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.

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.

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

Maayan & I visit the hive

Maayan at the hive

After I took Maayan kicking and screaming (not really) to the hive, she really had a great time. We approached the hive, got the smoker going and started warning the bees that we had arrived. I find using the smoker easier now that I empty the contents every time I start and build a small fire in it before I add the leaves. I have a plastic bag with pine needles and eucalyptus leaves which I use for the fire/smoke. It has a nice smell and even when I get home I can smell the smoke on my hands and clothes and when it doesn’t remind me of Laphroig or Lagavulin single malt scotch (flashback to the Berman Scotch Club with Pinchas), it reminds me of the hive and honey.

The hive is doing great, lots of new brood and fair amount of honey. I did not go through the hive, frame by frame, but did manage to pull frames on either end, the second to last frames and a centre frame that came with the nuc and is very heavy.

New and old Langstroth frames

 It was a real chore getting it out. I first use a “J” hive tool and pull the edge of the frame up. Then I take the other hive tool and use it block the edge of the frame from slipping back into the hive. Then I take the hive tool and pry at the other end of the frame. With two side loosened and a few inches over the top of the other frames, I use my fingers to pull the frame straight up. Sometimes I wonder if I should invest in a frame grip, a small device that allows you to pull the frame up from the centre of the frame.

Fresh comb

I found the frame on the far side to be built up with comb. The base foundation that I saw a week ago is almost all covered by comb at this point. When I replaced the frame I actually put in  last slot, allowing the bees to start working on it before they get to the frame that already has a fair amount of comb. Take a look at the photo of the darkened frame. It weighs a lot more than the other frames because it came from the nuc and it is loaded with good stuff.

By this point Maayan joined me and quickly overcame her fear of bees. In a matter of minutes she started playing with one of the bees at the edge of a frame, using the hive tool I had given her to hold. I had visions of a squashed bee, sending out signals to her sister bees to attack us, so I suggested to Maayan that she be a little more gentle with the bee. I put the frames back in their hive, notices some small ants on the bottom board as well as some fine dark droppings. Is this the dreaded Varroa mites leaving their mark? Next time, when Alison comes with me, I will remove more frames and photograph the bottom of the hive.  I put the feeder back on and gave them another gallon of sugar water, placed the crown board on and said goodbye  to our noisy friends.

Chicken eggs in an incubator

We then headed over to Sue and Harry’s. Sue had emailed  me to tell me that two chicks had hatched and the girls could come see them. Maayan insisted on removing her bee suit, having already proved to anyone watching that she was a big girl and not afraid of bees. She is a little fashion expert and I think that now that she was not doing the bee thing on the farm, she should switch back to her elegant city clothes, suitable for visiting newborn chicks.

There were a whole lot of eggs sitting in plastic incubator. Sue explained that two had already hatched they were in a box with a hanging light bulb to keep them warm. They were adorable and Sue allowed Maayan (fearless at this point) to hold the chicks.

Maayan holding a chick on a moshav near Rehovot, Israel

The girls in their new bee suits

They love the idea of being junior beekeepers and rushed home from school to try their new suits on. Maayan, realizing that this white armor was meant to protect her from harm, quickly lost interest in visiting the bees. In fact, she complained that the wrist elastic was too tight and started to cry. We understood the theatrics, reasoned with her and told her that she did not have a choice, she was going to visit the bees but she did not have to stand very close. Zoe had a violin lesson so she wasn’t able to go. Maayan wimpered all the way to the car but when we arrived she was enthusiastic, came close and even started playing with a bee or two with the hive tool. I had to tell her to be a little more gentle. She lost all fear (not good) and is really looking forward to going back again.

Effect of Propolis on Fat Accumulation/Lipid Metabolism?

Propolis in a Beehive

Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Propolis is used for small gaps (approximately 6.35 millimeters (0.3 in) or less), while larger spaces are usually filled with beeswax. Its color varies depending on its botanical source, the most common being dark brown. Propolis is sticky at and above room temperature. At lower temperatures it becomes hard and very brittle.

For centuries, beekeepers assumed that bees sealed the beehive with propolis to protect the colony from the elements, such as rain and cold winter drafts. However, 20th century research has revealed that bees not only survive, but also thrive, with increased ventilation during the winter months throughout most temperate regions of the world.

Propolis is now believed to:

• Reinforce the structural stability of the hive
• Reduce vibration
• Make the hive more defensible by sealing alternate entrances
• Prevent diseases and parasites from entering the hive
• Prevent putrefaction within the hive. Bees usually carry waste out of and away from the hive. However if a small lizard or mouse, for example, found its way into the hive and died there, bees may be unable to carry it out through the hive entrance. In that case, they would attempt instead to seal the carcass in propolis, essentially mummifying it and making it odorless and harmless.

