Indiana Jane and the sacred swarm

The first thing I really remember wanting to be when I grew up was Indiana Jones.   The way he was transformed from a cerebral and boring professor - with a hat and a passport -  into an exciting adventurer.   Once I realized what the typical archaeologist really did, though, it lost its appeal.   Then, I found beekeeping, which for me seems to be an expression of why I was drawn to Indy's life as a kid - the adventurous spirit, living a bit on the edge (at least doing things that others felt were scary and dangerous) - and finding the excitement, sacred, beauty, and thrill in this amazing world.  

While my experiences in beekeeping are all exciting, this year I began a pretty great adventure in beekeeping as I've immersed myself in learning about and working with honey bee swarms. 

About a month ago, in my continuous search for all things honey bee in Louisville, I went to find the local extension office.  There I met a wonderful lady who coordinates Louisville's community gardens.  I shared with her my passion for beekeeping - esp. urban beekeeping - and my interest in swarms.   This got me on her referral list.   Since then, when someone calls Metro Government about a possible swarm of honey bees they've spotted, they tell them to call me. 

I've been connecting the calls to our local beekeeping association members, but today, I was able to respond, Indy style.  Cue theme music here...  ; )

A man, who lives on Northwestern Parkway, one of the historic parkways of the Olmsted design, called me with stress in his voice.   He had spotted a mass of bees outside of his home was worried about his safety and the safety of  his elderly mother.  From the sounds of it, I pictured a mass of bees flying every which way within a few feet of his front door.   He was clear with me that he didn't know what to do and needed help.  

I knew that I couldn't take the swarm to my house yet - I'm working on my apiary and don't yet have a space for them.   I was able to find a local coffee shop owner who lives in Portland.  He and his daughters and wife are working with their local neighborhood to start an urban orchard, and I knew that he had built a beautiful hive for one of his daughters - she is becoming their family beekeeper.    Luckily, they were able to meet me there, and brought a box from their Warre hive with them to take the bees home. 

When I arrived, Matt, his wife, and three daughters were already there.  The homeowner, Tim, was there and a couple of other friends.  Today is a beautiful spring day, blue sunny sky, not much wind.  Tim had called me at about 12:00 noon, and we all arrived by 1:45.    

From the phone, Tim had spoken with fear in his voice like there was a lion outside his front door.   What I saw, looked more like a kitty cat.  A kitty cat with claws perhaps, but really just a purring kitty.
Tim is a burly strong looking guy - maybe in his early 30's, and likely not scared of much.  What is it about the honey bee that inspires fear?   Our myths are much stronger than reality - and our knowledge of honey bee behavior has been lost.    

Swarms are usually docile, as Lydia, the 14 year old beekeeper can tell you.  She sat about a foot away from the swarm, with only a bee veil and a white hoodie (no gloves) for almost 1 1/2 hours while I gingerly brushed bees into their new home.   Emily, her sister, avidly documented the whole experience with her camera.  These are all Emily's photo included in this post.    



Lydia and I create our plan of action.  See the lovely swarm hanging out on the bottom of this tree? 

 Tim, the homeowner, will have great stories to tell about the swarm, the beekeeper, and the family out in front of his home.  From the safety of his porch, he was on his cell sharing the amazing experience.  Even with his fears, he knew he may never see anything like this again.

After a good 45 minutes of brushing bees into the hive box I thought that I had about gotten them all.  At Matt's suggestion, I pulled off pieces of bark, and found many more bees underneath.  Though we looked and looked (Lydia was a trooper and focused on looking for the queen for almost 90 minutes straight), we never saw the queen.  All I could do was to approach my work gently and hope that I did not accidentally hurt her and get her into the hive box along with most of the bees.  

The swarm moved a bit on the tree - likely due to where the queen was moving.  Though there were a number flying about, they were really calm during the whole process. 



I thought I had gotten most all of the bees at this point.   At Matt's suggestion, I started tugging on the bark where there seemed to be a few bees coming and going. 



Jackpot!  The bark was really soft and came off easily, revealing lots of bees still underneath.  I tucked the bark down into the hive box, and got most of the rest in as well. 

Lydia, the brave, took the only sting of the day on her hand.  I watched her calmly scrape off the stinger, and get right back to searching for the queen.    I was so impressed. 

