tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59421389263453715962024-02-19T16:37:50.591+01:00Bob's BeesWelcome to my blog.
I'll be keeping a logbook of sorts on here to track my progress (if any) concerning keeping bees.
I had my first bees 27th of february 2018. I plan on having bees treatment free and I expect to bump into some people that don't agree with my methods.
Time will tell how to look back on my own methods.
Enjoy!Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-4699129395047939012020-05-14T23:29:00.003+02:002020-05-14T23:29:43.951+02:00Sites to visit - Nine Lectures on Bees - lecture one.Hello readers,<br />
<br />
Today I'm having a look on another site that was gathering dust in my 'must browse here later' list.<br />
Today this site is : <a href="https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA351/English/SGP1975/NinBee_index.html">Nine Lectures on Bees</a><br />
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First thing that hits me when I click the link is the date; online since 15 december 2009. So old information. I'll have to take things with a grain of salt. That being said there is a TON of information out there that may seem outdated, but in fact is still very useful!<br />
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Second thing that strikes me when scrolling down is this: Rudolf Steiner. This is a lecture series on bees by Rudolf Steiner? What do I have to expect? I know the name, but I have no idea what Steiner really stands for... Guess I'll find out. <br />
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What I see next tells me this is a collection out of a larger work of his and I decide to break up the reading of this site. One lecture per blog post should do... So let's get cracking!<br />
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I opened the cover sheet, but let's skip that here.<br />
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<h2>
Lecture one - 23 februari 1923</h2>
<h3>
Dornach</h3>
<div>
As all beekeeping is local I stop reading right there. I need to know where Dornach is. What climate it has, so google, let me know!</div>
<div>
Dornach is situated in Switzerland - that's a bit colder climate than where I keep bees, and from the top of my head I'd say more 'nature' than here too... </div>
<div>
So now we know Mr Steiner is talking from another country that grain of salt grows.</div>
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<h3>
Wasps or Bees</h3>
<div>
The first lecture appears to start of with the answer to a question from the audience. And then focuses on the bees and their life inside the hive. In the first alinea Mr Steiner points out that the bees organise and balance their work and way of life more than wasps or ants do. He also points out that the environment has a huge influence on a beehive. And I get the feeling he is almost saddened by the fact that bees don't share the intellect that is bestowed on humans.</div>
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<h3>
Sexual drive</h3>
<div>
The second alinea dives right into the heart of things. Bees don't know a sexual drive as do many other species. In a beehive only the queen bee reproduces by laying eggs. The other female bees don't, they have their drive for reproduction suppressed.</div>
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<h3>
Love and the soul</h3>
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In this alinea Mr Steiner has lost me. He talks about how the sex drive is an expression of love. Love and the soul are in the same realm. The soul works on a number of organs in the body, and how the bees, having their drive suppressed, transform into something else. Something that finds expression in the work they do as a whole.</div>
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<h3>
Connection to venus</h3>
<div>
Mr Steiner continues with saying there is wisdom that existed in mankind, but no longer does. This old wisdom connected this 'loving way of live of the bees' to the planet Venus for some reason. In this the bees have surrendered themselves to Venus, where the wasps and the ants do not. And therefore the bees have a much greater wisdom. </div>
<h3>
Unconscious wisdom</h3>
Mr Steiner points his public in the direction of some wisdom he has spoken of in the past, an unconscious form of wisdom. A kind of wisdom that the bees do have and is expressed in the way the bees live. He describes this expression as a feeling we get when love finds the way into our heart, the hive knows this kind of love all the time, or at least that's how I read his words. To understand the bees is to acknowledge they are completely pervaded in an atmosphere of love.<br />
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<h3>
The love life of the flowers</h3>
<div>
As the bees are living in love, so they must feed. They eat the parts of the plants that are the same as they are. They eat love. The love that is life to flowers. - As I read this I'm starting to think Mr Steiner possesses a sort of wisdom comparable to that of a guru of India. - </div>
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<h3>
To study bees you need the soul as an instrument of measurement</h3>
<div>
Mr Steiner asks you to live the life of the honeybee through consumption of their honey and by reflecting on what that honey does to you. Honey connects the air- and water-elements in the body, the correct amount of Honey in the food of mankind prepares the soul to be used. It helps breathe rightly.</div>
<h3>
Beekeeping makes men strong</h3>
<div>
As the bees bring to the hive what is around it in the world, so brings the beekeeper in himself what is to be found in a beehive.</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff8; color: #000033; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif, verdana, arial, tahoma, helvetica; text-align: justify; text-indent: 24px;"><i>By way of the bee-hive the whole Cosmos enters man and makes him strong and able.</i></span></div>
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The first lecture about bees... It tells you that bees don't work like other animals do. That they deliver the wisdom of the world to you by way of love, inclusion of love through abstinence of reproduction at the individual level.</div>
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So maybe it's a good idea to meditate before you open up a hive. To love your bees before you open them up, so they feel you are love, as they are... I wonder if that would help you to get less stings ...</div>
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There is so much out there we don't yet understand, so much that we cannot understand with our 'brain', all that wisdom that is now lost, it is still out there!.</div>
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I must say I like how Mr Steiner writes (or at least how the lecture on bees is written) I'm curious to find out what the 2nd lecture says. For now I'm going to deduct lecture one into one word: Inclusion.</div>
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The bees include the whole world into their hive.</div>
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That is all folks!</div>
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Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-50057582732535832842020-05-08T22:49:00.001+02:002020-05-08T22:49:31.154+02:00Black Queens coming!Hello readers,<br />
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On saturday 09th of may 2020 I'll be picking up 20 larvae of the apis mellifera mellifera.<br />
I split a colony on may 3rd (the LL2019 into the LL2020) and went checking on it a couple of days later to see if they had made any queens.<br />
It didn't look like it, or maybe they moved an egg... In any case here is my current plan of action:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Prepare for the cups to be placed inside a hive, bring a nuc.</li>
<li>Collect the cups</li>
<li>Move them onto the frame that is prepared on site.</li>
<li>Switch LL2020 and LL2019 from position.</li>
<li>open the LL2020, check for closed queencells.</li>
<li>If I don't find any, move to step 10 - If I do find queencells I'll open the LL2019 and look for the queen and take her out into the nuc.</li>
<li>I'll take out every frame from the LL2019 that has larvae in them and move them into the Nuc with the queen.</li>
<li>Add a frame of Pollen and nectar to the 6-framer.</li>
<li>Then move the closed queencells from LL2020 into LL2019 </li>
<li>Place the cups with larvae inside LL2020</li>
</ol>
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I think I covered everything to get the larvae going.<br />
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Once the queencups are closed I think of distributing them into matingnucs.<br />
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Suppose all 20 larvae are succesfull as of today I'll have this available:<br />
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<br />
<ol>
<li>Mini plus (1- feeder on top, standard bottom board and roof) (1)</li>
<li>Mini plus bottom feeder, standard roof (2)</li>
<li>Queencastle, holds 3 times 3 frames of zander - feeding frame, empty frame of drawn out comb and a frame of closed brood only (5)</li>
<li>3 mini plus DYI bottoms and roofs (8)</li>
<li>Chinese mating nuc (10)</li>
<li>2 6-framers simplex with food from fridge (12)</li>
<li>1 6-frame Zander poly nuc (13)</li>
<li>The rest (7) caged in the LL2020</li>
<li>I might be able to take one more out and split the 2 deeps high LL2020 into 2 seperate hives.</li>
</ol>
<div>
If I want more hardware to work with I have till 18th of may to fabricate more.</div>
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I have half a mind set on not fussing too much about extra roofs and just stack 2 nucs on top of each other making sure their entrances are on opposit sides. With nothing more than a solid bottom board to keep them separate.</div>
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I'll keep you posted as soon as I can!</div>
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<br />
Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-66647985501110292892020-05-08T17:00:00.000+02:002020-05-08T17:00:01.385+02:00Hive report till may 3rd 2020Hello readers,<br />
<br />
Today I'm here to tell you about the past week (or so) in my beekeeping life. I had planned a lot, but then...<br />
<h2>
Weather Report: </h2>
The weather report for the last week explains why I had to push all my beekeeping work forward. After the last inspections from 26'th april the only 'good' day to work bees was april 27'th. After that it was too cold, rainy and wet. I'm expecting a lot of swarms in the coming days of good weather.<br />
April 27'th, I'm at work, and I get a swarm-call of sorts. Read about it in apiary 4.<br />
So as for the weather, can't say more than what I did, cold and wet. The bees had to wait most days till it was 15:00 hours before it was warm enough to come out, and then they had to do that in between rainfall.<br />
<h2>
Hive Report: </h2>
<div>
I inspected most of my hives today (may 3rd 2020), although I didn't take notes like I should have done, I wanted to visit them all today, even when I didn't go in.</div>
<h4>
Apiary 1</h4>
<b><u>IC2019</u></b><br />
This hive has a lot of Varroa pressure, I can tell by looking at how this hive does not grow. I'll have to reduce them down and put a robber screen in front of them soon. Unless they kick in late. They have stayed in the top box and haven't shown any intention of building out. A swarm from last year with bees that can't handle the varroa pressure... Now and again I spot a bee with DWV, not a lot, but still they're there. I haven't even opened them up yet this year!<br />
If I would treat, this hive would get treated, but I don't so I'm ready to give up this hive.<br />
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<b><u>LL2018</u></b><br />
During the week of bad weather I peeked in now and again to see if the matingnuc was getting any attention. The only thin I saw was on may 2nd: moisture on the sugar in the mating nuc and three bees in there, but no building out comb in the mating nuc. I'm starting to think: 'how am I going to introduce bees in these mating nucs if I don't have drawn comb?!' Something to get an answer on soon!<br />
<h4>
Apiary 2</h4>
<div>
<b><u>MC2019</u></b></div>
<div>
This hive started to build out in the bottom box! 5cm of comb was drawn out and where there was no wax foundation I found drone comb. As there were some cups, no eggs yet, I decided to bring some of the brood down. I took out the 4 frames in the middle and dropped 4 brood frames down there. Then, instead of keeping the brood compact - I realise now - I just filled up the wholes I created in the top box with empty frames from the bottom box. I didn't even take 4 adjacent frames down! I looked for the older ones to keep them in the top box and moved the newer frames down. As it happens to be those were each one frame appart... I did bring those brood frames together in the center of the hive, but I didn't bother to shift the other brood frames so the heat would be compact.</div>
<div>
I might have set this hive back in my attempt to prevent swarming! And I don't have to remind you of how angry bees can get if you take out frames and roll them over each other... Well I did that too... Shows you that if you don't plan on going into a hive, you shouldn't unless you think it through first.</div>
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<b><u>LL2019</u></b></div>
The reason I was here today was this hive. It had a stack of 3 deep brood boxes and I wanted to split this hive since they were nasty last inspection. Even though I don't want to breed 'hot bees' I feel the varroa issue is more pressing, so I'm going to continue with these as 'local adapted bees'. They didn't get treatment last year and are now booming! So these are the bees I want! How many queen cells I get will remain to be seen. How many will be sucessfull is yet another thing, but let's go over how I went about my business...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I smoked the entrance and took away the top to boxes, lid stil on there.</li>
<li>I smoked the bottom box (full of brood) and moved the entire box, bottom board and all away from where they were. (on the other side of the MC2019 and opening more towards the East-north East.</li>
<li>I moved an empty brood box to the old place (the hive has a different colour landing board - so the foragers looking for the old hive might find it, but I still believe most of them will come to this new box. There was a frame of honey in this box to start with, a leftover from last year.</li>
<li>I removed half of the brood from the LL2019, did a quick visual inspection of the frames but didn't find the queen. I moved 2 frames with bees to the old location and from then on I shook every frame off above the hive in the new location before moving the frames. I was pleased to see the hive was built nicely inside the frames. The work went smooth and well.<br />This did not put me at ease at all since as I'm writing this report here I can't say I saw eggs in any of the frames, nor did I look for larvae... Will both hives be ok? We'll see I guess.</li>
<li>After moving half of the frames from one box to the other, keeping the brood all together now, I opened the lid from the top box that I set aside and started deviding the frames. Not a lot of bees on there so I could move on to the next step.</li>
<li>Move the box on top of the old hive LL2019 in the new location I also but an empty frame here and there and divided the middle box that was still set aside over the LL2019 and the LL2020 that was being made.</li>
<li>I closed up the hives</li>
</ul>
<div>
Now I don't know where the queen is, or if I damaged her in the process. I don't think so and I half expect her to be in the new location. Since I smoked the hive to begin with and I shook most bees of there.</div>
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<b><u>LL2020</u></b></div>
<div>
The new hive get this name. I'll shrink her further back to one box coming inspection may 12th to devide the queens over some nucs and the LL2020. It doesn't matter what side of the MC2019 this hive is on, the one with the queencups and new queens will be the LL2020. But only for a short while, since if I find more frames with queens on them I'll have to rename them as they would all be LL2020-ies. I'm going to keep it simple and go for LL12020, LL22020 and so on.</div>
<div>
If I'm right and the LL2020 has the queencups in the old place, I'm going to make the split with frames from this hive, shrinking it down to one box and if needed will shake some more bees from the LL2019 in there. Let's hope I don't shake the queen in there...</div>
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<h4>
Apiary 3</h4>
<b><u>MCA2020</u></b><br />
Is of to a good start. I only took of the roof to check what's happening in the super (a full deep) and I'm happy to report 5 full frames of honey are being capped of and 2 to 3 more are being built out.<br />
Might take of some honey from this one!<br />
<h4>
Apiary 4</h4>
<div>
Ah, the bees are here! As I hinted earlier on, I got a swarm call of sorts on april 27th. A beekeeper witnessed how one of his hives swarmed and he moved them into a 6-framer. He was afraid they wouldn't stick around so he took out some brood frames from his hives, shook the bees of and gave the swarm 4 frames of brood and 2 frames of nectar. Then he gave me a call (he told me all this during the call) He wanted me to come and collect them, as he had 4 hives and didn't want any more.</div>
<div>
As I was at work I told him I was interested, but would have to call somebody else to pick up the bees. And that's what I did. Ives, my buddy, was willing to do this all by himself! He collected the bees, drove them to apiary number 4 and installed them there. I went over to take a quick look (without my beesuit) and only got one sting in the back of the knee while looking inside. </div>
<div>
As I did not want to inspect the hive - it was growing colder in the evening - I called the beekeeper again: Did he check to see if there were any queencups on the frames he put in there? - He didn't, but he didn't think they were on there...</div>
<div>
I knew what I had to do in spite of colder weather conditions. Yes you can inspect bees starting from 15°C and that's what it was, but still, they had brood! So 35°C is 20°C warmer than 15°C I urge you to take a shower with water form 35°C and then have your wife turn it to 15°C in one go, see how you'll like it..</div>
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So here's the video of what I did:</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cUdAHUKEozE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cUdAHUKEozE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I don't recall, did I post the construction of the hive in the video on here already? I don't think so, so I'll show you the pictures from the video on here to:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8JQ6bkjJF2QiHx_wL1TQzroX0R6UPJQitsHqKrsazgUFOSMuS0-dJi9NfwgnYz-x_-5hccJuHVycuFc7xZCPIL7OVJNnSRzvBtPi370wPKqL8pPD_hiZ4_e6tGrxObAsW7I3AZsfkRHG/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1406" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8JQ6bkjJF2QiHx_wL1TQzroX0R6UPJQitsHqKrsazgUFOSMuS0-dJi9NfwgnYz-x_-5hccJuHVycuFc7xZCPIL7OVJNnSRzvBtPi370wPKqL8pPD_hiZ4_e6tGrxObAsW7I3AZsfkRHG/s320/2.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJWqtk9v9i6BKEQqsLIgnRvpfh7VLa-qczsKhdg-gqDgSBH94t_aFFwRVkgDp5AtRdvbNVJsfUKlgsjlh8THs6nbZNDwNEEHLEQnfXoOzmzOrcdeIyRi3wGsS05APIoxtNzYGV37W6hzt/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJWqtk9v9i6BKEQqsLIgnRvpfh7VLa-qczsKhdg-gqDgSBH94t_aFFwRVkgDp5AtRdvbNVJsfUKlgsjlh8THs6nbZNDwNEEHLEQnfXoOzmzOrcdeIyRi3wGsS05APIoxtNzYGV37W6hzt/s320/1.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Above you can see the inside of the brood box, a hexagon shape made out of wooden boards - if I remember correctly 12 mm thick.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlNilnHk-f1XWMExgX86mI3wY31ebWeEMXRDAfIhxGxqenLQ7ADnmUTIn-Pw0D9MXI2vvl5LekTIggkTlmQ4WNVeheHMDnWD99QN2C59JeNQtReG0tAQZuX8caVnEECiscpw6bRFlhjvC/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlNilnHk-f1XWMExgX86mI3wY31ebWeEMXRDAfIhxGxqenLQ7ADnmUTIn-Pw0D9MXI2vvl5LekTIggkTlmQ4WNVeheHMDnWD99QN2C59JeNQtReG0tAQZuX8caVnEECiscpw6bRFlhjvC/s400/3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This here is the board I'll put on top of the brood box, the outer measurements fit that of the most common hive in Belgium, the simplex hive, so if I want I can super with a box with frames.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVULi0ISlE1rhFmvEv2S4_GcXsWAwwVKUPoyq3n9oaO53UWuX7cdbLCR-ofnQVChXliD0cUFEc9uR518DWSk-nyfTW8vF0TOPtsBGQ3qQZanwwnQAWEnOdxJpvx5U9qANN6BGtg7-fLinN/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVULi0ISlE1rhFmvEv2S4_GcXsWAwwVKUPoyq3n9oaO53UWuX7cdbLCR-ofnQVChXliD0cUFEc9uR518DWSk-nyfTW8vF0TOPtsBGQ3qQZanwwnQAWEnOdxJpvx5U9qANN6BGtg7-fLinN/s320/4.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The outside material is plastic. I used an old floorboard system as an outer layer. I believe the plastic will help prolong the lifespan of this hive as the rain should just drip off. You can see the plastic floar boards are hollow inside, which should provide a first layer of insulation. In between the hexagon shape and the plastic boards there is more insulation: wood wool. A natural product that I was able to buy from a guy that had a couple sheets to many.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DdDu9pc9JUJJPvnhVM4_xgaivs4b4IFPLsvm1zbv3nvK5dARVC3pBclwuGgzYgqNtZzXQvOxQP07mfmGlt8FOMdtF1u0lhcJ9vPR8fZyzU9FvbvVxuXord1fwXpuOh9ANcQNI68F2XwU/s1600/6+%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DdDu9pc9JUJJPvnhVM4_xgaivs4b4IFPLsvm1zbv3nvK5dARVC3pBclwuGgzYgqNtZzXQvOxQP07mfmGlt8FOMdtF1u0lhcJ9vPR8fZyzU9FvbvVxuXord1fwXpuOh9ANcQNI68F2XwU/s320/6+%25280%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a> </div>
The bottom of the hive looks like this. Open, appart from where the insulation is. What the material is, I couldn't say, it feels more durable than plastic, a bit harder as it would snap if you try to bend it, but it's not so hard as when you drive a nail through it it would break.<br />
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The initial idea was to put this hive on top of some compost and then let the <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Stratiolaelaps scimitus </span>a predatory mite find a home in there. It is said the bees go down towards the mites to help them get rid of varroa. It's not so much that he predatory mites go up into the brood to find the varroa, as the condition in the broodnest is not ideal for survival of this mite.<br />
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But as you could see in the video, and on the last picture, I have not yet built this hive stand for compost and am now using a bottom board with screen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5Qq-oaAfoUF8zw8MJ9gSCfb1bLA9yna7t8ww0h-YAszYI98pVNSTLbQHFbS_zfeuZgiwoWPqSDGDhV9onW6tsKnIZE5RaoTMGf4Pnu4_4_BNbrtFYoKO9eHzHPKVFPTifi7syvPLx3a6/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5Qq-oaAfoUF8zw8MJ9gSCfb1bLA9yna7t8ww0h-YAszYI98pVNSTLbQHFbS_zfeuZgiwoWPqSDGDhV9onW6tsKnIZE5RaoTMGf4Pnu4_4_BNbrtFYoKO9eHzHPKVFPTifi7syvPLx3a6/s320/7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2huVHlVcgCYbs8wwNoCb9eIJ0QZXAzEdmIT9FB_ZToQIU3vWGG2uP1Xvp6Udhyphenhyphenx0TenrKxrfzYPw5mo4_1JxiWYo78FSYXRnj21B4kEtwzowcA_sOt1FBrhi13lCAvKhvN9MnYt-FrmR/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2huVHlVcgCYbs8wwNoCb9eIJ0QZXAzEdmIT9FB_ZToQIU3vWGG2uP1Xvp6Udhyphenhyphenx0TenrKxrfzYPw5mo4_1JxiWYo78FSYXRnj21B4kEtwzowcA_sOt1FBrhi13lCAvKhvN9MnYt-FrmR/s320/18.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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The hole is the only entrance I was planning on using, with a disc to seal it off, but as you can see, putting it on a regular bottom board also works. I saw the hive today (may 3rd) and am happy to report most of the bees use this round entrance instead of going all the way down to fly out. Returning bees do divide themselves towards bottom and 'top' entrance.</div>
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<h4>
Apiary 5</h4>
<b><u>ZKS2020</u></b><br />
Is going to prove to be a problem child. I fear I dropped the apparant dead queen in there or damaged her in some other way. As of today she still does not have any brood in the cells. There was heat being generated, but that could be to build wax. Although I heard the bees don't build if the queen is not there. But hey, you only know things when you experience them for yourself right?<br />
The hive in itself grew a bit in size. 6 frames built out in the top box (out of 8) and 4-ish in the 2nd box. They were still building from what I could see. So I haven't lost all hope yet. I do hope to see brood next inspection, 12th of may, and if not, I might just put a queencup in here from the nasty hive LL2020... Even if I don't know if that's such a good idea for a school... The other option is to take a frame of brood out of my IC2019, but seeing as the Varroa load is pretty high, I'm not sure that would be a better option.<br />
I could just let them die and use the was as a resource for the next swarm... Have I given up already? No!! They haven't! They're still building!! So let's trust them!<br />
<h4>
Apiary 6</h4>
Didn't hear back from the owners, didn't go there to install a hive stand yet. It's on my to do list!<br />
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That's all for today folks!<br />
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Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-49120234775974839332020-05-03T22:53:00.000+02:002020-05-03T22:53:01.188+02:00Sites to Visit - Michigan State University Pollinator InitiativeHello readers,<br />
<br />
Today I'll be browsing the website of Michigan State University. I heard of it during a webinar about pollinater Landscape and figured browsing it would be a good fit for the blog.<br />
<br />
So this is the site I have stored on my browser : <a href="https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/pollinator-planting/pollinator-supportive-trees/" target="_blank">https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/pollinator-planting/pollinator-supportive-trees/</a><br />
