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Michael Bush speaks at Clifty Falls, Indiana

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It was another rough season for many of us at SIBA with regards to keeping varroa mite populations knocked down to a safe number. Some in the club who have never treated before resorted to trying ApiVar for the first time. Others, such as myself are rolling the dice again seeing if our season’s management is going to pay off.

bush-thumbThe last mite counts on my hives revealed that half my hives were in the green zone, but half are questionable. Since all these hives were started this year, I decided to let things go, winterize and see what the spring will bring me. I’ve told a few people in our club that if I suffer heavy losses again, that I may resort to chemicals myself. Afterall, we can’t be beekeepers with dead bees. That’s a tough thing to swallow. My reputation at the farmer’s market is “chemical-free” beekeeping and pure, raw honey. It’s even on all my signage, cards, and banners. It’s definitely what makes the honey sell and I don’t want to let my customers down. Equally, it’s just as important to me.

A breath of fresh air came when we listened to Michael Bush speak at Clifty Falls. I’ve spent a good deal of time on Michael’s site and even set up a couple 8-frame medium hives when I got into beekeeping around 2009. But what I failed to do was go foundationless. This is a key point that Michael Bush points to as part of his success. Michael makes the case that adding anything un-natural into the hive knocks other things off-balance. When we add chemicals, we not only kill mites and bad bacteria, but we also kill necessary good bacteria, and introduce other things that cause unforeseen problems later. He even shows through his state apiarist hive inspection reports that varroa mites are the least of his problems. He makes a compelling case. Regressing hives down to natural cell takes some time and patience, but the payoff could be grand.

For me personally, it adds some excitement by presenting another challenge I plan to meet next season. During the winter workshops, I plan to alter the frames I have to go foundationless, at least for a couple hives. For me, beekeeping is a personal journey that requires me to test everything and see for myself what works. The notes I keep seem to be disparate and make-shift at best. But it’s beginning to form a basis on my personal style of beekeeping that has yet to come. When we hear our peers like Michael Bush, Randy Oliver and Mel Disselkoen talk about the processes they employ, we wonder sometimes if they’ve found the magic bullet–the answer to all our beekeeping problems. In reality, it is ourselves who have to take these ideas and test them… put them in to practice and ideally, create a process that works for us, in our area, with our own bees. This is what holds my attention, and keeps me excited about the next season. 

This series of videos is posted in the same spirit Michael has about beekeeping–they are free and accessible to all to do what they want with. I hope they charge you up as they have me. Enjoy.

Make Creamed Honey at Home

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What is creamed honey? Often called spun honey, or whipped honey (there really shouldn’t be any air in your creamed honey,) all seem to be interchangeable terms to describe the same thing. It’s creamy texture makes it more versatile to use since it can be used like a spread. If you spread it on a sandwich, it will not squish or drip out like honey might. I keep some in the fridge to make it tighter (like a cream cheese) and some in the cabinet to be more spreadable.

Creamed honey is simply the controlled crystallization of regular, liquid honey. By controlling it, the crystals are very fine and smooth vs. the grittiness of honey that was left to granulate in the jar in your pantry. The smaller the crystals, the better the creamed honey. A good creamed honey should be smooth like velvet on your tongue. Making creamed honey is a pretty simple process, but you can make it above average by being mindful of the science behind it.

Two main things we need for the best control is a good starter (or seed), and a 57° F environment in which to let it set. Following are the basic steps to making your own creamed honey.

