La Nina Beekeeping

   
     The La Nina weather pattern is cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean (3-5 degrees C.) resulting in colder temperatures and above average precipitation for us in Vancouver.  We have experienced these conditions through the winter with record snowfall in the local mountains and this weather pattern has continued through the early part of spring.

   
     As beekeepers we are always acutely aware of the temperature and rainfall and it's effects on our bees foraging particularly in the early spring.  This is a time of great potential brood development with the fruit trees in blossom (pollen) but because of the wet, cool spring both brood development and fruit production will suffer this year.  Although our bees will collect pollen and nectar at colder temperatures we don't get major colony foraging until it's 12 C. (53 F.) and sunny.  In Vancouver we have positive and negative honey bee food accumulation months.  This will vary on your specific location but for our urban apiary the positive months are April 1 through to October 1 with March and October dependent on weather conditions.  This year both March and April were negative.


        How does this effect spring beekeeping management?  For those who supplement their bees' diet feeding of both carbohydrates (sugar) and protein or protein supplement (to stimulate brood development) will be more important.  Keep in mind that below about 12 C. (54 fahrenheit) the bees won't take a liquid syrup as they are unable to process it (Feeding Bees in Winter).
       In order to carry out spring management we must assess the health of our hives.  Many sources (mostly southern) will insist you cannot inspect your frames until 15 C. (60 fahrenheit) for fear of chilling the brood.  Some northern beekeepers would have to wait til well into May for this.  Bees are hardier than most people think.  Peeking briefly into a hive during winter on a non snowy day to assess the food supply is fine as is inspecting the brood at 10 C. (50 fahrenheit).  Use common sense and minimize exposure.  This from the Huron City Bee Company in Michigan,
"How cold is too cold to inspect my hive?"
I hear this question quite often at this time of year. Let me just say, I was late one year and needed inspection papers to transport my hives. So, one January morning, at 28 degrees, the state inspector and I opened the hives and inspected brood frames VERY quickly. The result was no detectable loss of brood. We didn't stand around, and we didn't chat while the hives were open. We worked smoothly, so as to disturb the cluster as little as possible. And we closed them up as quickly as we could.
On the other hand, I've helped with inspections on a 70 degree day, where the beekeeper took out a frame of brood, stood it up and chatted for 20 minutes about what they found. Then later complained about chilled brood.  See where I'm going with this?  Go in, do what you need to do, and then get out quickly.  However, I want to temper this advice with another question. If you DO find something wrong, what's your plan?  Here in Michigan, it's 42 degrees right now. I wouldn't hesitate to pop open the hives. But, to what end? It's too late to replace a queen if I find one failing. The only thing I can do at this point is combine, and even then, they may remain clustered instead of merging.  The take away message is not to be afraid of opening the hives. But, if you have no courses of action if you find something wrong, why bother?"  I think this is a good year-round philosophy.  I go into my hives with a specific purpose and only when required for responsible colony management.
       For us in Vancouver that means we should be able to do a full inspection by March to assess the queen performance (brood pattern), presence of disease (continued excessive bee poop on hive) or mites (small hive beetle has arrived - Honey Bee Diseases and Parasites) and food supply (B.C. Government Spring Management).  Some of the spring beekeeping chores are: The cluster should be in the upper super so reverse the brood boxes; maintain a reduced entrance to prevent robbing or mice visits; optionally equalize the colonies by adding frames of bees of a strong colony to a weaker colony (Equalization of bee colony strength); cull your old foundation if you do so (Replacing brood comb); swarm prevention (checkerboarding, splits ... ) ;  maintain good ventilation and empty your bottom board of dead bees and debris.  In this article Randy Oliver and Dr. Medhat Nasr (Alberta Provincial Apiculturist) discuss the benefits of early season mite control through the formation of nucs with queen cells and the treatment of those nucs (Early Season Mite Management).
       I have been warned of the presence of nosema in some of this year's New Zealand packages.  Whether that is true or an attempt to boost the sales of fumagillin it's always a good idea to watch for signs of nosema (difficulty digesting food).  Nosema is difficult to diagnose without laboratory equipment (Nosema Assessment).  Some suggest a nosema infected midgut will become swollen, whitish and lose it's visible constrictions (a healthy midgut is tan with visible constrictions) but that is also true of other causes of dysentery.  Symptoms that may suggest the presence of nosema are the lack of population buildup as nosema infected bees tend to skip the nurse bee phase and become young foragers, dying at a young age.  Desperate they will forage at cooler temperatures and will not take syrup if fed.  This from Randy Oliver, "Perhaps the most noticeable effect of N. ceranae infection is the lack of population buildup of infected colonies, due to the premature death of infected foragers. Of interest is that nosema-infected bees tend to forage at cooler temperatures. Woyciechowski (1998) suggests that infected bees may engage in more risky foraging behavior, perhaps sensing that they do not have long to live. Additionally, infected bees may simply fly off to die, exhibiting an “altruistic suicide” to help prevent the infection of nestmates (Kralj 2006).  Another symptom, reported by several, and described by Bob Harrison on Bee-L, is that of bees not taking syrup, and then massively drowning in division board feeders. Bob feels that the symptom of going “off feed” is a good indicator for N. ceranae infection, which can be reversed with a drench of fumagillin syrup.  The drowning behavior may have an explanation in a recent paper by Chris Mayak (2009), in which he found that “N. ceranae imposes an energetic stress on infected bees, revealed in their elevated appetite and hunger level…. infected bees attempt to compensate for the imposed energetic stress by feeding more…” Mayak suggests that such hungry, nutritionally stressed bees, exhibiting risky foraging behavior, might play a role in the depopulation of infected colonies."
        Due to the cool, wet La Nina weather plant development (blossoming) and our swarm season will be delayed by a few weeks.  Other aspects of beekeeping like split creation and queen and local nuc availability will also be delayed.  Also, it appears the price of nucs has risen this year to $225-$250.  The delayed blossoming of plants may create a stronger late season September-October food supply for our bees.  The Weather Network predicts a cool, wet spring and a warmer summer than last year.  "Some years there are strong signals in the global pattern that allow for higher confidence in a seasonal forecast, but unfortunately this is not one of those years. During the next few months, one of the keys to our final summer forecast will be the strength of the developing El NiƱo and whether the warmest water remains just west of South America or whether the warmest water shifts west into the central Pacific."  The La Nina weather pattern can last for a few years but hopefully it will be replaced soon by the warmer El Nino phase.  We'll keep our wings crossed.

