
Keeping bees means thinking about landscape as a system - prostoalex
https://aeon.co/essays/why-keeping-bees-means-thinking-about-landscape-as-a-system
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stinos
It's nice the possible detrimental aspect on native wild species gets brought
to attention more especially given the biodiversity crisis. I didn't used to
know anything about the matter until I met a biologist studying the rarer
local species here and the negative effects of honey bee keeping is one of his
pet peeves. As laid out shortly in the article, the general conclusion is that
in the best case scenario honeybees don't have an effect on the others, but
otherwise the effect is negative and on average it is probably negative.
Surely this needs to be studied more, but with what is currently knownn it
looks like it's not going to turn the positive way suddenly.

Which can lead to painful discussions. Around here there's been a bit of a
rise in the past years of hobbyist beekeepers. Most of them truly believe they
are doing something good for bees, plants, even biodiversity and are pretty
dedicated in taking care of them, and really only with good itentions. But if
you then tell them about the facts, well, you can imagine how you feel when
you think you were doing good and it turns out to be possibly not so good at
all. Some are just sad but accept. Others get enraged and straight out deny
the science (without proper arguments).

~~~
mymythisisthis
What do you think of these types of things
[https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gNncDK7MXHo/VRCXCXz6byI/AAAAAAAAJ...](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gNncDK7MXHo/VRCXCXz6byI/AAAAAAAAJTo/UAeEseJeb2E/s1600/150322-2015-cnps-
at-sf-flower-and-garden-show-008.jpg)

~~~
stinos
Don't know a whole lot about it, but as far as I can tell it's pretty good.
Normally when I see one it gets used heavily; the holes by all kinds of mason
bees and the rest as shelter/housing for other insects. Only possible problem:
the wood shouldn't be treated (as a precaution, not sure if there is actual
impact of chemicals on the bees in it). And when birds like woodpeckers
discover this it's a feast and they will empty the whole thing but that's sort
of natural in that it's normal behavior. But a construction like this of
course makes it extra easy for them. Can be circumvented with steel wire 10cm
in front of it.

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simonebrunozzi
When I was 7, my (amazing) elementary schoolteacher told us about bees. I went
back home and told my father that I wanted to beekeep. He knew how stubborn I
was back then and decided to fulfill my request. For the past ~35 years, he
has been a very successful beekeeper (as a hobby), and I spent half of that
time more or less helping him, and learning a ton about bees.

I can tell you that bees are fascinating, and that indeed learning about them
makes you appreciate nature in general, and how everything is tied together.

I don't know if it's a general rule, but if you are a parent, please consider
beekeeping as a way to teach many invaluable things to your kids. If you have
no physical space to do that, befriend someone with a small space in the
countryside and beekeep there. It's not hard. It will be immensely rewarding.
And the honey you will "steal" from these bees will be the tastiest thing
ever.

~~~
xwdv
You can’t just keep bees anywhere though, there’s a lot of permits and
inspections that have to be done to allow for a proper hive.

~~~
simonebrunozzi
You didn't need much in Italy 35 years ago. I suspect things have changed
there, and permits etc. might be required in most places today. However, let's
say San Francisco [0]:

> San Francisco (City) currently allows urban beekeeping without any specific
> permit or registration requirements. However, in some cases bees can pose
> significant health and safety risks. To avoid conflict, beekeepers should
> manage their colonies in a way that is sensitive to surrounding areas and
> neighbors.

[0]: [https://www.sfbee.org/beekeeping/code-of-
conduct/](https://www.sfbee.org/beekeeping/code-of-conduct/)

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progre
There is an intersting development here in Sweden is that some beekeepers
don't use the box-type hives anymore and instead opts for a "log"-hive,
basically an elongated coffin on legs ment to simulate a hollow log. These
don't use frames, only thin wooden strips on ledges near the lid, nor do they
have any type of seperation of nursery combs from honey combs. Honey
production is lower and harvesting is much harder so this style of beekeeping
tends to be more hands off. Instead the primary function is using bees as
polinators. This can be a great way to start beekeeping with very little
investment.