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<h4>
The first page I looked at:</h4>
The link will take you to an introduction why planting trees is a good idea for improving your pollinator landscape. After explaining that it directs you to pollinator friendly trees (fit for the michigan state) and treegrowers aka: 'where can I get some'.<br />
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As I live in Belgium the local trees might not all be native, but the gest is the same and frankly, so are a lot of the trees. Maple, willow, fruit trees, linden, all native here, so the lists are usefull!<br />
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Of course I'm not going to order my trees oversees, so that would be something to look for, local tree farmers. As it happens, I have two only a stonethrow away from me! <br />
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I can't stress out enough, if there is something I would do differently to my beekeeping career, it would be to plant trees, bushes and flowers for the pollinaters before introducing them. But then again, that could be 'cheating' as the landscape is what it is.<br />
In any case a beekeeper needs to be more aware of his surroundings in relation to the bees he keeps there.<br />
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To help you out further the site has a pdf on how to plant and grow trees! I downloaded it and added it to my gigantic library of stuff to read and sort out. I hope I get to it one of these days! (I must admit, after scrolling through it, a little voice in my head went: translate it to dutch and use this to start a project in a school! If all kids in the class plant one tree in their garden... how cool would that be?! - But let's stay on topic here)<br />
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The next resource on that same webpage still is one of hedgerows. Next best thing after a tree, so also very interesting! But a site I will not store as I get redericted to it from this one if I need it.<br />
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The last link this page shares is one of how to actually plant trees depening on how they are delivered, with bare roots, in a container or in a burlap sac. In that site there it also tells you how to prune dead branches out of the tree, so a must read before you get to digging a hole...<br />
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So that's the entire page.<br />
<h4>
The second page I looked at:</h4>
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As a beekeeper you have to click that button that says '<a href="https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/beekeepers/" target="_blank">beekeeper</a>' right?</div>
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So where does that button take you?</div>
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Well, it starts of by showing you a nice picture of a brood pattern on some comb. Not the freshest of combes I've seen, but a good representation of what you're looking for in a beehive.</div>
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Underneath the picture is a 'Sign up for the mailing list' option, which of course I clicked on and signed up for ! (Even though they didn't seem to expect anybody from abroad doing that as they asked for my state, and not my country... without the option to go for abroad I left it blank and it took my application!)</div>
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The rest of this page is a table of contents you can use to quench your thirst for knowledge, just follow what picks your interest. Even the webinars (one of which I stumbled on and through that found the site) are listed on there. The main topics to browse through are:</div>
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<ul>
<li>General beekeeping resources</li>
<li>Honeybee Health</li>
<li>Webinars</li>
<li>Handouts and articles</li>
<li>Resources on dealing with farm stress</li>
<li>Resources for commercial beekeepers</li>
</ul>
Then at the end of that list you have some e-mail adresses to contact with bee-specific questions. Apart from one name (Ana) I recognize from the webinar (which I fell asleep in due to the time difference - but I'll look at it again through the links!) all the names are new to me:<br />
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<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">D</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">r. Zachary Huang (</span><a href="mailto:bees@msu.edu" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box !important; color: #18453b; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">bees@msu.edu</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dr. Meghan Milbrath (</span><a href="mailto:mpi@msu.edu" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box !important; color: #18453b; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">mpi@msu.edu</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Ana Heck (</span><a href="mailto:heckanar@msu.edu" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box !important; color: #18453b; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">heckanar@msu.edu</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">)</span></li>
</ol>
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The General Beekeeping resources are 'Michigan State oriented'.</div>
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But it doesn't kill you if you do have a look at what they say!</div>
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The Honeybee Health topic has (at this time) only four links beneath it, one is for Varroa, the last about AFB, then a topic on feeding your bees and one about what to do with ants in a hive.</div>
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<a href="https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/beekeepers/webinars/" target="_blank">The Webinars</a> is just that, webinars you can follow and learn from, follow the link to find out more!</div>
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Handouts and articles brings a (currently small) list of articles and (currently) focused towards the beginning beekeeper. There are resources on how to get started, how to light a smoker, how to maximize your wax production in new equipment, etc.</div>
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The last two topics with resources are just that.</div>
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The third link I followed:</h4>
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Took me to a pdf I downloaded straight away, the topic was Treatment Free Beekeeping. An article dating back to 2016 by the hand of Meghan Milbrath, Ph.D. , a dr. I do not know. The jest of the article is we want to go back to treatment free, all of us do, but we can't do it cold turkey and hope our bees will survive.</div>
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While I understand the article's conclusion (which is frankly and honestly the only thing I read) I didn't feel inspired to read the entire thing. I feel it is more directed at beekeepers who treat and want to stop treating since it's saying if you do it the wrong way; you're going to lose your bees at a faster rate than when you keep treating them.</div>
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But in the end, if you do monitor for mites and only treat those who need it, you can select those who need the least treatment to breed queens from and use those queens to requeen those colonies that do require yearly treatments, untill they don't.</div>
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As it was getting late, this was the final page I looked at. I might go back to this site if I remember the info on it and need to look something up, or want to know how others see that specific topic.</div>
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In any case, go take a look, form your own opinion, cause we all know: 'all beekeepers have one'...</div>
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That's all folks</div>
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Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-56347627911367056612020-04-30T17:00:00.000+02:002020-04-30T17:00:00.805+02:00Hive Report up to date till april 26thHello readers,<br />
<br />
Time for a new report on what's going on in my hives!<br />
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<h2>
Weather Report: </h2>
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We have had nothing but good days since my last report on april 11th. Yes there were some days that temperatures didn't climb all the way up to 20°C, some days had heavy winds, but all in all we had some nice weather. Not much rain, but the grass is still green... There are talks of early draught problems this year, but talking about it won't make it come true, and as long as we're not there yet... Let's hope for the best!</div>
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<h2>
Hive Report: </h2>
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Good news for me! I caught a swarm! Apiary 5 is in business! But let's not get ahead of ourselves and work through the apiaries!</div>
<h4>
Apiary 1</h4>
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At home I still only have my two hives, both of them got some oil as a coat to protect the wood on april 23rd.</div>
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<b><u>IC2019</u></b></div>
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This hive is still on 3 boxes of Warré, but the bees don't show any indication of building down. The floorboard tells me the varroa load in this hive is rather high, the poop on the front of the hives is an indicator of nosema. But that being said, the activity is all good. Plenty of bees coming in with pollen and good overall activity. I have not yet opened up this hive to do an inspection and I don't really want to, but if they don't build soon, I just might have to check what's going on. I don't want them to swarm on me without me knowing about it ahead of time.</div>
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<b><u>LL2018</u></b></div>
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These bees were ready for a super, even though they are on 2 boxes of Zander, with the brood in the top box, and nothing in the bottom one, I was thinking about putting a super on top. I finally decided that I'd go with an experiment. I added some sugardough in a mating nuc (with only 3 small frames) on top of this hive. They can access this mating nuc through the top of their hive and the bottom of the nuc. The rest is closed off. I monitored the progress on a daily basis but haven't seen more than one bee in this nuc at a time. Not on the foundation that I provided either, but on the sugar. The bees don't seem interested.</div>
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I'm planning on doing an inspection of this hive later this week. I might move the brood so I have a good base in the bottom box, with a smaller amount of frames of brood on top of that. Some empty frames next to the brood to get them building and then all the honey I can find (unless it's sealed, then I might take it off) on the outside of the hive.</div>
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I'll leave the nuc on top untill they show an interest in building it out.</div>
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Apiary 2</h4>
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Apiary 2 also received a coating of lineseed oil on the hives on the 23rd of april.</div>
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<b><u>MC2019</u></b></div>
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Here I copied the setup of the LL2018. 2 brood boxes of Zander, the bottom one all frames that have yet to be built out, the top box is booming and on top of that I placed a mating nuc. This one is a mini-plus plus box with smalls trips of foundation in them. No idea if it'll take, but I felt the bees were ready as all frames were filled with bees. During the inspection I noticed a good amount of drone brood AND I also noticed some cells with pupae in them that were uncapped. No signs of wax-moth other than that, so maybe it's hygenic behaviour? These are survivors from last year, so could be!!</div>
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I spotted the queen in this hive, she looks like a buckfast queen if you ask me, but she's a beauty... Unmarked, and we'll keep it that way! If only I had my equipment ready for making splits already, drones present, the queen on the frames... Next time, next time...</div>
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There ware also some queencups in here, so a split might be in order... I'll think about that in the coming week(s). </div>
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As a final note on this hive I can say they were showing a little hostility towards the end of my inspection. I didn't use smoke but tried to spray some water, as it had been dry I thought that would be the best of the two options. The water didn't impress them at all. It did keep them from flying up at first, but to be on the safe side, I put my gloves on just the same.</div>
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<b><u>The LL2019</u></b></div>
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Talking about hostile hives... This one is my hottest yet. I could aply the oil on both hives no problem, no protection, even the front of the hive did not pose a problem. But then I moved on to the inspection of MC2019, maybe the vibe was already signaled I was coming to the LL2019, as they didn't take that long to come at me. I was prepared for it and endured the bees for 15 frames out of 3 boxes. The first box had some activity, and was being scouted as a honey super, but they didn't build anything there yet. I ended up moving two honey frames in that box to checkerboard the honey supplies. The ambient volume of the buzzing did rise when I took that box off and went into the 2nd box. There were 3 frames of brood in here, but those frames didn't follow the frame! I had to cut through some pieces, enfuriating the bees further, I switched positions of these frames, hoping they would fix it to my liking for a next inspection. There were drones there, but most of it was nectar. it's from this box that the supplies were moved up. I can say the box was showing a good amount of bees, I felt confident the 3rd box could stay on top, opening up the bottom box confirmed that idea, and the volume swell...</div>
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I cleaned up some burr comb and inspected 4 frames before I had enough. The black cloud of bees that was looking for a way in got to my nerves and I figured I wasn't going to learn much anyway.</div>
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This hive showed what MC2019 showed me, as far as I can compare the two, the main difference is that the LL2019 seems to be doing better (in the simplex boxes, compared to the Zander boxes)</div>
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This hive needs to be split. I'm going to move this hive to a different location on the same apiary I'll put a new landing board and the middle box on that new landing board on the old location and switch out frames so both have some open brood, enough stores and plenty of bees. (Well more bees with the queen as the foragers will go back to the hive at the old position.) What I'm going to do with the queencups in the hive with no queen? I might split them up further, but due to the agressiveness, I might not. It all depends.</div>
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<h4>
Apiary 3</h4>
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The only hive here is the <b><u>MCA2020</u></b></div>
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I installed them on 9 april, where they had 6 frames built out, I checked on them april 15th, found they occupied 9 frames and were doing a good job on the other 2 so I supered them. The first inspection I did was on april 21st. I got stung by these bees, and I can't say I was expecting it. They were calm, and I continued the inspection after I got stung as if nothing happened. The top box I gave them was starting to get some attention, one frame was being drawn out, but nothing much else was going on. The bottom box was full of brood, 8 out of 11 frames! Some honey was already capped in the back of the hive, so giving them room was the right call in my opinion. I'll go back in this week if I have the time to check on swarmcells.</div>
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I did spot the queen and she's marked: She wears a green shield with the number 45 on it. A buckfast queen similar to what I saw in the MC2019</div>
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<b><u>Apiary 4</u></b></div>
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I have yet to repopulate this apiary, I gave the owners of the field a call, asking them if they will still permit me to restart and they have no objections. So when I do make splits, I have a place to put them.</div>
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<b><u>Apiary 5</u></b></div>
<div>
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZNz0EAiX5cY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZNz0EAiX5cY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Did I mention I teach beekeeping as a project in a Freinet school? I can't recall, anyhow... This apiary isn't really far from my home and I promised them to install bees as soon as I got my first swam-call... April 16th was the date. I had collected the swarm from a garden in a residential area and moved them to the school apiary. They were put inside a Warré hive - I believe I did put up the link already? Or did I? I have a hard time tracking what I have or haven't done here on this blog lately... Anyhow here it is (again?) </div>
<div>
I inspected them a week later, on the 23rd hoping to see eggs or proof of a laying queen. But I didn't spot the queen, nor did I find any eggs or larvae. I'm starting to wonder if this hive is going to be all right. In my mind I go over what you can see in this video . I collect the queen from the skep and put her in the hive with my hands. I cup my hand over the queen to prevent her form flying away, but when I release her she fell into the hive, rather than walk in. So I'm thinking, maybe she was faking death, as queens are known to do, when I put her back in. Maybe she got damaged, or maybe the bees killed her whilst she was in that state of apparent death? </div>
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Only a new inspection will tell, although I'm pretty sure none of my worries are true, as the bees were extremely calm during the entire inspection. Even though the buzzing sound did swell up.</div>
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<b><u>Apiary 6</u></b></div>
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No bees on my apiary here, yet! I contacted the owners informing them of my winter losses and my plans to expand - I hope to receive an anwser soon welcoming me to install the hive stand.</div>
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So that's all for today folks</div>
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Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-33955434643294439342020-04-28T17:00:00.000+02:002020-04-28T17:00:00.290+02:00Sites to visit - resource on solitary beesHello readers,<br />
<br />
In another type of blogpost, this will neither be a 'Weather & Hive Report', nor will it be a read and write article. It'll be a website I found and browse through. You might find simmilarities between this and the Read and Write posts, with the difference I'll start my blog with the link to the site I went through.<br />
<br />
So let's get to it! Here's the site: <a href="http://www.atlashymenoptera.net/bibliogen.asp" target="_blank">http://www.atlashymenoptera.net/bibliogen.asp</a><br />
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This post will be a short one, as I'm not going to go through all the PDF files you can find on there, that'll be work for another day...<br />
<br />
The site is a library of articles on different bee-species, not only honey bees. The articles are not translated, so you'll need a bit knowledge of languages, as there are French and German texts in there.<br />
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The articles are all sorted in order from Apoidea to Apidae and ending with Pompilidae and 'divers'. You can find the author(s) and the topic and the link to the article in question.<br />
<br />
The site in itself doesn't give you a lot, other than being a library of articles. So when in need, you might find an answer here.<br />
<br />
As you can probably relate, I didn't feel like going through every article one by one to fill up the content of my own blog here, nor do I have the time to do so at this moment.<br />
<br />
I have moved a shortcut on my browser to this topic under 'beekeeping - wild bees'. I'm going to make a note in my 'to do' list that if I ever get through all the reading on my dropbox for the Read and Write blog here, there's still some reading to do there...<br />
<br />
That's all for now folks!<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-9232004574652331822020-04-26T15:41:00.002+02:002020-04-26T15:41:37.588+02:00Read and Write - Follow up; Honey Bee Valley Arnia monitoring systems in useHello readers,<br />
<br />
Last Read and Write I commented on a report from Honey Bee Valley co-worker Dries Laget. A project where they use Arnia hive scales and monitoring systems to collect data and draw conclusions from that data. The report from last time was released shortly after the implementation of the project, and at the end of that I wondered if I could find any follow ups.<br />
<br />
As I am all over the place when looking for new information I had no clue where I found that report. Maybe it's an idea to take notes on what my sources are for future reference. That being said, I started my search on the Honey Bee Valley Website, a site packed full with information about bees and plants that are good for pollinators. A site that is still growing! But I didn't find what I was looking for. So not to waste too much time I drafted up an email and sent that to Dries asking him if the follow up reports were 'free to acess' and where I could find them.<br />
<br />
The day after I received an email directing me to those reports, you guessed it, on the very website I was looking for them... (facepalm myself much?)<br />
<br />
First follow up, shortly after the first report from september, there's one from october and november.<br />
The first difference is that now 28 of the 35 systems are up and running (instead of the 22 from last time). The trend that started in september continued till october 25th (flow was on even though it's supposed to be fall here). A little side note to that is for some data only 20 systems were used (as the others were not active during some periode)<br />
<br />
The most important conclusion remains: beekeeping is local. Out of 20 hives 5 lost weight where the rest gained weight through influx of nectar, in 2 hives there was an influx of more than 16 kg! On average the overall influx was around 4,5 kg.<br />
A second observation is that after a periode of bad weather, when the bees can go out again, there is a drop in weight. The hypothesis is that this weightloss is due to bees dying. In one hive the loss was<br />
2,5 kg, and that hive is no longer alive...<br />
<br />
What the monitoring system fails to do is letting you know with absolute certainty when the queen stops laying. The sensor you put inside the broodnest is stationary, so when the broodnest shrinks down, the sensor could very well be outside the brood, making the measurments unreliable. The advice here is: after a night with frost, it'll take 3 weeks to be sure there is no brood left in the hive.<br />
<br />
You can combine the data from the sensor with the weight of the hive to see if the colony is still alive. Fluctuating temperatures with a steady drop in weight shows the bees are still alive. This fluctuating temperatures with an even, unchanging weight tells you that hive is dead.<br />
<br />
The next report looks at november 2018 to march 2019. For some reason only 18 systems were operational during that time (dead hives?)<br />
The winter was rather warm for our climate, this means pathogens have an easy time surviving. This is disastrous in bigger colonies, as the pressure put on them is bigger. The smaller, weaker hives, that might have died if the winter was harsher, took advantage of rising temperatures early in the year to find extra resources sooner than normal and thus they were given a boost, instead of collapsing.<br />
<br />
The report doubles back on the difficulty to determine when the colony no longer has brood, as this is input you want to know when you want to treat for varroa mites. The sensors did see that some beekeepers did an oxalic acid treatment in december, which in hindsight was too early. In fact the data in some hives suggests there was no broodless periode at all.<br />
In the hives were broodbrakes did occur the queen started laying again early in february (around the 12th) as the temperatures started rising above 12°C at that time.<br />
The switch in winterbees to summerbees is not visable in the data, it happens too gradual and with other things going on (cleansing, gathering of resources...)<br />
<br />
Looking at the data from individual systems the corrolation between the local weather and how the hive fares is clearly present.<br />
<br />
Winter stores were used up faster by smaller colonies, as the bigger colonies have more bees to keep the temperatures in check. But overall the average use of stores can be noted as 66g per day (give or take 18g). The consumption of stores increases the moment the queen starts laying again, an observation that is easy to explain as generating heat requieres consumption of sugars.<br />
Suppose the queen would continue laying during the winter, the consumption would raise to 120g per day!<br />
<br />
