Learning about bees together!
Articles about our members Bees
There is a legal requirement for all apiaries whether small or large to be registered with Assure Quality. Register or be fined.
This requirement was bought into force to help control the spread of American Foul Brood – a highly contagious disease of the brood. Don’t be guilty of being the beekeeper who has not registered your apiary and have your hive contract and spread AFB to surrounding apiaries. Be a good beekeeper and a good neighbour. 
Love’s Labour is not lost and this was clearly shown today when four members of the RBC spent about 1 1/2 hours preparing sites for 4 hives and two nucs. The hive locations were dug out and covered with weed cloth to assist in keeping weeds away from the hive entrance. The club is considering using a new design of base board from the Hive Doctor – who kindly donated one to the club – this will be shown to members at the next meeting and we suggest that members may wish to purchase same.
If so we could place a bulk order and receive the best possible price. The apiary has easy car access and good facilities for a social time after the field day activities. See pictures of apiary preparation – with Peter McNab, Bruce Burgess, Noel Smith and Claude Bee.
Not to forget the lovely coffee and biscuits provided by Jo Bee ( Burgess ).
All’s well that ends well.
Two pupils from Helensville Primary School – Devon and Danielle, aged 11 and 12 respectively spent a few hours looking at the internal workings of a beehive. We were able to see capped and uncapped brood, observe worker bees at work and drones scurrying around the hive.
The girls both picked up a drone, and ran their fingers gently over the worker bees. We were able to see a newly hatched queen cell in one hive. All great fun and a new adventure for the girls, helping them to have a start on their way to respecting and understanding Apis Mellifera – The Honey Bee. See pictures
Many years ago I purchased on old badly dilapidated book first published in May 1901.
The style is, by today’s standards, archaic – but the book contains some fundamentals about
The Bee which are worthy of repetition and so the article under may give new beekeepers some
Interesting historical data and perhaps serve to update the knowledge of the more experienced among us.
The Life of the Bee – by Maurice Maeterlinck
The Bibliography of the Bee is very extensive.
From the beginning, this strange little creature, that lives in a society under complicated laws, and executes prodigious labours in darkness, has attracted the notice of men.
From Aristotle to present day the bee has been studied and loved.
I suggest that the real history of the bee begins in the 17th. century with the discoveries of the Dutch Savant Swammerdam, and the Flemish naturalist Clutius, who was a little prior to Swammerdam.
Both of these men arrived at certain important truths such as – the Maternity of the principal bee – hither to looked upon as a King . This discovery – by dissection and scientific observation – threw the whole political scheme of the hive into most unexpected light by basing it upon Maternity.
In 1750 in Geneva – Huber was born – and fell blind in his early youth.
Interested in earlier research about bees he sort to verify this early research, and became passionately absorbed in these activities and eventually, with the assistance of Francis Burnens, devoted his entire life to the study of bees – all the more remarkable when one considers that he never saw, with his own eyes a comb of honey – his “New Observations on Bees” published in 1789 in the form of letters to Charles Bonnet, has remained an unfailing abundant treasurehouse into which subsequent writers have dipped – and whilst in the course of time – a few errors or incomplete statements may be found – there is not one of his principal statements that have been disproved.
Some years of silence followed Huber’s revelations, but then a German clergyman Dzierzon contrived the first hive with moveable combs thereby enabling the beekeeper henceforth to take his share of the harvest of Natures Nectar without being forced to destroy his best colonies – and in one instance annihilate the work of a whole year.
This hive – still very imperfect – received a masterly redevelopment at the hands of Langstroth – who invented the moveable frame – this frame has been adopted world wide with extraordinary success.
It then occurred to Mehring that if the bees were supplied with artificial wax foundation they would be spared the labour of fashioning the wax and constructing the cells which cost them much time and energy, and a greatly reduced harvest of their stores of honey. It was found that the bees readily accepted this foundation and adapted it to their requirements.
Today’s beekeepers – have much to thank these early lovers of the bee for the system of moveable frames and wax foundation and the understanding of the political structure of the bee colony.
We have had a very nice e mail from the Southland beekeeping Group – itself a newly formed bee organisation – offering congratulations of the formation of the Rodney Beekeepers Club.
I have responded with thanks, and hope that we can retain contact with this new southern club.
I had a look at my hives today intending to undertake an oxalic acid vaporizer test. Unfortunately I had somehow killed my queen when last I looked and whilst there was an abundance of brood and stores there were no eggs. We took some brood and eggs from our second hive and trust the bees will requeen.
Another look at the end of March will tell us wether we have succeeded.
Gary did a Powdered sugar shake on our queen less hive with about half a cup of bees in a jar covered with sugar the sugar was then shaken onto a white board and sprayed with water- two mite were discovered. Gary has a article about this on the kiwimana site Powdered Sugar Shake – Counting Varroa Mites using icing sugar
The oxalic acid fume was given a prelim test showing us how the burner works. We are as a result considering purchasing one – but better still perhaps – would be for the club to purchase a unit which could be hired by members at a nominal rate.
We are still looking for a club apiary site so if any of you know of a site that might be available – please let a member of the committee know so that we can arrange for a look.
I am considering holding a wax dip for supers lids hive mats and bottom boards for members who may wish to protect their equipment using this very good system.
I am happy to donate the wax and would suggest that perhaps a member may like to bring along a twin gas burner and donate the gas or perhaps make a small charge to members who wish to wax dip. Please give me a ring if this is of interest. Supers can be painted after the dip – whilst hot – so bring your own paint and a broad brush – they must be painted at once and as quickly as possible but it is not necessary – unless of course you want a pretty box.
Claude Bee
