2008 February

February 2008
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Our next Hands-On Beekeeping field trip!

By Mark | February 29, 2008

Okay, so you can purchase the hive, you can even purchase a queen and bees, but what do you do then? Maybe you have even read the books that are recommended. You are ready… yet you are still waiting for something or someone to help you get started. Well, you are in luck! BASC offers field trips to an experienced member’s beeyard for hands-on introductory beekeeping sessions.

Our next hands-on beekeeping field trip is going to be sometime in May of this year. The exact date is vague at this time as we are working with the calendar. However, as we get closer to May, the exact date and time will be available to all members and potential members that want to participate. Membership in our club is only $8 for the entire year and includes events like these as well as access to library resources of books, films, trade magazines, and supplier catalogs. This is not nearly as important as the access members have to experienced beekeepers found at every BASC meeting. We want you learn and enjoy this hobby as much as we do, and that is saying a lot.

We try to hold our “Beekeeping 101″ sessions at least 3 times a year so that new and potential beekeepers can get physically involved with handling a hive of bees. We also include practical skills like assembling wooden hive components, wiring wax to new frames, and extracting honey from comb. The day ends with either a relaxing lunch or bbq to unwind and chat with other beekeepers.

Please contact us be email and/or check back to this site for updated fieldtrip information.

Topics: General Beekeeping, Our Club | No Comments »

Healthy Bee Products

By Mark | February 17, 2008

Yahoo Health has an article discussing the many healthy products made by bees. Some include: honey for sore throat, honey as the ultimate antibiotic for cuts and scrapes, royal jelly, pollen and diet, and uses for propolis.

Please go to: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/11249/the-healthy-buzz-about-bee-products/

Topics: General Beekeeping, Honey and Health | No Comments »

Why Choose Beekeeping as a Hobby or Profession?

By Mark | February 5, 2008

Why Choose Beekeeping as a Hobby or Profession?

Beekeeping truly is one of the worlds oldest professions, closely linked to the development of agriculture in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Though we have learned much about how honey bees accomplish such amazing things, each new discovery leads to new questions to ask, and new secretes to explore.

Beekeeping engages the mind and benefits the physical health of people of all ages and walks of life. It is an interesting and productive outdoor avocation. The level of physical activity required can be as mild or as rigorous as you like. The hive products can benefit your health. And the delicious honey produced from just a few hives can produce extra income.

Working with the seasons of the hive can “put you in tune” with the complexities of our plant world and with the seasons and cycles of nature. For example, honey made from the nectar of each type of flower has a distinct color and flavor. So the color and taste change during the year as different flowering plants fulfill their life cycles.

Honeybee products have been valued for thousands of years for their nutrition and health benefits, and for their medicinal uses (and may other uses as well).

Honey is one of the oldest known medicines, revered by the ancient Egyptians for its healing properties. Hypocrites, the Greek “Father of Medicine,” used honey in many of his prescriptions.

Royal Jelly, a hormone-rich immune system enhancer, has been used for centuries by the Chinese as the secret of a long, healthy, youthful life.

Pollen has long been highly regarded for its concentrated, energizing nutrients and as an anti-inflammatory. Propolis is such an effective antibacterial that it was used in the Egyptian mummification process as a preservative.

Beeswax is a standard base for many medicinal ointments and nourishing skin creams (and dozens of other fascinating uses).

Even one colony of honeybees can substantially increase production from your fruit trees and vegetable and flower gardens. Sale of excess honey can more than pay for your hobby. And just think of the pride you will feel at presenting gifts of your own pure, natural, delicious and beautiful honey to you friends and family!

Topics: General Beekeeping | No Comments »

Why are Honey Bees and Beekeeping Important?

By Mark | February 4, 2008

Why are Honey Bees and Beekeeping Important?

Honeybees do much more than just make honey. one third of the U.S. diet depends on honey bee pollination. Honey bees provide 80% of pollination for vegetable, fruit, seed and flower crops. They also pollinate the forage crops fed to dairy and meat animals. In this way, they add at least $10 billinon to the value of more than 90 U.S. crops. Honey bees also provide $150 million in honey each year, and at least another $50 million in beeswax used in cosmetics, polish, and candles.

Topics: General Beekeeping | No Comments »

Superboost

By Mark | February 4, 2008

Superboost

A new product has been developed that is designed to increase the effectiveness of both pollination and brood build-up. The product is called Superboost, developed by Pherotech International, Inc. This product is being distributed by Mann Lake Ltd, who brought literature and some sample materials to the California State Beekeepers Convention last November. At the time this product was not yet avaible, but as of this January it is available for purchase through Mann Lake Ltd.

Superboost is a hanging pad that releases a combination of 10 pheramones that specifically stimulate brood rearing. Pherotech developed Superboost in collaboration with Texas A & M University. This pad is hung between two of the frames in a hive and lasts 30 days. According to the material, Superboost is to promote:

Increases in colony growth rate in summer and winter.
Increase queen feeding and egg laying rate.
Increase honey production.
Stimulate feeding on pollen patties and liquid feed.
Lower the age of first foraging by worker bees.
Increase the pollen load of each foraging worker.
Increase the number of young worker bees.
Increase the number of foragers by up to 150%.
Inhibit swarming.

That seems like quite a claim by this product, yet this was all from the product promotional flyer I received at the convention. I thought I would try out this product, so I purchased two orders (4 wafers) of these pheramone pads. I should be able to do my own observational testing on 4 similar hives and 4 control hives (2 hives each at two different location) to see the visual difference in brood buildup this Spring. The overall idea with this product is to increase brood buildup before sending bees to pollinate almond fields. It is postulated that these wafers of superboost may soon be required by almond growers in order to maintain adequate forage bees to meet the pollination rates needed to set a sufficient crop.

Topics: Pollination | No Comments »

Books for Beginners

By Mark | February 3, 2008

Many questions that new and potential beekeepers have usually ends with book recommendations. Books do not replace actual physical experience, yet the opposite is also true. The knowledge and true reasoning behind honey bee behavior, physiology, and pathogens can not be correctly understood by simple observation. Beekeeping for Dummies

Beekeeping for Dummies is probably the best book for beginners. The dummies books have a strange title, yet they normally do great research in finding an author to best represent a topic. Picking up a book that is too advanced/difficult to read to start with will only turn you off to the topic.

Backyard Beekeeper

Backyard Beekeeper is another terrific book for the hobby beekeeper. Either as a beginning book or for the more experienced hobbiest, there is great info in this book.

ABC XYZ ABC &XYZ of Bee Culture is an example of a more advanced book, both in scope and size. This book is setup like an encyclopedia of beekeeping related topics. A must have for all serious beekeepers. Make sure you get yourself this new edition, Amazon doesn’t seem to carry this edition yet. You can find it through most beekeeping suppliers.

Hive and the Honeybee

The Hive and the Honey Bee is the book to buy when you have read your first two above. This book is huge! This book started as a small book written by L.L. Langstroth and has expanded through the years to include 22 chapters by 33 authors. Beekeeping history, anatomy and physiology of honey bees, bee behavior, techniques, equipment, extracting, honey plants, diseases, business considerations, and many other topics are covered in here somewhere. This is severely advanced reading and is not user-friendly to a new/potential beekeeper, yet is essential for the library of anyone interested or progressing along.

Topics: Books/Magazines | No Comments »

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Our next Hands-On Beekeeping field trip!

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Why are Honey Bees and Beekeeping Important?

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Books for Beginners