Loving Your Bees to Death

At a recent bee club meeting the idea was presented that it was ok to treat you bees with a miticide even when a varroa mite test showed only low levels of mites. The general response to this was if your bees are alive in after winter there is no problem with that. When I tried to explain why I disagreed, I was quickly shushed.

While I firmly believe that there are many good ways to keep bees, there are very good reasons to not treat unless you have to. And these are not just opinions or personal methods, they are based on science and a wide variety of experience in different fields. Let's take a look at why this may harm your bees:

• The most common miticides are toxic to your bees. Yes, it might seem ok if your bees survive to spring, but pesticides do damage even when they are not killing outright. This is especially true of the queen. 
• Many miticides have a cumulative effect. This means that the poison you used last year might still be hanging around in the bees and in the hive, bringing the dose you added this year up to honeybee toxic levels.
• Miticides do not kill all the mites. Those it does not kill usually have some resistance. They will then breed together to make even more resistant mites. With time, the miticide will become useless. While it is easy to say that technology will provide new chemicals, they may not and they will likely take long enough to produce that you will loose a lot of bees before they are available.

Now, even though I am not a fan of a lot of poisons in my bees or my garden, I am not telling you to stop treating altogether. What I am asking you to do is to test before you treat and only treat if your levels are high enough that the bees cannot handle it themselves.

This is the basic idea behind Integrated Pesticide Management (IPM) that has emerged in a number of fields to keep our pesticides from causing more problems than they solve. If you want to know more about IPM please follow this link: http://rookgardenerpoet.blogspot.com/search?q=IPM or check with your local agriculture university or state extension.

The IPM approach will give your honeybee colonies a better chance of life and keep a lot of problems from happening around them.

Manana!

Utah Beekeepers Under Threat!

A fuzzy photo of a bee for an even fuzzier proposed law!

A new bill in Utah threatens the health of bees and the future of Utah's entire beekeeping industry. Here are the key points:

• Removes the requirement of a moveable frame for inspection.
• Prohibits the county inspector from inspecting unless a specific complaint is given.
• Eliminates mandatory yearly inspections.
• Encourages limitations on migratory beekeepers.
• Prohibits cities from making their own beekeeping codes.

From facebooking with one of the authors, it seems that this is intended to be an anti government move that is supposed to liberate the beekeepers from the tyranny of government. As I asked questions, I found that there seems no reason for this change other than deregulation for the sake of deregulation.

I haven't myself felt oppressed by the beekeeping regulations and those I have talked to in the state may have gripes, but they can't really point to what damage is being done to them by our beekeeping code.

On the flip side there is a real fear with experienced beekeepers that our ability to combat bee health issues will be limited by the proposed deregulation. Certainly, we will have fewer tools for the next big fight with American Foul Brood, or any other pest that comes along. I personally think beekeepers will loose personal property rights as we will have a bigger risk to the bees that we have worked so hard to keep fit and healthy.

For a link to the new changes click here. This will also allow give you a link to Representative Marc Roberts, the sponsor of the bill.

For all of you Utah residents that want to let your representative and senator know what you think click here to find them.

I encourage you to be engaged whether you agree with my opinion or are opposed to it. The greatest threat to liberty has always been complacency.

Manana!

Saving Bees with a Bee Feeding Guild

A honeybee on an ornamental crabapple.

When the subject of bees comes up with my friends many of them are worried. Often they talk about becoming beekeepers as a way to help. While I try not to discourage beekeeping in general, in these cases I encourage them to think of other ways to help the bees first. I always recommend that they cut back on or quit using pesticides, ask them to read books about bees and beekeeping, and I ask them to grow more plants for bees.

While any plant with a flower is an improvement, not all of them are great for helping the bees. This is a list I put together to provide lots of bee food on a quarter acre lot. I focused very heavily on late summer blooms because that is when the bees in my area struggle the most to find food. I highlighted those plants, so if you are limited on space you can focus on those first.

