Calming the Bees
I was fascinated by the story a local beekeeper was telling as he was being interviewed for a news slot on TV.
Did you know that they actually have a school that beekeepers attend to learn their trade?
I guess I never gave it much thought, but the guy on TV has been tending bees for over 35 years, and he went to school for it.
He has over 250 hives that he maintains, and whenever there is a swarm spotted within his region, he is the one to get the call to come and remove it.
In he goes with his bee boxes and whatever he needs in them to attract the bees, and he leaves with a new, filled hive to add to all his others.
What I found to be the most interesting thing was how he inspected his hives.
The only article of protective clothing he wore was a hat with a thin netting over it.
He would use liquid smoke to calm the bees before he removed any of the trays with the honeycomb on them.
And the reason it worked so well is this:
Bees equate smoke to a forest fire. They know that they cannot stay in the hive if there is a fire, so they immediately begin eating the honey.
Not only do they not want to leave on an empty stomach, but the honey is vital to building a new hive, and this is how they take it with them.
They are so busy eating that they do not even notice the beekeeper or anything that he is doing to the hive.
Nature certainly has a way of taking caring herself and it is always so amazing.
It is interesting how smoke was used to ‘cheat’ the bees. I have seen it in TV but either they did not explain why the use of smoke or I did not pay attention. Now I know.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:15 amBKs last blog post..Chicken A La Carte by Ferdinand Dimadura
Hi BK - I didn’t know the reason for it either until I saw it on TV. It’s really cool!
June 8th, 2009 at 8:49 pm