More Bees Coming

We are getting more package bees in from Don the FatBeeMan on May 30.  Please visit our store to order them.

I know it seems late in the season to install a package, but with regular feeding through the summer the bees should get a satisfactory start before heading into winter.  We are building up our own apiary with these friendly bees.

Note that these bees have been raised on small cell foundation (4.9mm), and these small cell bees are reputed to be more resistant to varroa mites then standard cell size (5.4mm) bees.  So consider raising these on small cell foundation, although standard will also work.

NPR Story On Recent Bee Losses

The bees we helped colonize on NPR's new green roof are featured in the audio.

Queen Rearing Essentials, Dr. Larry Connor, Day One -VIDEO

This weekend we had the pleasure of spending three days in the mountains of Virginia, in a town called Syria, to take a queen-rearing class with the noteworthy Dr. Larry Connor.

What a pleasure is was to spend a weekend with such a wise beekeeping rock stare.  And to drive him around in the convertible was a blast.  Dr. Connor has been a prolific author of books about beekeeping.

European Commission Plans for Neonicotinoid Moratorium

A two-year moratorium on the systemic insecticides known as neonicotinoids is slated to kick in no later than Dec. 1 throughout the European Union. The decision was left up to the European Commission after member states failed to come to a qualified majority -- again -- on whether to initiate the two-year ban.

The measure would apply to the application of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin on corn, oil seed rape (canola), apples, carrots, strawberries and other flowering crops. 

The UK, along with seven other member states, voted against the ban. Before the vote, the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Mark Walport publicly opposed the proposal in a Financial Times editorial, painting an apocalyptic outcome of "a resurgence of crop diseases, reduced crop yeilds and economic damage to struggling European economies." As a science adviser, Walport made a few of his own questionable hypotheses that probably wouldn't hold up to a seventh-grade scientific method run-through. On the one hand he stressed the need for "rich ecosystems," but then also noted the need to target our "foe" insects with pesticides, while making sure to spare our "friends." Last I checked, an ecosystem was an equal opportunity employer, running on a vast interconnected network of friends and foes -- sort of like an earthy round of Kumbaya 'round the fire...right?

A Spring Visit to Paris Barns

Willie (with the requisite bedhead)  and I got up early this Sunday to head out to Paris Barns in rural Virginia (Paris, Va) to spend some time with their rescue animals and check on their bees.  One of the pleasures of the DC area is that you don't have to travel very far to find working farms and a completely different lifestyle from the stresses of city life or the comfortable vehicular life of the suburbs.

NPR - Rough Winter

Had a rough winter this past season, with large numbers of bees dying?

Check out this NPR story on the suspected sources of the problem.

Making Soap....

Although it was a beautiful day outside, and having performed a couple of installations, Will and I had to switch gears and do a little chemistry making soap.  This soap is our hot process version.  We prefer the hot process because the chemical reaction takes place during the cooking, eliminating a multi-week curing process.  And because of the addition of heat it makes it easier to use fats that are hard at room temperature, specifically beeswax.

Walker Jones Adds Five New Hives

Over the last 12 months we have been training teachers from three DC schools to tend to hives and begin Junior Beekeepers clubs at each.  To kick it off, Walker Jones School, which already has three hives on their property at their urban farm, installed five hives on their green roof of the school building.

Nixing Neonics

You've probably heard about them -- the ubiquitous insecticide that lurks within the plant and isn't sprayed on like traditional pesticides. Neonicotinoids, as the name suggests, are similar in composition to nicotine and cause certain neurological receptors to be over-stimulated in insects. As a result, bugs that feast on plant tissue that has absorbed the chemical soon incur neurological damage, which can cause paralysis and death. This systemic type of pesticide, which includes imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin, is applied to seeds and absorbed into the plant as it grows, creating an life-long resistance to mostly corn- and soybean-hungry insects. Throughout the European Union, they're also applied to sunflowers, oil seed rape (canola) and sugar beets.

While honeybees aren't exactly known for their green-leaf appetites, several studies have delved into the affects of neonics in plant nectar and pollen, as well as "dust dispersal" of the chemical when planting treated seeds. In fact, some studies have drawn the link between this type of systemic pesticide and Colony Collapse Disorder. The entire issue has been a point of contention for the European Union. More recently, several farmers in the U.S. have also banded together and filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, calling for stricter regulations on the use of these insecticides. 

Making Bee Packages in Georgia-VIDEO

 This past week Jerry from Rock Hill Honeybee Farms and I has some extreme windshield time heading down to Patterson, GA to visit bee supplier JJ's Honey.  Jerry distributes about 600 packages nationwide by pickup or shipment, and his stock comes from JJ Honey.

Back From Visiting Don aka FatBeeMan

We picked up forty-five packages from Don on the on the 17th of March, and made many DC beekeepers have with their new small-cell bees.

Daughter Kaitlin and Don

Legalized It

Keeping step with other urban-ag-conscious cities, DC Mayor Vincent Gray recently signed a bill into effect that would formally legalize backyard beekeeping in DC. The legislation, which is part of the Sustainable DC Plan, specifically targets urban beekeeping as a means to promote urban agriculture.

Highlighting the broad initiative of sustainable "food," the plan aims to "put 20 additional acres of land under cultivation for growing food" by 2032. The legislation notes, "A stronger local food supply and distribution system will ensure that District residents have better access to healthy and affordable food from full-service grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and community and commercial agriculture projects within their neighborhoods." Where local garden and agriculture projects are taking shape, honeybees are an obvious step toward increased crop yield and easier access to nutritious food.

Rooting DC Beekeepers

Jeff and I hopefully inspired some new beekeepers in DC this weekend!

At the sixth annual Rooting DC -- a forum for urban gardeners -- DC Honeybees held two workshops, packing a classroom at Woodrow Wilson High School. Organized by DC Greens, the forum pulled in around 800 participants. Our session broke down the process and pitfalls of raising honeybees in the city.

Seeing Red?

Roses are red, violets are blue…unless you’re a bee, this much is true.

While we might be used to the Roy-G-Biv acronym to remember the colors of the rainbow, for bees it’s more like oyG-Biv-UV. Bees cannot see red wavelengths, but this doesn’t necessarily prevent them from landing on red flowers. Humans perceive light base on combinations of red, green and blue, while bees base colors on green, blue and ultraviolet light. Because of this distinction, bees see flowers in an entirely different way.

Potential Next Bee Class

We are considering a bee class for the weekend of March 2 & 3, from 1-4 in Georgetown.  Please let us know if you would like to join us.  These are very fun and informative.  Plus you walk away with a hive, veil, and book.

Email me at Jeff@DCHoneybees.com if you are interested and we can firm up the date.