A day with beekeepers...

Hello readers,

This Sunday, August 25th was a day where I was surrounded by other beekeepers.

First I drove out to Kalmthout, where Belgium has a beekeeping museum.  Unfortunately I didn't have time to visit the museum itself.  I was there for an event with two speakers.  All I got to enjoy was a hot tea outside the conference room:

The first speaker 

was Rob Peulen and he addressed the relationship between the beekeeper, the beekeeping associations and the gouvernement.  The topic was moulded on a more narrow platform, a better titel would have been : Beekeeping and Taxes.  This did not make the topic any less interesting though!  As I have started my own beekeeping enterprise I was interested to hear what he had to say.  To keep it short; it comes down to this: As a beekeeper you don't need to report your expenses and income, as most beekeepers don't make a profit, but it is wise to keep records as if you would have a business.
For myself I must remember that even if I don't make a profit, but start out as a loss-making enterprise, the tax inspection should accept my expenses! (Even though they'll likely protest)

The Second speaker 

was Erik Goris, a beekeeper that is looking to keep bees in a more 'natural' way.  He told us his story and musings on the topic as he's a 4th generation beekeeper that in one winter went from 40 hives to only 6.  The occurrence was disheartening and Erik considered stopping his beekeeping activities altogether.  But a it is with beekeepers, the call to work with bees was louder than the crying of his heart, so he picked up beekeeping again whilst looking for answers on what went wrong.

He focused his attention on smaller cells and contacted several scientists toward this end.  He was also interested in the nutrition, and why he found undigested pollen in the intestinal tract of bees.  It was there that he heard that bees can't actually digest pollen, they need other mechanisms to start breaking down the egg-whites so they can digest them further themselves.  It was there he made the assumption that by using acids or other chemical products we might destroy the very mechanisms the bees need to help them with their nutrition.

With this information he set out to keep bees without treating them, a work that kept confronting him with setbacks, very much so that he was about to throw in the towel and stop beekeeping yet again on the premise that his bees didn't survive that winter.  He now jokes he should have threatened his bees with stopping sooner, since all but one hive survived that winter.  A loss, but an acceptable one this time.

His work included breeding bees with traits of sensitive hygiene.  He was looking for bees that pull out diseased larvae, for bees that groom each other.  He used artificial insemination to speed up the process of selection towards varroa tolerance.

Now he only treats the hives if he sees none of these signs.

I would very much like to hear for Erik again in a more in depth conversation some time...

The afternoon get-together

After the seminary I drove back towards my own region, a short drive of 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Upon arrival I noticed I was on the late side of things...  Roger Devos was already speaking to the members that accepted his invitation for a get together.  He was going to replace a queen with another and demonstrated on how he cuts the wingtip of a queen.

Another member of the beekeeping association in Oudenaarde, Andre Boonaert, gave a crash course on how to use the Snelgrove Board and how he very much appreciates this method.

He also showcased a device that looked like a sphere with a mouth to put into a skep entrance.  It looked ancient, as it was rusty.  The sphere was constructed out of metal wire, spaced apart very much like a Queen-excluder.  He instructed us it was used to put into the hive entrance at such a time where the drones left the skep, as the drones are larger than a worker bee they couldn't get outside the sphere, where the workers could.  So instead of cutting drone-comb, this was the method to get rid of drones in skep-beekeeping.

Another device he has made himself and showcased was a swarmbox, with ventilation holes for transport and with a queen-excluder screen that could be closed off by opening the ventilation holes, preventing from bees to leave the box.

We had a drink afterwards and as I was getting ready to take my leave Roger asked me if I had seen his apiary.  He transformed a horse-box into a 9m long apiary with a huge amount of storage space.  All bees Roger has are Buckfast bees, and he advocates that 'brand' of bees to all that want to listen.

This was my beekeeping sunday!

See you next time!

Bob Out

The Arboreal Apiculture Salon

Hello readers,

Today I joined the arboreal apiculture Salon for the first time.

I had no idea what to expect, or how many people would be on.  I was the 6th person to enter and join Michael and Jonathan and by the start of the event we were a group of 13 people from around the world.

The topic was Sentient beings, and Michael opened up the conversation with words he had heard or read somewhere about plants being able to "see" and remember you by the colour of what you were wearing when you came near them.

It reminded me of how I read once that flowers know when pollinators are flying close by and as a reaction throw of a stronger scent to lure them in.  But this was a gathering about bees so I forgot to mention it in the group.