We were able to brush an amazing number of bees into the hive box, leaving very few on the base of the tree where they had settled.   The bees never seemed to bothered by the process, though I did wish there was a less disruptive way to get them into the box.   We did put some honeycomb 'lure' into the box, but it's really the queen that they're following.   

It was amazing to see how many bees were in the box!  I'm guessing that my careful brushing had less to do with it, and rather I luckily got the queen in the box at some point. 

We patiently watched the bees in the hive box to see signs that the queen may have gotten inside.   There were a number of bees on the upper edge of the box with their little butts in air and wings fanning.  This was a good sign that the queen had made it into the box, as they were fanning her pheromone into the air to encourage the other bees to join them in the box indicating the location of their new home. 

After letting them settle into the box,  Matt packed it into the back of their station wagon and they headed home.   He's got it on their back porch now and will set it up tomorrow in the full hive, where they will quickly begin building beautiful pure white honeycomb which will hold the precious brood, honey, and pollen - the heart and soul of the hive. 

Leaving Tim's house, taking off my coveralls and bee veil - I was elated and inspired.  I felt that I had been allowed to be a part of something amazing with these little honey bees. 

Honey bees have already led me on some pretty great adventures near and far, and I expect there will be more to come!

Note:  Thanks to photographer Emily Huested for documenting our experience with her wonderful photos!   

The White House beehive - lovely, interesting, important - but, Charlie, a leaf blower?

I have been an excited follower of stories about the first known White House beehive.   As a complement to the organic garden, and to fresh, local eating that the Obama's make a priority, the White House has installed a lovely beehive on its grounds.  

The Obama's gift precious jars of this honey to VIPs across the world, most recently as part of a wedding gift to British Royals William and Kate.   

I do have a concern, though, that Charlie the White House beekeeper uses a leaf blower to violently remove the bees from the frames of honey he plans to harvest.   

I personally want Charlie to be the beekeeping equivalent of Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer.   The whole nation is potentially watching Charlie as the 'First Beekeeper.'   He's in a position to be a great teacher about honeybees, their plight, and how humans benefit from and enjoy these amazing insects.  

What he does instead, is the equivalent of watching Cesar beat the dogs he's working with.   At worst, he is injuring and killing these beings that produced this amazing honey he wants to harvest.   At best, he is working with them in a way that shows poor husbandry and little respect for the honeybee.  

The great thing that I have learned as a beekeeper is that there is usually always a better way of doing something.  Fortunately, there IS a great way to remove the bees from the frames of honey that I want to harvest.   I use a simple invention called a bee escape, which costs about $10 from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm.   The bee escape is placed between the surplus honey and the rest of the hive a 2 - 3 days before the honey harvest.   This gives the bees that were on the frames of honey time to move down into the main hive area, and they cannot get back up into the surplus honey.  

I've used it with great success - no harm to the bees and chemical free (yes, there are chemicals that beekeepers can use to 'fume' the bees off of the honey).  

There are great, bee friendly options to beekeeping, if you just look for them!

Click here to watch the video about the First Hive and the honey harvest.  

Click here  for an interesting article about a lab analysis of the White House honey - and a picture of the First Hive. 

Indulge me for a moment....a swarm and a package of bees are very different things.

I'm a bookworm turned beekeeper, so forgive me for being picky with my beekeeping vocabulary.   I've been in conversations with beekeepers where words are slung around and I have to wonder sometimes if we really know what the other is talking about?   I love my fellow beekeepers, and mostly take these conversations as learning opportunities for myself - rather than be too irked at another wonderful beekeeper.  

There's one mis-use of terms that I cannot overlook, though.   Beekeepers at times use the term 'swarm' instead of the word 'package.'   'So what?', you might be asking.     Well, there's a very big difference.  To me, swarms are sacred treasures.  A swarm consists of a queen and her daughters and a few of her sons.  Bonded together by their beloved queen, they are on a mission to find a build their new home.  It is a likely a very healthy group of bees, and according to Gunther Hauk and Rudolph Steiner,  a swarm has an amazing vitality.   These sisters are primed and ready to build a new home for their mother to begin laying eggs.   The drones (brothers) are a bit more mysterious in their roles - but there are definitely some included in the swarm. 

Swarms can be from 'wild' hives and this can mean that they are from survivor stock - naturally bred to have the traits to withstand diseases and pests.  

Swarms are key to our hope for honey bee survival.  They are part of supporting genetic diversity and an overall healthy honey bee population.

