Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Weekly 101 (4/20/11)

I have no internet at home right now (it went up in smoke), so please bear with my lame update.

For those of you who may have missed it on my calendar page, there is a showing of Vanishing of the Bees happening Thursday the 21st (tomorrow)at 6PM, sponsored by Whole Foods!
Vanishing of the Bees

http://www.vanishingbees.com/events/?event_id=191

Hosted as part of the Whole Foods 'Do Something Reel' Film Festival

Time : Thursday, April 21 2011 6.00 PM to 12.00 AM
Venue:City Cinemas Village East
Address
181-189 2nd Avenue
& East 12th St
New York, NY. 10012

Tickets are $13
For more information contact 212-529-6799
http://www.villageeastcinema.com
http://www.dosomethingreel.com/.
After the film, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A featuring YOURS TRULY, Jim Fischer from the NYC Beekeeping Group, my beekeeping apprentice and Slow Foods International Biodiversity Wizard Emily Vaughn, and other cool like-minded folks! Exciting!


Also exciting, I am going to be giving two short talks on beekeeping in the city at the Brooklyn Children's Museum on Friday the 22nd as part of their Earth Day Celebration!
Celebrate Earth: Busy City Bees

11:30 and 1.30, for ages 4 and up

Farming is the last thing most people think happens in NYC, but bee farmers help keep all community and window gardens full of fruits and veggies. Find out why bees are so important and what it is like raising bees in the city.
If you stop by, they'll be showing a short film and I'll be answering questions starting at 11.30AM and 1.30PM!

I'm going to have cool props and a cooler assistant (Emily!)

Admission to the museum is only $7.50. The chance to see NYC's largest snake is worth that price alone! It's shedding! So cool!


For those of you that have missed the latest crop of Beekeeping 101 courses offered in the city this spring, Meg Paska is teaching a late session of her excellent "Rooftop Beekeeping 101" course at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, starting May 1st.
Beekeeping isn’t just for farmers anymore! Learn the ins-and-outs of keeping bees in an urban environment. Maintaining an apiary is easier than you think. All one needs is a relatively accessible rooftop with a lot of sun, 15 minutes a week and tolerance for the occasional sting. With some patience, you can harvest your own distinctive, local honey and contribute to the pollination of your community’s flora!

In spite of what you might think, Honeybees thrive in urban areas like New York City. With an abundance of flowering trees and weeds, pollinators have their pick of as much nectar and pollen as any country bee might. In addition, they don’t come into contact with pesticides like rural bees do, so colonies tend to be healthier.

In this class you will learn about honeybee anatomy and behavior, hive function and construction, neighborly relations, urban beekeeping pros and cons, disease and pests, legality and safety and much more. You will leave this class with enough understanding and confidence to start your own colony in the Spring.
It'll be too late to start a colony for 2010, but that doesn't mean you can't start getting ready for 2011! The class is $80 for 3rdWard members and $100 for non-members. Spaces are limited and Meg is a great beekeeper to learn from, so snag a spot WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Sign up at www.3rdWard.com.


Finally, the NYC Beekeeping Group was kind enough to remind me that they have an upcoming seminar on solitary bees on Wednesday, April 20th! If you aren't ready (or interested) in keeping honeybees, hosting a solitary bee nest is an absolutely fantastic way to help support native pollinators with minimum fuss!
Bee Lovers !

Sign up now at the Solitaries Program (form link) to be included in the Bee Lovers's Solitary Bees program this year. You'll receive a nest with bees ready to hatch, and two seminars: an Introduction presented on [April 20th], and a Fall Lab Seminar where you'll check the health of your nest and discover what other pollinators may have laid there. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR BEES SATURDAY APRIL 16th AT THE HABANA EARTHDAY EVENT (12-5)

We're collecting $25 per unit to defray costs. All funds are used to support exclusively charitable and public purposes. Please bring payment, check or cash (checks preferred) when you pick up your bees.
$25 is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of helping to maintain a healthy and diverse population of pollinators!