Cleansing flights! You may not expect this, but the cleansing flights show up in the data. The first few days of good weather, the weight drops with this as the only explanation, the drop in weight continues and one could say the cleaning in the hive also is part of this data, and this is very plausible, but the first few days of nice weather does point towards cleansing flights.<br />
<br />
Next we have the start of the spring; march and april 2019, again with 22 systems in operation.<br />
The data shows we did not have a good spring time. Every couple of good days, with hives collecting resources and increase in weight for the hive were interupted by a day or a few days of bad weather and consumption of what was brought in, or what they had left from winterstores. It is only starting from 16 april that the real 'spring' started for the bees, but even that early start was again interupted 10 days later. <br />
<br />
Weightloss during the night shows how many nectar vs the amount of pollen was brought in. Higher loss of weight means more nectar was brought in, as the water is vaporised from the nectar during the night. Hives that gain weight during the night are affected by the weather, moisture is absorbed in the wooden hives, adding to the weight.<br />
<br />
First weightloss in the morning is tied to the outside temperature; 12°C -15°C is the starting signal for the scoutbees to leave the hive. If the drop in weight is significant and takes a while to climb back up, this is an indication that the landscape does not provide for the bees and they have to fly to far to be effective. The data collected shows the diversity in the landscape, the north of Belgium is better for the bees during spring. West- and East-Flanders have not much to offer to the bees, according to the arnia monitoring system.<br />
<br />
The final report that is up looks at the remaining months up until july 2019. The amount of monitoring systems used now is very diverse. Batteries running out, problems with connections and other problems took some systems out of commision. <br />
The data is also difficult to interpret as the beekeepers go into their hives and are managing their bees, the notes they took didn't always explain what the readings after the interventions meant. But one observation can be made: it is only when temperatures start hitting the 20°C that the increase or stability of the hive-weight starts. Unfortunatly the year 2019 was not the best year for the bees. After a good periode of flow, and harvest for some beekeepers, there was a setback in weather conditions, and beekeepers hade to give back to the bees as the stores started to decline as bees needed the resources to survive.<br />
<br />
One hive, where the beekeeper reported a swarmcells, the hive did not swarm but the data shows this internal switching of the queen has cost 16 kg of honey.<br />
<br />
A stop of nectar flow is an annualy recurring aspect in Belgium, in the end of may - beginning of june it's waiting for the Tilia trees to start flowing. In 2019 this was a short break as from 17 june you can see the bees bringing in more nectar again. Even though this was a short periode, the loss in weight per hive has an average of 8,2 kg!<br />
<br />
- - - - -<br />
So what do these reports tell me? In my opinion this data could be usefull for scientists, but not so much for the beekeeper himself. Maybe, in the future, when these measurements are wide-spread and projections can be made into the future this will be viable for beekeepers too. But as it stands, I believe the beekeeper has to know his bees and his environment. As a beekeeper you want to know when to do what, as putting supers on too early can have a devastating effect, but putting them on too late is maybe even worse. So as long as these monitoring systems are uncapable of giving you a heads up; Saying it's time to do this or that, I don't see them being used all that much, especially if you look at the prices of these things.<br />
It's ok if you're tech savy and you only have a couple of hives, but I don't see myself purchasing a base for 10 hives each...<br />
<br />
The report itself is also clear that some readings have to be accompanied by the notes of the beekeeper, they have not much value if you don't know what's happening in the hive at that moment, or what the weather is like...<br />
<br />
We'll see what my BEEP-base brings me ... (Not an Arnia system, but simmilar)<br />
<br />
<br />
Bob Out<br />
<br />
-I did not proof read this, there could be a lot of spelling mistakes in here, sorry for that! -Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-41732864798376289782020-04-18T23:07:00.002+02:002020-04-26T13:42:12.173+02:00Read and Write - Honey Bee Valley Arnia monitoring systems in useHello readers,<br />
<br />
As I posted a while back I'll start doing 'read and write' pieces on here.<br />
<br />
No weather Report, no hive Reports, well if you want to see bees, scroll down, I have a surprise there that has nothing to do with cleaning out my dropbox that's stashed with documents.<br />
I hope to find some gems in there and today I'm reading a paper written by Dries Laget from the University of Gent, Department Honey bee Valley.<br />
<br />
Dries Laget is the founder of the project VespaWatch. The project keeps an eye out on how the Asian Hornet is doing here in Flanders, Belgium. It also does 'pest control' towards this Vespa Velutina.<br />
<br />
To keep an ear to the ground, or rather a monitoring device inside the hive, they have 35 systems active spread across Flanders. It comprises of a recording device for sound, it has scales and measures the outside temperature and temperature inside the brood nest (if the sensors are placed in the right spot). Oh I almost forgot they also measure humidity inside the hive and the amount of rainfall there is. (If you want to see what devices are being used, head over to <a href="http://www.arnia.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.arnia.co.uk</a>.<br />
<br />
The report I'm reading is an interpretation of data recorded from 22 systems from september 2018 to 16 October 2018. I'm not sure how useful this report is since the time period is rather short... But that's not the main goal for this document, it is meant to showcase what data can be collected and how it can lead to interpretation of what's going on.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The Scales</h4>
<div>
First the document shows the scales are very accurate. </div>
<div>
Looking at one day; When compared to the outside temperature you can see a drop in weight in the morning when temperatures are around 12°C; Indicating the foragers have left the hive to start their work. The coming and going of bees shows on the diagram in fluctuations of weight during the day. As temperatures start dropping the bees return and the scales stop fluctuating showing an overall increase of weight. Looking at the scales the next day shows that the weight has dropped again, this is accounted to the vaporisation of the water from the nectar, and possibly some consumption.</div>
<div>
Comparing all these daily results over the whole period shows a clear correlation between the weather, the flow of nectar in plants and the weight of the hive.</div>
<div>
As winter sets in a weight loss is noticed that does not follow this trend, what did cause is is unclear but could be attributed to the death of the 'summer' bees in combination with excluding drones from the hive (that were still present till that day)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Differences in resources across Flanders</h4>
<div>
As weather conditions were steady across the whole of Flanders between 15 - 21 september this was an ideal time to compare the flow of nectar. And there were differences! Some hives consumed, others only consumed what they could find and then there were those that found some or a lot of resources.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The abundance of resources is not always deemed profitable for the bees, some do see it as a good thing (pollen coming in late in the year) others say it's a negative thing for the bees as the broodnest gets clogged up with whatever they find preventing the queen to lay eggs to provide enough 'winter' bees + the amount of 'winter' bees that are already there shorten their lifespan by foraging! Both hypotheses are plausible, but cannot be confirmed (nor denied) by looking at the current (small) amount of date. Let's hope the continuation of this project helps solve this puzzle!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There we have it folks,</div>
<div>
a short paper that now makes me wonder if I can find a follow up on this project... I'll have a look around and report back with the next Read and Write for you guys!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
- - - - -</div>
<div>
On another note, I caught my first swarm of the year and deposited it in a hive at a Freinet School : De Kleine Wereld (The Small World) Here's a <a href="https://youtu.be/ZNz0EAiX5cY" target="_blank">video </a>on that (up on 21/04/2020 18:00)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-3605931908681522462020-04-11T18:55:00.001+02:002020-04-26T17:16:03.024+02:00Hello readers,<br />
<br />
It's time for some beekeeping!<br />
I have bought 2 more hives to bring my number up to 6 and I'm preparing to go out to catch some swarms.<br />
But the most important thing is: I got to check my hives!<br />
<br />
There was a lot of confusion at first ; Would we be allowed to travel to our bees during the COVID-19 lock-down (it is a semi lockdown here in Belgium) so I prepared as you can read up on in my previous post <a href="https://beekeepingwithbob.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-dead-hive.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
So I was pleased to learn that taking care of your bees is allowed and moving them to pollination areas if you have a contract is also allowed.<br />
And yes, buying bees is also allowed - if overseen by the beekeeping association.<br />
<br />
But let's get to it!<br />
<br />
<h4>
Weather Report: </h4>
Spring is finally here! This last week has been beautiful and temperatures go up into the 20° C.<br />
It's not raining a lot, but it's not a dearth either so the plants are flowering and the pollen are in the air!<br />
<br />
<h4>
Hive Report: </h4>
<h4>
Home Apiary:</h4>
<div>
In my home apiary only 2 hives made it through winter: the LL2018 and the IC2019 (or the ZK2019 in previous reports)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As an intermezzo I'll show you a bee-watching video from my home apiary (and other bees)</div>
<div>
The blue hive is the IC2019 - the wooden landing board is from the LL2018</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6IKDzmBPs4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g6IKDzmBPs4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>The LL2018</u></b></div>
<div>
I took out some old frames for comb renewal. Frame 1 and 10 in the top box. Frame one was of a smaller size (from making this hive) and I believe the last frame of this smaller size is now removed from this hive. I moved frame 2 over to position one, that frame had a lot of pollen and bee-bread in it. Next to it on position 2 I put in an empty frame to get them building. </div>
<div>
Next to that on position 3-5 is brood, not a lot! So this hive had it rough coming out of winter!</div>
<div>
On position 6 I put a frame with foundation moving all previous frames towards the edges.</div>
<div>
7-10 is all honey!</div>
<div>
The box I put underneath is untouched.</div>
<div>
I don't intend to super this hive just yet. Hopefully they'll start building down as the nectar flow starts, if not, I might have a swarm on my hands.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>The IC2019</u></b></div>
<div>
This hive is on Warré boxes, and I intend to not inspect them by going in. I hope to do visual inspections through a window, looking at the bottom board and looking at the hive entrance for this hive.</div>
<div>
I can't see a lot through the window. The bees are all towards the front of the hive, away from the window. It feels like there isn't a lot of them.</div>
<div>
Looking at the landing board I notice a lot of poop, so they might have a case of NOSEMA on their hands. I also noticed the one bee with DWV.</div>
<div>
Seeing all this made me think the varroa load was going to be heavy in this hive, something that is to be expected. I did not treat any of my hives, so all varroa that survived winter will want to gain maximum profit out of the first few brood cycles. Let's hope the bees can handle the stress.</div>
<div>
When looking at the bottom board I get confirmation : a lot of varroa.</div>
<div>
The landing board tells me there's 43 bees coming in at 15:00-ish in the afternoon with 3 different colours of pollen. I believe it's willow (bright yellow pollen) and dandelion (a more orange color), The third color is a dirty white-ish/light grey and I have no clue where they get it from.</div>
<div>
As there are 2 unused boxes here for the bees to expand their nest I'm sure there's enough room!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Apiary 2</h4>
<div>
<b><u>LL2019</u></b></div>
<div>
One of the survivors is a nasty one. They let me take of 2 empty boxes and look through 4 frames (without brood) before the humming started letting me know I'd better close up.</div>
<div>
I moved 4 frames of nectar and a bit of pollen to the first super, over the brood nest. Thus giving them space next to the brood frames to grow and showing them there is room above for honey stores.</div>
<div>
I hope to move these frames to the top most box next inspection but we'll see what happens when we open this one up again.</div>
<div>
As this hive is on Simplex I might use it to ship out for a Darwinian Black Bee Project (minus the queen).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>MC2019</u></b></div>
<div>
This hive survived on one Zander box, something I didn't expect, I gave up on them! But they are here! And they are doing good. Going through the hive I noticed position 1 still had a filler block putting the hive on 9 frames. This one needs to be replaced during my first inspection. Those 9 frames have 5 frames of brood 3 frames of pollen and an empty frame. I hope they'll build towards the bottom. I'm toying with the idea to put 3 frames of brood in the bottom box with 2 frames of brood above - or something along those lines, depending how many frames of brood I find during my next inspection.</div>
<div>
Something else I noticed, and I wish I took pictures now, is possible signs of VHS; Some of the capped brood was opened up with the pupae still white. Are they doing something against the varroa mites? I hope so!</div>
<div>
Also, if you read back in my reports, I wouldn't be surprised that you'll find me planning on changing the roof on this hive... Well I still have to do just that!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<b><u>Apiary 3</u></b></h4>
<div>
This is a new hive! (as the old hive that was here didn't make it!) Welcome to the:</div>
<div>
<b><u>MCA2020</u></b></div>
<div>
The MCA2020 is a hive I bought from a beekeeper within throwing distance of my home. So local bees! (the beekeeper does use oxalid acid) They are on 6 frames of Simplex when I got them and are now inside one 11-frame box of Simplex.</div>
<div>
The plan is to let them grow and ship them out (minus the queen) for that same Darwinian Black Bee Project I mentioned earlier. I'll have to write a blog report on what that project is, so if you're interested, keep your eyes peeled!</div>
<div>
So, they were on 6 frames, now in positions 3-8.</div>
<div>
Position 1 is an empty frame, position 2 is a buit out comb frame.</div>
<div>
In slot 3 we have some pollen and nectar and the next 5 frames are all brood!</div>
<div>
Frame 9 is an empty frame, 10 has foundation and 9 is empty again.</div>
<div>
God I hope they build straight here!</div>
<div>
I'm going back in a week since they are in a fruit orchard with cherry, plum and apple. The plum was already in bloom, the cherries are ready to go and the apple is sprouting flower buds.</div>
<div>
They'll get ample opportunity to fill out this hive.</div>
<div>
I have half a mind set on instead of supering them putting a 6-framer next to them and to divide up the frames to make a walk-away split next week - depending on how strong they are growing and if they're building or not.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So that's it for today! I hope to make pictures and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg5WFFc0Y3Q" target="_blank">video's </a>again this year!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bob Out</div>
<br />Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-6094525229191772102020-03-22T23:57:00.001+01:002020-03-22T23:57:27.321+01:00A dead hive.Hello readers,<br />
<br />
With the corona virus everywhere on the planet I took measures to not visit my bees that often.<br />
<br />
What I did was under-super all the hives so they have room to grow, whilst still keeping the heat they generate closer to the lid.<br />
So far we here in Belgium are allowed to travel to our bees when they need tending to, but who knows what will happen to them, when or if that permission gets denied...<br />
<br />
So 18th of march I went out to look at my hives and I also inspected a dead one.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Weather Report 18 march 2020:</h2>
<div>
17°C out today starting from noon and lasting till over 16:00. Dry, no wind and clear skies. What more can a beekeeper ask for?</div>
<div>
The humidity was dropping in the air to about 60%</div>
<br />
<h2>
Hive Report: </h2>
At home I have 2 hives still in operation. One is on Warré frames and now has 3 boxes, only one is filled with bees. This is the swarm I caught in Kaster (Anzegem) and may have been refered to in the past as ZK2019 or IC2019. (I keep mixing the names up for some reason). These are actually not my bees, but bees I keep for a friend of mine, I'm glad they made it through winter!<br />
The other hive I didn't really bother to disturb as I wanted to tend to my bees elsewhere first and they are already on 2 Zander bodies, so should have room enough to grow in spring.<br />
<br />
I do want to share some picture I took from a dead hive:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu9kGjHvUteD7WSgyE-qs58t3i7QzqJ1yAFyTQHQU2tfJOjA0z58CzkfkO9TWdhv5H52imWDSXM-0FetUQ0w7MBRoKC01zU6Ar9mET8tPrDpTZe0COpASitWgiU5Vr5QyJiu4yCmvyzCh/s1600/IMG_20200317_153340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu9kGjHvUteD7WSgyE-qs58t3i7QzqJ1yAFyTQHQU2tfJOjA0z58CzkfkO9TWdhv5H52imWDSXM-0FetUQ0w7MBRoKC01zU6Ar9mET8tPrDpTZe0COpASitWgiU5Vr5QyJiu4yCmvyzCh/s320/IMG_20200317_153340.jpg" width="320" /></a>I removed the first few frames that were empty after looking inside. On top of the box you se in this first picture was a full box of honey! (they were also fed sugarwater so no harvest there...)<br />
As you can see some bees are laying on top of the frames, so they at least tried to get into the box on top. They didn't make it though. Was there too much room in between te boxes? Was it the cold that drew them tight together around the brood, taking the food out of reach? Or was it something else? Varroa maybe? Let's see if I can figure this out...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsf_Db_EZbVSHmkN9NSmTqULq88YpW2ZG9p2UlPZ0cUiZGi3SI3TFlMjxZIUs-RxPMQqxIRNS94mHqKTf-h-ahd6hFYIUTJeJ3C1vKJm6DzZR5WVwSk7H51nEidlN550MrWxdrq4zHi9iL/s1600/IMG_20200317_153505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsf_Db_EZbVSHmkN9NSmTqULq88YpW2ZG9p2UlPZ0cUiZGi3SI3TFlMjxZIUs-RxPMQqxIRNS94mHqKTf-h-ahd6hFYIUTJeJ3C1vKJm6DzZR5WVwSk7H51nEidlN550MrWxdrq4zHi9iL/s200/IMG_20200317_153505.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhd3S6P78dynvIWo8VJy1sKJZsz0OIMXje8FXS4AMAocDwccfnK9dleSNTsbdYpm1Sotq3O82RmEWEIhktDyYJPbsRWWboxyvkCoguiXpRs3aSKIYQt-q5eT95CPK-Z-XPS00b4thfX12C/s1600/IMG_20200317_153459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhd3S6P78dynvIWo8VJy1sKJZsz0OIMXje8FXS4AMAocDwccfnK9dleSNTsbdYpm1Sotq3O82RmEWEIhktDyYJPbsRWWboxyvkCoguiXpRs3aSKIYQt-q5eT95CPK-Z-XPS00b4thfX12C/s200/IMG_20200317_153459.jpg" width="200" /></a>The first frame that had bees left me no clues other than : 'these bees were hungry' as most of them are on the frame with their face inside a cell. Here and there you can spot a bee that's inside the cell with the entire body. Turning the frame over also showed me this hive was dead for a while, mold on the bees gave that away. When brushing the bees of the frame, the smell confirmed that. The second frame had even more white mold on it and I didn't need to brush the bees to smell death.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq7SEjbBN2pyoi3ZRHYzoi4SznZyIkqGmyxxlSL6lukh_eSXw9JHtUKNRh852U-eY5iXNAjzgyg3aXH1Uq_ibcfd2XLpasYIZxoLJlTOzY0hphS09Elsp9f-CJjoR7Fst4Wq-Hyax2cWz/s1600/IMG_20200317_153937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq7SEjbBN2pyoi3ZRHYzoi4SznZyIkqGmyxxlSL6lukh_eSXw9JHtUKNRh852U-eY5iXNAjzgyg3aXH1Uq_ibcfd2XLpasYIZxoLJlTOzY0hphS09Elsp9f-CJjoR7Fst4Wq-Hyax2cWz/s320/IMG_20200317_153937.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Turning the frame over gave me a lot more bees, mold and brushing them off also showed me some white dots inside the cells. This must be secretion from the varroa mite. So the culprit was probably varroa. And if it wasn't?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwszrjTHX-_hvz9TxkOBCRCREr-qbQZTMTIF3Y4Z9VcHLph4E16HdRQLWplOSTa0p4nB-uK6ASqnaCQlXBej1h-ZzhekV7ygsgGxoREqLw6sYpOk0qrMdImdAn8ynbmFHMwrqThRO3iuFS/s1600/IMG_20200317_153948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwszrjTHX-_hvz9TxkOBCRCREr-qbQZTMTIF3Y4Z9VcHLph4E16HdRQLWplOSTa0p4nB-uK6ASqnaCQlXBej1h-ZzhekV7ygsgGxoREqLw6sYpOk0qrMdImdAn8ynbmFHMwrqThRO3iuFS/s200/IMG_20200317_153948.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4XkRQFfkyWO5JmrseOgSoBOXTV3WwguNktkAXPMPBixPbh11ajDSAS1bzZBIGiu3aINCqOd5n2AU0og_BJ16s-YQMIilE6uFgqwTpG_s_85kiS4RH7SrTmBmaJxJPIuQMjTuPjW0f4NB/s1600/IMG_20200317_155130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4XkRQFfkyWO5JmrseOgSoBOXTV3WwguNktkAXPMPBixPbh11ajDSAS1bzZBIGiu3aINCqOd5n2AU0og_BJ16s-YQMIilE6uFgqwTpG_s_85kiS4RH7SrTmBmaJxJPIuQMjTuPjW0f4NB/s200/IMG_20200317_155130.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Then the next frame over might tell me the second reason, or maybe a combination of the two reasons... Capped brood at the bottom of the cluster. So maybe they did experience a cold snap? Maybe they didn't recover from the cold snap due to the amount of lost bees to varroa? Or maybe even a third factor has an equal amount of guilt: the weather. As we didn't have any frost worthy to hand out the title 'Winter' the bees had ample opportunity to leave the hive during these months shortening their life-span and returning to the hive with nothing to show for it.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4J8jrv7m07F5AD5lbE5Pa8ij6WPs6tuND2mkl4xtnJuzzGurek8IBnalWJq_oylfwiIfGHJBRYk6G_WCF22oZMhD6hvQD40xW1wBCHi_CcQeH33eiBb64d_UE01IRdirc5pWA6yMrPJI/s1600/IMG_20200317_155141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4J8jrv7m07F5AD5lbE5Pa8ij6WPs6tuND2mkl4xtnJuzzGurek8IBnalWJq_oylfwiIfGHJBRYk6G_WCF22oZMhD6hvQD40xW1wBCHi_CcQeH33eiBb64d_UE01IRdirc5pWA6yMrPJI/s320/IMG_20200317_155141.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblcK6Vfe4dsuFZmgqFw3vg16yCOqCv1wHc39JfOgw-uCCm7WXPN2DijgV1gvJNMO6l6ynSHI2oC1D-YIUuvoOrz6FUTUdnOCG85oQipa2xXmYM7mR8sbliyQKFs8UKtrV90YzTFcG_xgL/s1600/IMG_20200317_155451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblcK6Vfe4dsuFZmgqFw3vg16yCOqCv1wHc39JfOgw-uCCm7WXPN2DijgV1gvJNMO6l6ynSHI2oC1D-YIUuvoOrz6FUTUdnOCG85oQipa2xXmYM7mR8sbliyQKFs8UKtrV90YzTFcG_xgL/s200/IMG_20200317_155451.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Who will tell me what the cause of death was for these bees? It wasn't that they didn't gather enough foodstores. I even found some pollen on the next frame over that sat next to the brood. Granted, not much, but still the pollen are there...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF_TrC5fKp2_xaH_-HWyr1wXfq2vBI7lIB5vdIpB94S-UJCalbdllXxq82NugbN3a5lzF0c3sE-fjw2bfHG3pYPT8j6hiaC8oWobsWk6JR8HnwIAh5wg0SbaUUNR00X2F_JeytRbVCx7s/s1600/IMG_20200317_155500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYF_TrC5fKp2_xaH_-HWyr1wXfq2vBI7lIB5vdIpB94S-UJCalbdllXxq82NugbN3a5lzF0c3sE-fjw2bfHG3pYPT8j6hiaC8oWobsWk6JR8HnwIAh5wg0SbaUUNR00X2F_JeytRbVCx7s/s400/IMG_20200317_155500.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
As a finale photograph I'll show you what I found on the bottom screen. Dead bees galore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KjoW7bzzyi4qogLX3tMy2RsDV9cgEXrVFsaJ1y53pAKEySC_QziJ22ILxuHkQZTMrc4ouixpwomU_P_vI_49H0bU540nd1qLMdUbeZEqhuGhUfqkusb_ktHcnyK1HhacJVTTde7ph1U7/s1600/IMG_20200317_160726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KjoW7bzzyi4qogLX3tMy2RsDV9cgEXrVFsaJ1y53pAKEySC_QziJ22ILxuHkQZTMrc4ouixpwomU_P_vI_49H0bU540nd1qLMdUbeZEqhuGhUfqkusb_ktHcnyK1HhacJVTTde7ph1U7/s320/IMG_20200317_160726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I cleaned out the bottom board and placed a box on top of it with some drawn out frames. I left it there in hopes a swarm will find it and take up residence here. If not, it's ready for swarm season!<br />
<br />
That's all folks<br />
<br />
Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-41602136740337221932020-03-16T00:43:00.003+01:002020-03-16T00:43:24.057+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 26pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">imkercongres Mortsel 29 02 2020</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The reception</span></h1>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VugIX9sjwfn7GemV-YzBtmuylzbjpdkMs1Z74mNsmX4eXy1G-QammVLgkf34shbyXJJhnPeEPS6vxppONibOS2QTCXkUrcdpWaGgKYgSpqC3lBIt15I3KU4DiIvtOj57L7C5tSV0Czgf/s1600/IMG_20200229_083121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VugIX9sjwfn7GemV-YzBtmuylzbjpdkMs1Z74mNsmX4eXy1G-QammVLgkf34shbyXJJhnPeEPS6vxppONibOS2QTCXkUrcdpWaGgKYgSpqC3lBIt15I3KU4DiIvtOj57L7C5tSV0Czgf/s320/IMG_20200229_083121.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Arriving early I helped out Hugo who was unloading some baskets full of goodies
- a present for the speakers? After this short greeting I moved on to the reception room.