Packages of bees are random bees dumped into a mesh and wooden box.  Some of them may or may not be related.  A questionably bred queen in her own little box is then attached to this package of bees, along with a can of high fructose corn syrup.   This box is then shipped hundreds of miles or more, in strained conditions, and finally put into a new hive box by the end user beekeeper. 

You can hopefully see how it's hard to bear hearing a well meaninged beekeeper mis-using the word swarm when they are referring to a package of bees.

Ok, stepping down off my horse.   Had to get that off of my chest. 

Natural approaches to beekeeping - you mean organic, right?

When I teach a beekeeping class, talk with new beekeepers, or experienced beekeepers looking for a more natural approach, it's clear that we're throwing around terms that may or may not be used interchangeably.      I  have begun using 'natural beekeeping' as a nice broad term for various approaches of beekeeping that support the health of the honey bee.  (btw - if it was 1991, we'd just go with 'alternative' beekeeping, right?)

Other terms you might hear: 

Organic beekeeping/organic honey:  You might already know that there's really no actual organic honey,  as we cannot control where the bees forage.   Many people don't realize, though, how chemical heavy and manipulative conventional beekeeping has gotten.   Honey bees have not been exempt from the chemicalization and control that have come with industrialized agriculture.   Here's a great link to read a more in depth article about the realities of 'organic' honey in the U.S.  

One phrase that makes sense to me is 'organically managed beekeeping', used by Craig, the self titled "South Maryland Beekeeper"  He's got a really interesting podcast that I've enjoyed listening to.   The term he uses makes more sense.  The beekeeper can control what they put into the hive, so it's really the beekeeper's methods that are organic.  

Still, organic can sometimes come up short as a term.  It refers more to the fact that chemicals are not used in the hive, but perhaps refers to not much else about the conditions of the honey bee or the beekeepers approach.  Plus, when you buy organic honey from Brazil  in the supermarket, you're missing out of the health benefits and community benefits from getting honey from your local beekeeper.   Most farmer's markets now feature a local beekeeper or two, if you have any trouble finding local honey.  

By the way, be sure to support and encourage your local beekeepers who don't use antibiotics , chemicals, or feed high fructose corn syrup to their bees.  Many do. 

Biodynamic beekeeping is a specific approach to natural beekeeping.  I am drawn to Gunther Hauk and his biodynamic approach to beekeeping because it makes sense to me - do things that will strengthen the bees, not weaken them.  Approach the bees in ways that works with them, not against them.   If you want to know more about the nitty gritty of biodynamics,  here's a great link:  http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics

Gunther Hauk speaks to other root problems we've gotten ourselves into with honey bees and beekeeping - with solutions offered in his book Toward Saving the Honeybee.

Of course there is the Barefoot Beekeeper, Phil Chandler, who talks about chemical free approaches to beekeeping, and focuses on using top bar hives.    He also has some excellent podcasts, plus free resources, online trainings, etc.   He is a gift to beekeepers around the world.   Phil also seems to like the 'natural beekeeping' as a comprehensive term, and started the Natural Beekeeping Forum.  

My friend Sara is exploring the use of  small cell honeycomb and recommends Michael Bush's website as a great resource:  http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm  The idea behind small cell foundation is that the bees then build a smaller cell in the comb which seems to be an effective way to help control the ubiquitous varroa mite. 

An exciting option that I've stumbled upon is with Certified Naturally Grown, which has developed some apiary standards which have a "primary focus on the health of honey bees and the sustainability of beekeeping."   They have developed a nice guide of best practices and standards which brings another level of quality and health to the honey bee conversation.    I'll be excited to see this process applied by local beekeepers, and would love to help get it as the standard operating procedure for local apiaries.  


You can see there are lots of options and resources out there to approach beekeeping in a way different from what has become the conventional approach.   Creating these communities to support each other locally and in the broadest of international scope will help us find solutions to our honey bee crisis.   We need each other to learn from, talk with, make mistakes together, and share successes together.  

As we venture toward saving the honeybee (to borrow a beloved phrase from Gunther Hauk) we'll continue to develop this common language that includes an understanding of all of these wonderful ways of natural beekeeping.     

Gunther Hauk to visit Louisville for film screening of "Queen of the Sun" and biodynamic beekeeping workshop - April 1st and 2nd, 2011. Don't miss it!