Remember to RSVP at their website, www.NYCBeekeeping.com.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Weekly 101 (Meg Paska Edition)

I have been informed that I missed a couple of upcoming events in my latest Weekly 101 update! Not being one to let INJUSTICE stand, here is a special update, just to make up for it!

First and most excitingly, the Honeysuckle Rosies, a Women's Beekeeping Social Club based in Brooklyn (and the brainchild of Meg Paska), is hosting its FIRST EVER Gab-N-Guzzle.
Come out to the BACK BAR at the Bedford (on Bedford and N 11th) on Tuesday, April 19th for some drinks and bee-talk. This will be a great opportunity for beekeepers in the area to share experiences from the past season and share what they are planning for this current season.

The Bedford has graciously allowed for us to gather at their fine establishment where they serve really great food and outstanding drinks at a reasonable price.

So come on out, all you beekeepers and wanna-bees!

Check out our Fan Page here: http://www.facebook.com/HoneysuckleRosies
It's free, it'll be fun, and there'll be drankin'. I'll be there wearing plaid, trying not to giggle at the name of the club, and sharing my BEE WISDOM. It starts at 7.

GOOOOO!

Meg Paska, on a good day.


For those of you that have missed the latest crop of Beekeeping 101 courses offered in the city this spring, Meg Paska is teaching a late session of her excellent "Rooftop Beekeeping 101" course at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, starting May 1st.
Beekeeping isn’t just for farmers anymore! Learn the ins-and-outs of keeping bees in an urban environment. Maintaining an apiary is easier than you think. All one needs is a relatively accessible rooftop with a lot of sun, 15 minutes a week and tolerance for the occasional sting. With some patience, you can harvest your own distinctive, local honey and contribute to the pollination of your community’s flora!

In spite of what you might think, Honeybees thrive in urban areas like New York City. With an abundance of flowering trees and weeds, pollinators have their pick of as much nectar and pollen as any country bee might. In addition, they don’t come into contact with pesticides like rural bees do, so colonies tend to be healthier.

In this class you will learn about honeybee anatomy and behavior, hive function and construction, neighborly relations, urban beekeeping pros and cons, disease and pests, legality and safety and much more. You will leave this class with enough understanding and confidence to start your own colony in the Spring.
It'll be too late to start a colony for 2010, but that doesn't mean you can't start getting ready for 2011! The class is $80 for 3rdWard members and $100 for non-members. Spaces are limited and Meg is a great beekeeper to learn from, so snag a spot WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Sign up at www.3rdWard.com.


Finally, the NYC Beekeeping Group was kind enough to remind me that they have an upcoming seminar on solitary bees on Wednesday, April 20th! If you aren't ready (or interested) in keeping honeybees, hosting a solitary bee nest is an absolutely fantastic way to help support native pollinators with minimum fuss!
Bee Lovers !

Sign up now at the Solitaries Program (form link) to be included in the Bee Lovers's Solitary Bees program this year. You'll receive a nest with bees ready to hatch, and two seminars: an Introduction presented on [April 20th], and a Fall Lab Seminar where you'll check the health of your nest and discover what other pollinators may have laid there. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR BEES SATURDAY APRIL 16th AT THE HABANA EARTHDAY EVENT (12-5)

We're collecting $25 per unit to defray costs. All funds are used to support exclusively charitable and public purposes. Please bring payment, check or cash (checks preferred) when you pick up your bees.
$25 is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of helping to maintain a healthy and diverse population of pollinators!

Remember to RSVP at their website, www.NYCBeekeeping.com.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Honey! It's Complicated!

Have you ever gone to the store and seen a shelf of fifty different kinds of honey and wondered to yourself, "Why is there so much damn honey?"

I'll tell you why.

Honey is complicated.

