Apiary News.
The season has ended on a high note for me. Although the weather has cooled with the arrival of much-needed rain, the bees are still collecting nectar from Himalayan balsam, and the Apiguard varroa treatments have been successful. I’ve been able to work with my latest beginner beekeeper friend, Louise, who has been helping prepare the bees for winter and getting to know the colony of honey bees that will be moving to her garden next season.
Artist Visits.
I’ve had a lovely flying visit from Australian artist Samara Hyde-Page who is on her way home for a few months to her parent’s macadamia nut farm in NSW. Samara brought some amazingly warm and sunny weather north and we explored Cawdor Castle and gardens on her one full day. We walked over in the morning and saw the free-living colony of honey bees in the eaves of the castle. The garden was still in full flower and the Tasmanian leatherwood tree humming with pollinators.
After lunch on the patio when we got home, we went beekeeping and took the queen excluders off and let the queens go wherever they want in double brood box overwintering system. The upper boxes are full of stores and I will reverse the hive bodies in late spring to give more space and try to hold off swarming till after the oil seed rape/canola crop has flowered.
Samara is a natural and wants to start beekeeping when she gets home so she had her first lesson with me. Western honey bees and Australian native bees are used to pollinate macadamia nuts and Samara has promised us a guest blog when has had time to study them, so, watch this space!
The Bee Tree.
We walked to the wild bee tree on the morning of Samara’s departure. The colony was very busy and a little defensive so we didn’t spend long, but good to know that they are doing fine and the nest has been continuously occupied since spring 2019. A sting on her head from a bee entangled in her hair has not put Samara off!
Tomorrow, I am off to sunny Spain on the early flight out of Inverness for a family wedding and will be out of touch till 18th. There’s no internet where we’re staying initially and I am only bringing some books to read. I’m having a “digital detox” as Carol Gunn says. So, a break from blog writing too!
Carol Gunn is Famous.
Did you know that Carol Gunn is officially the best small honey producer in the UK? We are all very proud of her. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/6545805/carol-gunn-scottish-honey-beekeeper/?utm_content=191138508&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-153054651388736
New Book Review.
I was surprised when Princeton University Press sent me another The Lives of Bees book to review but this is totally different from Professor Tom Seeley’s The Lives of Bees and I think that you will like this one too.
Title: The Lives of Bees; A Natural History of Our Planet’s Bee Life
Authors: Christina Grozinger & Harland Patch
Published: 2024, Princeton University Press
ISBN: 978-0-691-24729-8
Hardback
Cost: £30
Available: Princeton University Press, Northern Bee Books, and other good bookstores
The Lives of Bees; A Natural History of Our Planet’s Bee Life is more than just a good guide to the fascinating life histories of bees across the world; it draws attention to some of the most important animals in our ecosystems at a crucial time when raising awareness might influence their survival chances. The authors are scientists and leading experts in their fields. Dr Christina Grozinger is the Publius Vergilius Marco Professor of Entomology and Director of the centre for Pollinator Research at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr Harland Patch is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Entomology, and Director of Pollinator Programming at the Arboretum of the Pennsylvania State University.
The photography is breathtakingly beautiful and there are clear well reproduced pictures and diagrams on mostly every one of the 288 pages. There are eight chapters, glossary, index, and references for further reading. The chapters are detailed, and topics include; how the public can improve pollinator habitats in simple ways, how bees build homes, how they find food, development from egg to mature adult, reproduction, the evolution of social bees and how they are categorised and live together, how bees stay well and fight disease, and the relationship between humans and bees from early times up to the challenging era of climate change and fragile habitats.
There is so much for everyone to learn from this book which will be useful for students of entomology, and beekeepers studying for advanced beekeeping exams. It will also delight the curious general public eager to know more about bees and how best to support these pivotal pollinators.
Did you know that some female ground nesting bees have abdominal plates fit for excavating soil and can dig as deep as 16 feet/5 metres underground? We learn about many different bees from all over the world and how the floral oil collectors of South America have evolved to live with heavy rainfall in French Guiana. Besides utilising oil for nutrition, because it is energetically denser than nectar, they line their nest cells with waterproofing oil to protect their offspring from flooding.
You will be astounded to know how much research has already been carried out to inform what we know about biology and behaviour across bee species according to evolutionary conditions which have shaped differences and similarities. Giant Asian honey bees build nests in the open on cliff faces and perform waggle dances on the bottom of the comb where communication takes place. Honey is stored at the top of the combs making it possible to be harvested sustainably by hunters removing small pieces of honey comb and allowing the holes to be repaired and refilled in by the bees.
The explanation of round and waggle dances as separate behaviours might confuse readers because we know from recent studies, by several authors, that round dances are merely waggle dances with very short waggle runs (to advertise very nearby source of food or water).
Evolutionary biology underpins this enthralling narrative and we discover that nocturnal sweat bees have specialised vision to accumulate more light to allow them to forage from twilight till dawn. This strategy might also help avoid forage competition. We glimpse into the world of chemical communication and learn how some bumble bees and sweat bees transfer an anti-aphrodisiac chemical to females after mating to reduce their attractiveness to other males of the species. The authors explain the advantages of the haploid/diploid system in bee species and discuss sex determination in detail.
Informative side-bars present the reader with further information making this book more interesting and useful to every reader. The goals of the authors are certainly achieved in this publication which will raise awareness of all pollinating bees across the world.
Autumn Abundance.
The brambles (blackberries) have been sweeter and tastier this season than in a long time. With a little home grown apple, they make a tasty pie. The pastry was not a rip roaring success so I haven’t shown it, but it tasted pretty good. The blackbird in the middle allows steam to rise without making the pastry soggy. The problem with my pastry was using a new recipe for French sugar pastry that called for sugar, flour, butter, and egg yolks all mixed together by hand and left to rest in fridge for an hour; it would not stay in one piece to cover the pie neatly.
Safe travels Ann and enjoy your time.
Thanks, Rick.