I was fitted out with a yellow paper bracelet, permitting me to help myself to some coffee,
water or tea with a biscuit. The ribbon also allows entry into the theater, where the
guest speakers will do their thing. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">As I can't remember whether lunch was included, I’m hoping for a snack over noon as well.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slowly the room filled up with beekeepers, I have to presume with local beekeepers since,
apart from Hugo I didn’t know any names. There were some faces I had previously seen
in other beekeeping events, but mostly the crowd was made up of unknown people.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Small groups gathered and everybody found people to talk beekeeping with. I picked up
parts of a conversation and was witness to yet another story of losing bees over winter.
The same image that I had already found in my own hives after inspection was relayed to
the mentor by his apprentice.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a while some people came in that I knew so I put away my notebook and started
my own social mingling. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_arZ6oxC1HGb0O3CeYJ10HyA0hLHWR05lMIQvkSK6V1xxfTSFfxDCM5bDL8Wc3qSrrYib9Xqkw8VZpR52DJSXBvZfjZ9BDNg3wKvzqTQrtNKT2PKTgEPbm77HqWpUR8HXAb_D7xbnOt-5/s1600/IMG_20200229_083057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_arZ6oxC1HGb0O3CeYJ10HyA0hLHWR05lMIQvkSK6V1xxfTSFfxDCM5bDL8Wc3qSrrYib9Xqkw8VZpR52DJSXBvZfjZ9BDNg3wKvzqTQrtNKT2PKTgEPbm77HqWpUR8HXAb_D7xbnOt-5/s320/IMG_20200229_083057.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">On the schedule are 5 names, first up we have dr. Thijs Lambrecht, who will discuss the
history of beekeeping in Flanders, Brabant.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Next up professor dr Dirk de Graaf, from the university of Gent, Honey Bee Valley,
speaks about innovation in the beekeeping world; the digital era and how science has
helped in the selection process towards varroa tolerant bees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The third speaker is dr. Hans Bruyninckx, who'll address beekeeping and climate change.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then after lunch (yes, I found the schedule and there is lunch provided) we have prof.
dr. Jan Tytgat, talking about pesticides and what they do to bees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After all that to conclude the congress dr. Hans Van Dyck will talk about ‘bee smart’.
The communication within a hive, how they navigate and the learning capabilities of
honeybees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A diverse and interesting assortment of topics.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Words of welcome</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The first person to pick up the microphone after we moved to the theatre room was a
member of the Saint Ambrosius Beekeepers Guild Mortsel-Edegem. And he’s also the
person to tie the speakers together, thank them and give them the basket with goodies
as a ‘thank you for speaking’ gift.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He announced the first speaker, not as Dr. Thijs Lambrecht but as the mayor of the local
commune: Eric Broeckx. Eric, as a politician, gave his felicitations to the guild and gave
a speech worthy for a man in his position, before returning the microphone.
</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr.Thijs Lambrecht</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><img alt="afbeelding van Thijs Lambrecht" height="200" src="https://research.flw.ugent.be/sites/default/files/styles/profile_picture/public/pictures/picture-871-1572284288.jpg?itok=6zvyoye2" width="150" />Dr Thijs Lambrecht took us on a trip down memory lane.
As a historian he (had his students) plow(ed) through tons of documents.
The result was a timeline that didn’t really give away any secrets on how to become
a beekeeper, but rather focused on the economic value of honey and how many people
were keeping bees right up until the 1900’s. I’ll give a short overview of what I can
remember on the subject:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1866: the year where all beehives were counted in Belgium as part of a larger
agricultural project. The amount of hives in Belgium were 140632 hives. This
information was gathered from a book: “History of agriculture in Belgium” from 1952,
in it 6 pages are all about beekeeping. (The book might not be available in english,
the dutch version is titled: ‘Geschiedenis van de landbouw in België’ by Paul Lindemans)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1300-1400: </span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Research proves wax and honey are imported from South Europe (mainly Spain)
- the research itself was analysing remains from inside a cesspool, finding pollen
from plants that did not flourish in Belgium.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">documents are found that proves beekeepers move the hives to follow the blooming
of plants</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">a household that has bees averages from 2 to 6 hives</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1400-1600:</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">An increase in the amount of beekeepers</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">rivalry between neighbouring villages about who can put up hives and where</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1568 painting by Pieter Breughel portraying a band of thieves in beekeeping-suits
stealing honey</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">about 30% of all villagers have at least one beehive on their property, mainly
for own consumption. Most villagers that have bee hives are also small scale
or medium sized farmers.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1600-1700:</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Heather is one of the most important resources for honey, as are wild flowers</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A law is prohibiting people from picking flowers from the fields in Kalmthout
(a region with a lot of heather)</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1700 - 1900:</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">guilds of beekeepers are founded. To join one, a donation of a certain
number of hives is needed. Hives that are then rented out to the highest bidder.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">in 1750 a crisis in beekeeping arises the rent for hives is dropping</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The amount of beekeepers is also dropping in numbers, but the amount of hives
with beekeepers that keep it up increase.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">in 1800’s only 7 to 8% of the villagers still have bees. This is the result of</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: square; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">sugar</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: square; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">changes in the land due to agriculture expanding</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: square; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">soot candles and oil lamps becoming a more popular way for lighting
(cheaper)</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">There is a slight increase in beekeepers during the continental blockade from
1806 to 1814, but as soon as the other resources become available again, the
number of beekeepers drops again.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In total there are some 130 guilds in existence in Belgium, but their activities
perish and the number of new members drops or is even halted in some years.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">One of the remarks dr Thijs Lambrecht made is pretty curious, pollination is
something unknown to people from this time as a church tried to fine beekeepers
for the damage their bees caused in the orchard!</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Prof. Dr. Dirk de Graaf</span></h1>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMNo7YcFzHnNXi10i59krnC19ybAJGeEXBxqa9APePUZO_DZKl2WjMh-4-38WEsQx4-3sQIo731tB3dnRcLzbQiRFpm39DKSs_9ZB107A57GXrQOZe4cwBDF3Ic_35x_7vcsdsIrSEV99/s1600/Knipsel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="179" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMNo7YcFzHnNXi10i59krnC19ybAJGeEXBxqa9APePUZO_DZKl2WjMh-4-38WEsQx4-3sQIo731tB3dnRcLzbQiRFpm39DKSs_9ZB107A57GXrQOZe4cwBDF3Ic_35x_7vcsdsIrSEV99/s200/Knipsel.JPG" width="153" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I didn’t take much home from dr Dirk de Graaf his presentation.
He introduced some digitale alternatives to replace a notebook
to take notes during hive inspections. He mentioned the BEEP
and Arnia systems, talked about how many they have or ordered
and what they are used for. He touched upon the wishes of
europe to use these systems to create a ‘digital beehive’ that
could be used to approve plant protection products. (see the EFSA
project for that)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He also spoke about their selection work and how he hopes the
bees they are creating towards varroa tolerance are going to
stay locally adapted and spread amongst the beekeepers.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">To be honest, I don’t recall any results from all the work he has pointed out to be doing.
Sure they found 8 markers on 6 genes that indicate, for our region, that the bees that have
those markers show a good promise towards resistance or tolerance. But no results were
tied to those conclusions, in fact he asked for more funds to further investigate these findings
in queen breeding.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He also showed that beekeepers working together with Honey Bee Valley in the queen selection
program have had favourable results towards selecting queens that have a 0 virus load.
But he did not mention why this is a factor that is interesting for beekeepers. One could assume
that having a minor virus load already present inside a beehive would help with fighting off that
disease as the bees are familiar with it rather than have ‘clean’ bees that all of the sudden have
to deal with said disease.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After his talk during lunch Dirk came over to our table for the briefest of moments and we had a
little discussion on this selection topic. I can say he has admitted that to come to a workable
result we have to let nature help select the bees in a more natural selection process.</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dr. Hans Bruyninckx</span></h1>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TwYgUKfQXqYGg5GQf6KfuqRSiyOXNlw2bZ2KgacBGKP3ve8G4TPWRmvVXT2HXhsU2VVTRo2b7EelacUaaMEqkZoC4AjUZiJi46I7G5XoKMbu3fL6wpQOBdp8N_Em7k1g9gKWwF70glmq/s1600/Knipsel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="279" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TwYgUKfQXqYGg5GQf6KfuqRSiyOXNlw2bZ2KgacBGKP3ve8G4TPWRmvVXT2HXhsU2VVTRo2b7EelacUaaMEqkZoC4AjUZiJi46I7G5XoKMbu3fL6wpQOBdp8N_Em7k1g9gKWwF70glmq/s200/Knipsel.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Climate change was the topic here, a topic that can be split into
3 major items:</span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Global Warming</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Decrease of Biodiversity</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Exhaustion of our fossil fuels in correlation with the former 2 items</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dr Hans Bruyninckx pointed out that the European Green Deal is already too late,
even if all targets are met in time (or even earlier). As we already have irreversible effects
on the planet and specifically for Belgium:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Increase in heat waves</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">less precipitation during summer periods, but more rainfall overall during one year.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">extreme weather conditions (storms, high wind velocities, heavy rains)</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">All this will result in a changing environment. Nature will survive, but a lot of species will not
coop at the speed needed to adapt themselves to the changes around them.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Bees have a good chance of making it, since beekeepers will try to keep their hives alive,
and bees have a good adaptability, provided they have a longer period of blooming flowers.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Lunch time</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">During lunch time we debated amongst ourselves mostly about Dr. Hans Bruyninckx
presentation and what that meant for us. In fact the thought was posed that we have to stop
teaching others to become beekeepers. First we should bring awareness that there is a
shortage of food sources (biodiversity) and stimulate beekeepers first and others second
to provide forage for the bees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In the light of climate change we should not blindly follow associations like ‘natuurpunt’ -
an association that is looking to preserve landscapes - but rather than preserve landscapes
we should prepare them for the upcoming changes. Maybe we need to look at what type
of conditions we are expecting to have and introduce plants that thrive in those conditions.
With the risk of being judged for bringing in (invasive) exotic species. But it is only logical
that the planet will adjust itself if we let it, and that would mean that plants would have to
adapt, or would have to travel at the same speed the climate change does. So why not
prepare for that and already introduce the plants here?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We worked our sandwiches down during all this social talking and the topic changed into
varroa. One of the present beekeepers wound himself up over the fact that there are
‘natural beekeepers that just don’t treat’. Said beekeeper does not use any products in his
hive, but treats by taking out all infested brood out of his hives, to let them recover from
varroa infestation, so that they make it to the next year. He firmly believes that simply stopping
treatments is detrimental. The load of varroa that is everywhere, so he believes, brings too
high a pressure for the bees to adapt. It is his belief that the amount of varroa keeps growing,
even inside hives that make it through their first winter, resulting in loss of the colony during
the second winter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I did not contradict him as I did not feel the need to. He did ask me about how long I’ve been
beekeeping after I admitted having lost 10 out of 13 hives. He did not press the matter, I did
not say anything.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Another beekeeper there agreed with him, but did say he did not treat, except when the mite-
load called for it. I have no idea what treatment said beekeeper uses if the mite-count is too high.
On counting mites, I asked the first beekeeper what method he used and what the threshold
is he utilises. The answers were: sugarshakes and 2 in wintertime.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This made me revisit my own beliefs on the way home later that day, but I firmly believe that
the bees are capable of adapting on their own. The only practical problem is that there are
no wild colonies left to start with in my region (or at least none that I’m aware of). So after
capturing a swarm, they might indeed die after the 2nd year, for reasons explained above.
This would mean I have to keep doing what I do, until the bees that are ‘created’ to be varroa
tolerant are widespread, start to swarm and fall into my lap. Making my entire operation
(trying to get to vital bees by myself) obsolete.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I’ve decided to keep going for it in my own way, if it works, great, if it doesn’t… then I’ll end
up with bees that were bred to be resistant in the lab and undergo a natural selection from
that point on - resulting in even better bees (I hope).</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Prof. Dr. Jan Tytgat</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><img alt="Afbeeldingsresultaat voor Dr. Jan Tytgat" height="200" src="https://www.lierbelicht.be/sites/default/files/TYTGAT%205.jpg" width="133" />Professor Dr. Jan Tytgat was up next. He addressed the plant protection
products rather thoroughly divided into several topics:
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the kinds of products and how they work + how long it takes for nature to get rid of them
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The application of said products - use as intended + side effects like seeping into the soil and
water, only to resurface inside plants and waterways.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sub-lethal effects in honey bees caused by these products (that we know of)
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symptoms in bees after coming into contact with these products </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use of products within the beekeeping circles themselves and the impact on the bees.</span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Synergy between products - in general most fungicides and aragnacides have the
ability to enhance (more than double even) the effects of other pesticides.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The use of PPP’s in Belgium, amounts shown in numbers. And those numbers were
metric tons! Hallucinating.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Integrated pest management systems for auto-control and the importance of biodiversity
to limit the effects.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I’m not going to get into details here on the entire presentation. Most of it is theoretical and as
I don’t use any products, nor can I mitigate the use of them in my environment further than my
own garden, I have to make do with the reality around me. This presentation was however
very suitable to bring awareness that our way of producing food is not a sustainable way.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr. Hans Van Dyck</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnhYDwB5pgq1I0Lh0B1HAyjWGY4hHxdWfvbdRLxgdW8EXKBnDCJkpAgQ_xe2XXfQsSUfpvF9shc8uM7KfUSbNf8-R5qQvQ0D6TtZzB6ibmV3gHE3JDj39PfDxvlcWPzo_UUuKeoQCJE7O/s1600/Knipsel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="221" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnhYDwB5pgq1I0Lh0B1HAyjWGY4hHxdWfvbdRLxgdW8EXKBnDCJkpAgQ_xe2XXfQsSUfpvF9shc8uM7KfUSbNf8-R5qQvQ0D6TtZzB6ibmV3gHE3JDj39PfDxvlcWPzo_UUuKeoQCJE7O/s200/Knipsel.JPG" width="163" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The final speaker was dr. Hans Van Dyck. He talked about how
every individual sees the world in his own way and how within a
species this way is somewhat the same, but still different. He also
told us that other species see the world very different than us but
in the end, if we go far back enough into evolution, we find a
common ground. All life has the same origin, still not all species
have the same needs. As an example he told us about how plantlife
and pollinators need each other, use the needs of the other to
satisfy their own needs. It’s very plausible to assume the bee
doesn’t care about plant-sex-life, yet she is a part of it. It’s very
plausible to say that all the bee cares about is the nectar, the pollen,
the propolis or water. So in fact it is the plant that uses that need of the bee to spread its pollen
around! Sometimes this fails as bumble bees or some wasps have been known to chew through
the flower petals to get directly to the nectar without passing the pollen at all. This shows that
bees can learn. Some bees find things out all by themselves, sometimes they copy the
behaviour of others.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">As an example dr hand Van Dyck showed us some experiments. On bumble bees, and how
they were made to pull up a disk from underneath a barrier to be rewarded with nectar from
the center of the disk. Once they had one bumble bee that knew what to do they gave him an
audience. After simply watching that bumble bee perform the pull out the disk trick 40% of the
audience (all bumble bees) also knew what to do! Some other experiments showed you can
train bumble bees, they used a model (a dead example of the species on a stick) to show bumble
bees how to put a small ball in the center of a disk resulting in a reward. Such smart creatures,
with so tiny brains!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Honeybees are also capable of learning. They were exposed to colours, shapes and number
of items.</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">They could learn that they had to choose the same (colour); After flying inside a hole
that was painted yellow they had a choice to go through one of two holes, the same yellow
or a different blue coloured hole. Choosing the same colour was rewarded.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">They could learn that they had to choose a different colour, or choose something else.