  1. Source your starter. You can buy a starter from your bee supply, but why? I have never done this. You could also buy a small jar of creamed honey from the store, or even better, a beekeeper. The idea is to get a “seed” that will provide the crystallization (or template) that your bulk honey will follow. After you make your first batch you can save some of your creamed honey to add to your next batch. I read somewhere that you do not want to use honey that has already granulated, but that is just what I use to make my creamed honey, and with great success! I warm up this granulated honey… but only a little! Just enough to put into a blender or food processor to whip the heck out of it! When that honey reaches the desired creaminess, you have a good starter. Taste it, and feel the texture on your tongue. It should be immediately palatable.
  2. Prepare your bulk honey. There are varying points of view on this one. Some recipes suggest heating the honey to 140 degrees, then cooling it down quickly (in the refrigerator or a deep freeze). This supposedly makes it so your creamed honey will not ferment, but of course, the honey will lose some of its medicinal properties when heated to this temperature. Again, I myself like to use my honey that has already granulated. I take this honey, and heat it up just enough (stirring often) to turn the granulated honey back to a liquid. A nice slow way is to take it to 80-83F over a couple days. If you have heated your honey, you then need to cool it back down to room temperature as quickly as possible. I put mine in a 5-gal bucket and put it in my deep freeze. I check it with a candy thermometer until it’s back down to room temperature (about 70° F), It does not take long if you haven’t overheated it.
  3. Mix your starter into the bulk honey. When you have your honey back to room temperature, blend in the starter at a ratio of about 10 parts liquid honey to 1 part starter, and just know that this measurement does not have to be exact. Just mix until the starter is evenly distributed throughout your bulk honey.
  4. Add flavorings. Completely optional. Flavoring your honey is only limited by your imagination. You can buy flavorings, try extracts, or get creative. Think jalapeno, cinnamon, nutmeg, blueberry, and more. Add these in before you bottle your creamed honey to let it set. A friend of mine makes a stellar cayenne creamed honey and the spice is perfect.
  5. Let the crystallization begin. I do my cooling in bulk to a point… then, put into their final containers to finish. To start, I use these plastic wide mouthed containers, like a spreadable butter container, but taller and narrower. I don’t know where they came from, but they’re perfect. The idea is to let the starter crystallize the bulk honey into the creamy consistency of your starter (or seed). Having a 57° F environment optimizes this process. It’s slows (and controls) the speed at which it cools. This is desired to crystallize it to a consistency that doesn’t as easily thin out when sitting at room temperature. I rigged up a little dorm room fridge that was plugged into a temperature control that I could set. This ensured the proper temperature and it did give me a good set. If you don’t want to go through the hassle, put it in the coolest place you know (but not the fridge) during the crystallization process. This is where your honey should set until you use it, or sell it.
  6. Bottle it up. Bottle into your preferred containers. A container with a wide-mouth is advised here, so that it can be scooped out with a knife or spoon later. Once in the final containers, air will rise to the top. Leave it, so that the surface looks untouched to a customer you might sell it to. When the crystallization is set, you will already have it in the proper containers.
  7. Storage. If you have a room that maintains a temperature of around 57° F, this is where to store your honey. If it needs to, it will continue to crystallize, but more important, you can keep it firmer during storage until you take it to the market, or wherever it’s headed.

If you heat creamed honey, it will loosen. If you put in the fridge, it will tighten. There’s no wrong way. Store it the way you like it.

Attend a local club to be a better beekeeper

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As I endeavor to follow in my dads footsteps with Beekeeping, attending our local bee club has been not only a great bee resource, but the friendships forged have made it so much more. It’s been my primary resource for beekeeping knowledge. When I was a kid in the late 70’s, I helped my dad work the hives for a while. After he kept losing his hives to the mites, I recall vividly the day he threw his hands in the air and said, “I’ve had it! The mites have taken their last hive,” and he moved on to other interests. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but it’s clear to me now that he, after 8-10 years of beekeeping, was doing it all by himself and had few others to draw help from. I never saw my dad as a quitter… since he was up and on to something else, blacksmithing, winemaking and woodworking… and doing all of them very well. My dad definitely wasn’t a member of any bee club. In fact, we where in the middle of Cheviot on Cincinnati’s West side and sandwiched with neighbors. My dad’s little plot was Cheviot’s un-named greenspace, a kid’s paradise and a one-man bee club.

I know now that the challenges he faced, he was facing alone. Challenges take time to understand and then conquer. It’s sure helpful to have some like-minded friends to bounce things off of. The club is just that. It’s a group of enthusiastic beekeepers of all ages and gender, all in the pursuit of beekeeping for various reasons.

There’s my story. Now, are you wondering the point of all this? I say attend your local be club because it allows you to share your experiences and ask the questions you have. Hearing timely information at each meeting is also helpful.

No bee club in your area? It is not unreasonable to start one. A few people in my area started ours as an informal gathering the third Thursday of each month in the workshop of a fellow beekeeper. When I came to my first SIBA meeting, there were like 10 or so people. I helped them set up a website and we send monthly email meeting reminders. We have seen 85 people at our spring meetings. Thus far, there’s been no money, no dues and no formal organization. All we have is a donation can that we point out at each meeting. The money in the can goes to supporting things from snacks at meeting, to bringing in guest speakers. More recently, we even bought a “club” extractor set up for members to check out and use for their honey harvests.

Meetings allow people to share stories, questions and problems.
Meetings allow people to share stories, questions and problems.