We went on about how bees have a similar way of being sentient about their surroundings and how we can experience that.  Now this sort of talk might sound as a load of bull crap to a lot of people but to me, even though I don't really practice the meditational approach to my bees very much, I do hope to do so more in the future.  It's clear to me the bees feel your intent and try to tell you something about how they feel you when you approach the hive or open it.  I feel stinging is their last resort, although what they feel might cause them to sting sooner than later, as in how much pressure they have for protecting the honey later in the season.  But in general I think they talk to us without us being aware.

We broke up into smaller groups for about half an hour to talk in a more intimate setting, I was in a group lead by Jonathan and had two other members with us.  There I learnt Jonathan had a project in Spain with a bee bed.  As I remember it's a sort of top-bar setup with the possibility for humans to rest on top of the bars without actually being 'in' the hive. (The can't get to you)  There is also a sort of prehistoric stethoscope in there that allows you to listen to the sound of the hive.  This experience is supposed to be relaxing.  Jonathan gave us this small introduction because all three of us were new to the salon.  Then both other members contributed, one was a farmer in the USA, the other worked at a monastery in Portugal where groups of people were made aware of the sentient nature of bees.

I myself didn't get too much into what I do and how I do it, but I did talk about how when I'm with my bees I feel how their mood is.  They feel what my intent with them is and sometimes I know it's not a good time to work with the bees by how they react to me.
I expressed my interest in this form of communication and how I would very much like to capture the way to do it so we can help others get to that place, so they can connect their brains with their hearts again.  In the end of the session I said I think we're the only species on this planet that have disconnected ourselves from nature by thinking too much with the brain rather than with the heart.  As it turns out Jonathan uses a symbol to mark 'his' tree-hives that just means that.
Sure science can prove to us, without a doubt, that his or that is true, but in our heart, we already know it.  
I once heard there are no lies, we only let ourselves be deceived by untruth's because we are not interested in the truth.

After that we came back together and talked about what topics we discussed. 
One person said she felt the bees say: look, we let you put us in this box, you gave it to us and as soon as you close it up, you need to respect our place, since it is ours.  And I would hope that more people could work with the bees like that.  But I'm afraid that won't be for tomorrow.
Another expressed their admiration for how bees welcome each other into the world after being born and how we could benefit from accepting babies in the world like that as a community rather than as individuals.
Another spoke about how that sentient communication is non-verbal, or if it's not how the spoken language is not adept enough to cover everything you can say with 'feeling'.

The Salon was a very warm experience for me and I was glad I was part of it.  Some people might be to 'emotional' for my liking within that group, but we are all different and I very much appreciated the views off all present.  I was asked to be 'spokesman' of our smaller group by Jonathan, and then afterwards Michael asked me to lead them into a moment of silence using my meditation methode...  I let them both down in backing out of that.

 Bob Out

Meetings and conventions

Hello readers,

Yes, I’m back already, but I don’t know if I’ll keep this up or if every topic will have the same interest.  Today I’ll bring a short look into my thoughts about conventions and how I’d like to go to more.

Conventions or other ‘meet and greet’ style events in general

As I am relatively new to beekeeping I believe it to be normal to be drawn to every event possible.  I read about conventions going on worldwide. To sum up some more recent ones there’s :

• the convention in Berlin Germany - ‘Learning from the bees’ - coming up August 29 through september 1st.
• The apimondia convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 46th Congress of the international federation of beekeeping associations - coming up september 8 through 12

Both of which I can’t attend for several reasons, then there’s the smaller events closer to home I do get to attend; 

• Day of Study Buckfast Flanders - Kalmthout, Belgium (in the beekeeping museum) - august 25th, from 08h30 - 12h30 (Brussels timezone) followed by
• Local meeting of the ‘Koninklijke Oudenaardse bijentelersmaatschappij’ (Royal Beekeeping Association Oudenaarde) - Oudenaarde Belgium (at the president's home) - august 25th from 14h00 till …

That is if nobody falls out at work since I’m on call…

I wish I had the time to go to every event that crosses my path, but like with everything in life I have to make choices, do I make time for the event, do I have the money for it, or do I want to spend both on other things (like my family).  It is juggling already to fit everything in my schedule with my regular work, my beekeeping business and time spent with relatives.

