NEWSLETTER #29 (English) from Urs & Izzy: Clueless about Xmas presents?
- Izzy the busy bee....
- Nov 22, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 23, 2024
November & December 2024 (Issue #29)
Dear honey lovers, Finally! Winter and snow are here!!! We just enjoyed the first big snow dump of the year; almost 40 cm in Witikon! A joy... although it forced Izzy to walk back home along the snow from Romerhof to Glockenacker, as there were no buses anywhere to be seen... What a mess! I am sure some of you were on the same situation.... But, hey, that is great news, and nature, very wisely needs the snow!. Look how our beehive looks today after the snowfall! learn more about what bees do over winter, and also, why honey can be the perfect present for your friends...and enemies! A slow ready for a lazy, snow-covered weekend!
Are you enjoying the newsletter? Don't be shy, tell us at baerenhonig@gmx.ch , or WhatsApp us, if you prefer. We'd love to hear from you!
News from the Beehives
Ohhh! look at what one week of difference makes! Doesn't our beehive look charming, as much sun kissed by the sunset light, as totally covered with snow? The first photo was made last week (11th November); the second, yesterday (22nd November), after the first snowfall of the year!
The bees are now clustered around the queen, and keeping the temperature inside the hive at a toasty 30C. They may still go around flying, if the temperature raises above 15 C. In any case, they will keep the temperature inside pretty warm. But, how do they do it? they flex their muscles very fast, so they warm up - same than us - when you start exercising, you increase the body temperature and sweat. They do the same; instead of sweating, the heat dissipates to increase the temperature of the surrounding. And, how best to keep the energy going, than eating on the honey reserves that the stored during spring and summer! Now they cluster on the upper part of the hive, it is our time to make all of the repairs around the hive, without having to wear the protection equipment - from trimming the hedge, to repairing the floor of the hive, and building a little shack to keep dry some of the wooden tools. So much work...so little time!
Where is my Honey...?
Your honey is waiting for you... and your friends! Honey makes a great season gift; Why? Let me give it to you in snippets:
In ancient times, honey was given as a present, as it indicates goodness and wishes of prosperity.
It is the perfect (and healthier) alternative to bringing chocolates or bonbons.
Because it is not associated to any faith or festivity, it will not present any politically correctness problem in any occasion.
It will make a lasting impression! Your friends will think of you every time that they enjoy the honey!
You can personalize the present fully too! How? add one or more of your favourite(s) winter spice(s): Cinnamon, Cloves, Vanilla, Black Cardamon, or Allspice to a glass of raw honey, and let it slowly infuse -for about a month. The spices will have added a wonderful personal taste to the honey!
and... to end it: who doesn't like honey on a hot tea in winter? or mixed as butterhoney over bread for breakfast? Or drizzled on top of cheese and a cracker for dinner? Have you tried oven-roasting carrots or parsnips drizzled with honey? or marinating your chicken or pork with a mix of garlic, honey, and rosemary?
If you buy a pot of honey as a present for Christmas, let us know, and we will wrap it beautifully for you!
Facts & Figures
Bees eat continuously sugars, in the form of nectar and honey, but they do not get fat, and they do not become diabetic. Additionally, and for more interest, bees do not have pancreas, so they cannot produce insuline! How do they deal then, with the high intake of sugars? Well, first of all, bees do not have a blood stream as mammals do. Their circulatory system is open, not close, and is composed of hemolymph, no hemoglobin. Second, bees do not overindulge on honey, and consume only what their metabolic needs require. And, finally, nature has made them handle the metabolism of sugars very different than what we do! Bees take nectar (sugars) through the mouth. They salivary glands in the mouth contains invertase (which breaks down the sugars), glucose oxidase (idem) and amylase (breaks down the starch). We humans, have only amylase as enzyme on the saliva. Whereas humans use the pancreas to secrete insuline, the hormone that transforms sugars into glycogen and tri-glycerides, Bees do not have a pancreas! They have three different areas on the digestive system, which provide environments for bacteria that work symbiotically to perform important digestive functions, dealing and breaking down sugars and honey sugars. Nature is so complex, isn't it?
Did you know that...?
...Bees are being used in Africa as a new approach to improve the coexistence and minimize the conflicts between humans and wild animals? The project is called (very cunningly) ' Elephants and Bees ', has been initiated by Oxford University, sponsored by Disney, and implemented already in Kenya. The (already proven) idea, is that Elephants -- and most of the animals and humans in Africa- are scared of african honeybees -- why? Because they are extremely aggressive, and can kill, based on sheer number of stings, a lot of them -- even humans. Killing an elephant through bee stings would be very difficult, but bees are smart animals, and target their stings to the tip of the trunk (the nose), which is the most sensitive area and the Achilles' hill of the elephant.
Elephants cannot distinguish between African honeybees (Apis Mellifera Scutellata) and their cousins the European honeybees (Apis Mellifera Mellifera and Apis Mellifera Ligustica). European honey bees are not (so) aggressive, but the elephants do not know that. So the project has created 'fences' containing beehives (every 5 - 6 meters) between the wild areas, and the farmer's land. The presence of bees deters the advancement of the elephants, who in the past would be ramping through the farm to feed on the crops and destroy all the farmer's produce.
Swiss Bees
This year, Agroscope (the publication of the Swiss agricultural research institute) has presented its 5-years apiculture report, with full detail in Swiss bees, and its comparison with the rest of the European countries. Switzerland remains a country with a relatively high density of beekeepers; unfortunately, still, local honey production (2,000 - 4,000 Tons) can only cater for about 30% of the Swiss consumption (10,000 - 12,000 Tons). Only the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary can fully provide their habitants with local honey.
The average Swiss person consumes 1.3 Kg of honey per year. Compare it with 40 Kg of sugar per year that an average Swiss intakes... and it will tell you how much more room for healthy eating improvement there is!
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