asking bees to expand their brood area

• Consider when you are making splits , inspecting , moving frames around

TOP – BELOW - UNDER -IN BETWEEN

(RELAXED LIVING)

WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL

Growth Decline

GROWTH CYCLE OF COLONY

Cluster Cluster

HOW THE CLUSTER WORKS

• Winter bees = cluster bees ( October to March )

• Colony after August is not getting any bigger

• Right size cavity for population ( Wasp Attacks )

• Food in the right places – (sugar cake insurance )

• Mites in check

• Healthy gut ( Start and finish )

• Maintaining heat all winter – protecting queen

• Contracting / expanding – spring population build

HOW DO YOUR COLONIES GROW IN THE SPRING – CATCH THE FLOW ?

• Spring weather conditions- can beekeeper get into the yard ?( configure hives in fall ?)

• Temperature fluctuations day and night = contracting /expanding cluster

• Management - Feed no feed ( stimulation /no stimulation )

• Forage availability / sequence

• Predator activity

• Agricultural chemical drift in your apiary

• Queen Status – compare and contrast

• Starting population demographic

• Size of nest space – reduce /add/ reverse/leave alone?

MY STEPS IN SPRING

• Weather App - Spring = fluctuations in night and day temps

• Cluster contracting expanding – balance between living and dying- chilled brood?

• First inspections – about 15 warm and sunny – protect the brood frames

• Nosevit drench

• Apifit in syrup

• Mite control – formic pro / screens / capped brood out /splits

• Swarm management- space

Delta Pollination - Bee Health UBC

WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL

Growth Decline

GROWTH CYCLE OF COLONY CHART

Winter Spring Summer Fall

Col

ony

grow

th

Blueberry

Cranberry

Pumpkin

Honey productionA Season of Bee Work

Preparations for Winter

Pollinat

ion

How to Keep Strong Bees in Blueberries .

Switching Gears to urban bees and how the colony lives

Preparing• Risk assessment &

education

• Signage• Bylaws + regulations

• Keeping the bees and people safe -transit challenges

• Accepting the responsibility

• Mitigate risks

Flight path and Barriers

• At least 10ft off the ground.

• Ensure you can move equipment safely on and off the roof.

• Barrier at least 6ft off the ground.

• Barrier should extend 10 ft. on either side.

•··· • • • •

• ••• •

B)

<8[ • ····► • •

Perhaps not quite enough thought?

Apiary Siting

1. Colonies spaced to work2. Sun exposure, wind protection3. Secure site4. Water source5. Storage

6. Flight barriers7. Forage8. Signage9. Easy access10. Community stewardship

Work your colony with respect.

Photo credit: http://theshoppersweekly.com

Flight paths and workshops• Where to stand

• Someone watching the bees

• Protect hair and faces

• Workshop away from flight path

• Size of colonies opened

• Prepare a nuc with everything needed – queen, young bees, drones, workers brood, bee bread, foraging bees dancing

• Young bees do not sting

• Move group away from the apiary to a spot out of the way

• Handle frames with young bees

• Veils for all

• Any known allergy to bee sting?

• First aid kit with EpiPen nearby

Tips for Workshops

Do bees ever chase humans?

Graphic credit: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm

Winter Spring Summer Fall

Growth

Cluster Cluster

Pollen & nectar Plentiful broodLong daysIncreasing temps Unlimited timeLow mite levels

DearthLimited broodShort daysLower temps Finite time Mite level damageWasp predation

Workshops: Easy goingOpen apiary visitsFull coloniesPassing frames Honey tastingsRelaxed hygieneFlight path*

Workshops:Observation hive Primed nucsPhotos TheoryIndoor honey tastings Strict hygieneFlight path ***

Relaxed bees

Edgy bees

Decline

Swarming

Population

CakeFondant

Growth DeclineSPLITSQUEEN INTROHONEY SUPERSSWARM Mngt. MERGES

HARVEST

J F M A M J J A S O N D

FormicM M

FormicM

Oxalic

PollenNosevit

SyrupApifit

SyrupApifit

PollenNosevit

Cake

Cigars & Whiskey

URBAN BEEKEEPING CONSIDERATIONS

• Competent beekeeper(s) 24/7 on call

• Main purpose for bees being on site

• Apiary site - risk assessment + best practices

• Insurance

• Livestock and equipment choices

• Plan for moving bees without bees escaping

• If they get out ( elevators)- plan for recovery

• Managing bees in calm fashion – no defensive bees

• Security for bees and people

• Flight path, water, forage

• What other colonies and native species are in area

• Other beekeepers (individuals/companies/societies)

Urban Beekeepers - Enjoy your bliss!

Just remember you’re not alone...