Ask my wife and I’m sure she’ll tell you I’m away too much from home already as it is, yet I have this insatiable hunger when beekeeping is involved.  I want to learn new things and try out new theories myself. And where better to learn or hear about those things that at meetings? So here I sit and dream about being able to go to a big event at least a few times in my life…

But then I hear some beekeepers stopped going, at least to certain events.  They grew tired of hearing opinions that didn’t stroke with their own, or the same methods, already permeated in their lifestyles, are repeated one too many times.  Or even worse, they have made enemies out of other beekeepers because they have an opinion different from others.

Why I’ll never stop going to events (when I finally get to go)

I know, never say never, I might stop beekeeping, I might not see the virtue in going any longer, but in the long run, I’ll die and will stop going unless I’ll haunt the events as a spirit of sorts…

Touching back on my previous topic, where one might stop going to an event due to different opinions, leading up to enemy status relationships.

I am aware the same might happen to me whether I like it or not.  Since I do have an opinion that means it might differ from somebody else's.  And if that other person can’t agree to disagree, there’s nothing much I can do about that, even if I want to build bridges, is there?  Or is there?

The silent treatment

I don’t think not to voice your opinion to stop such a conflict is the way to go (hence this blog amongst other things).  I firmly believe that being different helps us forward as a species. Maybe one opinion, or maybe more, are bound to be the wrong ones, but until we learn which is the wrong one, we are entitled to have it.  And even then we should respect those who choose otherwise. What do I care what you believe in, as long as you show your environment the respect it deserves?

As a species, we learn most from our mistakes.  Let’s just hope the mistakes we make are not catastrophic in magnitude, we do not want to drag others down with making them.

The ‘spun out of control’ discussion

It’s this concern that keeps me awake at night.  What if somebody condemns me for what I believe. What if somebody condemns me for not treating my bees, supporting his opinion that my bees are the breeding grounds for varroa that will later kill off his bees…  he might be right, and I want to be a good neighbour and a good beekeeper. But still, I don’t want to treat my bees. So arguing about how I do it, or should do it, is not helping either of us forward. But what do I have to tell people?  Science has no answers yet and until they do it’s anybody’s game.

I highly doubt by not treating my bees I’ll kill off all bees in the world, seeing there are plenty beekeepers out there that do as I do and have done so for a longer period than me and bees are still around.  In fact bees have been around much longer, untreated, than we have, and nothing has killed them yet. It would be a way to get into the record books, the man that killed the bees by doing nothing: Björn Lefevre.  A questionable title that I’ll probably never hold. So if you believe me to be wrong, say so, but say so in a civil manner and leave it at that. No need to point fingers.

I’ll never go to a convention to speak when I don’t want to be heard.  I’ll never go to a convention to seek out a discussion that can’t be won anyway. (here I go again using ‘never’)  So let’s agree to disagree.

Proper etiquette

I believe this is proper etiquette when attending an event:

• You respect the speakers
• You respect the hosts
• You respect the people that attend it.

You see somebody you dislike, ignore him/her, at least try to be friendly, a smile or nod in recognition of seeing a person doesn’t cost much…  I hope I’ll live up to this etiquette. I have noticed I am growing tired of reading the same questions over and over on forums and on facebook.  I sometimes know ‘an’ answer, but the endless discussions that follow have silenced me. If I do want to give an answer I’ll almost always send a private message giving my 2 cents worth of opinion and telling my way isn’t the only way, or might be considered wrong by others or might not even work.

All beekeeping is local, all beekeeping is personal.  It’s a given that if you have one question for 10 beekeepers you’ll get 11 answers.  We have all heard that one so we should accept that as a fact. Nobody is out here with the intention of killing his own bees, or at least I hope not.

So when you see me, and I give you a short nod, or a smile, it doesn’t mean I dislike you or invite you to come over to talk.  But if you feel the urge to come and talk with me, please do so, with respect. I’ll try to do the same.

Information gathering

Don’t we all go to events to meet people and exchange our views?

Are we not there first and foremost to listen to what the speakers have to say?

Even if the speakers don’t share your opinions, if you truly listen, you might even find wisdom and new information useful to you. (I’m not telling you to stalk one speaker and go to every event he speaks at untill you find that bit of wisdom, that would be outright stupid, if you didn’t hear it the first couple of times, why would you hear it the second time?  If the events are spread apart in time, like years, not months, the views of that person might have changed shape and the differences are important bits of information.)

In any case, to gather information requires you to listen, and listening is done in silence.

When asked for an opinion, or when questions arise, be sure to make note of them and give voice to them at a proper time.  When that time is? Even to me that is not always clear.