This time the reward came if they picked the other option and not the same colour twice.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">They could learn simple math! They were made to enter through a yellow portal with a
number of dots on it, then pick the portal with one fewer dots inside. Or through a blue portal
after which they had to choose the portal with one more dot in it. </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dr. Hans Van Dyck also pointed out that there were personalities to be found within insects of
the same species, or even within the same group of social animals, like honeybees. They are
not pre-programmed machines! If they are conscious is another matter, but they sure are not the
same.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Aftermath</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It was a long day, and I left the aula on my own, as the people I was sitting with were talking
amongst each other and addressed others as well. I figured I’d drive home, skipping the drinks
and snacks to enjoy the company of my family.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Arriving at my car I was disappointed in the economic system. I used an app to start a timer,
allowing me to pay for parking space during my stay, only to find I received a ticket anyway!
My timer charged me 6,13 EURO for parking there, the ticket asked for 25 euro.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I fully intend to file a dispute about this, and I hope I’ll be acquitted for paying the 25 euro extra.
I had a good day, but not that good a day…
(as a side note I can now tell you they dropped the fine!)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Bob Out.</span></div>
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<br />Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-19955487549611270562020-02-22T00:19:00.002+01:002020-02-22T00:19:26.102+01:00Bees and MycliumHello readers,<br />
<br />
Today I'll tell you a bit about a conference I attended based on the works of Paul Stamets.<br />It's all about how bees visit mycelium and why.<br />
<br />
But first:<br />
<br />
<h2>
Weather Report:</h2>
<div>
I have to say winter never really came by, but who knows it might still do so. And if it does let's hope the surviving bees make it. It's been over two weeks now that I see the bees fly out on a daily basis, the spring bloom is two to three weeks early and it's heartwarming to see the bees on some flowers in my garden.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Hive Report:</h2>
<div>
You might wonder why I find it heartwarming to see bees on the flowers, well that's because I don't have a lot of good news to share.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of all the hives I sent into winter (13, and I had 20 - nucs included- at a certain point) only 3 survived...<br />Only in my first two bee-yards the bees have known survivors:<br />At home I have my LL2018 and the ZK2019 (might have called it IC2019 elsewhere) and in my second yard the LL2019 is still alive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I know what to do this year, pretty much the same as in 2018, but better!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
The Mycelium theorie:</h2>
<div>
This will of course not be the entire presentation, but rather what I picked up from it. Paul Stamets started all this, although there might have been others with similar observations who's voice was not heard. In any case what is to be observed is that bees actively look for mycelium in the soil. To understand why they look for excretion from that mycelium we need to understand something else first.</div>
<div>
The immunity of a bee and how it digests pollen.</div>
<h4>
Immunity & pesticides</h4>
<div>
Bees have several ways to defend themselves against diseases and toxins they encounter, part of it is outside of the bees with the propolis, another part is within each bee and in fact each other living being: it's intestinal biome. There's more distinctive aspects to the immunity than just these two, but as I understand it these are the most important off all. Now when bees go out and forage they bring back all sorts of harmful life along with what we spray on our plants and in the soil.</div>
<div>
Among those pesticides are fungicides and in combination with whatever other toxic substance this fungicide enhances the toxicity. So how little harm that one product is supposed to do (since it got approved, right?) the harm is substantial in combination with fungicides. Even in such a way that the immunity system shuts down or is limited in it's defensive capabilities. Alongside that the production of other vital substances is hindered, resulting in less production of the ATP (a substance that is helping with nourishment of the muscles in living beings) turning the insects from flying bees into crawling bees with intact wings.</div>
<h4>
Digestion of pollen</h4>
<div>
Bees can't digest pollen as it is protected by an outer layer of a very hard substance (sporopollenin) that they can't break down with their own digestive system. They need that outer layer to become soft and partly broken down by other processes (acids). That needed acid is also broken down by a component in a lot of pesticides, resulting in bad nutrition for the bees, who were already struggling with their immune-system. And we all know that you have to eat right to be healthy, now don't we?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Conclusion:</h4>
<div>
Basically the bees have a hard time due to what we are doing to our planet with spraying to 'protect' our plants that have to grow on fertiliser since our soil is barren. We are the cause of the shut down their immune system has, we affect their neuro synaptic functions and we hinder their consumption of egg whites. This on top of all other pressures the bees have to deal with (predators, climate change, intrusions by the beekeeper, ...)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Solution:</h4>
<div>
Well yes, you guessed it, Mycelium could be the answer to both problems.</div>
<div>
Preliminary testing in the field before setting up the <a href="https://www.mycobees.be/" target="_blank">MYCOBEES project</a> (site in French) showed promising as 3 independent beekeepers used a mycelium-concoction to feed to weakened bees early spring instead of combining the weaker hives with stronger ones. This feeding resulted in all fed beehives to grow and deliver a decent honey crop!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I invite you to join the citizen science project ! Grow some mushrooms and report what it does with your bees (if anything)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-57994561956999854652020-01-13T21:48:00.000+01:002020-01-13T22:49:57.848+01:00This one was sitting on a shelf: Beekeeping in Belgium<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hello Readers,</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-203d2852-7fff-a86b-3ce8-92cea7370c97" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">This post was sitting in my concepts as it was a draft for my report I gave in Pardubice. I should have posted it soon before or after my trip, but I simply forgot it was there.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;">So for what it is worth here is the draft from then (03/09/2019)</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Living in Waregem as a beekeeper has brought me fortune. Not so much with my bees (yet),
but through my activities as a beekeeper doing cutouts and trap-outs the city heard of my
endeavours. As such they thought of me when Pardubice (Czech Republic) city council
invited 2 beekeepers over for the Honey Days that take place there in October.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Pardubice and Waregem have a close relationship with horses and are fraternized cities.
I have gladly accepted the invitation and was asked to write a bit about Belgian beekeeping
in general, the number of beekeepers, the number of hives they keep and some general
information of Belgian beekeeping.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As I have this blog, I might as well write the short presentation here, as I imagine, writing my
blog in english, it draws at least some attention from foreigners that might have the same questions.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">History</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">No, I’m not going to talk about how we as humans went from searching for hives in the forest
to keeping them in skeps or hives in the backyard. I’m looking to tell you how beekeeping in
Belgium looks like. And, to get them out of the way, I want to start with the numbers, numbers
are rather dull to some and very interesting to others, but they do paint a clear picture no matter
what you think of them. The only remarkt I can make is that as soon as you write them down,
they’re dated and possibly wrong, they only capture that one moment in time where you measure
them.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The earliest numbers I found on the internet date from the early 1900’s with about 200.000 beehives
(skeps) in Belgium with a honey crop of 2.500.000 kg (about 12,5 kg honey per hive)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In 1946 that amount dropped to 15.000 beekeepers with a total amount of 106.000 hives
(around 7 hives per beekeeper)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In 1973 this number drops to 11.000 beekeepers and 90.000 hives (8 hives per beekeeper)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In 2011 they recorded the low number of 2837 beekeepers in Belgium.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Since then the media has given beekeeping some attention, as the bees have a hard time now.
I believe the increase in numbers has something to do with that as in 2015 we had 4048 beekeepers
and in 2016 the amount of beekeepers in Belgium grew till 5148. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">3415 of those 5000 live in the dutch speaking part of Belgium.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And I’m one of them since february 2018, In my first year I went into winter with 5 hives and came
out with 3, Now I have 16 hives - 6 are smaller nucleus hives, and I expect to go into winter with 14;
I expect to lose 2 more nucleus hives, both seem to have a queen that did not get mated very well,
or simply is not laying eggs, in spite of feeding.</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hobbyist vs Professional beekeeper?</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In the years 1800 almost everybody had a beekeeper in the town, or several of them and honey
was a luxury product, the wax was a very useful product and beekeeping was a profitable profession. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A beekeeper then could make up to 3 times the amount of a man that worked the land on a farm.
Now we invest more than the return we get from keeping bees. Honey is replaced by granulated sugar,
that’s why keeping bees has become a hobby rather than a profession in Belgium.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Of all beekeepers now, in Belgium, the vast majority of them practice beekeeping as a hobby with
on average 10 hives per beekeeper. One beekeepers claims since 2012 he’s spent 5000 EURO
on his 20 beehives where his income is only 4000 EURO in that same timeframe. I know of hobbies
that cost more and are less fun, but then again, if you don’t have fun keeping bees, maybe you need
to find something else to do…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So it’s not a surprise that only 2 professional beekeepers are active in Belgium. One in Flanders
(Herman Torfs - with about 800 hives) and one in the French speaking part of Belgium
(with about 200 Hives).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That professional beekeeper in Flanders has another job, to compensate the fluctuations of
income he has through beekeeping. Most of his income comes from pollination services, the honey
is a bonus for him. On average he has a honey-crop around 50 kg per hive. But the high losses of bee
colonies in the last years (around 30 - 40 %) makes him break even with the sale of honey. Or in other
words, what he gets from selling honey he invests into buying bees the next year. He would like to raise
his prices to compensate for that, but import honey in supermarkets is already cheaper and labels don’t
always clearly show where the honey is originated from. Furthermore he doesn't sell his honey in
supermarkets since they demand about 30% from sales. Instead he sells locally at the price set by the
Royal Beekeepers Association Flanders, which is around 12 EURO’s for 1 kg of honey.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now you know that 3414 beekeepers in Flanders have bees as a hobby. But what does the law say?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If we apply the law strictly we should all have a VAT-number, a number that lets the government know
we have an income through other means than our main job, since we sell honey, or bees, or other
products from the hive. But if we apply to get such a number we almost always get the answer: you
don’t need one, you don’t make a profit! Indeed we don’t, so if we do have a VAT-number and we
report or costs and our income the government would see that we lose money instead of earn money
and so our annual income would drop and that means they can’t make us much taxes as they estimated
so they would lose money and they don’t want that. So if you don’t get a VAT-number, but the law
states you need one, you know you’re in Belgium. VAT-number or no, I was advised to keep records
of all my costs and sales, just in case the tax-man comes along and wants to see if he can’t squeeze
more money out of me.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Beehives in Belgium</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now there are 3 main hives in use in Belgium. The first two are commonly used by ‘modern’ beekeepers.
The 3rd is mainly used by what we call ‘natural’ beekeepers, but I’ll get to that difference later.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The most common of the two is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">simplex</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, with frame sizes 340 by 198 in mm in the brood box containing
11 or 10 frames per box. The brood nest usually comprises of 2 boxes, the setup to overwinter the hives
with. In spring a box, the honey super, is added with smaller frames sized 340 by 120 mm. A
Queenexcluder separates the winter-setup from the honey super.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As this difference in size isn’t always the most handy way to keep bees there are beekeepers that work
with all deeps, as you would call a brood box. This makes the frames interchangeable and makes your
life as a beekeeper easier. (To make splits or pyramid your stack of frames or apply other methods)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The 2nd most common of the two is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Dadan Blatt</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, with frame sizes 420 by 260 mm in the brood box.
The winter setup is mostly just this one box, some bigger hives might have one honey super added to
that. Honey super frames are sized 420 by 135 mm.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The 3rd hive being used is the Warré hive, and of course people follow the Warré methods.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The first two hives use the same set-up, by which I mean the bottom has a screen and a board to check
for Varroa, and the inner cover is solid with or without a piece of plastic or cloth in between to make it
easier to pry open the lid. And then there’s an insulated rooftop placed over that.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The frames are put in cold way all year round.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The most common material used for hive boxes is still wood, but the polystyrene has grown more
popular every year.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I myself use some simplex hives (5) , one Warré hive (experiment) and some Zander (4), which is
closest to Dadan Blatt in size (400 by 191 for the brood chamber and I only use deeps, no honey
supers that are only 90 deep) and the rest are in 6-frame nucleus boxes of either Zander or Simplex.
Most of my hives are home-made, the insides are ply-wood as is the outside, in between I use
insulation boards used in construction.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Methods in Belgium</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As I believe it is the same all over the world, each beekeeper has his own methods. Still: overall the
biggest association in Belgium advocates the method I’ll describe below, and does so till this very day.
</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">I believe the beekeeping year is similar to what you have here in the Czech republic, it starts in March
when the temperatures are rising with a checkup in the spring, removing excess sugar frames, leaving
enough to compensate for rain or cold snaps, but giving the bees space to build. Then before the swarm
season starts, normally in May - but in my experience this is shifting somewhat to halfway April - Most
people do swarm control and treat the hives with chemicals or organic acids (formic or oxalic). Then
we have swarm season during the honey flow in spring. This stops in july and up till then most
beekeepers check their hives regularly for swarm prevention. After the first honey flow in spring also
comes the first harvest. Then we have a 2nd honey flow, if you’re in a good region, and this generates
a honey crop in summer, but the last two years have been too dry and unless you’re with the lucky few
that have bees near some good nectar and pollen producing plants during these warm periods you find
your bees struggling. In august we harvest the summer honey and treat the bees a 2nd time in
preparation for winter. Winter feeding then starts and should be finished by the end of August, or at least
halfway September. -Again, this is what the literature tells you to do, but with climate change, I find that
bees still collect nectar and pollen till late in october, sometimes november if they find resources.-
Normally in october the cold winter comes and the bees go into winter cluster till next spring following
year. During the winter on a day with about 5° another treatment is done dripping organic acid solution
directly on the cluster of bees.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now this method advocates 3 treatments per year but most beekeepers I know only treat once a year if
the varroa count permits this. And that treatment is the last one, in winter, when there is no brood so all
mites get a dose. The treatments in spring and summer vary from beekeeper to beekeeper but usually
involve caging the queen to introduce a broodless period in the hive.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Bees in Belgium</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The most common type of bee in Belgium used to be the ligustica, and that shows when you mate your
queens locally.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now most beekeepers have Carnolians and in some regions they promote Buckfast. So breeding local
queens always gives you a mix and beekeepers believe this mix results in a more assertive bee -
jokingly called the F16 referring to the fighter jet - but nobody wants stinging bees, so a lot of beekeepers
go as far as F1 before sending their unmated queens to mating stations in Germany or The Netherlands
or before buying queens abroad.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We also have a reservation in Chimay, the french speaking part of Belgium, where they preserve and
want to restore the Mellifera mellifera, or black bee, and this movement has also found a voice in
flanders with a movement lead by Dylan Eelen from zwartebij.org.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">My first hive was a Buckfast bee. My 2nd hive was a split from that first hive and I succesfully introduced
a black queen in there. Then I caught some swarms, so who knows what I have there. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This year I also had a project from the local bee club I’m a member of where I got 10 larvae for a queen
breeding project from carnolians, 4 of my nucleus hives that are still alive come from that project, 2 other
nucleus hives come from another source but are also Carniolans. All of my unmated queens were
fertilized locally so I have ‘muts’. And I can’t say they’re F16 worthy, but I can say they’re not as docile
as the bees on the stands under financial support from the province.</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Transition in beekeeping</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As a last topic I want to address what I have come to call ‘transition in beekeeping’. As I am fairly new
as a beekeeper I have noticed a difference in what is called the ‘modern’ way of beekeeping and what
new beekeepers want. Most courses are given to new beekeepers putting honey crop first, care for
bees second. You care for the bees so they can make you some honey.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Where most people that come into contact with bees and want to become beekeepers themselves now
have other motivations, they want to save the bee. (they heard they need saving and they want to
jump in and do just that, save the bees) For them taking care for bees comes first, ‘stealing’ their
honey comes 2nd.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This difference in train of thought causes friction within the beekeeping community all over the world.
A community that in Belgium already is dispersed into smaller groups.</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">First you have the language barrier between Dutch speaking and French speaking Belgians.
But let’s not get into that, it’s a cultural thing and pretty much flies with any topic.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2nd you have different schools, all with their own ways of beekeeping, Bio-Dynamic, natural,
‘modern’</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">3rd you have different associations within the 2nd topic. Some get money from europe, others
have to keep their heads above water with what they make on their own</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">4th you have movements even within the 3rd cluster that favour the race of bees to work with</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5th you have the individual beekeepers that want to give their own touch no matter the method
they have chosen.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now races of bees and individual touches are something that will always be here. But Belgium is looking
to unite the first 3 groups under one flag. And this proves more difficult than it sounds.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This new organisation they’re trying to build has only one goal, and that is to be the link between the
beekeeper and the government. They have to rise above all other differences, no matter the methods
used, no matter the race of bees, no matter the type of hyves …</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But even this is proving to be difficult, mainly because in general we have 2 main groups of beekeepers
‘treaters’ and ‘non-treaters’. I’m sure that if you ask around or look into your own ways the answer to the
question: ‘do you want to treat?’ is ‘No I do not’ Followed by: ‘But I have to.’ And if you ask ‘why do you
have to?’ the answer is almost always: because if I don’t I’ll lose my bees.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The next step treaters take is claiming that all those that don’t treat are making their treated hives sick
again. Since they don’t treat, they help the Varroa survive. And surviving varroa travel from non-treated
hives back into treated hives…</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The non-treaters shine a different light on that same topic, they say that treaters are keeping their bees
weak by treating, rendering the bees unable to take care of themselves.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The fact is, there will always bee untreated bees in the wild, at least I hope there will be. And they have
been there for a very long time. I believe they would not have made it till now if they weren’t resilient. I
believe they have, in the past, already conquered similar parasites and have taken other hurdles. They
adapted, they can do so again.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If you compare bees to a rubber band, I also believe we, as humans, have stretched that resilience to
the point where it is about to snap. If you go back to the beginning of my presentation, you’ll see bees
had a production of 12 kg of honey per hive, and then we made a profit.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We have now forced the bees to produce over 40 kg per hive! And we are losing money.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In the meantime we have reduced the food resources they have available to get that 40 kg of honey,
through industrial agriculture; Monocrops, taking away a lot of flowering plants turning vast landscapes
into bee-deserts. The little food there is to find is sprayed with chemicals, even in the gardens of the
home owners that don’t keep bees there will be pesticides, fungicides, crop protection chemicals and
what not.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We have to adapt like the agricultural sector. That sector is slowly converting into permaculture projects,
food forests, bio-farms, we have to follow that transition.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We have to believe that if we release the pressure from the bee, the rubber band will remain intact.
And yes, the bees will suffer, at first, for a rubber band that has been stretched too far, well, we all know
how that looks like, right? We have to take away the infusion of medicine or acid into the hive and let the
bees take back control of their own environment.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">If we don’t we have to really look at what we are doing. Did you know a bee can’t digest pollen? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">They can’t! They need other bacteria to start breaking down the egg whites before they can fully
digest pollen. Now pouring acid in the hive to kill the varroa might not kill the bees, but how many
bacteria, that the bees need, did we kill? Oh yes, varroa is a parasite, and it’s not good for our bees.
But we have to stop looking for the magic button that solves our problem now. We have to give nature
time. We have to let balance come at it’s own pace. If the parasite kills its host, how is it going to
survive? It can’t. So the way nature fixes this is to form a balance. With treating our hives we create
an unbalance, the varroa die, the bees survive. And what does nature do? It let’s the varroa adapt to
the chemicals, it looks for a balance there. Once you can’t kill Varroa with product A any longer, the
Varroa and the bee look for their own balance. And before that balance is found, we start using
product B, to kill the Varroa, and let our bees survive. So what are we non-treaters saying?
