Honey Bee Drifting

      It was a balmy 4 celsius (39 fahrenheit) and the girls were enjoying the sunshine.  I saw little pollen collection as there appears to be little in bloom right now.  It had been -4 celsuis at 6 in the morning but the girls seemed excited about taking cleansing flights.  I checked the hive a few weeks ago and the population is strong and I fed them 2 pollen patties though their food stores appear to be ample.  The theory of feeding I presently support (stay tuned) is that you should begin protein feeding 8 weeks prior to your main spring bloom.  Protein feeding (pollen patties) stimulates brood production.  Once the eggs are laid it takes 3 weeks for the girls to emerge as bees (Maternity Ward), another 3 weeks to become foragers and at least 2 weeks of brood production to build up the hive population.



     Dan and I have 2 packages of Carnolian hybrid bees arriving today from New Zealand.  We plan to install them in their new hives tomorrow as it promises to be warmer and sunny.  In preparation we built hive insulated covers (2 inch R7 solid insulation), 2 inch feeding ekes (spacers) and painted our hives different colors to prevent drifting.  Bees see colors differently than we do (Bee friendly garden) and the best colors to paint your hives are white, black, yellow and blue.

we see	bees see	add in UV
red	black	uv purple
orange	yellow/green*
yellow	yellow/green*	uv purple
green	green
blue	blue	uv violet
violet	blue	uv blue
purple	blue
white	blue green
black	black

The concept of drifting is that with a number of hives in a row, on a windy day the bees are more apt to return to the first hive from the direction of the main pollen flow.  Consequently the first hive will be much stronger than the last hive.  The disoriented, drifting bees will have an unfamiliar smell to the guard bees but will usually be allowed entrance if carrying pollen and displaying submissive behavior. Ted Hooper in his book "Guide to Bees and Honey" states:

“a drifting bee entering the colony by mistake, perhaps because it has been blown down to the hive by a cross wind, or misled by a similarity of the approach picture, will be challenged. In this case the guard will press the challenge because the smell of this bee is not the right one. The drifter, because its instinct says it is in the right place, will not try to fight the guard but will submit. If the drifter is facing the guard it will offer food, which the guard will usually ignore. If the guard is attacking from the side [...] the drifter will tuck its tail in and stand quiet, with its head tucked down, or it may rear on to its two back pairs of legs, extending its tongue and strop this with its front legs. These patterns of behaviour denote submission and the guard [...] will do no real harm and certainly not attempt to sting. As with all bees, the guard’s concentration period is short, and in a few seconds it gets tired of the whole affair and lets the drifter proceed”

This is not a significant problem unless you are in an exposed, windy area and you have one direction of flight towards your main foraging area.

Hive set up that could lead to drifting

The idea is that different colored hives will assist the bees in identifying their own hive. Beekeepers can also prevent drifting by having their hive's entrance at a slightly different angle or providing a distinctive landmark for each hive.

Different colored Slovenian church hives

It's like if you are drunk and walking back to your house and all the homes are of the exact architectural style.  This is human drifting.  I personally experienced this phenomena many years ago.  This can be very embarrassing.

My house

     Below is a film by Megan Paska, a Brooklyn beekeeper and urban farmer.  The film describes the importance of beekeeping to her life.  "This is the first time in my life when I've just felt absolutely on the right path".  Though not to that extent I can identify with the grounding fascination of beekeeping. I am not one given to make wild proclamations but I am sure my fascination with bees will be forever.

The Other Pollinators

     Although bees are the major pollinators of the world there are many other species involved in pollination.  Insects such as butterflies, moths, beetles, ants and fruit flies are essential for the pollination of specific plants.  Also, many birds pollinate like the hummingbird, honeyeaters and sunbirds.  Other vertebrates like monkeys, lemurs, possums, rodents, lizards and even humans are responsible for some pollination.  In North America desert plants like the agave and giant cacti depend on bats for pollination.  In the tropics bats pollinate a wide variety of plants like cashew, cloves, durian, carob, balsa wood, bananas, avocados, dates, figs, peaches and mangoes.
     In Canada and the United States bats are especially important in the control of the insect population.  A single brown bat can consume 1000 mosquito sized insects in an hour.  As many of these insects damage commercial food crops the presence of bats reduces the amount of pesticides required.
     Bat populations in Canada and throughout the world are declining for many reasons including loss of habitat.  According to Louie Swartzberg, a pioneer of high-end time-lapse cinematography (The Hidden Beauty of Pollination) "beauty and seduction are nature's tool for survival because we protect what we fall in love with".  Although I think bats are beautiful most people don't and it's for that reason they especially need our protection.
     The United Nations has declared 2011-2012 International Year of the Bat.  Visit Bat Conservation International to find out more about bats.

