Harvest time

We celebrated Zoe & Maayan’s birthdays over the past week. It is great to watch our girls grow in this land. We also celebrated our first honey harvest.

I willl write more about the harvest (we used the crush and strain technique) another time. We are very proud of ourselves for starting 3 months ago, learning lots, and hopefully in a few days, we will enjoy eating our first harvest. We have very little honey, just a few kilo. To give you an idea, a kilo is one jar that is sold in the supermarket. At this point, it is not the quantity that we are after, it is the experience. Wea re hoping that we will have lots more in the spring harvest.

End of the season

We are learning about the ways of bees all the time. I thought that our bees would continue building comb and adding honey till we harvested in the fall, but I just learned that the season is over. That’s it for the summer. Since we started from nucs, and late i the season, we will not harvest anything from our Yashtresh hine and will harvest a few frames from our hive # 1 in Beit Gamliel.

I went down to Nir Galim today and bought a “bee brush”. A bee brush is just a long brush with a few rows of long synthetic bristles that is used to brush off the bees in the super when we take the honey. Since we do not have a spinner to remove the honeyy we will need to find someone who will spin the few frames for us. We are hoping to harvest about 2-4 kilos of honey. I also bought some very small jars today to accomodate our very small harvest.

Eddie Izzard – Covered In Bees

Yael sent us this very funny link to a  video on Youtube.

Another super

Alison and I went to visit our hive on Yashresh this morning to add a super. When we got there we cleaned up the mess from the ants. I am told that feeding the bees will not be necessary if a super is going on the brood box. There were thousands of ants that had drowned in the feeder and there was still lots of syrup. I dumped the syrup and inspected the hive.  Alison is great at getting those frames out of the box. It requires a little skill and the ability to work in those spacesuits. First you have to use the J hive tool to lift one side up, then prop the other hive tool under the side of the frame. Pull the J tool out and start on the other side of the frame.  They make a tool that allows you to grab the center of the frame and pull it straight up but I have not seen it sold in Israel. Maybe when we have someone visiting (David Zvi & Yael, come on home!), I will ask for them to bring it.

The bees are doing great at Yashresh. I just wish we had started earlier in the season. I figure that if they continue at this pace we will have just a jar or two from Yashresh, in time for Rosh Hashana. The good thing is that they will have drawn their comb and we will be ready to catch the flow in the spring. It is tempting to scratch the capped honey with the hive tools and taste the honey but that veil gets in the way.

Capped honey

On this trip Alison and I pulled a few frames and photographed the pollen. The frame I chose to display here actually has three types of cells on it. On the left is capped honey, then to the right of that is capped brood, and beyond that is the pollen. We  did not look for eggs. Can someone verify that this is indeed pollen?

It was VERY hot today and we were wearing our bees suits wich make it worse, so we did not stay long. I did manage to photograph some capped honey and some open cells. It is pretty neat seeing the little cells glistening with honey before is is dried and capped.

What beekeepers do on their day off

We decided to take a day off and rather than visit our bees, we chose to visit Jerusalem. Maybe the beekeeping has emboldened us to not fear what some might think of as dangerous locations, we decided to ascend the temple mount and visit the site where the first and second temples were built. We arranged with an old friend of mine, Dani Barkai, to give us the tour. Dani and I went to Associated and CHAT together and lived on the same street. Dani is an excellent guide and is not only familiar with the regular tourist attractions, studied zoology at the University of Toronto and was a guide for Haganat Hateva (Israel Nature Authority).

The temple mount is currently the site of the Dome of the rock and the Al Aksa Mosque. It is where the first and second temples stood. It is the where Arik Sharon visited and was the excuse that was used to spark the second Intifada.  In 1967, after Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem, the responsibility for the temple mount was given to the Waqf. Today, if Jews want to visit the temple mount, they must agree not to pray, tear their clothes (as a sign of mourning), sing, or anything that might be seen as a religious act. The temple mount is the holiest place in Judaism, and the third holiest place in Islam.

After going  through security at the Kotel (Western Wall) we were guided through an additional  x-ray and metal detector to get to the temple mount. We  were six people and were assigned an Israeli soldier and plain clothed man carrying a bag and radio from the Waqf. It must have been a site for people to see because we were just six people walking around with our two chaperones. As you can see from the picture on the left, we do not have our arms around each other because we were warned that this is considered inappropriate behaviour. We walked east and saw the beautiful Dome of the Rock from the outside and and then made our way back to the western side of the plaza and then north to the Cotton Sellers’ Gate.