An interesting study has just been published in the Journal of Food Science on the beneficial effect of propolis on fat accummulation and lipid metabolism in rats.

You can read an abstract below and follow the link to the article.

The Beneficial Effect of Propolis on Fat Accumulation and Lipid Metabolism in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet

Comments Requested

This photo is one of the new frames from our colony. The five frames from the nuc were added to our empty hive five days earlier.

Can someone tell me if the bottom cells are brood or uncapped honey? I know the top whiteish cells are capped honey. The bees seem to be drawing out the comb at an excellent pace. I wonder how soon I should be adding a super and if I need to add it for the brood or honey and if I should use a queen excluder.

Any advice would be appreciated!

A new frame after five days

New bee report – Beekeeping in Israel

Stevy with a Smoker

Today is Friday, Israel’s Sunday and a perfect day to visit our new hive. We dropped the kids off at school and drove over to the moshav near Rehovot to check on our first hive. We installed the hive this past Sunday and gave them almost a gallon of sugar/water syrup. The bee breeder told us to return in two weeks and give them another gallon. We took two litres of sugar syrup just in case the bees needed a top-off. This was just a quick trip because Alison has some work to do today so she did not suit up but took some great pictures with my camera.

Bees send out signals in two ways – dance and scent. The dance, is a way of telling fellow bees where the good nectar is and where it can be found. Some people use their hands when they talk, bees do a dance. The other way of communicating, the scent, is the one beekeepers have to be careful of if they don’t want to get stung.

Adding Fuel to a Bee Smoker

If the guard bees at the entrance to the hive think that the hive is being threatened, they release pheromones that alert the other bees to go into protect mode. Even if you are wearing a bee suit, you can be stung if the bees are determined enough. Besides, you don’t want to piss off these little guys, you are there to help them make their honey. Just remember the saying ” If a bee comes to your house, give her beer, you might visit her house one day.”

The way beekeepers disarm the guard bees is to send some smoke into the hive. The smoke does two things, it masks the pheromones that are released by the guard bees and also sends a signal to the bees that their tree that houses their hive might be on fire. The bees react by slurping up some honey into their honey tummies in case there really is a fire and they have to escape to a new hive with their precious honey. Their system is one of survival and they know that they need the honey for tomorrow. Alison and I have asked each other on occasion what we would take if we had to quickly leave our apartment. It wouldn’t be food. The bee smoker is one of the most important tools that a beekeeper uses and we are still getting used to making it work for us. The key is to use the right fuel and adding enough to last your entire session with the bees. You don’t want to turn to the smoker and find that the fire went out because you put too much wood in it. We, being bee newbies, bought a package of smoker pellets.

Stevy with a Bee Smoker and Hive Tools

They are not viable for a commercial operation but for hobby farmers like us, they seemed perfect They look like they are extruded from the same type of machine that makes rabbit food and perhaps rabbit food would have been a more effective fuel for our smoker than the pellets. We gave up earlier in the week with the pellets and switched to eucalyptus leaves, twigs and paper. I have heard of some beekeepers who make a little package of fuel for the smoker and insert it, wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, into a cardboard toilet paper tube. It makes one simple solution to looking for the right leaves and twigs.

I got the smoker really smoking this morning and gave the entrance a healthy dose of smoke. You are supposed to wait at least 30 seconds to get those little bees diving into to their stores of honey. Once they do, they are like couch potatoes sitting and drinking beer, eating pizza and watching TV.

When they are full of honey they are not likely to sting anyone unless you REALLY piss them off. Stepping on members of the family will do that so the key is being gentle and watching where you step.

Next, I took off the roof and checked the crown board underneath. The crown board is like a ceiling to the hive. Bees will glue anything thay can with wax and propolis. If you don’t use a crown board (andmany beekeepers don’t) you stand the chance of having to pry off the roof with your hive tool (2nd most important tool). The crown board also acts as a layer below the roof and provides insulation, both in the summer and the winter. The crown board sits either on the hive or on top of a feeder if you have one installed. We do have a feeder for this new colony and it was totally empty. The bees had polished off a gallon of sugar syrup. I took off the feeder (they reach it via a slot in the feeder) and finally saw the 10 frames.

A Frame with New Foundation

I was able to tell which frames were part of the nucleus not only from the fact that the wood had gone brown, but from the bulging sides of the original frames. They were packed with comb, indicating that there may not have been the correct spacing in the nuc when the bees built the comb. I started by pulling the frame closest to me and saw that they had already started building the comb.