This is only one set of plants I could have used, so feel free to study and come up with your own bee guild (community) that meets the needs of where you live. And remember to plant in groups so that clusters of the same plants are at lease three feet across. The bees will find them easier that way.

Oh, this plan leaves enough space for a veggie garden and some grass. The clover is on the list to make the grass more bee friendly!

Enjoy yourselves, manana!

Common Name	Scientific Name	Start of flowering	End of flowering	Width
Trees
Bigtooth Maple	Acer gandidentatum	April	May	25'
Peach	Prunus persica	April	April	18'
Apple	Malus domestica	April	May	25'
Black Locust	Robinia pseudoacacia	May	June	30'
Linden 'Green Spire'	Tilia cordata	June	July	30'
Shubs and Perennials
Fragrant Sumac 'Lowgrow'	Rhus aromatica	April	May	6'
Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	April	May	6"
Blackberry	Rubus spp.	May	June	As pruned
Chives	Allium schoenoprasum	May	June	10"
Woodland Sage	Salvia nemorosa	May	July	18"
Lavender	Lavandula angustifolia	June	July	3'
Red-Flowering Thyme	Thymus praecox	June	July	Creeping
Catmint	Nepeta x faassenii	June	August	18"
Melissa, Lemon Balm	Melissa officinalis	June	August	18"
Fireweed	Epilobium angustifolium	June	September	3'
Oregano	Origanum vulgare	June	September	2'
Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	June	September	2'
Milkweed	Asclepias spp.	July	August	2.5'
Peppermint	Mentha piperita	July	August	3'
Russian Sage	Perovskia atriplicifolia	July	September	4'
Bluebeard	Caryopteris x clandonensis	July	September	4'
Blanket Flower	Gaillardia aristata	June	October	10"
Anise hyssop	Agstache foeniculum	July	October	3'
Garlic chives	Allium tuberosa	September	September	12"
Stonecrop	Sedum spectabile	September	September	12"
Aster	Aster spp.	September	October	2'
Goldenrod	Solidago spp.	September	October	4'
Lawn Addition
Dutch White Clover	Trifolium repens	May	August	Creeping

If you really want to help honey bees...

I have been seeing bees for over a month now. They have been gathering pollen from the early blooming trees: maple, elm, poplar, and willow. Pollen provides protein for growing bee larva, but does not provide energy for flying bees. Early in the season, that still comes from the sugar stored as honey.

Some of the early bulbs give a little nectar and I am sure the bees manage to find a bit here and there in the wild. The most important time for nectar is when the dandelions start blooming. Dandelions are rich in pollen, but they are also rich in early nectar. This early nectar helps honey bees fuel long flights while searching for later nectar flows, as well as fuel the growth of spring bee populations.

Dandelions are also markers for when the fruit trees and other early bloomers start producing. But you should never forget that dandelions are a major source of bee energy all by themselves.

If you care about bees, stop killing dandelions!

Backcountry Radio Interview

Caryopteris × clandonensis or Bluebeard, is a
good late summer meal for bees.

For a little of what is going on this season and what I am planning for this fall, listen to my radio interview with Brian Brinkerhoff on Backcountry Radio.

http://www.backcountrynetwork.com/Download/WesternLifeRadio59-9-7-13.mp3

If you are interested in attending my "Gardening for Bees" class in Orem UT, email me at utahsustainablegardening@gmail.com.

Gardening for Bees class!

A honey bee on the Agastache plant right outside my front
door.

I will be holding a "Gardening for Bees" class on September 28 at 10:00. This will be a 4 hour class, so we will do two hours in the morning, take lunch, and resume class at 1:30 for the remaining two hours. The location is in Orem Utah.

The cost will be $50 payable to Utah Sustainable Gardening for registrations received before September 21. After that the cost will go up to $65. Seating is limited so, registration will be on a first come first serve basis.

