Urban Beekeeping Information

Honeybees & mite demise

Benefits of beekeeping

Bees & Honey in the Bible

Fascinating Honeybee Facts

Beekeeping to get rich

Other Venomous Insects

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The tremendous value of the Honeybee      Back to Menu

The Honeybee (Apis melifera) is one of the most beneficial insects in the world. There are some 150 U.S. crops and more than 50 California crops pollinated by honeybees, for example, apples, fruits, berries, almonds, melons, cucumbers, clovers and alfalfa. We have the honeybee to thank for one third of all the food we eat. Without the bees, we would be eating mostly rice, wheat, and corn instead of the wonderful variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts we enjoy today. This insect pollinates BILLIONS OF DOLLARS of agricultural crops each year. In addition, it is impossible to determine the tremendous value these pollinators have in our urban gardens. Now, since the demise of all of our feral (wild) honeybee populations, their value in our neighborhoods is greater than ever.

Honeybees by the Number      Back to Menu

The Honeybee colony has:
1  reproductive, the Queen. She lays
2  types of eggs, male & female. These become
3  casts of insect, drone, worker, & queen. They have
4  wings,
5  eyes,
6  legs, &
7  sub-brains, or nerve centers, called ganglia. This wonderful insect is killed by
8  legged mites, in more than
9  out of
10 cases.
I first composed this in February 1995, for a newsletter I publish. As far as I know it's a Stan Original. The honeybee is a very fascinating, gentle, productive, often misunderstood critter.

Requeening      Back to Menu

Why replace MOM? Several reasons include, reduced swarming, bees swarm less with a young queen. Improved genetics, since the queen is mom to all others in the colony, her genetics determine the characteristics of the entire colony. Desired characteristics, we want a lot from our bees, gentleness, disease & parasite resistance, long productive life, and high egg laying rate, solid brood pattern, pretty color & markings, less propolis, prolific pollinators, proper timing of build up & shut down of brood rearing, appropriate with the seasons, and reduced swarming.
Though any beekeeper has the resources to produce queens, production of good queens requires understanding of honeybee genetics, careful control & selection of stock, instrumental insemination of breeder queens, and proper timing. These requirements place quality queen breeding beyond the ability of all but the most prepared.
Where do I find quality queens? Fortunately keen competition for large queen orders has weeded out all but the best queen breeders. As such, purchasing queens from any commercial California queen breeder should insure a fine colony matrix. The best time of year in the San Francisco Bay Area to requeen is about June. During June the queens are better quality than the first ones of spring, and they are also less expensive.
Mated queens are shipped in a small screened introduction container that has about seven attendants, and a soft candy plug. As soon as you get your queen(s), give them a thirst-quenching drop of water and check the condition of the queen. You may also wish to take this time to mark the queen. This becomes helpful later for spotting the queen to determine whether she has been superseded, the colony has swarmed, or for requeening next year. Be careful handling the queen, drones make good subjects to practice with. The queen is best handled with bare hands (no she won’t sting you) in the bathroom with the light on and the stool covered so she does not accidentally take a swim. First pick the queen up by the wings then hold her gently by the legs.
Suggested thorax marking materials include: Whiteout, Testers model paint, or a professional marking kit from E.H. Thorne Ltd. Some materials are too toxic to use on queens. The three listed above are OK if care is taken to keep it on top of thorax. If you care about the international five color codes, years ending in 0 or 5=blue, 1 or 6=white, 2 or 7=yellow, 3 or 8=red, 4 or 9=green. Following this code informs you how old the queen is. If you order your queens marked, these are the colors of those marks. If you order your queens clipped, both wings on one side will be about ½ trimmed off. You may wish to use the clipped method to determine year of birth by clipping right wings on even, and left wing on odd years. Clipping and marking each add about $.50 to the queen price of $8.00 approximately. You may choose to do these operations yourself, as described above. Introducing a new strange queen mother into a foreign colony is not simple or always successful. If you ask any three beekeepers the best way to requeen a colony you’ll probably get about five different answers. Of course my solution will be the best under most circumstances (waders are optional).
(1) Before a new queen will be accepted, the old queen must be found and killed or removed. Finding her can bee difficult; these suggestions may help. Use very little smoke. She will normally be found in the uncapped brood area. Visual search of this comb area will normally reveal her; experience and keen observation or a marked queen are helpful. Try to work quickly but smoothly. If all visual search fails, you may elect this more aggressive labor intensive practice: (a) Remove all supers from bottom board, (b) place an empty super on bottom (c) shake and brush all bees from brood combs into empty box, (d) put queen excluder on then the beeless brood supers, with any others on top of that. The workers will go up to serve the brood, leaving the queen trapped. After a couple hours remove all supers again to reveal the queen below the excluder, probably covered in a small cluster of workers.
(2) Once the old queen has been dispatched, the new queen may be introduced. The screened shipping container becomes the introduction container. It has about six attendants with the queen, and a soft candy plug. Most agree that the attendant workers may be left in during the queen introduction. The trick is getting the bees to release the queen when they are happy to accept her. The queen should be released by the bees from her confinement after about three days of no disturbance during a moderate honey flow, or when supplemental sugar syrup is being fed.
(3) That is the ideal; how to accomplish it is a matter of personal finesse and creative choice. I suggest uncorking the candy end of the queen cage, make a small hole through the candy with a toothpick or small nail to speed the queen’s release. Place nearly horizontal and held between two frames in the brood area with the screen side down and candy end exposed to the bees and slightly higher than the cork end. Do not disturb for one week.
(4) After a week or so when you go in to remove the used queen cage, you should be able to see your queen’s good work. The new queen need not be seen to see what kind of job she’s doing.
(5) Enjoy the bees, talk nicely to them, have fun!