Varroa Sensitive Hygiene

Varroa mite on queen bee

    The varroa mite is a small mite (approximately 1mm in diameter) native to Asia and the Asian honey bee (Apis Cerana) which has developed a resistance to the mite enabling it to cope with it's presence. 


The lifecycle of the honey bee and varro mite.

     Over the last 50 years the varroa has spread from country to country having become a major threat in the last decade to both the native and honeybee populations throughout the world.  This blood sucking parasite is a carrier of 18 identified diseases and is considered a major contributor to Colony Collapse Disorder.   

Worldwide spread of the Varroa mite

     Australia remains the only beekeeping nation free of the varroa destructor mite (Australia still Varroa free).  In Canada the island portion of Newfoundland remains varroa free.  

     There are many methods of treating your hives for mites such as pesticides (Apistan and Checkmite), freezing drone brood (Varroa Mite controls), formic or oxalic acid, mineral oil and sugar dusting. As with all pesticides, the pests adapt and new, stronger chemicals like the neonicotinoid pesticides (Insecticides and Bees) must be applied.  Traces of the chemicals remain and accumulate in the wax.  This weakens the bees immune system and makes them more susceptible to pathogens and pests. 

     I believe the future of dealing with varroa will be breeding for varroa sensitive hygienic (VSH) behavior.  Many including myself believe that the VSH behavior traits are passed both genetically and through observed learning.  In hives with VSH behavior bees, bee pupae infected with mites are detected and removed.  Other VSH behavior traits include: more effective self grooming; group grooming; guard bees removing mites from bees entering the hive (either killing the mites or chasing them from the hive) and bees using their mandibles to kill the mites. Decreased drone production (most mite reproduction takes place in drone brood) and a higher resistance to diseases (the diseases passed by the mites kill the bees not the mites themselves) are also desirable breeding traits.  For a more detailed description of these VSH traits check out the bible of beekeeping, ScientificBeekeeping. 

     
     In the picture above the bees are chewing on a mite infested bee larvae (VSH behavior).  It is important to remember that Asian honey bees (Apis cerana), African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata), Africanized honey bees (hybrid European and African) and a strain of Russian honey bees are effectively resistant (VSH behavior) to the varroa mite.  Glenn Apiaries sells VSH queens and has distributed them throughout the United States. 
     This video shows bees displaying some VSH traits such as aggressive grooming and biting. 


     This year  I will be checking my mite test boards (Checking for bee mites) for signs of the varroa being bitten (missing legs).  A screened bottom board is a must for any beekeeper with mites. In preparation for the arrival of our bee packages at the end of the month I will be building two screened bottom boards.  The screened bottom board allows removed mites to fall out of the hive and as a bonus increases much needed circulation.
     For further information on hygienic behaviour in honey bees go to the Hygienic Behaviour section of our Beekeepers' Library.

     Check out the The Honeybee Conservancy dedicated to raising the awareness of the importance of bees to planet earth.

 
   

February Bees

     I took this photo yesterday in Cottonwood Garden of one of our girls enjoying what I believe is an anemone.  It was a sunny 8 degrees C. (46 fahrenheit) and the girls were buzzing about, some returning with yellow pollen which probably came from nearby witch hazels.  I spotted a native blue orchard bee (Mason Bee Vancouver) foraging in the witch hazels as well.

Blue Orchard Mason Bee

    There is a number of plants in bloom including hellebores and plum blossoms.  Reading about the folks at Mudsongs who beekeep in St. John's, Newfoundland and their battle with cold temperatures and snow made me realize how lucky we west coast beekeepers are.
     I will finalize my order this week for a few New Zealand Kintail Carniolan hybrid bee packages due to arrive at the end of the month.  That means I will have to get busy and build my screened bottom boards (Homemade beehive) and other assorted hive body parts.  I fed the ladies a few pollen patties at the end of January and will feed them possibly twice more to stimulate brood production. My goal is to build up the hive population early and split the hive in May.  We may get one more cold snap but with any luck I believe our bees will survive the winter.  Good luck to all the beekeepers in cold locations like St. John's.  Spring is just around the corner.

*Bob at West Coast Bee Supplies (604-272-1921) has lots of bee packages available.  His New Zealand Kintail Carniolan bees will be arriving on February 29th at 4:30 p.m.