  

Telling the Bees


     Bees and beekeeping have held a great importance to many cultures through history particularly prior to the arrival of sugar cane to colder areas of the world.  A European tradition that was held by some beekeepers was referred to as "Telling the Bees".  This involved informing the bees of any important family events like birth, marriage or death.  Beekeepers would often leave small offerings like wedding cake or small sweets for a birth and drape the hives with black cloth or turn the hives away from the house upon death.  It was said that the bees would either die or leave the hives if not told of the death of their keeper.  This tradition was brought to the Americas by immigrants in the 19th century. 



     In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn he wrote:
“And he said if a man owned a beehive and that man died, the bees must be told about it before sun-up next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down and quit work and die. Jim said bees wouldn't sting idiots; but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself, and they wouldn't sting me.”

     Another example of "Telling the Bees" is in England in 1840, a woman upon the death of their keeper leaving an offering of sweets and reciting the poem: 
Your master J.A. has passed away.
But his wife now begs you will freely stay,
and still gather honey for many a day.
Bonny bees, Bonny bees, hear what I say. 

     The process is described in 1901 work of Samuel Adams Drake A book of New England legends and folk lore in prose and poetry:
...goodwife of the house to go and hang the stand of hives with black, the usual symbol of mourning, she at the same time softly humming some doleful tune to herself. (Wikipedia)


This video is of a Dutch beekeeper in l926 telling the bees of a death. A black cloth is draped over one of the hives and he taps on each of the hives to get there attention to deliver the news. In Holland it was customary to use a pipe as a smoker to calm the bees. (Historical Honeybee Articles)

     Here is a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier about "Telling the Bees" of their keepers passing.