Beekeeping to get Rich      Back to Menu

Everything considered, the small time hobbyist beekeeper probably won't quite break even. A well managed colony in a decent area will produce about 100 lbs. of honey per year. At $1.75 per lb. retail or $175.00 that does seem nice, until you start to consider equipment cost of more than $150.00 for each hive; then there's extracting, bottling, transportation, marketing, hive maintenance, medication costs, requeening, etc. etc.. However, frugal spending and diligent management can keep these costs to a minimum. The real value is in the opportunity to practice the age old art of beekeeping - the hands on personal experience of manipulating, and managing a hive that houses one of the most fascinating organisms on the planet. Honeybees are a gentle, and truly wonderful insect in many important ways. I could go on and on about the bees, and their value as pollinators. I could cry about the hard times facing the beekeeper, but hard times seem to be going around. Much of society does not seem to realize how much we depend on honeybees.

Some Honey Tidbits      Back to Menu

Honey has an endless shelf life when stored at room temperature in a sealed container. Most Raw Natural Honey will crystallize. This is normal, and is preferred by many. If you prefer runny honey, heat may be used to liquefy it. Placing an unsealed container in warm water or for a few seconds at a time in a microwave oven. Be very careful as excessive heat will ruin honey's delicate flavor. Enjoy!
How do they do that? Did you ever wonder how it is that honey from the big packing houses stays runny no matter what. The difference is very simple, filtration. In most really large packing operations honey is flash heated to as much as 190f, then filtered to about 5 microns before being cooled. Honey filtered this fine is void of the natural pollens and the microscopic seed crystals needed for other crystals to form on. If that didn't ruin it for ye, the heat used also destroys the natural yeast & enzymes that help give honey it's flavor and healthful appeal.
Eat your honey often!