There are almost as many varieties of monofloral honey as there are varieties of flowers, and so many more than that if you take into account the infinitely variable mixtures that we call “wildflower” honey. Last Sunday, I brought my modest collection of ten different varietals of honey over to my friend Martina's backyard farm for a casual honey tasting. Fueled by honey-sweetened cocktails and homemade dill butter, and joined by Patrick Tobin, we tasted each variety in turn.



So what exactly makes buckwheat honey so different from, say, orange honey?

It’s important to note that all nectar-based honeys, regardless of variety, are created in the same basic manner. A forager bee collects nectar from blooming plants, accumulating as much as seventy milligrams (85% of the body weight of an average bee!) from up to 1500 individual flowers per trip. Once back in the hive the forager passes its nectar load to a house bee, which will begin to “ripen” the nectar into honey. The house bee adds enzymes, bacteria, and yeasts, which start to break down and reassemble the natural sugars contained in the nectar into a variety of new compounds. As these reactions take place, the house bee starts to reduce the water content of the nectar, from a starting concentration of between 40% and 95%. It does this by forcing a droplet of the digesting nectar onto its proboscis, stretching it out to increase the surface area of the liquid and fanning its wings to evaporate the water. By doing this, and continually adding more and more nectar, the water content may be reduced to around 17%. At this point, the house bee will store the finished honey in a cell and coat it with a thin layer of fresh wax in order to preserve it.

Tim: This is really interesting honey!
Martina: This is a really interesting drink!

The simple answer to the question of why there are so many kinds of honey is obvious. Honey is generally categorized according to the flower or nectar source it was made from, and that source determines the characteristics of the end product. Buckwheat honey comes from hives surrounded by fields of blooming buckwheat. Orange blossom honey comes from hives placed in citrus orchards. The bees gather nectar from a single source simply because there is nothing else around (oh boy, monoculture!), and it's that singular nectar source or mix of sources that determines the specific aroma, flavor, and color of a honey. Buckwheat honey is buckwheat honey, whether it comes from Pennsylvania or Canada.

The real answer is, of course, a lot more complicated. The average honey is made up of:
17.2% water
38.4% fructose
30.3% glucose
1.3% sucrose
7.3% maltose
1.4% oligosaccharides
1.1% acids
0.17% ash (minerals)
PLUS enzymes, proteins, vitamins, bacteria, yeasts, and pollen.
These, of course, are approximate values, and can vary hugely from honey to honey.

Honey, as you might expect, is about 95% percent sugar of one kind or another (by dry weight). The ratio of fructose to glucose is different from honey to honey and can make a huge different in the perceived sweetness and other qualities of the honey, such as texture and the rate of crystallization. The 1.4% percent average of oligosaccharides may consist of any mixture of complex sugars such as isomaltose, nigerose, turanose, maltulose, kojibiose, αβ-trehalose, gentiobiose, laminaribiose, maltotriose, 1-kestose, panose, isomaltosyl glucose, erlose, isomaltosyltriose, theanderose, centose, isopanose, isomaltosyltetraose, isomaltosylpentaose, and raffinose (to name a few), all of which make some small contribution to the overall taste, depth, and subtlety of the whole. Most of those complex sugars aren't found in the original nectar, but are actually formed during the ripening process via the actions of the enzymes, acids, and symbiotic microorganisms that are added to the nectar in the bee's gut.

Argh, snake, it's a snake! Of buckwheat, buckwheat, buckwheat honey.

People are always surprised when I tell them that honey is quite acidic, but with an average pH of 3.9, most honey is as acidic as diluted table vinegar and contains almost 10 different acids! Gluconic acid, which is the most common and accounts for most of the acidity of honey, is made by the bee-excreted enzyme glucose oxidase and some of the naturally occurring bacteria that exists in the hive. Think of the acid in honey as a flavor enhancer, like salt in baking. You don't (or at least shouldn't) taste it in the end product, but without it the result would be flat, lifeless, and boring.