Since I’m a new beekeeper, I have to listen a lot.  But sometimes I am asked questions, and then I give my answers. (or ask more questions if I don’t understand the question)

As it is, I hunger for more information every day.

So I’ll leave you with this small rant here, and hope I never have to give you a nod thinking ‘oh no, he/she’s here too’.

Bob Out

Hello readers,

It has been a while, and I must say I am sorry, I wish I had been more active on my blog.  And now that I return I hope to do so more frequently and with not only what is going on in my apiary.

To start with I have this blogpost for you where I want to vent my anger on the scientific world out there…  I hope you will read the entire blog and I hope you can understand why I work how I work, do what I do and where I want to end up in the beekeeping world.

Transition in the beekeeping world.

I firmly believe we are in a period of transition, not only in the beekeeping world, as many people experience the same as me, I am sure of that.  The shells fall off people's eyes everywhere, but I want to focus on beekeeping since this is a blog about me keeping bees. To address this topic I first need to explain what I mean by ‘transition in the beekeeping world’.

What is this transition I’m talking about?

As a new beekeeper I have noticed a certain pattern.  I have taken three classes now in conventional beekeeping, all of them were attended by a good number of new beekeepers.  The smaller number of them came from the inner circles and got what they came for, others, like me knew they weren’t going to be taught the way they’d like to keep bees and the vast majority were in the dark about beekeeping but picked up on the news or elsewhere that the bees were in trouble and they wanted to help out.  Most of them are torn into two directions. The one direction is the traditional way of beekeeping they were presented in class, the other way is to live in close relation with nature. And in this tug of war is the seed of the transition I am talking about.

As it is with humans there are a great number of diverse characters out there, some are stubborn and hold onto their ways no matter what, others are innovators that are frowned upon by the first group, but most of us humans follow a set of rules laid out to us by one or a few beekeepers we respect and hold in high esteem.  I’m not sure what category of people would drop me in, as I am a stubborn person, but I hope I am innovative enough to get at least some people to listen to me as I want to build bridges that help in the transition I feel is needed.

This transition is needed now and a result of how mankind treated nature (in general and the bees in particular) with a lot of disrespect.  The results of using poisons are beginning to unfold and we’ve not seen the worst of it yet. (the food produced now is of less value than what it used to have, the losses of entire apiaries, the decline of insects and other wildlife everywhere, …)

Governments are protecting more and more areas and are reducing the amount of concrete and ‘wildlife’ is being looked after, instead of hunted down;

Agriculture is slowly forming a transition into more biological ways of producing crops, permaculture and biodynamic ways are seeping into society and keep getting more and more interest.  With a bigger yield of crops per square meter than conventional methods, yes, not the same crops, but still…

This sort of transition is also needed in the beekeeping world.

A bit of history.

If we look back, to learn from the mistakes we made we can see a lot of similarities with our behaviour towards everything that comes from nature and is wanted into our lives.  We want more of it, the producers or providers of the product want to build a monopoly like structure around their product to ensure the greatest profit for themselves, and the cost is easily overlooked.  Child labour, deforesting, poisoining the planet. Whatever we wanted to create, good intentions not withstanding, we did it wrong. Dogs were bred until they had problems in their skeleton structure, cows for meat can no longer deliver their calves on the world in a natural way, cows for milk line up like a line of slaves to deliver their goods to their masters…  And it is the same for the bees.

We went from skep-beekeeping to keeping bees in wooden boxes with frames, for easy handling.  And as it is, easy manipulating enabled forcing the bees to produce more, and more is what we wanted.  But we have reached the limit of what the bee can handle.

We have taken away it’s food sources by implementing monocrops, deforestation, ... and we have poisoned what little is left for them.  We even made the mistake of applying poison in the hive itself to combat diseases and parasites.

Sure, this helps keep the bees alive, and yes, the chances of survival for your bees is slim if you don’t use the products.  But when have you ever heard nature is kind? Nature has one rule: survival of the fittest, and with our empathic abilities, we have sometimes cripled nature into doing what’s best.  We are indeed at a point that we can compare our bees with a coma patient that is still alive because of the machine that is keeping him in his current state.

More and more people see the need to unplug the machine, take the losses that come with it, and build up with the survivors.

How to go about this transition

So here you are, a beekeeper who loves his bees.  You don’t want to unplug the machine, since you invested money in them, or love them too much and don’t want to take the chance to kill them.  How do you go forward from this point?