Keeping calm gentle bees      Back to Menu

Contrary to popular belief, a honeybee colony is amazingly tolerant of disruption. However, depending on many variables, sometimes it can be quite defensive. Some things that tend to make a colony more sensitive, other than genetics, include a lack of: nectar, pollen, or nice weather to forage. The best time to work your bees is during greatest flight activity toward midday during a good honey flow. Three apiary tools are essential: smoker, veil, & hive tool. The choice of a veil is a matter of personal preference. I use a $12 folding veil over a $9 ventilated mesh helmet. The best smoker is a $29 Stainless Steel 4X10" with guard & hook. You want a smoker fuel that produces lots of nice cool white smoke (any number of things like pine needles, dry grass, eucalyptus bark, etc. may be used). As for a hive working tool, the $9 Maxant Frame lifter gets my nod. But for most scraping jobs I like to employ the bent end of a regular hive tool using a pulling action as this is far less likely to split wood. Optional equipment might include suit, gloves, duct tape, a queen marking kit, a bee brush, extra hive bodies, frames, drip pans and covers if you're robbing. Never use a dark bristled, or horsehair brush on bees. Only use the ones with yellow nylon bristles. Before we light the smoker we need to think fire safety. Check the bellows hole in the bottom of your smoker to be sure that hot embers can't fall out. Also, a means to immediately extinguish a small fire (perhaps burlap soaking in water) might be wise to consider. Now we're ready to fire up the smoker. I like to use a self igniting propane torch to light some material in the bottom, then pump the bellows. Once started, pack the smoker with fuel while still pumping to get a cool billowy smoke. Put on the veil, choose the hive on the down wind end to start with. Try to do your work from the down wind side so the bees don't smell you, and make certain not to breathe on them. Smoke into the hive entrance thoroughly, noting which side of the entrance draws the smoke in , and which exhausts. Take your time, give them about 30 seconds or so to respond to the smoke. Then pry up the top cover just far enough to smoke under it. Put the top cover back down for 15 seconds more. Now open the hive. Give it a bit more smoke down between the frames. From this point let the bees indicate the need for more smoke. When you see rows of  bees peering at you from between the top bars it’s time to turn them around with some more smoke. While working the bees try not to wave your hands over the top bars or cast your shadow over the hive (Note: if you can't be both, down or cross wind, and not overshadowing them, I would be more concerned with the shadow) . Prying frames apart should be done with your hands out past ends of the hive so the bees don't see the motion (another use where the Maxant hive tool shines). When lifting frames your hands come up the outside of hive to grasp ends of top bar (Note: I consider frame grips useless get used to holding the hive tool between the palm and last three fingers while examining frames). Be careful not to squeeze bees or roll them between the frames. When examining frames  remove an outside frame to get enough room to remove others one at a time without rolling or injuring bees. Because of the usual irregularities of the frames you should always try to reassemble brood supers back the way they came out. Also when brushing bees off the comb for extracting, use short flicking strokes to dislodge, rather than rolling the bees. To recap, avoid the following: jarring or vibrating, casting a shadow on an open hive, keeping hive open for long periods, pinching or rolling bees, breathing on them, and not explaining to the bees what you’re doing and why your doing it. I always enjoyed talking to those sweet little girls. By just following these few simple rules, you can significantly reduce the number of stings you get. Thus beekeeping is much more fun, because regardless how well protected you are, it is no fun working angry bees.

Fascinating Honeybee Facts      Back to Menu

Know your Beeswax      Back to Menu

Beeswax has many uses:
To help prevent food from sticking to fry pans or waffle irons rub beeswax on hot pan, and wipe with a clean cloth.
Beeswax dissolved in cleaning fluid to the consistency of a thin paste makes the finest floor and furniture wax.
Beeswax makes needles easier to sew with.
Toughens and preserves thread and makes it easier to thread sewing needles.
Helps keep sewing machine, vacuum cleaner and other power belts from slipping.
Beeswax on irons helps prevent sticking to starched clothing. To apply: rub on heated iron, wipe clean with a cloth.
Waterproofs fish line, clotheslines, shoes and leather articles; eases sticking doors and windows.
Lubricates and rust proofs tools, particularly saws and wood bits.
Makes screws easy to drive into hard or green wood.
Polishes waxes skis, surf boards, snowboards, toboggans, etc...
Archers use it on bow strings.
Seals tree wounds, grafts and budding.
Stops plumbing leaks.
Indispensable for wood workers, auto-body, yachtsmen, cobblers, sail makers, and many others.
Beeswax melts at 145 degrees F. and Flashes at 563 degrees F.

Benefits of beekeeping      Back to Menu

In an ideal world every self respecting individual would feel an inherent obligation to help improve life for those around, and to find some cause to champion. The bee is a tremendous asset in the great scheme of things yet, it is grossly misunderstand. Beekeeping is a noble occupation that is within the capabilities of nearly anyone. Started on the cheep you can get by with very little capital as long as you have a place out of view, yet accessible. Not only will you be providing a valuable pollination service for miles around, but producing a large surplus of valuable commodities that can be shared with the bees.

Beekeeping and the law      Back to Menu

Legalities and intolerance:
I am not an attorney, as such,  what I'm about to suggest is just my personal opinion.
We live in troubling times, when you consider how little, most, people really care about each other. Whether beekeeping is a permitted use of your land, through a locally legislated ordinance, or not, you can still loose your beekeeping privliges if someone wants to make enough noise about it. Communities with no specific ordinance on the books about bees normally deal with kept hive complaints as a public nuisance or threat to public health, and order your bees moved. Thankfully I haven't heard of authorities seeking out beekeepers to harass yet. I have however heard of people keeping bees in their yard for years with no problems whatsoever, Then when accidentally discovered, those dangerous uncontrolled vermin flying loose, threatening life and property is the only thing the neighbor can suddenly think about. That is the main argument for keeping your bees out of sight and thus out of mind. Which is a good idea even if the law specifically authorizes keeping your bees there, as sometimes just one vocal citizen regardless how misinformed, or ignorant can get their local council to forbid further keeping of bees in your municipality.
Now faced with an order to get rid of your bees, you decide to move them (no more than 5 feet, or less than 5 miles away) to a friends yard.
I recommend, DON'T put your bees in someone else's yard. Unless the bees are sold to the land owner with signed documents to prove transfer, the beekeeper is legally liable for his/her bees. Let's say you have bees on someone's property, a youngster discovers them and decides to see how agitated he can make them, and in the process gets stung, has an allergic reaction and dies. Any attorney worth his salt will simply cry "Attractive Nuisance" and take everything the beekeeper owns, along with everything he and his family could ever dream of getting. If a homeowner has bees on his property and is covered by homeowners insurance, he is normally at far less risk.