Topics being covered are:

Best trees and garden plants for bees

Weed control

Pesticides and bees

Designing basics for flower beds

For more information contact Alex Grover at utahsustainablegardening@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing more from you!

Mainstream Beekeeping

A top bar hive ready to be loaded it to a car and be taken
directly home.

I attended my first beekeeping class a couple of weeks ago. The class was free to attend and sponsored by IFA, a regional farm and garden store. The fact the class was no cost and had a retail sponsor tells me something important: bees are mainstream.

Even at the hight of the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970's, I don't think there was so much interest in raising bees. I suppose it will end up being a fad, but I hope not. Bees are terribly interesting and are at so much risk right now that every new hive offers a better chance for their survival.

Langstroth hives in several configurations
sitting in the store.

By having many beehives in a neighborhood, there are a greater number of bees to make up for the dead hives caused by temperature variations, pests, and pesticides. Lots of urban bees in back yards can eventually provide replacement bees for the highly stressed bees used to pollinate commercial crops.

Thanks to Chris Rodesch for coming in to
teach us a great class!

I don't know how many beehives an urban or suburban acre can hold, but if you ever have a question whether your bees can be fed, call me and I will be more than happy to design a bee garden for you!

A Late Season Bee Treat

Lacy buckwheat at a local water-wise garden

I am not a bee keeper, but I do like to keep garden helpers that come to my yard happy. Part of that task is to provide food for the bees all season.

While most gardeners keep plenty of good foraging flowers from spring to late summer, we have a tendency to start wrapping things up as the days get shorter.

Here is a list of some flowers for the late summer and fall:

Chives Allium schoenoprasum May-September Garlic chives Allium tuberosa August-September Aster Aster spp. September-frost Borage Borage officinalis June-frost Bluebeard-blue mist spirea Caryopteris clandonensis August-September Star thistle Centaurea ssp. July-September Sweet autumn clematis Clematis terifolia Late September Melons Cucumis melo June-frost Pumpkin-squash Cucurbita spp. June-frost Lacy buckwheat Eriogonum corymbosum Late Do not over water James buckwheat Eriogonum jamesii June-November Do not over water Pink smoke buckwheat Eriogonum racemosum August-September Do not over water Joe Pye weed Eupatorium esculentum August-September Sunflower Helianthus annuus June-September Alyssum Lobularia maritima June-September Mallow Malva alcea June-September Mountain beebalm Monardella odoratissima July-September Phaccella Phacella tanacetifolia June-September Goldenrod Solidago ssp. September-October Lacebark Elm Ulmus parvifolia August-September

I encourage you to add flowers that are native to your area!

Bees in the Dominican Republic

On a recent National Guard mission, the 624th Engineers went to the Dominican Republic. I got a first hand view of how the local bees are being housed. Unfortunately, each week when the beekeeper came to check his hives I was away on other duties, so I was unable to talk with him. I did learn a lot just from being able to walk around his apiary and take photos.

These photos clearly show the need for top bar hives in developing countries, regardless of the silly opinions I read from some of the rich in the world. The beekeeper was selling honey in used soda bottles, so it is a good bet that buying an extractor was not, and is not, an economic option.

Some hives had scrap metal
covers, some had wire mesh
on the backs. I could never
figure why they were configured
differently.

The bees are German, which 

surprises me. I would have thought 

a bee better suited to the tropics 

would have been imported and 

spread by now.

It appears that the beekeeper harvested only the comb he could reach from the open ends of the logs. Since he did not destroy any hives when he came for honey, he would have had very little he could harvest from each hive. A top bar hive or two would have greatly increased the harvest and made it much easier to get at.

My command did not see the importance and ease of helping this beekeeper improve his hives and denied my request to build them. I blame myself for not bringing it up earlier and more often. Unfortunately the beekeeper and his family are the ones that are paying the price.

Next time I will be louder and more assertive. I think I owe that to the beekeeper.

  

Comb can be chaotic. This certainly does not fit
the nice ordered calm we have come to expect in
the developed world.