I was hoping to open the hives later this afternoon for a first-of-the-year inspection, but the day is turning to rain and the temperature doesn't look like it will get out of the forties. However, I did peek into all four boxes last week and it looks like I’ve only lost one hive so far–Hive 4–not surprising, since it was the hive that was queenless for a period last summer and started winter with a much diminished population. Warmer temperatures are forecast for next week, so I’ll wait until then to assess how the bees are making it through winter.
I’ve given away most of the 165 pounds of honey that the hives produced last year. I bottled the honey in three color grades–light, amber, and dark. A lot of honey producers make a big deal about their varietal honey. That’s not something I can do, since the nectar sources here in the city are so varied. However, I’m pretty sure that most of my honey comes from blackberry and corresponds to the lighter colored honey on the right. The dark honey is primarily Japanese Knotweed, an invasive that the city of Seattle is working hard to get rid of in our neighborhood. As a result it’s getting pretty scarce, and this year I only got about eight pounds from Hive 2.
“While per capita consumption of honey in America is 1.1 pounds per year, the country produces only about 190 million pounds of the 450 million pounds consumed.”
“Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture research, he said, shows that the average hive contains traces of five or more pesticide residues.”
In 2006, 80,024,000 pounds of honey was imported into the U.S. from China.
“For years, China has used an animal antibiotic — chloramphenicol — to treat diseases ravaging their beehives. The FDA has banned that drug in any food product.” (BTW, chloramphenicol has been discovered to be a risk factor for aplastic anemia).
Another story about honeybees caught my eye recently. Researchers in Australia discovered that cocaine affects bees in ways that are similar to how the drug affects humans. Not only do bees get extremely excited when fed a low dose of cocaine, they also experience withdrawal symptoms when it’s withheld. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology (the press release reads much better than the journal’s abstract).
Waiting for Warmer Weather
I was hoping to open the hives later this afternoon for a first-of-the-year inspection, but the day is turning to rain and the temperature doesn't look like it will get out of the forties. However, I did peek into all four boxes last week and it looks like I’ve only lost one hive so far–Hive 4–not surprising, since it was the hive that was queenless for a period last summer and started winter with a much diminished population. Warmer temperatures are forecast for next week, so I’ll wait until then to assess how the bees are making it through winter.
I’ve given away most of the 165 pounds of honey that the hives produced last year. I bottled the honey in three color grades–light, amber, and dark. A lot of honey producers make a big deal about their varietal honey. That’s not something I can do, since the nectar sources here in the city are so varied. However, I’m pretty sure that most of my honey comes from blackberry and corresponds to the lighter colored honey on the right. The dark honey is primarily Japanese Knotweed, an invasive that the city of Seattle is working hard to get rid of in our neighborhood. As a result it’s getting pretty scarce, and this year I only got about eight pounds from Hive 2.
Speaking of honey, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer closed out 2008 with an excellent two-part series on Honey Laundering by investigative reporter, Andrew Schneider. Some facts from the story, some interesting, some disturbing:
Another story about honeybees caught my eye recently. Researchers in Australia discovered that cocaine affects bees in ways that are similar to how the drug affects humans. Not only do bees get extremely excited when fed a low dose of cocaine, they also experience withdrawal symptoms when it’s withheld. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology (the press release reads much better than the journal’s abstract).