Even easier, and maybe more inpactfull, is to bury small clay pots upside down
in your garden with the little hole in the bottom (now top, since the pot is
upside down) exposed. If you are lucky bumblebees will move in. There are even
colony building bumblebees where I live. Bumblebees are superior polinators as
they are more resilient to cold and rain. Where I live the (italian) honeybees
stay inside the hive if there is even a chance of rain, while the bumblebees
will go out in any weather.

~~~
durkie
Ah yes, this has gained some appeal in the US as well (we call them top bar
hives). I had one for several years and it was really cool how the bees would
freestyle their wax comb designs (shape, period, cell size, regularity) since
they didn't have the usual constraints of foundation or a frame like you find
in a normal hive. Worth experimenting with as a beekeeper - a little harder to
do as you said, but also cheaper.

~~~
progre
Top bar hives, now I know what words will work when searching. In case you
harvested honey, how did you extract it? I hear bare combs are hard to
centrifuge as the comb breaks apart. Some people use fruit presses here.

~~~
durkie
Yes, that's pretty much how you do it. Since there's no frame to mechanically
support the comb during centrifuging, you pretty much have to crush the comb
and strain the honey from it.

Because of the lack of mechanical support, it can also make working top bar
hives difficult in hot summers -- the heat is just enough to soften the wax if
it's out too long, and it can really compromise its structure. Makes for a
good extra challenge :)

~~~
saalweachter
I'd think you'd also have an easy time cutting it up to sell as comb honey.

~~~
progre
That style is not very popular here as our honey tend to crystalize and set
very quickly. This comes down to what flowers the bees have access to, and
what ratio of fructose and glucose sugars those flowers produce. I guess we
get more glucose here in the north, but honey from for example accacia flowers
stays runny forever. This style of honey is popular with our middle east
immigrants, I guess that's what they are used to from home.

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dkmn
Good points about engaging in this work has changed the ways the author both
thinks and feels about the landscape and ecosystem.

We've been learning about permaculture (old school Holzer, Mollison, Hemenway
style) and small-scale homesteading for about 8 yrs now. Started from nearly
scratch, in terms of practical gardening.

Every bit of work I've done with bees (solitary mason bees) and other
permaculture (garden, orchard, efficient irrigation solutions, swaling,
synergistic plantings, etc) has been fascinating.

The permaculture philosophy itself is more broadly-applicable than
agriculture, in terms of a systems based view, but a lot of the practical
instantiations are in ag, heating, irrigation, animal husbandry, etc. There's
a lot on offer for many people who would be attracted to HN. E.g. looking at
the thermodynamic aspects of siting water tanks, passive solar, masonry
stoves, etc (physics and biomed background b4 software). Cost-wise and
energetically a lot more scalable than widely existing solutions.

Also improved my perceptive ability and appreciation for natural surroundings
and different human landscapes.

Anyhow, I'll get down off my soapbox now, but it's been a surprisingly rich
vein of practical innovation and fun.

If you're curious, check out "Gaia's Garden" by Hemenway or one of Bill
Mollison's books (former in Portland, so small yards, latter doing more wide-
reaching stuff in Australia and developing nations).

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Johnjonjoan
Colony collapse disorder fascinates me. It sounds like the beginning of a
horror movie plot. Perhaps it is.

One thing that strikes me is that the hive is essentially in great working
order - fully stocked. It seems to me nothing directly nefarious is occurring
because why not take the food?

Honey bees will remove (throw away) larvae infected with certain bacteria from
the hive. Given this I wonder if workers themselves could socially distance
and leave the hive when ill. With colony collapse disorder being the case
where the outbreak was total and the infected all succumbed and therefore
never came back.

Then again maybe I've just been in lockdown for too long!

Edit: I implied there is always a fully stocked hive after CCD. That's not the
case.