You might ask, how long can it last with no dues to keep it going? Well, for our group at least, people are energized to come and talk about bees and share stories. Because of this, people contribute whatever they can. Some bring snacks to the next meeting, some step up to run meeting topics, and others volunteer to be mentors. It’s happened organically for us. Not only has it lasted, but it grows more and more each year. In fact, some of our attendees traveled over an hour to come to our meetings. As a result, some have taken the initiative to start a new bee club closer to them. We’re currently working together to keep one site that supports both gatherings. Our little SE Indiana group doesn’t just happen. It basically takes motivating those who come… and to keep the torch lit. Other clubs have asked… how do we do it? So… how does it all come together?

I asked around a little to try and find some of the original founders of our group (SIBA). They were Jerry Brelage, Jon Wismann, Harry Hammond, then later Brian Lantgen, Bob Hughes, Jim Farmer… and then Jim Orem and Garry Reeves. What started as an idea was perpetuated by the love of beekeeping, and nature… and of course fellowship among friends. Like any growing group of people, there comes the need for coordination, meeting space, funding for basic needs… the list goes on.

I’ve noticed that our success has come by the generosity of people like Garry Reeves who offers his space to host meetings and Jim Orem who fervently recruits, gets the word out about beekeeping, lines up meeting topics, and provides mentor experiences. It also comes from many members like us who are willing to run a demonstration, be a mentor or bring snacks for the next meeting, and volunteers who have helped.

While we are so happy to have a great group of volunteers, we never want their efforts to become a burden. I have taken it upon myself (after talking with a few others who agree) to simply point out our donation can. If you feel that your experience is as worthy as mine, please consider donating anything… anything at all to the can. It is true, we use the money in the can to buy refreshments for the meetings, and typically, there’s only enough in the can to cover that at best. However, there’s so much more that we could do with contributions. For example, Garry once took the money in the can and added some more of his own money to get the educational bee frames that have pictures and educational information for new beekeepers to view at the meetings.

Richard Stewart from Carriage House Farms was happy to come and speak to our group about how he rears his own queens.
Richard Stewart from Carriage House Farms was happy to come and speak to our group about how he rears his own queens.

Because of Garry’s friendship with Mel Disselkoen, he was able to get Mel to come and speak with us in November. Thankfully, everyone at that meeting donated to the can as we passed it around to cover Mel’s expenses for traveling down to see us. Everyone stepped up when they were made aware of what was being done… in the name of bolstering our beekeeping knowledge.

We try to provide other opportunities such as bee school, workshops and other events. However, it becomes difficult when there is no formal organization that is established to fund such things. Here again, it’s just fueled by the motivation of our members. Since it’s happened for our group, it can happen elsewhere. You’d be surprised how many beekeepers there likely are in your area. Good luck!

Mountain Camp Method of Feeding Sugar

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Myself and fellow beekeepers are big proponents of the candy board (those of us who use sugar) when winterizing a hive. A candy board is a wooden “rim” box about 1 or 2 inches deep designed to sit on top of a Langstroth hive body. View the video on how to make a candy board here. But briefly, the process of a candy board is to mix sugar with water, a little vinegar (as a mold inhibitor) and maybe even some honey bee healthy if you have some (or use the homemade essential oil recipe here) and then layer it in to the wooden candy board frame. Some people heat it and make it more in to a fondant, but we just wet it a little so that when it dries, it sticks together. We also add a pollen patty to the board before adding the sugar for the queen to use around Feb. when she starts laying again.

The "Mountain Camp" method is simply the method of feeding dry sugar poured right on to paper that lays on the top of the frame bars... or on the screen of your candy board rim. You can lay newspaper on the top frames of your hive and add a super... or you can use a candy board body. The newspaper keeps the sugar from falling through.
The “Mountain Camp” method is simply the method of feeding dry sugar poured right on to paper that lays on the top of the frame bars… or on the screen of your candy board rim. You can lay newspaper on the top frames of your hive and add a super… or you can use a candy board body. The newspaper keeps the sugar from falling through.

The “Mountain Camp” method of feeding got its name from a user using the name “Mountain Camp” on www.beesource.com (a large beekeeping discussion board). Like camping, you tend to simplify things as much as you can. The mountain camp method entails just pouring sugar directly on to some newspaper that sits on your top frames. It is simply a name for dry sugar feeding where we may otherwise add water or more effort to achieve the same effect.