We’re saying that treating makes stronger mites and weaker bees.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The plague wasn’t nice, and we survived it as a species. Varroa isn’t nice, and it’s our duty to help the
bee conquer it, but not in the way we were doing it till now.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So join me in the transition, look up the Fort Knox project in Poland and start your own local project to
help each other!</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Thank you.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Bob Out.</span></div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-47964361056298802672020-01-13T21:45:00.000+01:002020-01-13T21:45:52.059+01:00Start to read and write...Hello readers,<br />
<br />
Almost a month has passed before I came back to my blog. Yes the holiday season was part of the reason it has been so long, but I could have been here sooner if I really wanted to.<br />
I have been procrastinating... <br />
<br />
<h2>
Weather Report:</h2>
This year hasn't been much of a winter at all... Most of the beehives in Belgium have shown activity and mine are no exception! Temperatures haven't been what you'd expect and there is a lot of concern there will be a great deal of losses.<br />
So far I am pretty sure I lost one of my 6-framers and maybe 2 bigger colonies... I hope that number will not rise any further since it's a long way till march...<br />
<br />
As the weather report includes a short status on my hives I'll not do a hive report today.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Read and Write:</h2>
<div>
A new section I'd like to introduce in here, more to make me read all the papers, articles, magazines and what not I have collected over the two years of becoming a beekeeper than anything else. But also a bit to see what I have collected and to summarise what is in there and how I feel or think about the subjects.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Today I'll start with an introduction to natural beekeeping by Phill Chandler, a 6 page long PDF that can be found on his website: <a href="http://www.biobees.com/" target="_blank">http://www.biobees.com/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
An introduction to natural beekeeping by Phil Chandler author of The Barefoot Beekeeper - an impression</h4>
<div>
The document tries to describe what natural beekeeping actually is for the author and creates a methodology to develop and renew the relationship we have as (natural) beekeepers with the bees.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It starts of by asking what Natural Beekeeping actually is and starts the answer with the focus of beekeeping. In natural beekeeping that focus is on the bees and their well being rather than on the harvesting of a honey crop. Putting this first he continues with asking questions with the housing we use for bees; The so widely spread Langstroth-type boxes all have their focus on honey production, so is this type of beehive suited from the bees perspective?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The second topic states that bee-centric beekeeping is putting a stop to put chemicals in a beehive, as most consumers of honey aren't even aware that this takes place. The comparison is made between factory farming and beekeeping (with honey as a main goal). Added to the chemicals is the process that honey goes through on a commercial level, centrifuging, heating, filtering, ... all reducing the nutritional and healing value we as natural beekeepers love.</div>
<div>
The use of chemicals is replaced by providing a more profitable environment for the bees.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A third topic points out that the term 'natural' is in fact a paradox, since there is nothing natural in keeping bees in a box. This topic also wants to provide a short comparison between the 'conventional' and 'natural' way of beekeeping and gives this summary:</div>
<div>
Natural beekeeping takes into account:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>the natural impulses and behaviour of bees (foraging, swarming, storing food, defending the nest, ...)</li>
<li>the way the hive affects the bees</li>
<li>the materials of said hive</li>
<li>the amount of intrusions in a bee colony</li>
<li>the local impact of the amount of bees present (to other pollinators)</li>
<li>the balance between harvest and the needs of the bees</li>
<li>the nature of any added input (feeding, medication, ...)</li>
</ul>
<div>
This summary is the basis of all following topics with the explanations where natural beekeeping and conventional beekeeping have their differences. The most beautiful topic in these series for me is how we limit the interventions in a hive and use our senses rather than tearing the hive apart to see what's going on. The most sad topic is the truth that 'professional bodies' advocate the use of 'treatments' and say you can't do without. The more lengthy topic is built around sustainability.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
3 principles for natural beekeeping are laid down, also to be found in his book 'The Barefoot Beekeeper': </div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Interference in the natural lives of bees is kept to a minimum.</li>
<li>Nothing is put into the hive that is known to be, or likely to be harmful either to the bees, us or to the wider environment and nothing is taken out that the bees cannot afford to lose.</li>
<li>The bees know what they are doing: our job is to listen to them and provide the optimum conditions for their well-being, both inside and outside the hive.</li>
</ol>
<div>
It's almost as if I hear myself setup a guideline for my beekeeping:</div>
</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Don't open a hive unless you have a clear purpose.</li>
<li>Don't use treatments in the hive, rather provide the resources in plants, water, soil, ... in the environment so the bees can collect what they want, or leave it alone as they see fit.</li>
<li>Only take what the bees have in surplus</li>
</ol>
<div>
Slightly different put, but all in all the same.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After summing these things up he warns for the danger in having rules and is in favour of a flexible learning system that is always improving itself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As a whole we as humans need to change the way we interact with nature, mainly where production of food is concerned, but all in all, every one person that contributes is one that can bee seen by others and serve as an inspiration.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To end I would like to quote a single sentence : "Such is nature: Bees depend on honey for their survival; we do not."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I can only say that Phil Chandler is one of my inspiration sources and I greatly recommend you read, watch and listen as much as possible to the content he has put out there in books, a website, a blog, YouTube, a podcast and what not...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For me, that is all for today.</div>
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Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-51544827366283746422019-12-17T22:45:00.002+01:002019-12-17T22:45:13.639+01:00Winter planning...Hello readers,<br />
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Winter has come but still a small:<br />
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<h2>
Weather Report:
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It has been several days, no weeks, now that the mercury didn't go above 10°C. But not so today. Temperatures rose to 12°C from 10:00 and didn't drop under that till 17:00!<br />
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<h2>
Hive Report: </h2>
<h3>
Apiary one:</h3>
This hive report will only cover this apiary. Since I didn't have the time to visit the others. And I won't divide the report into separate hives this time.<br />
5 out of 6 hives showed activity. <br />
In the AC3 2019 I could see orientation flights, so there must have been brood in there that didn't come out yet until now. It was a rather modest group of bees, not like the heaps you see orientating in spring or summer. But it warmed my heart. It is still winter and even though there was a struggling bee in front of the AC4 2019 that was the only one I saw there, I brushed her out and got no response from inside. This hive might have collapsed...<br />
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<h2>
Proud writer</h2>
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If you look at my blog, two posts back, I wrote about my visit to Pardubice (Tsjechië) here with some pictures to give you a feel of what happened there. I translated most of it to Dutch and sent it to the KonVIB as an article for their paper. I got word back and am proud to say I got published!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx-hgNIQGoZoFHxwk-KWr54aXg9T7rD_VbXAFV9fdKaRwYPCgV4BPxceI9qJzKFKCb-vE3l9TtAdw91AdDdlQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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One of my fellow classmates of my second beekeeping course in Roeselare congratulated me and really liked the article.</div>
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<h2>
Winter Planning</h2>
<h4>
Winterjobs - material</h4>
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For my winter planning I have yet to clean some used fames. My friend Ives is building some more equipment for me and has some bottom boards in the making:</div>
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I already collected some boxes and 5 roofs.</div>
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The owner of the land where my 2nd apiary is works as a lumberjack, he cut down a massive tree that was hollow. I received the hollow part of the log and I hope to make some adjustments to it so I can keep bees in there!</div>
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Winterjobs - apiary instead of aviary</h4>
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Apart from the materials I'm also working on plans to change my apiary 1. It's in my backyard so I want to transform the aviary I have there now into my apiary. Sadly I can't say goodbye to my birds just yet so I'm pushing the date forward. The hives that are there will have to be moved about 4 meters, but if I can do that during late winter - without knocking them to much about - I should be able to minimise losses. That is if the bees make it through winter!</div>
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They'll be better off, since now they sometimes work their way in with the birds through the wires and have trouble getting back out.</div>
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Winterjobs - More apiaries</h4>
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To expand the amount of beehives I have I also needed another location to put my bees and I've found a place in <i>Kruisem</i>! They grow herbs there and I'm really happy with the place I can put my bees at!</div>
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A friend of mine also connected me with somebody from <i>Wakken</i>, but I'm not sure if I'm going to undertake that endeavour there. The place is only accessible when she's home, and if she's not home a guard dog (that does it's job) is in the yard I need to go through to get to the place where she wants the bees.</div>
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If I go there I'll probably put a log hive up, with an experimental rooftop to put jars in, hoping the bees will build in there. The downside of that is that she'll have swarms for as long as the hive survives and I'm not sure she's up for that... I would like to put bees in <i>Wakken </i>as that would close the 'circle' of apiaries around my house. The more Ideal place would be the provincial domain <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.west-vlaanderen.be/domeinen/baliekouter" target="_blank">Baliekouter</a>. </i>Maybe I need to contact the authorities to see if they would allow me to put up beehives there. But that's not for today.... First lets find out how many hives make it through winter.</div>
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Reading</h2>
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I heard winter is also the time for reading up on your beekeeping knowledge, so I bought myself the book by Jürgen Tautz - The Buzz about bees. It's waiting for me under the Christmas tree...</div>
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That's all folks</div>
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Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-74840564209808194632019-11-01T23:34:00.000+01:002019-11-01T23:34:21.038+01:00Visiting Virelles.Hello readers,<br />
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<h2>
Weather Report: </h2>
Winter is coming! Today (1st november 2019) is the first day I saw almost no activity near my hives.<br />
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<h2>
Hive Report: </h2>
It's about time I gave you an update on how I'm faring this year.<br />
<h4>
Apiary 1:</h4>
My Simplex Nuc, now called the <b><u>MC 2018</u></b> is still alive and is going into winter with only 10 frames in one box.<br />
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My SS 1 2018, now called the <b><u>LL 2018</u></b> is also still alive, it is going into winter with 2 boxes of 10 frames, but the bottom box is not fully drawn out.<br />
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<b><u>ZP 2019</u></b>: A swarm I caught in my home town, it is now on 2 boxes of simplex.<br />
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<b><u>AC3 2019</u></b>: A 6 framer (Zander) from a queen rearing project, one of two left from 11 larvae.<br />
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<b><u>AC4 2019</u></b>: A 6 framer (Zander) from a queen rearing project, the second one left.<br />
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<b><u>ZIC 2019</u></b>: Not actually my hive, but it's on my apiary, it's supposed to be the first hive of my friend, but he can't place it at his place. It's on 2 boxes of Warré, one on frames, one on only topbars.<br />
<h4>
Apiary 2:</h4>
<u style="font-weight: bold;">SD2018:</u> I hardly inspected these in 2019 and they are going into winter on 2 boxes of 10 frames.<br />
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<b><u>LL2019:</u> </b>A split from LL2018, is in 2 boxes Simplex, both have 10 frames.<br />
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<b><u>MC2019:</u></b> a split from MC2018, is in 1 box Zander, with a bad lid, it has 10 frames.<br />
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<b><u>ZLL 2019</u></b>: A swarm I saw come out of the LL2018, on one box of Zander that was actually supposed to be a swarm-lure.<br />
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<b>Apiary 3:</b></h4>
<b><u>ZS2019</u></b>: A swarm on 2 boxes Simplex for overwintering, but the bottom box is empty. I also need to protect this hive further from the sheep that are on these grounds.<br />
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Apiary 4:</h4>
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<b><u>ZPD2019</u></b>: Foraged in Anzegem, but is now overwintering in Olsene on 2 boxes simplex.</div>
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<b><u>ZE2019</u></b>: Foraged in Anzegem, didn't build up very fast; Is now overwintering in 1 box simplex.</div>
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<h4>
General thoughts:</h4>
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I did not make good on my attempt to get to 15 hives this year, although I tried with the queen rearing project (I was at 20 hives at one point). </div>
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All the hives seem to have very high varroa pressure, but then again that was to be expected. Let's see how they deal with the little devils over winter.</div>
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<h2>
Visiting Virelles</h2>
As a member of Mellifica, and staying close to Virelles, I wanted to visit <a href="http://www.aquascope.be/website/" target="_blank">the aqua-scope</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHk3KBUHnx9BIElQPKZTHHKaFnHss1nhYqBPwW3s4rOa0otrXnx6jL39zM960D_LqwUiDRQvBojKxQwjlRTa7gP6etOMSy0FeYwA7tB_Ep77s9b7J1KJn_6vhG4EvjK_F8cOnnNSsG5RWb/s1600/IMG_20191030_164715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHk3KBUHnx9BIElQPKZTHHKaFnHss1nhYqBPwW3s4rOa0otrXnx6jL39zM960D_LqwUiDRQvBojKxQwjlRTa7gP6etOMSy0FeYwA7tB_Ep77s9b7J1KJn_6vhG4EvjK_F8cOnnNSsG5RWb/s320/IMG_20191030_164715.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The aqua-scope has taken upon itself to combine tourism, education and protection of the environment. They want to keep attracting tourists whilst aiming to educate them with a minimal impact on the natural site.<br />
This is of course not the main reason I went there.<br />
The main reason for my visit is of course bees! Mellifica has it's mating area here and I wanted to see what it looked like.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HT3tte1fzLCOgJlcDQf7aSC3OaK_F7uxRLJqlc5t0dVcdx4UJ4wQK010OQ7j0mHgkTieWujICd5sLX-8NgbzCynzRJDf7bVTNlCdAenMyDWgCZXIciDdlHzxggJiXGC7qlp6mDMftuAf/s1600/IMG_20191030_154544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOdN69KKfhOTmkg6cDs5TlXOcosIJGxCRzQiqiwcMZequZv7sDCUGZ5KJeMI3amLhPTU6ZD7jrtrv3Akom9kBM-H-8tvNJo08qDNZsageRCZOAy-mj5loi1ls6VfTe443sHPeZib9C4oe/s1600/IMG_20191030_154555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOdN69KKfhOTmkg6cDs5TlXOcosIJGxCRzQiqiwcMZequZv7sDCUGZ5KJeMI3amLhPTU6ZD7jrtrv3Akom9kBM-H-8tvNJo08qDNZsageRCZOAy-mj5loi1ls6VfTe443sHPeZib9C4oe/s200/IMG_20191030_154555.jpg" width="150" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HT3tte1fzLCOgJlcDQf7aSC3OaK_F7uxRLJqlc5t0dVcdx4UJ4wQK010OQ7j0mHgkTieWujICd5sLX-8NgbzCynzRJDf7bVTNlCdAenMyDWgCZXIciDdlHzxggJiXGC7qlp6mDMftuAf/s320/IMG_20191030_154544.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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The picture above shows the apiary and the entrance to the mating yard. The sign translates to 'The Bees, my passion in nature'. If you look closely you can see a wire close to the ground in front of the apiary shed and in front of the entrance to the mating yard. That's to keep wild boar out!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwgD6qETyy1d4vXADTsxf-Q6lPf9t91aYpkQvNTizZfIQpQny6mtNrxrO_jwfXHjGbebzSMmnTESDc_JgVaD48psay3E-FMtis_R-nUU5p11qmkzyG_haWr-rbWi8BcLWC_SV6nvZeZqH/s1600/IMG_20191030_154606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwgD6qETyy1d4vXADTsxf-Q6lPf9t91aYpkQvNTizZfIQpQny6mtNrxrO_jwfXHjGbebzSMmnTESDc_JgVaD48psay3E-FMtis_R-nUU5p11qmkzyG_haWr-rbWi8BcLWC_SV6nvZeZqH/s320/IMG_20191030_154606.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since we're all wintered in there isn't much to see in the mating yard itself, apart from the stands you can put the mating nucs on. But when you turn your head to the right, you can see the hives in the apiary!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpWwjZmZk9pQKkXb0YQaeAEtc7eDvYnoRADc0xOENBxcsouve-lquIRfre6Jv0ziVXcQpBBnIk5a0XakaWSgTphaj_imjMfUi6bJbJllmfTD7zXMsDJYayGinvyYsKDi2UYnqhzSYW1BW/s1600/IMG_20191030_154615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpWwjZmZk9pQKkXb0YQaeAEtc7eDvYnoRADc0xOENBxcsouve-lquIRfre6Jv0ziVXcQpBBnIk5a0XakaWSgTphaj_imjMfUi6bJbJllmfTD7zXMsDJYayGinvyYsKDi2UYnqhzSYW1BW/s400/IMG_20191030_154615.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The temperatures were around 8°C so it's no surprise not a lot of bees are active. As you can see the hives are sent into winter on one box.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY1UeD_dWpLwErLogYwmEp31zfcMc5wKx21rkF0BGs-l0DYhSZMWwPiZ0gw0pyrTg8OYeKUlBH8CRu5oMipdKSdTlseDQC10_F1SAh7-lTsX2V0qdNawOCQuBbkwl8FH7HzUSNrgjUhZD/s1600/IMG_20191030_154640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY1UeD_dWpLwErLogYwmEp31zfcMc5wKx21rkF0BGs-l0DYhSZMWwPiZ0gw0pyrTg8OYeKUlBH8CRu5oMipdKSdTlseDQC10_F1SAh7-lTsX2V0qdNawOCQuBbkwl8FH7HzUSNrgjUhZD/s200/IMG_20191030_154640.jpg" width="150" /></a>Before leaving the site I opened up a small door in the wall to find an observation hive! I didn't spot the queen, but I didn't look very closely, since I didn't want the bees to cool down to much. And I imagine her majesty isn't going to be on a frame very much during the day if humans keep opening and closing that door to let daylight fall onto the bees. I wonder wether the bees are kept there all winter? I suppose not, but if not, when will they be transfered out? And where to? And if they stay there, have they been there for multiple years? I'm inclined to think not. Hence my assumption they'll not overwinter in there.<br />
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A bit further down the road (if you follow the map they give you at the entrance) a billboard with information about the new 'Black Bee House' that is being built can be found. I hope to visit the new building once it's operational (without having to pay admittance to the grounds this time)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GlH9x9hMZ29f49WNrv10_ocRf93NVuS2lx3Mqg0U4RG503zw3BZ-ppGrPXVdHhCQ9bLB7JhphKJ8UaG1i4nWqd_t3C91EyzIvvFyPZDbrZmcaWVdyAky7m-BsHgSGjFYKMxd6n9nmuON/s1600/IMG_20191030_160359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAvn_9mEgVmeDaqFVJCFe-lhCTmJnSJ4yePJ597rUX9L_3wEDxNFVVnLLmTEX-VqFVEj8on6Zb1fXVm-0EPBSZybL1lrI0RxvjEU-reYio55slgxdIucaX3k8sr82FW1ly1LoypvKiDW9/s1600/IMG_20191030_160410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAvn_9mEgVmeDaqFVJCFe-lhCTmJnSJ4yePJ597rUX9L_3wEDxNFVVnLLmTEX-VqFVEj8on6Zb1fXVm-0EPBSZybL1lrI0RxvjEU-reYio55slgxdIucaX3k8sr82FW1ly1LoypvKiDW9/s200/IMG_20191030_160410.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GlH9x9hMZ29f49WNrv10_ocRf93NVuS2lx3Mqg0U4RG503zw3BZ-ppGrPXVdHhCQ9bLB7JhphKJ8UaG1i4nWqd_t3C91EyzIvvFyPZDbrZmcaWVdyAky7m-BsHgSGjFYKMxd6n9nmuON/s320/IMG_20191030_160359.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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That's all for today folks!<br />
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Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-22965950107939545902019-10-21T22:32:00.000+02:002019-10-21T22:32:21.316+02:00Days of Honey in Pardubice 2019Hello readers,<br />
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Today I'd like to give you a report of my visit to Czech Republic!<br />
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<h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 26pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Days of honey in Pardubice</span></h2>
<h4 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Preamble</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thanks to the relations between the cities of Waregem (Belgium) and Pardubice (Czech Republic),</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I was given the opportunity, as a beekeeper and citizen of Waregem, to attend the annual event </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">called ‘Days of Honey’. An invitation that was also, and with gratitude, accepted by my wife and</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">another beekeeper from Waregem; Steven Vandebuerie.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Pardubice is the capital of the region with the same name in the Czech Republic. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It’s about 100 km to the east of Prague and located along the Elbe. It has been mentioned </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">first at the end of the 13st century and developed from small village into the industrial city it is today.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiadUE6Pf8TqzJvVhf9ZkgYdHM6Nu0sggjHTQgjhjQx0FCiwzO7IIPXoLplRHkuViyP8uQizWrkBEjoV3-D5QiRgEZvksiKGWsMIjxjoxTNdHtq7DFxIDkpoAAl4iJNd7hq4nVRaPPQWfc/s1600/Wapenschild+Pardubice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiadUE6Pf8TqzJvVhf9ZkgYdHM6Nu0sggjHTQgjhjQx0FCiwzO7IIPXoLplRHkuViyP8uQizWrkBEjoV3-D5QiRgEZvksiKGWsMIjxjoxTNdHtq7DFxIDkpoAAl4iJNd7hq4nVRaPPQWfc/s200/Wapenschild+Pardubice.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Pardubice was first ruled by the Moravians, a noble family called </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Pernstejn, and had numerous battles. One of these battles forms </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the basis of the coat of arms of Pardubice, a half-white horse on a </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">red background. Legend has it that the horse was chopped in half </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">during a battle in Italy whilst storming a castle; The defensive </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">troops cut the rope that held up the gates of the castle when the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">castle was stormed by the troops. The fence is said to have fallen </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">on the horse, directly behind the rider, cleaving it in half. The </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">knight who rode the horse in battle fought fiercely and survived the battle, and carried the front half </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">of the whorse back to Pardubice where the rulers paid tribute to the knight and the fallen horse by </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">putting the white half of the horse on the coat of arms on a red background as a reminder of the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">bloodshed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7nCeZ-AYFqsxnLBr7Ox3DBAFcv-3YNU-1EhPlDKX_K_dNYyNFoUXjzme2xly1BaUAidfRl8oTiq0u-yHxB4Q0W78SQElweIO1eFT0zrkX7h8vYi7dOppcedIV8cV3io-BWg3nRGxCiDS/s1600/De+legende+van+het+Wapenschild.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7nCeZ-AYFqsxnLBr7Ox3DBAFcv-3YNU-1EhPlDKX_K_dNYyNFoUXjzme2xly1BaUAidfRl8oTiq0u-yHxB4Q0W78SQElweIO1eFT0zrkX7h8vYi7dOppcedIV8cV3io-BWg3nRGxCiDS/s320/De+legende+van+het+Wapenschild.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">From 1526 till 1918 Czech Republic, Maravian territory and Slovakia territory were part of the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Austrian Imperium, after that Czechoslovakia was declared independent, but it never was very stable </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">as a country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the 20th century the area was occupied by the Germans during WWII. After the liberation they </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">could not speak of salvation for long, as early as 1948 Moscow claimed the area as part of the East </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Block (as were Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, …)and had a big influence on their </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">government.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After throwing off the shackles of the iron curtain the country ‘Czechoslovakia’ had a peaceful split in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1993 and was divided into Slovakia and Czech Republic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This makes Pardubice a city rich in history, with its own Pernstejn Castle, but vibrant with the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">dynamics of a young city.