Bees & Honey in the Bible      Back to Menu

The word HONEY is found in 56 Bible verses. Proverbs 24:13 "My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste."   {More to come}

Honeybees & mite demise      Back to Menu

Why did all the bees die? The main answer to that question is Varroa Mites. This mite was first discovered in  Wisconsin during September 1987. Within four years despite quarantine measures it had spread to all of the continental United States killing most of the feral (unmanaged) bee populations. Until about 30 years ago Varroa mites were hosted only by the Apis Cerana Honeybee in South East Asia. This bee was able to tolerate it without fatal consequences, as can the Africanized Honeybee. However that is not the case with our European Honeybee. The Africanized Honeybee and our European Honeybee are both Apis melifera and are identical to the naked eye. It takes the mites about 6 months to kill a thriving honeybee colony and they spread quickly from colony to colony.  Today in my home state of California there are almost no feral bees left alive. They have all been killed by the mites. In 1983 I started a business called A & Bee Swarm Removal, as an adjunct to A & Bee Honey Farms. In those days there was a tremendous feral bee population in this region. I remember the the good old days when on a typical day during the spring I would get about 30 to 40 swarm calls. Now I'm lucky to get enough to count on both hands. The automatic pollination this area use to get no longer just happens. A lot more people are realizing that the delicious, bountiful fruit & vegetable harvest they once received from their back yard don't happen. There are other insects that pollinate some plants, but they are usually too few in number to facilitate a bumper crop. Honeybees if expected to survive must be protected against the Varroa Mite. Medication is provided with a special plastic strip called ApiStan that is impregnated with a chemical named fluvalinate. Two of these strips called ApiStan (capitalizing the "S" is a Stan thing) are placed between the brood frames for about 42 days. Even though the oil based ApiStan does not get into honey it is labeled only for use during a time when honey for human consumption is not being produced. Note: the fluvalinate will get into the wax however. If you see any honeybees working in your yard, it's most likely because your lucky enough to have a beekeeper managing hives within a mile or so. ApiStan is the only product in the USA to date, that has been approved for Varroa Mite control. As of the year 2000 fluvalinate resistant mites have been on sharp increase. Now days we can't just insert strips for six weeks and expect that to solve our mite problem. Today a more integrated pest management approach is called for. This might entail Freezing frames of capped drone brood, installing screen bottom boards, and perhaps even an application of a new(potentially hazardous) product called "CheckMite+" this strip contains an Organo-Phosphate Miticide. This stuff can be very dangerous if it is mishandled or misused. It is not available in some states, or special applicator license may be required. Beekeeping is not as simple as it once was, but due to the lack of bees the rewards are better.

Other Venomous Insects      Back to Menu

Besides honeybees, other stinging insects in the San Francisco Bay Area include Yellow Jackets, Bumble Bees, and Wasps. {More to come}

Honeybee Social Insight      Back to Menu

A colony of honeybees is a cluster of bees that live together as a family with a single mother, within the hive. There are three castes of bees in each colony. As an individual the most important one is the QUEEN bee. She is the sole egg producer in the hive and can lay approximately 1,500 eggs PER DAY, if there are enough young worker bees to care for them. Without a queen mother, the colony would soon dwindle and die out. Worker honeybees are all female. It is their duty to care for the various stages of young bee development or brood, from eggs to adult bees. Workers also clean and guard the hive, provide undertaker tasks, build honeycomb, care for the queen, and gather nectar and pollen from the flowers. These worker bees can be seen traveling back and forth from the hive throughout the day. The number of bees in a typical colony here in California fluctuate between 15,000 and 45,000 workers per colony. These industrious bees are responsible for the most delicious and healthful of sweets: honey.

Drones are male bees and congregate in special congregation areas looking for young queens with which they can mate. During the summer they number 1,100 or more, but come fall the workers will drag them out of the hive to die. Since they cannot sting, they are defenseless against attacks by birds, toads, or skunks which love to eat bees.