While I've had many generous spirited people contribute to my bee learning,  I consider Gunther Hauk my Teacher - my honey bee guru, if you will.  

Honeybee hives at the Spikenard Farm and Honeybee Sanctuary.  Notice how Gunther names the queens of each hive, and puts a nameplate on the hive.  There's as much science to this practice as there is affection for the bees. 

The first year I became a beekeeper was exciting - but most of the common practices for beekeeping involved ways that didn't make sense to me.   It's very common to feed bees high fructose corn syrup (I was guilty of purchasing a 'starter' 5 gallon bucket of it myself!).  So common, that in almost every bee supply catalog I've seen, there's a picture of a semi truck full of high fructose corn syrup .  You can "buy 1/2 or full truckloads" of the stuff with only a minimum 24 hour notice.  Wow. 

Beekeepers have gotten in the habit of treating the bees in the hive with antibiotics, putting pesticides in the hive to kill mites, and a number of other pracitces that seem more toxic than helpful.  For almost every need a beekeeper has, the chemical companies offer their version of a solution. 

The more I learned about the conventional ways of beekeeping, the more that I had very mixed feelings - excitement but also concern - about becoming a beekeeper.   Then I heard about Gunther Hauk, and had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with him at Foxhollow Farm Center.   Gunther is a lifelong student of Rudolf Steiner and the biodynamic approach to agriculture.   He has been integral in biodynamics in the United States, and is a master beekeeper. 

What I heard him talking about was another way of interpreting the causes of colony collapse disorder and the plight of the honey bee (and our own plight!).   He offered methods of beekeeping, which include a better understanding of the honey bees, which made more sense to me - and were healthier for the bees, for us, and for the environment.  



Gunther Hauk teaching a biodynamic beekeeping workshop at Foxhollow Farm Center, Spring 2008. 

I left the workshop elated to know that was another way to approach beekeeping.  Gunther and his amazing wife have been developing a learning lab for their work and a sacred space for their honey bees at the Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary.  Fortunately, it's within driving distance of Louisville - located in the Blue Ridge Mountatins in Floyd, Virginia.  I travelled there last year to study with Gunther - and am really looking forward to my next trip there in May to learn from him more about honey bees, swarming, and expanding the hive naturally. 

Because of my gratitude to Gunther and Vivian for the work that they are doing - and my belief that their work is critical to developing solutions for beekeeping and honey bees, I wanted to do something to help support the Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary.   

So, after several months, I am excited to share with you that Gunther and Vivian are returning to Louisville for three very special events.   Foxhollow is generously providing a space free of charge for these events, and the proceeds will go towards the Hauk's efforts to purchase the land for the Spikenard Honey Bee Sanctuary. 

The Waldorf School of Louisivlle is hosting one of the events and has been very supportive of Gunther's visit.  (To note:  Rudolf Stiener who developed the biodynamic approach to agriculture is the same person who created the Waldorf method of education).   

The goal for their visit is to raise $5,000 toward support of the Honey Bee Sanctuary.  Please consider attending one of both of these very special, very exciting opportunities.....


Foxhollow Farm and the Waldorf School of Louisville are pleased to host Gunther Hauk, biodynamic beekeeper and author of Toward Saving the Honeybee for two days of learning and inspiration.

Please join us for these exciting events:

Friday, April 1st 9:00-11:00 am: “Out of the crisis the Future is born.”
Colony Collapse Disorder: symptomatic for our economic, environmental and cultural crises." Gunther will dialogue about understanding root causes and creating solutions to address the crisis that the honey bees have shown to us.

Location: Waldorf School of Louisville. Donation of $25 per person requested. This is a special event for the parents of WSL students.

Friday, April 1st 7:00 pm: Exclusive film screening of Queen of the Sun.

This event will be an opportunity to screen the internationally acclaimed film Queen of the Sun along with Gunther Hauk, a biodynamic beekeeper for 35 years, who is featured in the film.

A discussion with Gunther Hauk will follow the film screening.

The filmmakers have generously permitted us to hold this screening as a fundraiser for Gunther’s work with the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary.

Each participant is requested to donate a minimum of $50 to directly benefit the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary, and support the next generation of solutions to save our honey bees.