We posed for pictures and shmoozed a bit with the guy from the Waqf. At one point I turned to him and asked him exactly where the temple stood, and he responded that he and I have very different views of this location. He went on to explain that there is no evidence that there was ever any Jewish presence on the temple mount. I guess if you say the same thing enough times you start to believe it. Our police escort Danny, heard what he said and argued with him. Danny told the Waqf guy that he would show him the locations to point out the Jewish historical presence on the temple mount. When we left we thanked our escorts and Danny told us to come back often.

Dani Barkai guiding us at the City of David

Our tour continued and eventually lead us to the City of David. There is a lot to say about Ir David (City of David) but I am cooking meatballs now and have to stop. Ir David was interesting, a bit over-rated but important for anyone studying the history of Jerusalem and Israel.

After a few hours we headed back to the old city, a short visit to Dov Kempinsk,i and lunch.

The ants and the bees – advice needed!

Feeder with ants

David Zvi and I went to visit hive #2 today and found the hive hosting a ton of ants. We were going to add some sugar syrup to help boost their growth but when we got to the hive we found that the top feeder was almost full. In this hot sun we expected the syrup to go in just a few day but here it has been almost two weeks and the feeder is almost as full as it was two weeks ago. Also, you can see in the photos that there are lots of tiny ants. I did not see any inside the hive but there were so many in the sugar syrup that they almost covered the surface.

Closeup of feeder with ants

Can anyone tell me how to deal with this? Why are the bees not taking the sugar syrup? Is it normal to ignore the syrup? When I mentioned the ants to a local beekeeper, he was not concerned. I know that bees are in danger of drowning and that is why I put the pine needles in the box but I was surprised to see ants that drowned in the syrup. I decided to move the hive about five feet and brushed off as many ants and I could. I also dumped most of the syrup and a lot of the dead ants and filled it with fresh syrup.

I was pleased to see the amount of comb that is in the hive. Almost all the foundation has comb on it and almost all of the comb is filled. I will wait another week before putting on the queen excluder and super. I would like to get rid of the ants. Even though they don’t seem to be affecting the hive, I don’t like the fact that the bees did not touch the syrup water.

Capped brood and larvae

As I spend more time with the bees I take the time to get more acquainted with their ways. I took a close look at one of the older brown combs that came with the nuc. I was able to peer inside the comb and see the growing larvae. I tried to take some pictures and I hope you can make out the difference between the capped brood and the larvae inside the cells. The bee breeder mentioned that this queen lays her eggs in an ellipse. You can see the shape on the frame that David Zvi is holding.

David Zvi, who took pictures on our visit to hive #1, assisted today and was great. He got right in there and lifted a frame or two. Not a fan of bugs, he held steady and quickly grasped how the hive works.  For some reason, the bees were really buzzing this afternoon and they were all over us. Notice the bee above his head!

I would appreciate any advice from the experienced beekers on the condition of the hive. Please leave a comment so others can learn from your advice as well. Thanks!

David Zvi & Yael visit

After hearing amazing things about Yael from Suri and Allan Robbins, we finally get to spend some time with her.  On the left is a photo which I believe David Zvi snapped.

DZK & Yael visit

David Zvi and Yael arrived yesterday and the girls (especially Maayan) are bouncing off the walls from excitement. Every meal becomes a discussion of who gets to sit with Yael or David Zvi.

This evening we took a drive out to hive # 1 at Beit Gamliel to check on the super. We put it on with frames with just foundation and wanted to see the progress of the bees. Yael put on Alison’s bee suit and David Zvi chose to stand back and take some pix. Yael was great. She was apprehensive at first but handled the smoker and even lifted a frame of honey.

The bees are doing great. The middle frames are full drawn and there is fresh honey in them. They are still not capped but filling up nicely. I am sure we will have some honey by Rosh Hashana.

Growing bees

Tonight is a holiday here in Israel (Shavuot – Pentecost) and we are off work today. We had a busy morning and thought of the expressions the Marines use “We do more before breakfast than most people do all day.” We dropped the car off for the annual fitness  test (AKA excuse to fleece drivers), walked Kelly down the street for her rabies shot (rabies is a serious problem in Israel because the neighboring countries are not careful about the issue and animals cross the borders freely), picked up ice cream at the Feldman ice cream factory and bought some treats for Kelly.

