The Lucknow Sentinel, 1990-03-14, Page 42•
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Bee keeping, one of the
oddest agindustries
e frau we It
they do4 is by fanning it with their
wings to evaporate the moisture. They
• place a drop of nectar
tongue and out
many, draww ' nectar in aa 1Nt
nd
many times. In doh this, not on-
/II
n/II is the nectar conatantiy being: =posed
to, air and evaporated, it is also starting
to form the. sugary, ip'anular substance
that we know as honey. At this stege, the
beet then ace this honey into the cells
�
of the where it issealed with wax.
R the Wax
Twice a year Russel visits his hives to
ranovethe honey. He uses a anoker to •
chasethe bees from the hive and an air
blower is used to remove any bees that -
remain in the hive.
The honey supers are loaded' onto a
truck and delivered to the
pp . The honeycombs are in a
hes ed room at '90. degrees R - .• for
about 24 hours. They go through an ex
bwhich reooves the honey
bce�orce.
The honeyis strain-
ed and allowed to settle to .remove the
air. In about 24 hours, it is ready for
�paining the removal of the honey
from the supers, Russel pointed out that
it is important to leave a certain amount
of honey in the hive as food for the bee.
Pests and Diseases
One of the moatdevastating diseases to
affect : a colony of bees is American
Foulkrood. This highly contagious disease
affects the early stages in the life cycle
of the bee. Today, American Foulbrood •
can be .controlled with the. use of . an
tiblotics. Russel . indicated that he fees
TM25 as an antibiotic to the bees every
fall. He explained that this is done smelly
by mixing TM26 with icing sugar and
dusting it alongthe back of the comb in
the coolest �t of the hive, as heat' will...
destroy the antibiotic. If a hive does
become infected,. Russel would have to
burn the diseased hive and equipment in
order to prevent further contamination.
As far as pests are concerned, "Skunks
are bad news for a beekeeper." The
skunk will scratch on thefront of the
hive, and eat the bees' as they come out.
A skunk can destroy an entire colony
quite readily. When asked how he dealt
with this problem, Russel said, "I either
have to shoot or trap them." •
He also indicated that mice are a real
problem in the apiary as well. To control
this situation he places mice poison in the
box in the yards where no other animals
can be harmed by it and this seems to
keep the mice population in check.
I 1
1
Insecticides by farmers.aim pose
a serious threat to the**try. Huesel
said that fanners really should natifY a
if he intents to spray within a
beekeeper • the apiary. ;ice beer are active
cipring the daylight hours,morning AMy-
ing will kill any bees that are working in
that particular field. As a result, honey
pin can be cut in half fora week
or so, due to the loss of those worker
bear. On the other hand, evening spray
bbeees aren't outwodm not affect rking. apiary herniae the
Whole colonies can be wiped out m
areas where farmers use Sevin on their
sweet corn. The bees carry this back to
the hive as it sticks to their legs just as
pollen does. As a result, the young bees
the hive an, poisoned.
Mention was, also made about mites be-
ing a threat to apiaries. However, this is
not a serious in Ontario, accor-
ding to It is a major concern in
the Milted States. So much so, the
packagedquee n bees can no longer be
purchased erm the States.
In addition to making homey, bees also
produce bee glue or propolis. This is an
im rtant component in their
cated style of housekeeping. First
of all, this substance is gathered from the
sticky butte of chestnut trees and also
from spruce trees. The bees then use it
to "glue" or "cement" crevices in the
hive. They also use it to encase a dead
mouse or' an -insect to prevent it from
decaying or smelling. Russel said,
"Sometimes the bees will glue the hive so
tight that he really has to pry to get the
hive apart." • •
Russel visits his yards about every two
or.three weeks during the season to in-
spect the hives 'for any possible problems:
By, late October or early November, he
begins towinterize the hives. This is done
simply by wrapping the hive hn tar paper
and using straw as an insulator.
By the first of May, he will remove'the'
tar paper and : at the same time will
check the feet supply for the bees. He
• will also check to see if the queen is lay-
ing, and will check for brood. At this
time, the overall condition of the hive
will be assessed.
If by chance he feels that the food
supply is low, he will feed the bees a •
sugar syrup consisting of one part sugar
to one part water.
Right now Russel is 'busy in his
workshop building new`hives. Unlike most
of us, he and the bees are eagerly
awaiting that carpet of yellow that covers
lawns and fields in the ; ` !
. 1 1
24 MONTHIO.A.C.
.(9.9%/36 MONTHS. W996/48 MONTHS
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ON 1990 NISSAN
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