The next frame I pulled had fresh comb filled with drops of glistening honey. The bees take the nectar from the field with their mouths and store it in their honey sacs in their bodies. Their saliva contains enzymes that help change the nectar into honey. The honey is still full of water (80%) and needs to be reduced to about 14-18%. The bees do that by flapping their little wings. Their “air conditioning” also keeps the hive cool in the summer.

A Frame with lots of Bees

We were very happy with the progress, the bees seemed to have a good temperament and they were drawing out the comb at a good pace. Alison and I decided t o return in a week with a super and a queen excluder. This will allow the bees to build a 2nd story without having the queen lay eggs in the area we ant reserved for honey.

Inspecting a Frame

For those that have never experienced it, opening a full bee hive is a real thrill, especially when you hear the loud sound of thousands of bees buzzing around. Although I felt very safe, having followed all the instructions, smoked the bees and wore a complete bee suit, I was not comfortable when a bee landed in front of my eye. I was unsure if the bee was on the outside of the veil or on the inside. I assumed it was on the outside and if it was on the inside, this was not a great time to stop and figure it out. I put the frames back in, poured another two litres of sugar syrup into the feeder and said goodbye to our first colony.

An Open Bee Hive

Bees arrive tonight

After months of studying and preparation we are finally ready to start our first hive.

Why bees?

Over the past few months I have been thinking about how different life is in Israel compared to our lives in Canada. Besides the constant pressure of not knowing when a war might break out or if there will be yet another hafsakat chashmal (power outage), life is just not the same.

Life in Canada was great. Canadians on the whole are wonderful people and Canadian society was pretty pluralistic. Toronto especially was an amazing city, teaming with immigrants from around the world, each adding a special flavour to the city.

Despite the pleasant lives we led in Canada, we found that we were not closely in touch with things around us. We followed the news and knew what was going on across the world and down the street but we had slowly become disconnected with life. Waking up in the summertime in our air conditioned home, getting into our air conditioned car and driving to the air conditioned mall where we bought fruits and vegetables that were in season somewhere – but not here. As I kid I remember being excited when my mother came home from the grocery store with green grapes. Yay, they were in season! Or sometimes we were treated to kiwis that came from far away and were a special treat. Its not that we were underprivileged kids, we weren’t, its just that the world was a bigger place then and we were more sensitive to the specialness of nature.

It wasn’t just foods that excited us, one day our family doctor called my parents and said that we HAD to go out and buy the current issue of Life magazine. It contained photos by Lennart Nielsson of a human fetus. Today, we are inundated with images blaring at us from TV sets, computers and illuminated signs on the highway.

Life is not like that here in Israel. Other than certain vegetables such as garlic apples, If the food isn’t in season you are not likely to find it in the stores. It is true that with cable TV, the Internet and Israeli’s penchant for travelling abroad, the country is becoming more westernized and less Israeli. This country may lose its unique character but it will not happen overnight. Many things are slow to change in Israel. This place is filled with people from so many countries, each hanging on to his culture but all learning Hebrew with foreign accents.

 When I think of all the people who make up this country and the difficulties in getting along with each other, I am reminded of a picture I will always keep in my mind of a day I experienced soon after making aliyah. When the windows are open and the noise from the cars on the street is not too deafening, you can hear an Arab man driving down the street calling out “alte zachen” old things… He is form of a recycle person who drives around, using the Yiddish to reach out to people to sell their old fridges, stoves, sofas, heaters or whatever is old and can find another life someplace. We are so used to seeing Arabs calling out in Yiddish and think nothing of it now. Later that day we went to wedding in Jerusalem where we heard a chassidic fiddler with a long beard and black jacket play an Irish jig. More than one person attending the wedding was familiar enough with the music to actually get up an dance a jig.

 Life in Canada was quite stratified and although Canadians are probably less provincial than the average resident of New York City, we didn’t exactly live in a blended society. Attending shul in Israel, I might be sitting next to a nuclear physicist from the Weizmann Institute or a soldier. My walk to work every morning takes me through a field where I often see a flock of sheep with a Bedouin shepherd and a stone’s through away is a particle accelerator on the grounds of the Weizmann Institute. Daily life here is closer to real life. Yes, there is air conditioning and the occasional imported vegetable but there is no such expression such as “raining on your parade” because if it rains, you are happy for the country.

About a month ago I decided to investigate the field of bees and honey. The little bugs are pretty amazing and produced the next best thing to maple syrup, which we really miss. I started reading about the nectar and realized that I had no idea of what was in bloom and when. We are so detached from the cycle of life that we depend on yet we seem to know who starred in what movie, and who is getting Botox treatments.

We needed to get our connection back to the land.