NEWSLETTER #31 (English) from Urs & Izzy: Calling all bee-swarm hunters!
- Izzy the busy bee....
- Jan 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 23
March & April 2025 (Issue #31)
Dear honey lovers, it is Spring again!!! We all know what it means, nature awakens, youth hormones flow freely, people go crazy...(and allergies also), and our bees start the cicle of the new year.... The good news is that our bees have already awaken. The bad news, is that not all of them have awaken from their winter sleep. Read more on this, and on why we are looking for beeschwarm hunters this year! And, like in the old wild west, we offer rewards!
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
A few weeks ago, when the pollen from the hazelnut tree was in bloom and the first wave of warm days set in, we checked on our bee colonies to make sure they were doing well and had enough food.
Unfortunately, we realised that some of the colonies had not survived the winter. We found the bees surrounding the queenbee; all of the bees looked normal and healthy, just frozen....They have what is called a ‘sweet death’, they slept and died from a mixture of cold and starvation, despite all our efforts.
We believe that we have seen the ravaging effects of the cement-honey (the melezitose) season from last year.
On the photo, you can see how many bee colonies have survived winter - the ones with the 'landing strip' open are healthy and strong -- the boxes which are closed, are empty.
Where is my Honey...?
Yes, we still have honey from last harvest! So, if you want to enjoy last year's strong spring honey, or the summer's forest (cement) honey - which is also probiotic, according to some serious studies- just let us know. We have 500g pots left.
Our spring honey, which is raw, and only coarsely filtered, could be of particular interest to people with some pollen allergies. Why only 'some' people, and not everybody with spring allergies? This is because whereas our honey contains spring pollen from flowers and some trees (hazelnut, for example), a lot of people are allergic to grass and weed. And our bees do not collect nectar from grass.... Yet, there is obviously the chance that you are sensitivite to some flower's pollen, and then it could help. So.... it is a hit and miss!
In any case, honey is a much healthier, tastier, and more versatile alternative to sugar. And remember, honey is antibacterial, antivirical, and a natural immunomodulatory, you don't need to trust us, you can trust the swiss researchers who published an extended study on it
And, above all, honey is soooo tasty
Facts & Figures
It is spring, and bees -among other animals, start growing and thinking about reproduction. And how do bees reproduce? Through Swarming! We wrote several articles about swarming, that you can find on other blog entries. It is mesmerizing, how bees swarm. Imagine that you say one day to your kids 'Children, we are too many on this house', we are moving out', and 2 days later, you have organized 30,000 people to follow you to your new dwelling. Well, it does not translate so well to humans...but basically that is what happens. You can find here some of our previous articles, so you see how the rest of the story goes (spoiler alert: it looks like game of thrones).
Like the previous years, Izzy will be on the watch, looking for these moving-out bee-families. Because we have lost so many bee colonies, this year is particularly important for us to find new bees. We have set some swarm traps on nearby trees- wooden wine boxes, gracefully given to us by one of our lovely customers! which have been conveniently smeared with old wax comb, waiting for the next two months (Swarming occurs mainly in April and May), and on the look. But we need your help!
If you are a keen walker, and enjoy walking around witikon, you can be a swarm-spotter (or swarm-hunter) for us. If you find a swarm for us, we will reward you with a pot of honey! Here are some tips on how to find bee-swarms:
There are two ways you could encounter them:
As they are actually swarming; you might see -or get in the middle- of a real cloud of bees, that fly franticly and erratically around you. First of all, don't panic! they will totally ignore you. There is only one thing on their head: to follow their queen. And you are not their queen, so they will not even 'see' you. How do they see their queen, among the 30,000 of them flying manically? Through the Queen's pheromone! They might bump into you, as the pheromone obviously is carried around by the wind, y have a very chaotic flight, but they DO NOT sting. So don't worry. if you are in the middle of the swarm, just stand and enjoy the free performance of nature. it is magical! within 2 to 3 minutes, you will notice that they are moving in one direction, and they pose somewhere, creating a cluster, of the size of a small football. You have discovered a swarm! Call us, or whatsapp us, and tell us where the swarm is. We will be there as fast as we can to pick them up!
When they have actually swarmed; that means, you find that dark ball of bees (sizes range from a grapefruit, to a watermelon); they are tightly lustered and hanging from the branch of a tree (but sometimes they pose on top of anything! A fence, a bike, a car, a scaffolding, a streetlamp or a traffic sign...) Again, they are not aggressive, and they are just 'resting' before they move to their final destination. You have also discovered a swarm! Please alos call us, or whatsapp us, and tell us where the swarm is. We will be there also as fast as possible, because the bees do not stay very long on these 'resting places'
Some tips for looking for swarms:
Bees swarm mainly between 11h30 and 14h00 (and they are very strict about this!)
The cloud of crazy bees lasts usually about 10 - 15 minutes (maximum)
They pose on objects that are usually 2 - 4 meters above the floor (although sometimes they are closer to the ground).
Sometimes you see them...and sometimes you hear them!.
You can actually 'follow' a swarm - they are not very fast flying. This is because the queen is too heavy to fly, so they all follow the queen's pace. (A worker bee can reach more than 45 km/h, but the Queen will fly much much slower)
and...remember! ... one swarm, one free glass of honey!
Did you know that...?
....strict vegans do not eat honey, as it is produced by an animal. Personally, we think it is a pity, as bees are not forced to work, neither are sacrificed, but oh well. For them, there is a product called 'vegan hanny'. the product is a mix of fructose and glucose, plus acidity regulators, some type of additional flavouring and maltodextrose. You can see some photos here. From a 'major componenents', yes, glucose & fructorse are also the main compenents of Honey. But that's the end of any comparison....
Honey contains a lot of other goodies, which come from the fermentation that the bees make to the nectar, to transform it in honey; enzymes, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and some biologically active elements, like iron and zinc
Another interesting point about this 'vegan hanny', is that is produced in Slovenia.
Almost a joke, being that Slovenia is the country in Europe that has the highest density of beekeepers in Europe! One out of each three Slovenes owns at least one hive.
And even more of a joke, Slovenia is also the country from which one of the most known european bee races, 'carniola bee' is originary and endemic.
Swiss Bees
Let's talk more about Swiss beekeepers. Or more about Urs & Izzy. Some clients have asked us why we don't appear on the photos of the website, or on the photos of the blog. Well, let's be honest. We are not the most photogenic people in the neighborhood. So we prefer to leave the spotlight to our bees, which are so much better looking and much more interesting to look at.
But you can always meet us, if you want; you can come to the hive, you can meet us at the Witikon DorfMarkt or at the Xmas Market...or when we deliver the honey to your mailbox! Just let us know, we will be delighted to meet you.
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