Tools of the trade
Sunday April 19th, Mother Nature Gardens welcomed a dozen guest to catch the buzz about backyard beekeeping. Beekeeper, Casey Paul, laid out a table full of smokers, hive diagrams, and face nets that he wore only to demonstrate. Casey shows no fear as he handles the bars of his top bar hive. His complete easy in demeanor as hundreds of bees buzz around his hands put the entire class at ease. We learned about the life cycle of a bee, the structure within the hive, how to maintain a hive, and how to acquire bees and learn more about these fascinating creatures. One of the most interesting things I learned and witnessed was the dance worker bees perform to inform other workers of the exact location of blooms in the area.
When asked about hive collapse disorder, Casey sighted all the aspects of commercial beekeeping that weakens the hive: feeding on pesticide sprayed crops, spraying the hives to prevent mites, and over harvesting honey and replacing it with high fructose corn syrup. This improper care of hives, in his opinion, leads to hive collapse. The solution to lots of bees in the future? Lots of caring, small scale beekeepers. Join us July 19th for Casey’s second workshop here when the class will harvest the honey and make a salve from the bee wax.
Tags: backyard beekeeping, beekeeping, bees, Casey Paul, city beekeeping, hive collapse disorder, learn to keep bees, top bar beekeeping
