Honeybee_ Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - C. Marina Marchese [44]
CHEMICALS AND YOUR HONEYBEES
Many medications have been approved for honeybee treatments and should be used only as directed on the labels to prevent them from becoming hazards to the health and livelihood of both honeybees and humans. Over the years, honeybees have become resistant to some of these approved medications, so these treatments are constantly changing. Many of the approved treatments available here in the United States might not be available outside the country or be available under the same brand names. Each country has its own set of rules for approving medications to treat honeybee pests and diseases.
Pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides in your garden and neighboring areas can kill honeybees and affect humans in many ways we still do not completely understand. Chemicals find their way into our food through plants and farm animals and through the air we breathe. When applied to plants, they are picked up by foraging honeybees and can kill many before the bees even return to the hive. Other worker bees may carry the chemical-laced pollen back to the hive and thus taint the honey, which can then poison those bees inside the hive. Sometimes poisoned bees crawl out and die at the entrance of the hive. Most insecticides do not contain high levels of toxins that would harm honeybees, however users should exercise caution when applying these chemicals, especially around apiaries. Never treat your honeybees for disease while your honey supers on on your hive.
These environmental issues mattered to me. I learned as much as I could about natural treatments for my garden and bees. Later this led me to developing my own line of pure personal products for humans under my Red Bee brand.
REGISTERING YOUR BEES
Some states require beekeepers to register their honeybees. Beekeepers are considered farmers, and honeybees are agricultural livestock, just like cows, sheep, or pigs. If there is a problem with your honeybees, such as one of the diseases mentioned above, the problem can spread to other bees and cause an epidemic. Registration allows state officials to keep track of all of the honeybees in the area. A problem can be traced back to its source and neighboring beekeepers can be made award of the problem. Should you experience a problem with your hives, your state bee inspector will come pay a visit to your apiary and inspect them.
In the United States, the registration process varies with each individual state. Usually you need to fill out a simple form, stating your name, address, how many hives you own, and their locations. The registration for my home state of Connecticut provided a space for me to actually draw the location of my apiary in relation to my house, the street, and my neighbors’ homes. There is usually no charge for registering honeybees, and local bee clubs urge all beekeepers to register.
CHAPTER 10
Honeybees in Autumn: Preparing for Winter
It was a lazy August afternoon during my first season of beekeeping. The kind of day where the sun seemed bear down on the earth and the air was still and oppressive. The lanky sprigs of goldenrod had recently expired. Their dried flower heads hung over, leaving little or no nectar for my bees. It had been drier than usual that summer, and most of the greens in my garden were on their way to a crispy brown. Late summer had officially arrived. As I approached the hive that day, I immediately noticed more than just the usual activity at the entrance. Odd, I thought, for such a lazy day. I continued forward slowly and with some caution. I had been told that in late August there might be a dearth of nectar and that the bees could become restless and hungry, cranky, and