We went on to Beit Gamliel and Zoe and I checked on hive #1. It was the one with the super on it and we wanted to make sure the bees found their way upstairs and started to draw comb. They did and we were very happy with what we saw. Several frames had 1/3 ready comb and the rest of the frame was being built up.

Zoe was not afraid at all. She handled the frame and was a great assistant. If we decide to add more hives in the spring, each of the girls will get their own hive to color and take care of. Zoe is so into the bee thing that when I ask her what the four most common problems of the honey bee are, she prattles off  “American Foul Brood, European Foul Brood, Varroa, and Nosema”. I think she is serious about being a vet.

Kelly watching as I fill the car up with gas

We drove over to Yashresh to check on hive # 2.  We needed to get gas and stopped in Rehovot to fill up. It is  a real pain taking off the veil on these suits so I just turned up the air conditioner and left the veil on. I know that in the many years I lived in Canada I never saw a man with a bee suit filling up his car with gas. The woman who too my cash didn’t blink when I approached her with the cash. She thought my English was more interesting and asked me about how to say hanacha (discount) in English. We drove off, me still dressed in white from head to toe. We stopped at a light and there was a young Ethiopian couple in the car next to us. They laughed politely and I rolled down my window and asked if tonight was the start of Purim.

I went across to the hive myself because Zoe and Maayan were more interested in playing with another dog who was trying to fend us off from the owner’s land. This hive was a concern to us because when Alison and I went to see it last Friday, it looked weak with very few bees. Doron thought it might be the weather, time of day or maybe they were sprayed. Our concerns were unfounded because there were lots of bees and they were drawing comb and it was looking good. I gave them 2 litres of sugar syrup and we were on our way. I don’t know if we will get any honey from this hive this summer but our first hive should produce at least enough for us for Rosh Hashanah.

Family outing to exclude queens

Epstein Family - Beekeepers

This afternoon we all drove out to visit our hive at Beit Gamliel. It is our forst hove and doing well. It needs another level so I prepared the frames and foundation last night and we installed it today. We decided to put a super on for honey which means that we are locking th equeen out of the penthouse suite. She can continue to lay eggs in the lower brood box and the worker bees can store honey in the upper super.

Adding another storey

I took the girls out to our 1st hive this evening, and I was surprised at how fast these guys are moving. I pulled the end frame, which is usually the last to be filled, and it was one quarter filled with capped honey and the rest of the frame was full of uncapped honey. I pulled other frames and found it packed with brood.

I was not expecting to need another super for at least a few weeks, so I was pleasantly surprised. Tomorrow I was planning on feeding the other colony but these guys need a super right away. I don’t know if it is the sugar water I give them every week or if it is the Israeli sun and the excellent location – these guys are flying.

The girls had a great time, it was Zoe’s first time out with her bee suit. They were not afraid and were great assistants. They will be ready for their own hoves next year.

Beekeeping in Israel

Quick stats for beekeeping in Israel

• 450 beekeers in Israel
• 3,600 tons of honey are consumed annually in Israel
• 73% of hives are kept by beekeeprs in apiaries of up to 150 hives
• 17% of hives are kept by beekeeprs in apiaries of up to 500 hives
• 10% of hives are kept by beekeeprs in apiaries of over 500 hives
• 20-30 kg is the average yield per hive for small-scale beekeepers
• 50-60 kg is the average yield per hive for large-scale beekeepers

More details available from the Israel Ministry of Agriculture.

Checking the 2nd hive

Alison smoking the hive

We sent the girls off to school this morning and headed out to Yashresh to check on the new hive I installed last night. We got the smoker going, gave the bees a healthy dose of smoke and opened the roof and crown board. We pulled frames and started inspecting the bees. As we gain confidence and knowledge of what to look for, we spend more time observing how the bees behave and what they are up to. I brought my camera and took some close ups of the bees.

We pulled a frame and started looking for the queen. Alison spotted her, moving to the edge of the frame, moving quickly to the other side. There is a method of pulling a frame, then turning it 90 degrees while holding it in the same hands, then twisting the frame to the other side, holding the corners from the bottom corners instead of the top.