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Receiving committee</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A short flight of 50 minutes, thanks to favorable winds, brought us from Brussels Airport to Prague, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">where Vaclav Janovsky, chairman of the bee association in Pardubice, awaited us. As our Czech is </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">almost non-existent, and only grew into a limited ‘good day’ or ‘dobry den’ and a ‘Cheers’ or ‘Na </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Zdravi’ (used to raise the glass on ones good health) over the time of our stay, we had to resort to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">English which did not facilitate communications.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The Chairman’s knowledge of languages consisted of some english, but this language barrier was </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">more than compensated for by the warm welcome and enthusiasm of the man, owner of a good sense of humour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were driven to a sports bar, where the employee of the city of Pardubice -Tomas Cabrnoch- </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">awaited us. We raised a glass (or two) prior to our meal (and during) and were given our schedule </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">for the weekend. We were also introduced to our guide for the remainder of our stay </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Milos Kaspar </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">- , as the chairman had responsibilities to attend to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Milos turned out to be a very amiable, intelligent and well-travelled man, an educated chemist who is </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">fluent in German and knows how to express himself in English very well. His travels took him to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Germany, America and even Amstelveen (Holland). Waregem is wel known to him because of the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">relations between the cities and through his other hobby: running marathons.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Days of honey</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">On saturday morning, October 12, 2019, we were picked up at 08h30 to join a parade, from the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">square, past the town hall to the provincial halls and to the place of the event; ‘the honey house’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nOeJpRJubDg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nOeJpRJubDg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The parade counted about 30 to 40 people and was preceded by 2 policemen on horseback and 2 </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">policewomen in charge of stopping traffic to ensure smooth passage. The two beautiful black horses </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">were impressive and matched wonderfully well with the setting and atmosphere of the event.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Two ‘honey-girls’ in bride-like white dresses with a high pointed hat and veil followed the horses </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">carrying a basket with numerous products related to the bees: Honey, mead, gingerbread - typical </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">for Pardubice- and many other products.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqVv8cShiaOyGxkNUMaF1uyWV5rgrMU9IH_Brjf-CECQfMjigEcU2ecYyUbpgRsI-Z9IqOjS4Yg8M2D3qzTCCQaazTVimhenFZxe-BgciRyaWlfj8C2kckh416NYkKSJrCDX-h_hiukvT/s1600/honingmeisjes+imkers+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqVv8cShiaOyGxkNUMaF1uyWV5rgrMU9IH_Brjf-CECQfMjigEcU2ecYyUbpgRsI-Z9IqOjS4Yg8M2D3qzTCCQaazTVimhenFZxe-BgciRyaWlfj8C2kckh416NYkKSJrCDX-h_hiukvT/s320/honingmeisjes+imkers+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Together with the chairman, a delegation of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Polish beekeepers, us Belgian beekeepers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">followed the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">girls closely. Then came the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pardubice beekeepers themselves, dressed in </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">traditional costumes, a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">white shirt with red </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ribbon around the neck tied in a bow and a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">golden yellow sleeveless jacket with </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">red hems. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some also had an emblem on this jacket, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">probably indicating their function better, but the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">meaning of the words remain a mystery to me </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">because of my lack of knowledge of the Czech </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">language.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Beekeepers in turn were followed by a folkloric band, dressed in medieval clothes with curly </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVRBCQUysa5JudFixqW1T69x8T984Ko4xlkUc0-8qjpae1pbgiOLj2WRDOO8RrVXKmoH7RJfjkhGh1sCWIzGCa0byHVgNHTeRGRqZIrf4wW_i2AG7e6d8TPPYF5ZlzfAAAzzsAYsl9Pc_/s1600/de+band+in+de+stoet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVRBCQUysa5JudFixqW1T69x8T984Ko4xlkUc0-8qjpae1pbgiOLj2WRDOO8RrVXKmoH7RJfjkhGh1sCWIzGCa0byHVgNHTeRGRqZIrf4wW_i2AG7e6d8TPPYF5ZlzfAAAzzsAYsl9Pc_/s320/de+band+in+de+stoet.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">pointy shoes, the bagpipes and drums were the dominant theme in the music and supported the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">mood of a real folk event. It was a real pleasure to be part of this parade.</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGqgFu4MUqfcV-9cDze66mUwAcIC-3_XYckgp5890H1urqjhjFSQVATbTPhgn2Ym-wwfeQdn5FTiaeFH1GXyg-iAZ89hg-7vaGfPOOL5F2baEnhKK5ohNypt6L_Q3Ef0AXZiJOeNuxAJm/s1600/schoenen+bandleden+met+krulpunt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGqgFu4MUqfcV-9cDze66mUwAcIC-3_XYckgp5890H1urqjhjFSQVATbTPhgn2Ym-wwfeQdn5FTiaeFH1GXyg-iAZ89hg-7vaGfPOOL5F2baEnhKK5ohNypt6L_Q3Ef0AXZiJOeNuxAJm/s200/schoenen+bandleden+met+krulpunt.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdSC9xvFY7qJEJosXnygaz1wRYns0nPOMlZmxbop0NSRwjgg_Os61WPS_npVvrEiq0vJ75yE3FatLiMzDinODn_xtEw7zO_HA_Cznqp4CmbvvYQZv0V-cNWsAK30cZSahOJqTN6E0GpTL/s1600/Stadhuis+Pardubice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdSC9xvFY7qJEJosXnygaz1wRYns0nPOMlZmxbop0NSRwjgg_Os61WPS_npVvrEiq0vJ75yE3FatLiMzDinODn_xtEw7zO_HA_Cznqp4CmbvvYQZv0V-cNWsAK30cZSahOJqTN6E0GpTL/s320/Stadhuis+Pardubice.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A first stop was made at the town hall, where, as </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">far as I understood, we were received by the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">deputy mayor. We were pushed forward and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">introduced to the man in flawless Czech, but as </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">what was said, I did not understand an iota of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">it until the sound ‘Belgian’ was heard. After this </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">short </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">interlude on the square, where many stalls </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">were set up, it was like a real christmas market, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">but on a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">radiant summer’s day - it was more </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">than 20°C -, the parade set itself in motion again </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">towards the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">provincial government building.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Yfaan5rUPe92MoUPiD5MW-_NspDoZBK8QSS2nfBcwzwgkCIIYCTSE_ZwCxiK5QRNmBbrYMnB4m1cPnancc6OD5HVm_o2oe0NNHuv2Db_KPUYdscchFqNM7p0e9jZ2mgDth7pgF7-GK4C/s1600/Het+provinciehuis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Yfaan5rUPe92MoUPiD5MW-_NspDoZBK8QSS2nfBcwzwgkCIIYCTSE_ZwCxiK5QRNmBbrYMnB4m1cPnancc6OD5HVm_o2oe0NNHuv2Db_KPUYdscchFqNM7p0e9jZ2mgDth7pgF7-GK4C/s320/Het+provinciehuis.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second stop was at the provincial house </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">where a councillor with a friendly glimmer in his </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">eyes pushed each of us a shot glass in our </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hands and after speaking to the beekeepers in </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the -for me unintelligible- Czech language, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">raised this glass. I can tell you it was not water, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">it left a burning sensation in our throat as we </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">continued our hike towards the honey-house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later it was brought to my attention that the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">money flow towards the beekeepers association </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">flows through this provincial house.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvmTs4IBSed-4NwU33h8qqZeyR5y2qeUIH4eNXdaN3gAjix2gi1EtW2Xa64A-jM14ZfiWFcEfA7j9u88JyEgSqWOb4KS8Ew7jtY5BAmbfb20d_pp0HgrsHqcTwszzaP72S2Ue9OqYFi_x/s1600/Honinghuis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvmTs4IBSed-4NwU33h8qqZeyR5y2qeUIH4eNXdaN3gAjix2gi1EtW2Xa64A-jM14ZfiWFcEfA7j9u88JyEgSqWOb4KS8Ew7jtY5BAmbfb20d_pp0HgrsHqcTwszzaP72S2Ue9OqYFi_x/s400/Honinghuis.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Once we arrived at the honey </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">house, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">we saw a room with a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stage. In front of the stage a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">number of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">tables were placed in </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">U-shape where local beekeepers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">could sell their products and local </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">artists and hobbyists could show </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">their skills. I counted many people </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">with honey products, propolis </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ointments, pollen, mead and so on.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb5EI9nIBHv1gb3dxOuDr8-8-Owv0qlIl-Z5rt48hrtIpHfEElnuBp9dleJGbgpfIEOq-J6hPI_Y4QGNgTPn18Qz1wOyAPIM1kZR6-VBfVXB0nri3CsiAW2HOW208PHA5Abk8iDL4YWX3/s1600/sfeerbeeld+honinghuis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb5EI9nIBHv1gb3dxOuDr8-8-Owv0qlIl-Z5rt48hrtIpHfEElnuBp9dleJGbgpfIEOq-J6hPI_Y4QGNgTPn18Qz1wOyAPIM1kZR6-VBfVXB0nri3CsiAW2HOW208PHA5Abk8iDL4YWX3/s1600/sfeerbeeld+honinghuis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYb5EI9nIBHv1gb3dxOuDr8-8-Owv0qlIl-Z5rt48hrtIpHfEElnuBp9dleJGbgpfIEOq-J6hPI_Y4QGNgTPn18Qz1wOyAPIM1kZR6-VBfVXB0nri3CsiAW2HOW208PHA5Abk8iDL4YWX3/s200/sfeerbeeld+honinghuis.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVDTcj0fwoqI9FYuH4y9plJ5vdu446IjQiPYYfIGu77sFMXuCXLL77RMLmijvCa3CjfTS8hn1NelngX6hBvfG8jPmqny4OYZcGNL64_-OOuPuxsp-ufaQfA2yGg75TSRPnwUHA1CRtEBl/s1600/sfeerbeeld+honinghuis+1+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVDTcj0fwoqI9FYuH4y9plJ5vdu446IjQiPYYfIGu77sFMXuCXLL77RMLmijvCa3CjfTS8hn1NelngX6hBvfG8jPmqny4OYZcGNL64_-OOuPuxsp-ufaQfA2yGg75TSRPnwUHA1CRtEBl/s320/sfeerbeeld+honinghuis+1+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were some workshops, one where children could roll candles, one where women were </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NrfQMbZw0WG6zmDja-h3M4a4A6Wn_Q19dspmpIc4iQ1kK8smwyKhRMb2oDYA1jIyZtZZfCVWvqphQSGthShkpKf72g67kga_aLcBcntD-i6vrRAbt793B0MOztiOxObhJ2i3l2GnvPR8/s1600/workshop+mandvlechten.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NrfQMbZw0WG6zmDja-h3M4a4A6Wn_Q19dspmpIc4iQ1kK8smwyKhRMb2oDYA1jIyZtZZfCVWvqphQSGthShkpKf72g67kga_aLcBcntD-i6vrRAbt793B0MOztiOxObhJ2i3l2GnvPR8/s200/workshop+mandvlechten.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
weaving baskets and one where some woodwork was done. A <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">local goat farmer sold his goats cheese (and we all know goats </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">cheese and honey are delicious togheter)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBu20HWhWxPUxVfhnc_bD7_uPDLIayuWCODJsXPG5WTGcYivLi9TZu2Mx_g4KmC2NyKxYpH98cHmXf6zCv8TBxcwQCaLHFUPVxgIA_9PtIuLJwxmFik-IH2og3NSdmRGAqsEuaXYsQNkN/s1600/workshop+houtsnijden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBu20HWhWxPUxVfhnc_bD7_uPDLIayuWCODJsXPG5WTGcYivLi9TZu2Mx_g4KmC2NyKxYpH98cHmXf6zCv8TBxcwQCaLHFUPVxgIA_9PtIuLJwxmFik-IH2og3NSdmRGAqsEuaXYsQNkN/s200/workshop+houtsnijden.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
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An information stand gave the common man an insight into the <br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">operation of the bee, its biology, all of it in Czech, fortunately with </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">pictures.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimN2bl0USlDDy4pslLg2Z0IDnt1ka0ca0ZfLO_3lRSEdaUr0eYBc9hWg4dY5RzaiMZWCKAyi7GBid56y1Dt1_LVaS7nWOk-N1wrCXo49WlQnKurW556fF23GNK0KHQTJEGIJivJdcJKLj0/s1600/51+honingpotjes+met+proevende+kinderen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimN2bl0USlDDy4pslLg2Z0IDnt1ka0ca0ZfLO_3lRSEdaUr0eYBc9hWg4dY5RzaiMZWCKAyi7GBid56y1Dt1_LVaS7nWOk-N1wrCXo49WlQnKurW556fF23GNK0KHQTJEGIJivJdcJKLj0/s320/51+honingpotjes+met+proevende+kinderen.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the centre of the room, you could taste no </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">less than 51 jars of honey, 2 of which from </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Belgium, one from my colleague Steven </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vandebuerie, and one I brought. We were </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">promptly appointed as members of the jury and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">a list was given to us. The topics that had to be </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtutMqmzRQv2mGGINmNvGDm6OPrecntok0pgS_4ac8M_sj4PIzFJB_jrXMQgrF1Jz9rmmPuqxMtk4Q1osqG5AxWhv8VnSoUXxqSkZikFJPOhz9hOm3MHwIycQJHVFwACpYZjcJNgeUwDO4/s1600/honingjury+aan+het+werk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtutMqmzRQv2mGGINmNvGDm6OPrecntok0pgS_4ac8M_sj4PIzFJB_jrXMQgrF1Jz9rmmPuqxMtk4Q1osqG5AxWhv8VnSoUXxqSkZikFJPOhz9hOm3MHwIycQJHVFwACpYZjcJNgeUwDO4/s200/honingjury+aan+het+werk.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">judged were </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">made clear to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">us, but 2 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Czech </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">words </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">were both </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">translated as </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘clarity’. We </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">understood that one of them should be ‘colour’ </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the other how ‘clear’ the honey was. In </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">addition there were points </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">for taste and smell. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">These points added up to a total score for the jar </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">of honey.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The difference in culture was blatantly visible after a few hours; The children present frequented the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">jars often for tasting and the level of the darker coloured honey - a wood-honey - dropped faster in </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">level than the multi-flowered ones, the kind we know and love over here.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The expectation not to win any prizes with our Belgian ‘flower honey’, no matter the very good taste, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">bright golden yellow colour and sweet-sweet smell, silently took hold of us.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">On stage was a screen with a projector showing pictures of previous events, showing there was </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">once a Scottish beekeeper in the parade, neatly in front of the parade as we had been, dressed in a </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">kilt. Doesn’t seem very handy to work the bees in those garments and sheds a different light on the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">question ‘what do Scots wear under their tartan…’</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERoX_-tEVnkz_nsbHnmFSSPdxpIFrf2ZQKlemQG4jUf5_6XloWNvblV8GB8ap-s89DD3ACDO4bgmHRzdTmZoOh9J4V2zKqVFr0bsDOs-co6ZssXooQQfUBqK6-yaKjlbvlQGY6vEWNj67/s1600/geschenken+uitdelen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERoX_-tEVnkz_nsbHnmFSSPdxpIFrf2ZQKlemQG4jUf5_6XloWNvblV8GB8ap-s89DD3ACDO4bgmHRzdTmZoOh9J4V2zKqVFr0bsDOs-co6ZssXooQQfUBqK6-yaKjlbvlQGY6vEWNj67/s320/geschenken+uitdelen.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I was asked in advance to write down a bit about <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">beekeeping in Belgium and to talk to the </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKl8DLme61BlFeLqocxFokoLwxH5jfE5579qZst05xXigdb038T9s-kkr0QVl3yMl5Ds0fHTsOzPtYWBCUapGxOp5kX8xk-a2azyCtSORyNoaFvsOlExxRhZ3rFCujH_4Z7CwlRpYuv_p/s1600/Milos+vertaalt+hoe+het+imkeren+in+Belgi%25C3%25AB+er+aantoe+gaat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKl8DLme61BlFeLqocxFokoLwxH5jfE5579qZst05xXigdb038T9s-kkr0QVl3yMl5Ds0fHTsOzPtYWBCUapGxOp5kX8xk-a2azyCtSORyNoaFvsOlExxRhZ3rFCujH_4Z7CwlRpYuv_p/s200/Milos+vertaalt+hoe+het+imkeren+in+Belgi%25C3%25AB+er+aantoe+gaat.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">audience about</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">what I had </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">written down. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">clear the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">crowd did not </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">follow my English </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">explanation so </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was glad Milos, who was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">appointed to translate </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">for me, took over and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">recited from my writings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In one of the moments </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">where I did get to speak myself I took the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">opportunity to thank the deputy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">mayor for the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">extended invitation and handed out presents to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">show our gratitude. Some presents came from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the city of Waregem, others we had brought </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourselves.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAI7k8kpPrYZ16DtCR9jkWmPyO6rnvciKmkr7iXV7nDzaEmWvoUfKVKZqnfxUuudlWOTwQsTlBXXsn2snpII-FiISjtC8zV5fYjg0w5cXL6mqPUMaCr85mbXfiazsWKpRUMa2HM7Q6TqC/s1600/klederdracht+imkers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAI7k8kpPrYZ16DtCR9jkWmPyO6rnvciKmkr7iXV7nDzaEmWvoUfKVKZqnfxUuudlWOTwQsTlBXXsn2snpII-FiISjtC8zV5fYjg0w5cXL6mqPUMaCr85mbXfiazsWKpRUMa2HM7Q6TqC/s320/klederdracht+imkers.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the formalities we were given ample opportunity to visit the stands and by extension visited the city centre with Milos as our guide.</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beekeeping in the Czech Republic</span></h4>
<h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Number of Beekeepers</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The Czech Republic has been a member of the EU since 2004, and thus also benefits from </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">European money for beekeepers. The Czech Republic has a similar population to that of Belgium, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">but has 2,5 times the size of country. Nature in the Czech Republic is more unspoint compared to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Belgium, which may explain why there are more beekeepers there. (About 50.000 to our 7200-ish). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Or maybe it’s the way the association of beekeepers is organised? The Czech Republic only has </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">one association of beekeepers, divided into regions. The president of Pardubice region has more </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">than 2000 members to look after!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finance</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">As I understood, a beekeeper pays a small contribution per hive as a membership fee to the region </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">where his hives are effectively installed, and not to one regional association where he might live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The European money, or at least part of it, goes directly to the beekeepers, that is to say, starting </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">beekeepers. If you want to start beekeeping, you contact your local municipality or city council </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">(through the regional beekeeping association). Then you are given a form which must be signed </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">and sent to the local department of the beekeepers association where the chairman take the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">documents through an administrative process, resulting in the immediate registration of the new </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">beekeeper. After the completion of those formalities the new beekeeper is given about 12000 CKZ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">(about 460 EURO). Knowing that the materials there are a bit cheaper (a complete hive is just over </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">100 EURO in purchase), this amount is sufficient to buy the basic equipment and a bee colony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I imagine a lot of beekeepers here in Belgium would applaud such a system, but a side note to make </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">here is that the Czech Republic has to deal with the same phenomenon as Belgium; Many </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">beekeepers stop their activities after 2 to 3 years. And thus the seasoned Czech beekeepers see all </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">that ‘beginners money’ go to waste and deem it ‘not so well spent’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Types of hives / beekeeping methods</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Although a lot of hives are used the most common type is one known by the name: Adamec. It has </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">frames size 390 by 240 mm. As the seasons are comparable to what we have in Belgium the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">methods are very much alike. The wintering of the hives is slightly different as some beekeepers </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">prefer to use 3 boxes instead of 2. The bottom box is largely empty and is used as a buffer zone for </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">cold winter air.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">What can also be seen here, but not on every hive, is the boxes with a hole in it, closed of with a </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">cork or a turntable.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Most hives are set up at home or at the edges of a forest in apiaries similar to how we do things. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Percentage wise the number of beekeepers traveling with their hives to better forage areas is </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">comparable to what we have.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Gestation area and harvest</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A big difference in my opinion is the gestation area; As I mentioned earlier, the Czech Republic is </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">richer i nature and larger than Belgium, on top of that many farmers sow Rapeseed to produce the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">additive that enriches ‘biodiesel’. Where we have to work with crops like ‘Maïs’.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Another plus is the abundance of forests. These forestarea’s are resulting in a dark wood honey it </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">has a rather acidic taste to it and hints of caramel that we don’t immediately associate with honey.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">An average harvest per hive is around 20 kg with exceptions of beekeepers claiming to harvest more </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">per hive (50kg to even one person claiming to get 100 kg per hive). I believed this 20 kg to be in the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">lines of what we can harvest in Belgium and said so.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Bee-breeds and varroa</span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A well organised structure of the Beekeepers’ Association is undeniable, lead by the government it </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">controls the allowed methods and rules that are to be followed by all beekeepers in the Czech </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Republic. A mark left by being ruled with iron hand for so long? It is the government that </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">determines which bee breeds you can keep, and that list is limited to ‘Carnica’. Some daredevils are </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">said to have introduced Buckfast bees, but this seems to be kept quiet as it is outside the law.