That is the question and transition is the answer.  What that answer is? I can’t say for sure, only the future will share that with us.  And in my opinion there are several things we can do.

No matter what option you take, no matter if you have bees, I hope you help out the bees in this way: Plant flowering crops/plants and don’t spray, give back nature to the bees!

The first option: wait it out...

The first option is what I think most beekeepers will do.  They hope science will bring forward a bee that can do without the poisons in the hive and can survive the poisons and other pressures, out there in the world.  This might work and even if it doesn’t, I hope one of the other options will provide the beekeepers with bees in the future to work with.

I have one remark to make here, a rant of sorts, since looking back to what happened I can only see that it is exactly the science that got us where we are now.  Scientist have been, and are still, abused like a cheap whore, the ones with the most money can do with it what they want, they pay for studies that have a set outcome that suits the businessman who funds the research.  Scientists that want to do good have no voice, so can’t be heard, they have no money so they can’t provide scientific answers to counter the tests that allow products to be used in the (food)market.

Never ever have I heard that ‘common sense’ was enough.  People want scientific proof! I can only say that we used to think the earth was flat, we burned witches and heretics alike, only to see that they were right all along, only it took science a little longer to see it the way they did.

Why can’t we go with what feels correct?  To me, waiting it out doesn’t feel good. I’m not going for this option.

The second option: help the science, be part of the sollution

Some beekeepers, like me, don’t want to wait it out.  They take an active approach and help science where they can.  They breed bees that are supposed to have some traits that we want.  They use insemination is some cases, how else can you ensure that the queen bee has the right genetics?  For we don’t know everything about the congregation areas of drones yet… Although, if you have sufficient area of land you could create a congregation of drones so that queens have no other access but to those drones…  Still it is trial and error, but it’s helping nature select a bit faster than it would on itself.

Those beekeepers breed queens, and you can buy these promising queens from them, usually with the advice to keep treating, since you don’t want to lose the investment you just bought, right?

On the other hand, the scientists need to start somewhere, and where do the scientists get their ‘good’ bees from?  What makes a good bee? Answers that can all be researched, but with common sense you can also come up with an answer.

The third option: Sweep in front of your own doorstep

I am willing to help scientists, but I am not actively seeking them out.  Instead I believe all beekeeping is local. And science may eventually come up with a super bee that is built to fight off the pressures it was designed for, I can guarantee you that nature will adapt and find new pressures to challenge that specific bee.  And thus it comes back to the one law of nature; is that bee fit enough to survive?

I want to advocate to stop dragging bees all across the world and to start working on a local project with beekeepers around you.

When we stop shipping stuff all around the globe the ‘invasive’ species will have a much harder time setting foot in our ‘healthy’ environment.  And if it does get here, nature will have had time to adapt on it’s own terms, not on that laid down by man. But no matter if you do this, nature will always strive to find a balance.  So stop fighting with nature, if a plague comes along, yes it will destroy the thing it’s feeding off, but not entirely. Some specimens will survive and the plague will be followed by an influx of predators that feast upon whatever caused the plague.

If we do ‘treat’ for the plague those predators will eat the poisoned individuals and may die because of it.  In the short term we will ‘have it under control’, but look at the rats, they adapted, a lot of poisons don’t work on them, if they still want to eat it!  And are the rats gone? No, they are not, we keep them ‘under control’ but I don’t see any predator showing up to help us in our quest… So we are part of the reason the problem is still here.  Oh yes, it will always be here, but it will not always be ‘a problem’.

Moths used to be a problem, tracheal mites used to be a problem, in times before we ‘sprayed’ the solution into the hive, and the bees learnt to live with them, provided they are ‘fit’ enough.  Bees have been here far longer than us humans and I believe in all that time the humans are the bee's biggest challenge to overcome yet.

So instead of treating, I want to help build a healthier environment for our bees.  In fact I want to be more like a bee, that in collecting nectar and pollen actually contributes to nature.  I want to help build an environment with a greater biodiversity in it. One that doesn’t rely on treatments whatsoever.  One that doesn’t ask that you keep your unmated queens locked up until you can ship them to a proper ‘mating station’ to ensure you have a good ‘genetic line’.