More about the film: “QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us?” is a profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel, director of THE REAL DIRT ON
FARMER JOHN. Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of
bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting
film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers,
scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther
Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems. Learn more about the film here:  http://www.queenofthesun.com/

Location of the film screening: Foxhollow Farm, 8905 Highway 329, Prospect, KY 40059




Gunther and apprentice, David Hosey (a KY native!), utilize the Spikenard Honey Bee hives as part of the hands on teaching for students during a workshop in August 2010. 




Gunther Hauk teaching about biodynamic beekeeping methods during a hands on learning experience at the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd, Virginia.  Students travelled from Kentukcy, Tennessee, and several other states to attend. 


Saturday, April 2nd 9:00 - 12:00 noon: Gunther Hauk presents "Toward Saving the Honeybee": An Introduction to Sustainable & Biodynamic Beekeeping principles and practices.”

This workshop is for those who are currently beekeepers and those who are interested in learning more about beekeeping with natural approaches, including biodynamic beekeeping. Don’t miss this exciting and rare opportunity to learn from the master himself! Gunther’s beekeeping workshops are full of information, lively discussion, Q&A, and inspiration.

A requested donation of $50 will benefit both the Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary and the children’s education programming at Foxhollow Farms.

Location: Foxhollow Farm, 8905 Highway 329, Prospect, KY 40059

Urban Rooftop Beekeeping - an example from Chicago

While I don't yet have experience with rooftop beekeeping (but am ready to help someone get the first rooftop hives started in the urban core of Louisville!) - I've been researching it quite a bit.  Chicago is doing some exciting work in urban beekeeping - from the Chicago Honey Co-op to some really great rooftop hives.  Here's a video about one group integrating roof top bee hives into their green initiatives...

Urban Rooftop Beekeeping

March and April beekeeping events

If you live in or near Louisville, Kentucky, there are some great opportunities in March and April to learn more about beekeeping and support an amazing master beekeeper.   Mark your calendars! 


March 4th:  Kentuckiana Beekeepers Association meeting, 7:30 pm at the Bon Air branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.  The evening will focus on "natural approaches to beekeeping and using top bar hives."  I'll be introducing the biodynamic approach to beekeeping (in 10 minutes or less) and sharing resources with the group.   Hopefully, the local top bar hive expert, Sara Fazio, will also be speaking about her experience using top bar hives.  Sara is amazing and passionate about honey bees and beekeeping and I look forward to hearing more about her experience. 

http://www.kyanabees.com/

March 8th:  Louisville's 3rd Pecha Kucha night.  It will be at 21c.   I'll be presenting on the importance of Louisville's urban beekeepers - and showcasing several of them.  The interviewing process was really fun, and I got to visit several urban apiaries!   Here's more about the event: 

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/night/louisville/3


March 12th:  The annual Bluegrass Beekeeping School.  It's held on the KY State University campus in Frankfort.  Hundreds of people attend - from all walks of life.  It's really fun - one of my most favorite days of the year, in fact!    There are so many types of classes, you get to meet other great people who love talking about bees, and there are vendors selling lots of great beekeeping related supplies, books, etc.  Including one of the Louisville beekeepers, Bekah Lunn, who created really cool honey bee inspired items.

I'm doing a workshop on Urban Beekeeping.   Here's the description: 

"Small backyard? Living in the city or near other neighbors? Curious about roof top hives? Maintaining hives in populated areas brings special challenges and considerations. Join
Carrie for some tips on how to be a great urban beekeeper as well as creating a community of
great honey bee neighbors. If you're currently an urban beekeeper, please join the conversation to share your experiences."  

Here's more about the school:  
http://www.kyagr.com/statevet/bees/bee%20schools/KYBeeSchoolFrankfort.htm

March 13th:  
Fresh Start Growers is hosting a great workshop where I'll be doing a 45 minute class for new beekeepers "5 key decisions a new beekeeper must make."  I'll bring some fun beekeeping supplies with me. 

March 13 Workshop: BeeHave!

Get bee savvy, tame your weeds, and get your plant starts going.
- Introduction to urban beekeeping with Carrie Van Winkle of Fleur de Bee.
- Organic plant starts with Kim Jordan of Wilson Nurseries.
- Organic weed management techniques with Steve Paradis of Fresh Start Growers' Supply.

WHERE: Creation Garden Marketplace, 725 East Market St., Louisville, KY 40202
WHEN: 1-5pm, Sunday, March 13
COST: $15 per person
RSVP: (502) 442-7883 with credit card

All proceeds go to The Shelter for Women & Families Raised Bed Garden Project.