That's all the easy stuff. Minerals are where it starts to get a little bit harder to explain, but I'll give it a shot. The concentration of minerals in a honey is highly correlated to its color. Dark honeys tend to contain much higher amounts of minerals, particularly potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, chlorine, sulfur, and silicon. Unfortunately, not a huge amount of research has been done into the causes of honey coloration, but the current best guess is that it's a mix of many different factors such as the ratio of sugars, the caramelization of those sugars by the natural acid content of honey, and the mineral content.

This sure is a tasty tableau.

The enzymes, proteins, vitamins, microorganisms, and pollen are what's left over, and probably worth a post all their own. The short answer is that honey is chock full of naturally bee-produced enzymes, symbiotic bacteria, yeasts, and protozoa that live within the bee's digestive system and contribute to the ripening process, and small amounts of vitamins and proteins leached from pollen accidentally mixed in during the production process.

Finally, we're left with the golden question.

Why is honey so good?

I have no clue, and frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Honey is indefinable.

Honey is amazing.

Honey is magic.


Check out Patrick Tobin's take on the honey tasting and see some more pictures at his blog: www.patrickftobin.com

Martina is planning on posting her impression of the honey tasting as well. It's not up yet, but check out her sweet urban farming blog in the meantime: www.farmtina.com

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Weekly 101 (4/12/11)

Coming right back at the same Bee-Time, same Bee-Channel, it's...

ANOTHER FREE CLASS HOSTED BY THE NYC BEEKEEPING GROUP! HOORAY!

The Topic Today:
Continuing the transition to field work, tonight we'll step through a colony's first summer in terms of what you as a beekeeper will look for to determine that your bees are "making progress."

Picking up where we left off last week, we'll go over:

- bee inspections,

- hive handling,

- and other practical skills (like how to light your smoker),

IF YOU ARE A FIRST YEAR BEEKEEPER OR HAVE RECENTLY JOINED US AND WANT TO ASSIST THIS YEAR, THIS WILL BE AN ESPECIALLY VALUABLE SESSION.

We'll also distribute jacket/veils and pheromone lures to those who ordered with the group.

Almost everyone has received and assembled their woodenware by now. Please reserve questions about gear details for the end of the session or email nycbeekeeping@gmail.com ahead of time so we make the best use of our class time.

As usual, class is being held at the Central Park Arsenal, tonight (Tuesday, April 12th) at 6.30PM. Remember to RSVP on their website (http://www.nycbeekeeping.com/) or by emailing nycbeekeeping@gmail.com

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Oh God... I'm on Twitter.

Servin' up bee facts and answering questions!

Follow me @BoroughBees!

I even put a fancy little widget on the right of my blog so you can see what I'm jabberin' about. So fancy! So modern! Such a sell-out!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Weekly 101 (4/5/11)

And back to our regularly scheduled programming, we have classes this week!

Two of them. Both of them tonight, actually.

For the beginners, the NYC Beekeeping Group is hosting one of their free winter course lectures tonight:
How To Build and Paint Your Hive, And Get Your Bees Into Their New Home
or
"Wooden? Where?"

The last few days have been a whirlwind getting equipment distributed so please forgive this late reminder about the class. Even if you got the hang of assembly at one of the pickup days, you may want to attend if you are getting bees for the first year, or for the second.

If you are getting a package and equipment in the Spring group order but have not picked up your equipment yet, do not fail to make arrangements with us as you need time to assemble and let paint dry before your bees arrive!

Tuesday evening we'll review & demonstrate equipment assembly, setup, and cover getting your package of bees into your hive.

We will also review what you'll need to watch for in the first few weeks after your package arrives.

If you are new this is a very good entry point as we begin the transition to hands on and field work, so please email if you want to begin learning with us and we will get you registered for the program and seated for Tuesday.
Everyone is welcome!
It's happening tonight at the Central Park Arsenal at 830 5th Ave, and it starts at 6.30. As always, RSVP with the group at their website, www.nycbeekeeping.com.