I want to be able to let my queens be mated where they live, and I want them to remain docile.  Furthermore, I want to work with them, and not force them to make honey. I only want to take what they won’t need for themselves.  That is why I, in my second year of beekeeping, I have not yet taken honey out of my hives. What they produced I had to redistribute between my mating nucs, I only fed very little amounts of sugar to those nucs - perhaps the reason I lost so many; from 11 larvae, to 9 queens to 4 nucs, 2 that are very weak - and I hope to get to a point where feeding is not needed at all.  Hopefully winter losses will go back to the natural decline in population too.

If we all were to breed local bees, it wouldn’t matter what kind of bee we would have, we’d have the best locally adapted available!  And yes, the italian bee gets more honey, the X-bee gets better Y-results, and the Z is best suited for A, but guess what, the weather there is nicer than here in Belgium, or the X has developed locally to become better at Y and in B, it suits Z to act like A.  So if you want to work with Italian bees, X’s, or Z’s move there, don’t drag them here…  

And buckfast?  Well, in a way, they might be the answer to a global threat since they have genetics from all over already, or they might just be weaker because of it.

What I’m trying to say is that race doesn’t matter, it took us long enough as humans to figure that out, and some humans still haven’t figured it out...

The bees I buy never go with the question: what line?  What race? Where did you go to mate? I don’t care. I buy them from a local breeder, so they have ‘some’ local adaptation.  And local to me is the whole of Belgium, we are a small country after all, I would even include the north of France and the South of the Netherlands, but haven’t bought any bees, nor am I planning to, from there.

I don’t care what bees are in my boxes, as long as they survive and remain easy to work with.

Truth be told, I prefer working with swarms over buying bees.  To me a swarm is the healthiest a hive can get, provided it swarms to multiply itself.

So in option three, you go with a local bee first and foremost.  Then hopefully you’ll do what I do, or at least stop using chemicals and organic acids.  Maybe there is something to say about using bio-technical treatments, but not for me. And if I do work on my bees in a ‘bio-technical’ way it is not with the intent to control what’s in the hive, it’s to control the amount of bees I have.

How I want to do it

For me transition means I don’t treat my bees.  Instead I help them along in growing (by splitting them).

This year 3 of my 5 hives survived winter.  I divided them up, and still one of them swarmed on me.

I collected swarms I joined a queen breeding program in my local club and collected 11 larvae to grow local queens, I bought 3 queens from others, all local to grow my number of hives.

That small number of 3 was up to 20 at a point, and now I’m back at 16, thinking I’ll go into winter with 14, since 2 queens are not faring very well.

How much will survive? I don’t know.  Have they got mites? Sure they have, they also have ants, and other bugs crawling on and in the hive, what they don’t have is chemicals that I put in there.  And besides, if your bees would survive the winter, would you care what’s in their hive?

I have 3 locations where I keep bees and am looking for a 4th and 5th, whilst I’m not looking to increase my amount of hives.  I want to keep 3 full hives per location and I want to have back-ups for my hives in 2 6-frame nucs per location. That way I’m spreading out my genetics and have a more natural ‘congregation drone area’ forming.  And I welcome other beekeepers in my area, I don’t mind the input their bees bring, since with my method, the fittest will survive. I do hope they keep friendly bees, although I am fully aware that they’re bees and not flies.  I don’t mind a defensive posture, as long as they don’t follow me around for meters and meters, or come at me before I approach the hive, I’m good.

That’s how I want to do it for myself.  Let the survival of the fittest take place and build back up from what survives these harsh methods nature gives to them.  All I do is ‘gardening’ in my garden, and that’s only one apiary, the others are out of my control. I can only hope others help create a more healthy environment with biodiversity that will help all of nature, not just the bees.

How do I want to help others make the transition?

In browsing the web I have found a website : www.bees-fortknox.pl/eng

In short it’s a collective of Polish beekeepers that keep their hives treatment free, each member is allowed to have a certain number of hives in the ‘fortknox’ project as long as they follow some ground rules (like being treatment free) and in return if one of the hives in the project dies, it is replaced by a split from another member.  In that way they ensure the continuing supply of treatment free stock.

I am hoping to start a similar project of my own in Belgium, but as it stands now I’m not much further than giving voice to my ideas and brainstorming on how such an operation would run and what is needed to keep it operational.

Would you as a beekeeper show interest in such a project?  Start with one or two hives in the project that you keep and manage in your own hive-type, in your own way, but by following some ground rules, one of which is to not treat the bees?  And if they don’t make it you get a replacement hive to make sure you don’t get deprived of the pleasures of keeping a hive.

I know I would…

So that’s all for now.  I hope to see you soon,

Bob Out.