Mountain Camp stated what some may call the obvious… Why go through all the work, when bees will eat sugar just poured in to the hive? Sugar is poured on to some paper to keep it from falling through. Over time, moisture will penetrate the sugar and harden it automatically. The method is easier and takes half the effort of making fondant. While others have surely used this method before, members of the Beesource community called it the “Mountain Camp Method” since this user was known for bringing it to light. The Mountain Camp Method of feeding provides all the same benefits of an overwintering hive as a candy board does while temperatures remain too cold for liquid feed.

Having additional pollen within the reach of the cluster also facilitates brood rearing when it is time. Check your sugar periodically when temperatures allow. The bees will eat a hole in the sugar pile closest to where they are. If it gets cold again, it is helpful to have that hole filled back in with sugar. We make up hardened sugar bricks to toss in… or you can lay some more paper in the hole and fill it back in with sugar. 

Here’s some tips to remember

  • Don’t allow newspaper to be exposed to the outside, beyond the hive body so moisture isn’t wicked into the hive.
  • Don’t use confectioner’s/powdered sugar as it contains corn starch, and can cause dysentery.
  • Add pollen patties or dry pollen when setting up. Watch the candy board video to hear more of these details.
  • Don’t open your hive on too cold of a day, and open it for a limited time only to reduce chilling the brood and disturbing the cluster.

If you have any additional thoughts to add, I’d love to hear them.

Dealing with Bee Hive Deaouts

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I helped my dad with bees for a small period of time in the 80’s… when I was a teenager, and I even had a hive of my own. I don’t really count this as much experience but it was enough to make me want to pick it back up in 2009. Since then, I’ve never experienced my own deadout until this winter (2012-2013). One might suggest beginners luck, but I submit that from delving in, and getting as many mentor experiences as possible, along with doing a lot of reading, and writing about bees, I hit the ground running. It’s significant to note that I was also miticide-free and doing as much “natural” beekeeping as possible. I did feed sugar as needed up until this last season… when I decided that I was going to let the bees fend for themselves. Whether or not this contributed to my deadouts is still undecided, as you will see.

On the last warm day, it was apparent to me that I lost several hives as only one hive had bees out flying. So, I cracked in to them to find what I expected… the sad sight that all beekeepers will eventually experience. All the bees, frozen in time… with the queen right there in the center… in each hive. There was still plenty of honey left to eat too, so what happened?

Here is a serious learning opportunity for any beekeeper. One must rise above discouragement, take the lumps and do a little detective work to find out what went wrong. At last hive check (before winter) I had concerns about a number of my hives. Particularly, the populations just weren’t there. We like to see queens laying eggs later into the season and a good amount of bees when were taking supers off and preparing for winterization. Several of my hives just didn’t have that. I think I was maybe short on a good pollen supply too. We like to know that weve been proactive in dealing with SHB (small hive beetle) and varroa but I was battling SHB in all my hives in one yard. However, at another yard, one hive whose populations were great, and had no beetles also became one of my deadouts! This is the video that follows. 

I recorded this deadout because it’s tough to see the cause of this one. It wasn’t starvation, it wasn’t moisture/wet bees… I didn’t suspect varroa (but this was the cause, as you’ll see) There is another hive right next to this one doing fine.

I run screen bottoms on all my hives and have since 2009. Haven’t lost any hives until now, so I don’t think having these screens wide open was a contributor. I thought I OK on keeping varroa under control but still didn’t rule it out. I’m sure there are mites in all my hives, but nothing suggesting the populations were enough to overrun. There looked to be traces of guanine on a few cell ceilings. We dusted probably 5 times over last season, once every 1-2 weeks apart and stopped to allow them to work on their winter cluster.

Since we don’t know everything about CCD yet, I tend to research all I can before settling on this still-mysterious problem. The latest research on CCD suggests there is the presence of a virus and a disease. The presence of both means their doom. Here is SE Indiana, most of us don’t move our hives to provide pollination services and our bees forage on much of the same stuff. We generally do what we can to keep the bees happy and healthy. Sure, we know there are pesticides used in our foraging areas, and since I can’t test for virii or diseases, I’m sending samples to the Beltsville Bee Lab and will update back when I get results.

Take a look over this hive with me.

UPDATE 3-1-13: The results came back and it was varroa. No trace of nosema nor tracheal mites. Varroa was 10.5 per 100 bees! Proof that varroa can take them out right under your eyes!

UPDATE 4-12-13: Take a look at the alcohol washes I’m doing now to test deadouts for varroa.

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Did you know?

The queen bee doesn’t decide what happens in a colony. The workers do. They adjust her feeding to make her do what the majority says. The queen can’t feed herself.