Queen among workers

When we got to the second frame, Alison spotted the queen. Alison has this unbelievable ability to spot living things wherever she is. We can be barreling down a highway (in Canada) at 100 km/h and Alison will say “hey, look at the deer”.  Again today, she said “there she is” except since she was holding  the frame with both hands and was unable to point to her. Some people mark the queen with Whiteout or some sort of marker. We left her alone but will look into the various methods of marking queens. The people who do mark queens, use colors to represent the year. She moves quickly and must know her importance because when we look for her she always tries to skirt around to the back of the frame.

Bees build their hives from the middle frame outwards. You can encourage them to fill out frames by taking empty frames and moving them 2nd from the outside. We did this and then placed the feeder box on top. The feeder box is filled with sugar water and gives them something extra so that they will have the extra energy these days, when they have to build their comb.

We also pulled some of the new frames with clean foundation. We were amazed at how fast they started building up the comb on the new frames. You could see the cells being formed and they were only exposed to these new frames for about 12 hours. These guys work fast.

Alison inspecting a new frame

Our second hive

We received our second nuc this evening. Our empty hive has been sitting and waiting for a colony but the beekeeper who was going to sell us a nuc was too busy. We decided to use the bees from Doron, the first person who sold us bees. It is not that we weren’t happy with his nuc, we were,  but we wanted to try bees from another bee breeder to see if there were any differences. Also, I find that many beekeepers are very busy here and the more contact we have with more beekeepers, the more we learn. Each time I speak with a beekeeper I ask the questions that I have been thinking about between visits. Learning from text books is great but sometimes you need to ask the experienced beekeeper.

When I got home Maayan said right away ” I want to go with you to get the bees”. She has completely overcome her fear and is actually enjoying it now. So, Maayan and I brought our hive to the beekeeper and he inserted the five frames into our hive. We put our five empty frames (with foundation) into our hive and were ready to roll. I spent a few minutes talking with Doron about beekeeping and when we should plan our next hive. He was pessimistic about beekeeping in Israel. He explained that there is a five hive limit per person without being required to have a license. Since licenses are not available you can only buy them from people who want to sell them. Selling a license means that you can no longer have as many hives. The only chance is to try and find someone who is getting out of the business and buy their licenses. They go for around 1,000 shekel, which is about $250.00 per hive.

We drove the bees in our car (with a special screen over the opening) and Maayan wearing her bee suit, complete with veil.

When we got to the moshav near Rehovot we had to take the hive, which is pretty heavy, and the other gear across a field that is overgrown with weeds. At that point it was dark and I was barely able to find my way. Luckily, there was an old wreck of a car about halfway there that I was able to use as a resting place for the hive (and my back). We finally made made our way to the edge of the field and was able to put the hive down on the ground. Just before reaching the edge of the field I felt a sharp pain in my hand. I looked sown and realized that my hand was holding the hive with part of my palm resting against the screen. I was stung by an angry bee. As you know, bees usually lose their lives when they sting so she must have been pretty pissed off with me lugging their house across a bumpy field. I was able to continue, put the hive down and the do some polite cursing.

When we got to the place I decided to park the hive, I gave them a few puffs of smoke, unscrewed the special travel opening, and then we made our way back across the field. At one poin I felt something against my leg. It felt like Kelly, our dog, when she brushes up against me. The only problem is that I did not bring Kelly and I have no idea what went bump in the night.

Tomorrow, Alison and I will go and feed the bees in daylight.

Urban beekeeping at hotels & restaurants

Last month, my friend Martin sent me an article about Fortnum & Mason using honey they gather from their own bee hives. Then a few weeks later, he sent another article about the Fairmount Royal York Hotel in Toronto installing bee hives on their roof. Today he sent another link to Paris-based Pullman Hotels & Resorts and their bee related activities.

I found a few articles about the beehives on the 13th floor roof of Toronto’s Fairmount Royal York hotel. The Toronto Star writes:

The Fairmont Royal York hotel is abuzz with excitement.

It has to do with the opening of the new Honey Moon Suite. But don’t go looking for Italian linens or extra-deep bathtubs. This suite is a very small box with holes in its walls, and it’s also prone to regular visits by insects.

Bees, that is. The Honey Moon Suite – a cute name for one of three new beehives in the hotel’s rooftop garden – is now home to more than 10,000 buzzing bugs.

The hives were installed this week and will provide honey for the hotel’s restaurants starting this summer.

“I’d noticed how many insects fly into this garden