NEWSLETTER #14 (English) from Urs & Izzy, your local beekeeper. SWARMS!!!
- Izzy the busy bee....
- Apr 14, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 15, 2022
March & April 2022 (Issue #14)
It is again that time of the year... Spring! when love is in the air, hormones jump around, and all nature blossoms and reproduces. And bees are not different, so, it is again swarm time!
You can read about swarms here below, and also about an event that we were invited to at ETH. Learn more with our usual sections to add to your 'handbook of useless but interesting knowledge'; facts& figures, swiss bees, and did you know that... ?
Are you enjoying the newsletter? Don't be shy, tell us at baerenhonig@gmx.ch , or whatsaupp us, if you prefer. We love to hear from you!
News from the Beehives
It is Spring, it is swarm-time! Swarming is the way that bees reproduce. Starting in march, the Queenbee lays a lot of eggs - up to 2,000 eggs per day. At some point, she (or the bees) decide that they are way too many, and need a bigger place. The Queen then gives the 'order to move'. Like humans, scout bees search for new suitable places to live, whereas the Queen lays more eggs. Searching for a new place takes usually about two weeks.
Once the new 'housing' is found, half of the hive's bees 'pack their stuff' (i.e they fill their stomachs for a long trip), and at a given signal, half of the colony, leaves the old house at once. At ONCE. Yes. Really.
How do they know who goes and who stays is still a mystery. Imagine, 30,000 bees leaving the hive in a question of 2-3 minutes. It is truly magic. Even if might appear dangerous (I was cough in the middle of the swarm cloud twice last year), it is absolutely NOT dangerous. The bees are just looking to follow the Queen, who is, in turn, following the scouts.
Do you want to see swarming in real time? Here you can find the videos (leaving, flying, clustering ) of a swarm that occurred from one of our colonies, in front of my eyes last year.
If you see a swarm, CALL US (or Whatsapp us) with a photo of the location. We will be happy to pick up the swarm and provide the bees with an amazing 10-frames flat on our bee-cottage - and you can be the god-mother (or god-father) of that colony!
Where is my Honey...again?
Your honey is on the making! Yes, the colonies are now strong, bringing nectar and pollen, and we just provided them with the honey frames, for them to start packing honey on them.
As we opened all the colonies, we noticed that the character of some of our bees have changed; last year were docile, and this year more nervous and difficult, and also vice-versa, some of the colonies have mellowed, and are more easy going.
This change of character is related to the Queen-bee; the children come alike, on character, to their mother! Every time that a colony swarms, the new Queen might be like her mother...or like the father! In any case, as it would be with a child, we love them all, as they are.
We will have again Spring Honey (=Blossom honey) in late June / early July 22 and Forest Honey (Summer honey) in late August / early September 22 , and crossing fingers, some Honey-on-the-comb in August (if you want to have wild honey-on-the-comb, please PRE ORDER, as these are in VERY LIMITED quantities, and are sold in first-arrived-first-sold basis)
Facts & Figures
We already talked about the 5 senses of the bees in our 2020 Newsletter... but let's abound on one of them: Taste. We, humans, have taste buds on our mouth, and so, we enjoy food intake in a very decorous manner.
Honey bees have taste buds on their mouth like we do, but also on their front feet, and on their antennas.... sooooo... imagine if we Humans would have the amazing tasting capabilities of bees....we would be tasting the food with our mouth, our hands, and even our ears! Wait, wait.... maybe we are like bees when we are babies... and then loose it when we grow up? ...
Interestingly enough, scientists have been able to train bees and use them as 'dogs' to detect minute amount of explosives and other trace substances. Their reward for pointing out the substance? A drop of honeydew!
Did you know that...?
Manuka Honey is very expensive, because the way it is harvested? Manuka is a bushy plant that grows in the Southern Hemisphere, in remote locations, and blossoms between January & February. Endemic in New Zealand and Australia, it occurs also in Malaysia, Indonesia and other Asiatic countries.
In order to obtain honey from this plant, the beekeepers use helicopters to move the hives from their farms, to the remote fields where Manuka bushes grow, and fly the hives (& honey) back to the farms two months later. You can imagine how expensive it is! Why do they do it? Manuka has been historically used to treat urinary complains, as well as fever and colds, and its extract (distillation, decoction, etc) has therapeutic and medical properties; as such the honey might also have medical benefits, so consumers pay the super high price for it. As high (in Switzerland) as 70 CHF / 250 gr....shocking!
Swiss Bees
Bees are sooo important! even for ETH’s Institute for Landscape and Urban Studies. During the Spring semester, the Institute presents a cycle of films film series under the title ‘More than Human’. On March 28th, Honeyland was projected. The film (89’, 2019), which received global awards (Sundance, NY Film Critic…), depicts the life of a traditional beekeeper in the mountains of Northern Macedonia, and how the fragile ecosystem can be heavily – and fatally - impacted, when a neighbor family attempts to scale up and industrialize the process of honey producing.
One of our customers, associate professor at ETH, asked if we could provide honey, as part of the after-film tasting. We decided to show up, instead (with some of our personal-usage reserves). After the film, the attendees could enjoy honey and bread, while asking questions about the ancestral methods (yet, fully realistic still for small beekeepers) which were showcased in the movie. A very interesting experience, and a very recommendable film!!
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