thoughtsandtalks

Flanders 1500’s. The hives were tall straw skeps with a flight entrance well above the base. The skeps were housed in a thatched shelter near the farm buildings. Pigs and poultry were kept near the hives. Women, children and men were involved in beekeeping activities and all wore protective clothing. Similar hives were used up to the 1900’s. (The world history of beekeeping, by Eva Crane).

A Flemish beekeeping scene, by Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1565.
It has been suggested that the men might be stealing the hives.

Meanwhile, wintertime 2010 on a Brussels rooftop garden.
Let’s hope the colonies survive!

Een workshop in 9 voordrachtreeksen van de Imkersbond Brussel. Alle facetten van het beheer van een bijenvolk worden uitgelegd, vanaf de zwerm over de koningin, haar eileg, het broed , de werksters en de mannelijke bijen -de darren-, tot terug naar de zwerm.
adres : CC De Meent, Gemeenveld 34 Alsemberg 1652.

17/10/09 : bestuiving in open lucht (Dr. Michel Asperges)
21/11/09 : de evolutie van de bijenkast (Aloys van den Akker)
19/12/09 : bijenrassen (Roland Vaes)
16/01/10 : bijenwas, een architecturaal verhaal (Roland Vaes)
20/02/10 : evolutie van varroa - inzicht in bijenziekten (Leo Van Malderen)
20/03/10 : imkeren het hele jaar door (Frans Daems)
17/04/10 : moerteelt en zwermcel (Gaston van de Vloet)
15/05/10 : koninginnebrij (Gaston van de Vloet)
19/06/10 : zwermen - kunstzwerm (Aloys van den Akker)

Download here the interview with Aloys van den Akker, lifelong beekeeper and organizer of the workshops.

At the left hand a snapshot of the so-on_hive, populated with Buckfast bees. At the right hand, a snapshot of the okno_hive, populated with European Black bees.

The Buckfast bee is popular among beekeepers and is available from bee breeders in several parts of the world. Most of their qualities are very favorable. They are extremely gentle. Their main drawback is that they are very liberal in their application of propolis to inner surfaces of their hives, thus acting to defeat one of the main purposes of the modern beehive — that combs should be easily removable for inspection.
The European dark bee can be distinguished from other subspecies by their stocky body, abundant thoracal and sparse abdominal hair which is brown, and overall dark coloration; in nigra, there is also heavy dark pigmentation of the wings. Overall, when viewed from a distance, they should appear blackish, or in mellifera, rich dark brown. For breeding pure dark bees according to the standard, details of the wing veins are nowadays considered to be the only reliable distinguishing character.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_bee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_dark_bee

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Honeybees returning to the hive with pollen on their hind legs..
Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae.

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Short screenshotmovie from the webcam pointing into the okno beehive.
Installation of the colony: july 2nd 2009.

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Snapshot of the birth of 2 bees in the so-on hive. Most of the cells are closed and contain pupa’s to be born soon. Open cells contain pollen and honey to feed the larvae.

Within the central brood nest, a single frame of comb will typically have a central disk of eggs, larvae and sealed brood cells which may extend almost to the edges of the frame. Immediately above the brood patch an arch of pollen-filled cells extends from side to side, and above that again a broader arch of honey-filled cells extends to the frame tops. The pollen is protein-rich food for developing larvae, while honey is also food but largely energy rich rather than protein rich. The nurse bees which care for the developing brood secrete a special food called ‘royal jelly’ after feeding themselves on honey and pollen. The amount of royal jelly which is fed to a larva determines whether it will develop into a worker bee or a queen.

Female worker bees :
Almost all the bees in a hive are female worker bees. At the height of summer when activity in the hive is frantic and work goes on non-stop, the life of a worker bee may be as short as 6 weeks; in late autumn, when no brood is being raised and no nectar is being harvested, a young bee may live for 16 weeks, right through the winter. During its life a worker bee performs different work functions in the hive which are largely dictated by the age of the bee:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping

As the upper part (honey harvesting part) of the hive was set without frames, the bees started to build their own wax constructions for the harvesting of honey.
The three constructions, hanging from the cover of the hive, were build over a period of 48 hours.
The first honey of this unconventional hive was harvested beginning of july, good for ± 3kgs of pure gold!