Telling the Bees
(The traditional telling the bees of a recent beekeeper passing)
Here is the place; right over the hill
Runs the path I took;
You can see the gap in the old wall still,
And the stepping-stones in the shallow brook.
There is the house, with the gate red-barred,
And the poplars tall;
And the barn's brown length, and the cattle-yard,
And the white horns tossing above the wall.
There are the beehives ranged in the sun;
And down by the brink
Of the brook are her poor flowers, weed-o'errun,
Pansy and daffodil, rose and pink.
A year has gone, as the tortoise goes,
Heavy and slow;
And the same rose blows, and the same sun glows,
And the same brook sings of a year ago.
There's the same sweet clover-smell in the breeze;
And the June sun warm
Tangles his wings of fire in the trees,
Setting, as then, over Fernside farm.
I mind me how with a lover's care
From my Sunday coat
I brushed off the burrs, and smoothed my hair,
And cooled at the brookside my brow and throat.
Since we parted, a month had passed,--
To love, a year;
Down through the beeches I looked at last
On the little red gate and the well-sweep near.
I can see it all now,--the slantwise rain
Of light through the leaves,
The sundown's blaze on her window-pane,
The bloom of her roses under the eaves.
Just the same as a month before,--
The house and the trees,
The barn's brown gable, the vine by the door,--
Nothing changed but the hives of bees.
Before them, under the garden wall,
Forward and back,
Went drearily singing the chore-girl small,
Draping each hive with a shred of black.
Trembling, I listened: The summer sun
Had the chill of snow;
For I knew she was telling the bees of one
Gone on the journey we all must go!
Then I said to myself, 'My Mary weeps
For the dead to-day;
Haply her blind old grandsire sleeps
The fret and the pain of his age away.'
But her dog whined low; on the doorway sill,
With his cane to his chin,
The old man sat; and the chore-girl still
Sung to the bees stealing out and in.
And the song she was singing ever since
In my ear sounds on:
'Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence!
Mistress Mary is dead and gone!'

     A poem by by Katherine Tynan (l918)
Tell it to the bees, lest they
Umbrage take and fly away, 
That the dearest boy is dead, 
Who went singing, blithe, and dear, 
By the golden hives last year. 
Curly-head, ah, curly head!
Tell them that the summer’s over, 
Over mignonette and clover;
Oh, speak low and very low!
Say that he was blithe and bonny, 
Good as gold and sweet as honey, 
All too late the roses blow!
Say he will not come again, 
Not in any sun or rain, 
Heart’s delight, ah, heart’s delight!
Tell them that the boy they knew
Sleeps out under rain and dew
In the night, ah, in the night!
by Katherine Tynan (l918)

     Here is a musical rendition (live) of the poem "The Bee-Boy's Song" by Rudyard Kipling which depicts the practice of "Telling the Bees" sung by Rosie Hodgson.

Bees! Bees! Hark to your bees!
"Hide from your neigbours as much as you please,
But all that has happened, to us you must tell,
Or else we will give you no honey to sell!"

A maiden in her glory,
Upon her wedding - day,
Must tell her Bees the story,
Or else they'll fly away.
Fly away -- die away --
Dwindle down and leave you!
But if you don't deceive your Bees,
Your Bees will not deceive you.

Marriage, birth or buryin',
News across the seas,
All you're sad or merry in,
You must tell the Bees.
Tell 'em coming in an' out,
Where the Fanners fan,
'Cause the Bees are just about
As curious as a man!

Don't you wait where the trees are,
When the lightnings play,
Nor don't you hate where Bees are,
Or else they'll pine away.
Pine away -- dwine away --
Anything to leave you!
But if you never grieve your Bees,
Your Bees'll never grieve you.

by Rudyard Kipling

     There is also a tradition called "Asking the Bees" where a new beekeeper "Asks the Bees" to accept them as their keeper and to impart their wisdom to them.  
     Emily sent me a wonderful story of the prayers read at the funeral of Clive Watson, a much loved leader and supporter of the beekeeping community.  These are the prayers that were read to his hives (Telling the Bees).   
     With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, John Chapple, the Palace beekeeper had the sad task of informing the royal bees of their master's passing (Telling the Bees from Bee Culture). He placed black ribbons around the hives and explained that King Charles III is their new master. “You knock on each hive and say, ‘The mistress is dead, but don’t you go. Your master will be a good master to you.’”   


    I hope that upon my passing someone informs my bees.  This is a film about a son informing the bees of his father's passing and deciding their future.