For the more adventurous or advanced beekeepers, the NYC Beekeepers Association is hosting a talk on small cell beekeeping:
Dear Bee Lovers,

Join us on April 5 for a presentation on small-cell beekeeping. NYCBA member and long-term naturalist and gardener Juliana Zinger will discuss the "natural cell" method of beekeeping as a component of organic, low-treatment techniques in mitigating the impact of Varroa mites.

Juliana is a Manhattan mom whose hives are located on Long Island’s North Shore. This spring, she will be increasing from one to three hives and will be converting to small-cell beekeeping on the two new hives. In other insect-related news, she and her family raise hundreds of praying mantises every year to support biodiversity in their garden.
See you at the meeting!
The meeting starts at 7 and is hosted at the Seafarers & International House at 123 East 15th Street. The meeting is free, membership in the Association is $20.

I can't help but mention that I am annoyed that YET AGAIN, the talks have been scheduled on the same night.

Come on guys. Can't we all just get along?

Frame Assembly: DIY

Y'all guess what was in that cool new cardboard box I showed off last week?

That's right.


Frames. Glorious Frames.


Building frames is just about the MOST fun you can have in beekeeping. With all that gluing and assembly and hammering, how can you go wrong?! It's like all of my favourite things wrapped up into one soul-sucking chore that seems to never end.

It really isn't all that bad. Once you get into the swing of things, you barely have to pay attention and the frames start to come together really quickly. Plus, if you build it right, a good frame will last forever. I'm still using wood frames that I put together over a decade ago. I've had to cut out the comb and renew the foundation a couple times, sure, but the frame itself is just as solid as when I first built it, with the addition of a lovely propolis patina.

As with all other aspects of beekeeping, there is much debate over the best way to build frames. In my opinion, they're pretty much all fine, but for the sake of simplicity I'm going to show you my preferred method.

All (wooden) frames consist of the same basic parts: (1) top bar, (2) side bars, and (1 or 2, depending on the style) bottom bar(s). Depending on whether you are using wired wax or plastic foundation, they might be constructed in a slightly different manner, but the basics are the same.


Today, I am going to be building deep frames for wired wax foundation, with a wedged top bar, V'd side bars, and split bottom bars. V'd side bars? Let me show you what I mean:

Check out that sweet V, bro.

V'd side bars make it easier to remove frames by reducing the contact area between frames within the hive. I like them, but they make assembly a bit tricky because you have to pay attention to what direction they are facing. As I assemble frames, I prefer to keep the V on the right side bar facing me and the V on the left side bar facing away from me, like so:


If you have side bars like this, make sure you are consistent in how you orient them. If you have side bars with two flat sides, it doesn't matter!

SO.

LET'S DO THIS THING.

First, put a little splotch of glue in the notch on the top of each side bar:



Then, JAM IT ALL UP IN THAT TOP BAR. Like so:



Nail each side bar through the top of the top bar. Do it good. I use a single 1.5 inch galvanized nail. If there is any excess glue, wipe it off.



Once you've gotten both side bars nailed to the top, flip the whole assembly over and dot the notches on the bottom of the side bars with some glue.


Insert the bottom bar(s), nail it/them down, and you're (almost) done.


If you're really gung-ho about it (like me) then you should take the time to put in an extra nail through the flat side of the side bars into the top bar. These extra nails make the frame remarkably durable, but has the flip side of making it nigh on impossible to take apart and repair. I figure that frames are cheap and having them come apart when you're working a hive is a huge pain.


In the end, you're left with joints that are stronger than the wood the frame itself is made from.



MAGICAL.

Rinse, repeat x 1 million.

So what about adding the foundation?

I didn't cover it in this article! I prefer not to add foundation until a day or two before I put the frames in the hive. The stuff is a pain- it's brittle when it's cold and it sags when it's hot. Just like me.

Plus, my new foundation hasn't come yet. Stick around for a while and I'll post a follow-up showing you how to DO IT YOURSELF. AWESOME!!!

And in closing: LOOK! A SLIDESHOW!!!