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The government also tells you when and what products to use to combat the varroa, also present in </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the Czech republic. These products may vary from year to year. I heard there are beekeepers that </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">ignore those product-regulations and stick with formic acid, as it will work into the closed brood, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">where most other products do not. What the government recommends are chemical products that </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">only improve the resistance of the mites against these products, a trait that does not count for formic </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">acid. The beekeeper defended himself stating that treating with the wrong products will only mean </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">you end up without bees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This made me think of a lecture I attended in Kalmthout (Belgium) presented by Erik Gooris (a </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">known ‘naturalistic beekeeper in Belgium), and I explained what his lecture was about. The main </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">statement was that bees cannot digest pollen on their own, they need bacteria to start the digestive </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">process for that. This also means that when applying a treatment that kills the mites will almost </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">certainly also kill the bacteria needed for this process, thus putting your bees in a period of ‘digestive </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">problems’. To this the response was a pair of hands thrown in the air admitting there was no clear </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">solution to the varroa-problem.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I had more discussions and as a result was labeled as ‘bee-philosopher’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visiting an apiary</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">On sunday, October 13, 2019, the festivities ended in the afternoon. We bought some honey wine </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">from a local beekeeper, based on sunflower- and multi-floral honey. We were also overloaded with </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">gifts, local beer, local honey and homebrews! I knew then that traveling back I would be more heavily </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">leaden than coming here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To top it all off, I was told the honey I entered in the competition had won a gold medal. The </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">certificate would be sent by post. I could not believe it!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">While the local beekeepers, under the leadership by their chairman, were cleaning up the exhibition </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">we were taken to a local tourist attraction: the gingerbread house. Upon arrival this turned out to be </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">closed, but that was not a problem since we were advised of that prior to leaving for our real </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">destination that just happened to be in the same place: an apiary.</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugec9IJcGUfXAkk-MccqE7uRtGXvhdXpYxo8LjZzebyl7iYLoZBSyzXyeVebgQNJ6mu2sAd-RRq6b36Pxn3u_AY3hvRS-15iD6SPR-FPwmRRY4FGC0QKjoO_R_kgGQR9uJfqCvnYxaDWQ/s1600/Bijenstand+bij+het+Peperkoeken+huis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugec9IJcGUfXAkk-MccqE7uRtGXvhdXpYxo8LjZzebyl7iYLoZBSyzXyeVebgQNJ6mu2sAd-RRq6b36Pxn3u_AY3hvRS-15iD6SPR-FPwmRRY4FGC0QKjoO_R_kgGQR9uJfqCvnYxaDWQ/s200/Bijenstand+bij+het+Peperkoeken+huis.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We were welcomed by a mischievous looking man, and if you ask </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">me he has some Italian blood </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">streaming through those veins, who </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">was presented to us as the owner of the place. On the domain </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">there is an educational beekeeping apiary with 7 hives, all on 3 </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">boxes of the standard Czech </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Republic size. I noticed the bottoms </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">did not have boards like ours do, that slide out from underneath </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the stand, instead there was a mesh floor behind a small door. All </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hives had this open ventilation at </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the bottom of the hives. I </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">explained that we worked with boards that slide out and had a piece of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">paper on them to help spot </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the varroa. I was told they also use a piece of paper, but they just place </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">it on top of the mesh inside </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the bottom of the hive.</span></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1nvaDcvp4B1Tm7sU5ZYPijXSS-bSw0ppYkkW6oU7ePB9E-0MfYhcw-efSMYv_MkNvi074clXxle-5DoxlRjBXydIuJzgM8sGI654D16Gl5_QZLg60e0ectcTDKbBlVcMWGmYdROZ0JJC/s1600/Ingang+in+%25C3%25A9%25C3%25A9n+romp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1nvaDcvp4B1Tm7sU5ZYPijXSS-bSw0ppYkkW6oU7ePB9E-0MfYhcw-efSMYv_MkNvi074clXxle-5DoxlRjBXydIuJzgM8sGI654D16Gl5_QZLg60e0ectcTDKbBlVcMWGmYdROZ0JJC/s640/Ingang+in+%25C3%25A9%25C3%25A9n+romp.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The turntables in each box were fully opened and the coming and going of bees on this lovely day of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">yet again 20+°C was a sight for sore eyes. On 4 of the hives, it was around 15h30, some sun was </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hitting the front of them, you could spot younger bees on their orientation flights. The hives fully in </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">the shade did not have that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXEIT9KZdxc426uZARHqSVWVerWBgg0fYtJ551nCvm7c8uGr0P_G3sdx3jcacJmFg5w_hd4Q5mo13BFLWixs2CF5SEgqtmtFtzoNIU5ETLSWMURdyS1la45dRzJWA3TEtYAqZtoAWdVjQ/s1600/de+plexi+is+er+af.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXEIT9KZdxc426uZARHqSVWVerWBgg0fYtJ551nCvm7c8uGr0P_G3sdx3jcacJmFg5w_hd4Q5mo13BFLWixs2CF5SEgqtmtFtzoNIU5ETLSWMURdyS1la45dRzJWA3TEtYAqZtoAWdVjQ/s200/de+plexi+is+er+af.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">One hive was opened, under the roof there was some insulation </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and an inner cover made of plexi. I was already hovering above </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the hive when this plexi was removed, I didn’t realize this would be </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">taken off. As a result I was greeted by 3 worker bees that, as do </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">some of my bees, immediately fell in love with my beard. Getting </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">entangled in the hairs they started buzzing and burrowing towards </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">my skin. 2 of them I liberated before they stung me, the 3rd was in </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">too deep already and before I could ask for assistance I felt the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">sting. I beat it’s not breaking news, but Czech bees also sting… (After telling the chairman later in </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the evening he advised me not to bother freeing the bees as it is more efficiënt to just swat them </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">before they can sting you)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After the sting-incident the beekeeper attending the hives gestured me to take it easy around the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">hives, he clearly wasn’t at ease and was probably hoping I wouldn’t get tagged again, but I ignored </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the warnings and armed with my camera I took some pictures from up close.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I asked whether the children are allowed to work the bees, but this was not the case. They only </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">assisted in extracting honey and other jobs without the danger of getting zapped.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Oh, I forgot to mention, there were indeed warning signs placed here and there around the apiary!</span></div>
<h4 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Visiting the Chairman at his house</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After the visit to this apiary we were expected at the chairman’s home. We were greeted and lead to </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV8LlJJFhyphenhyphenTX4sS0LLNQC6q-8mCSZB3Bd9CoKrKNJex6JfFJ3CmfYmqo-g2NXCkCPkht2sVyQyaG4pBjltTkNlvECj6y2Do10L8Z6DZfzkAbsOj33rOnsPUuyzS5ZS_lMgRf1uQ1PbUQc/s1600/Bijenstand+van+de+Voorzitter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV8LlJJFhyphenhyphenTX4sS0LLNQC6q-8mCSZB3Bd9CoKrKNJex6JfFJ3CmfYmqo-g2NXCkCPkht2sVyQyaG4pBjltTkNlvECj6y2Do10L8Z6DZfzkAbsOj33rOnsPUuyzS5ZS_lMgRf1uQ1PbUQc/s320/Bijenstand+van+de+Voorzitter.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the back of the yard where a beautiful apiary in the form of a 10m long shed was built. The shed </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">now only had 3 active hives put in them but there was a time there were a lot more. Now the ‘free’ </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiaVR9Mou95Xd2vRw0swPhWU_8cDnjO07bkIi-yUTDRmLr2v36CkrRFAnHfZOBc_3RPIiE1rMZYfagH3eTb2o0opsP1GJ52PYVI4DOg-v3aXsca6-DtoJRHfNhX7mirPRQXNcZ1C5U-jy/s1600/bijenstand+van+de+voorzitter+binnenkant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiaVR9Mou95Xd2vRw0swPhWU_8cDnjO07bkIi-yUTDRmLr2v36CkrRFAnHfZOBc_3RPIiE1rMZYfagH3eTb2o0opsP1GJ52PYVI4DOg-v3aXsca6-DtoJRHfNhX7mirPRQXNcZ1C5U-jy/s200/bijenstand+van+de+voorzitter+binnenkant.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">space was used for storage.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">There were a lot of materials there, a press to make his own wax-sheets was </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgACv0yBL0F0KtoXNaKfs0TxJEeo-sm5mmDZMCHQ7_BvW9kSL-wH-Bnz1N5aDyzFpFhxm_vxDR77DTXTqdas2GCKhr22mqDeGVgaB5ckBsdEll4SMDGBU3mmt3mlOYkE9o-0oi2R4Oh6Fp/s1600/Naar+zure+melk+ruikende+waswafelpers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgACv0yBL0F0KtoXNaKfs0TxJEeo-sm5mmDZMCHQ7_BvW9kSL-wH-Bnz1N5aDyzFpFhxm_vxDR77DTXTqdas2GCKhr22mqDeGVgaB5ckBsdEll4SMDGBU3mmt3mlOYkE9o-0oi2R4Oh6Fp/s200/Naar+zure+melk+ruikende+waswafelpers.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">one of them. As he explained us how it operated he advised to use </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">milk as a from of grease to enable loosening the sheets again. The </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">smell on the device was clearly that of sour milk, so he wasn’t </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">joking! He did remark it wasn’t needed to use “whole fat milk”.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">One of the beehives was set upon a digital scale, with the option to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">connect it to a processor for data processing. He hadn’t connected </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">it as of yet and only made notes during his hive-inspections.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">There were a bunch of nucleus boxes, DIY-style, made out of insulation boards. The roofs were </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">covered with plastic (similar to his larger hives).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The next home made device was a barrel with a valve</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to let the honey flow out of after it was </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">cleared. The top was sealed of with plexi with a motor mounted on top for stirring the honey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3INxOfA-78SBgi1WJ9Q1tJUj8FxfdtNqA7HeE-Y9NEa7mxgkwPlXwfKhhFMYbrWn1Awvrm44_NvKzPEcuePlDuLkXigudhkmdRqIeHi-M2dkScrZ8pDByh9ps7FdCrwM6Jtf0Rs6FeY-k/s1600/Zelfgemaakte+slinger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3INxOfA-78SBgi1WJ9Q1tJUj8FxfdtNqA7HeE-Y9NEa7mxgkwPlXwfKhhFMYbrWn1Awvrm44_NvKzPEcuePlDuLkXigudhkmdRqIeHi-M2dkScrZ8pDByh9ps7FdCrwM6Jtf0Rs6FeY-k/s320/Zelfgemaakte+slinger.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The honey-extractor was also self-made, also a </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">plastic container, with a manual system to spin </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">out the honey, for more control of speed at the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">start. We gave it a spin and it was very sound </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and stable!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">At the very end of the garden, the chairman showed us 6 smaller hives, some of which he would use</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> to unite with his 3 larger colonies during winter. He unites the hives without precaution measures </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(like putting a sheet of paper between the hives or removing one of the queens) He says he hasn’t </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">had any problems with htis method yet and in 9 out of 10 times the younger queen wins the fight.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I asked the chairman about what happens to swarms that people call in. I was amazed by the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">answer: Catching swarms is forbidden in the Czech Republic. The wild populations in the forest are </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">thus isolated. It is not allowed to take a swarm and place it in your apiary because this way the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">interference of genes between ‘wild’ and ‘domesticated’ bees can take place and this is not the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">intention. Swarms are exterminated by the figher fighters as if they were wasps.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This lead me to ask a question about breeding queens yourself and mating them in your own apiary. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It turns out the cultivation of queens is in the hands of appointed beekeepers. They apply selection </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">criteria, set by the government, to select colonies to breed from. I didn’t ask, but I deducted this </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">means breeding your own queens is against the law.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Closing Words</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Although beekeeping in itself is very similar, I prefer our way of working, where we can each do our </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">thing, and all we need is a little respect for each other in order to get along. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It might make things a </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">bit more difficult, by the multitude of methods, especially for beginning beekeepers that need </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">guidance towards their own way of beekeeping.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">One thing that would make things more easy here in Belgium is to have but one Beekeeping </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Association. One structured way of training new people that is the same all over the country, but all </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">in all, we don’t have it bad as a beekeeper in Belgium!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think we need to set some common goals: Working towards varroa resistant bees, moving away </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">from pesticides, insecticides and other poisons and to help all people create more biodiversity.</span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I’m so glad the bees here in Belgium are allowed to swarm, it is in their nature! In the city it should </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">be avoided, of course, but even then I believe more can be achieved by providing information than </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">by over regulating the beekeeping world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the visit to the chairman we ended with a last supper, a penultimate pivo (beer) and a good </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">conversation among beekeepers and newly built friendships. It was a real pleasure for me to be </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">able to be a part of this experience!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thank you Pardubice and it’s beekeepers for inviting us!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thank you City of Waregem for this opportunity!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Thank you reader for making it to the end!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Can we toast to your health now?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Na Zdraví !</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Björn Lefevre</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Bee-Philisopher</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-64952531232801329132019-09-23T23:48:00.001+02:002019-09-23T23:48:41.777+02:00A lecture from Dylan Elen about 'Breeding locally adapted honey bees'<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Hello Readers,</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-802c1ede-7fff-ae23-86b8-9ee3ffa38be7" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Today I bring you the contents of a lecture I’ve attended.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The lecture was given by none other than Dylan Elen. The president of Zwartebij.org. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">A scientist/researcher that works with bees every single day.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxryhQJAhmiIXgftLsny6O4dLaGkbOj9FXyj-CsYi6q0ALubCmKtDIRvs7RcoUteaK2GmTcd5op2DW2JSpsCv9Jv4UMVJ4ej9JMKxOqAbLwowB9C1ixC6UwMr9XJPmuDwke0f59kLvTQt/s1600/20190921_162356_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxryhQJAhmiIXgftLsny6O4dLaGkbOj9FXyj-CsYi6q0ALubCmKtDIRvs7RcoUteaK2GmTcd5op2DW2JSpsCv9Jv4UMVJ4ej9JMKxOqAbLwowB9C1ixC6UwMr9XJPmuDwke0f59kLvTQt/s320/20190921_162356_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Zwartebij.org, is trying to bring back and preserve </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the local bee that used to be here before we humans </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">hauled over all sorts of other bees simply because </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">those other bees had traits we liked better.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We have to put the bee first, and forget about what we </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">want for a moment. When you put the bees first, you </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">will see that working with the black bee is common </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">sense, as it has adapted to its local environment by </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">nature it is therefore better equipped to deal with </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">whatever we, as beekeepers, or nature throw at it next.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">So if we want traits in our bees that aren’t there, we </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">have to select from the local bees that show signs of, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">or are most promising towards, what we want.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Alongside that we have to preserve the wild bee; We need to keep in mind that when we </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">start tinkering with the natural selection process, we might make mistakes and breed out </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">some needed qualities in order for the bees to survive, and in doing so we are actually </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">killing the wild bees and are making them dependant on human intervention to keep them </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">alive. This is not what we want.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Nature has only one trait that is rewarded in every species and that’s survival. So whatever </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">genes work best are passed on. Therefore we need wild bees as a backup for when we </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">screw up.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">So the lecture was trying to explain how we can repopulate Belgium (and the Netherlands </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and Luxembourg) with the native bee. (It was touched upon that France also had an interest </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">in the project and would like to participate.)</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I hope you enjoy Dylan’s way of thinking; Here’s what happened:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 26pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Breeding locally adapted honey bees</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The key to sustainable beekeeping - Dylan Elen</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why work with the apis mellifera mellifera</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">a history of the bees spreading around the mainland.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dylan touched on the different bees that can be found all over the world, and how they spread</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and evolved locally.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He then zoomed in to Belgium and the local species of AMM (apis mellifera mellifera).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<img alt="Afbeeldingsresultaat voor spreading of bees over europe" src="https://adbkabees.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/geo-mellifera.gif?w=382" /><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The diversification of bees is a local process; some genes that are useful here aren’t </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">elsewhere, and vice versa. Therefore it’s wise to start working with local bees and </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">select from there the bees that show traits that we want.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">He stressed out that there is no ‘best’ breed of bee. The best is a subjective noun. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">What is best for me isn’t best for you. So the bees I like might not be the bees you like. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">But you can tell me, and I you, what I like about the bees we work with. And as long </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">as we select our bees and breed them locally with whatever traits we like best we </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">shouldn’t have any major issues.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Breeding locally doesn’t have to be with the native bee, as The ‘Kirchheim’ Carnolian </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">line proves. This beebreed exists for an amount of 40 years, and in the beginning </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">they were bred by means of artificial insemination. One could say they are local now, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">even though they didn’t start out that way, for breeding no longer needs to happen </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">artificially.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">To get some local adaptivity into their Kirchheim Carnolian line they did however use </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">drones from local bees for their artificial insemination. That is why they could sustain </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">themselves and move away from artificially breeding their line. Many queen breeding</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> stations do not practice this and import pure-blood drones, as such there is no local </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">adaptation, and only 1 or 2 generations show the traits you associate with that typical </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">beebreed..</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The flemish bee breeding program is now looking at moving away from breeding </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">stations that import drones, but in reality the program is not accepted by the beekeepers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">They want the ‘pure-bloods’, the bees that already have the traits they want. Moving away </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">from those traits and reselecting for those traits is not what they want, for the beekeepers </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">don’t want the setback or do all the work for selecting the right beehives to breed from </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">locally. It’s easier for them to let the selection take place elsewhere and then take the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">queens they want mated to the selected drone populations..</span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dylan also wants resilient bees, so that no treatments are needed. Accomplishing that </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">means the bees can survive and do well without human interference.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">To start breeding bees with those terms means you’ll always end up with the local </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(the ones </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">that got there by themselves, not the ones that the beekeeper shipped there)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> bees as your </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">base pool For Belgium that’s the AMM.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Selection is still needed, as beekeepers prefer working with docile bees that don’t tend to </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">swarm and yield a honeycrop. But this needs to be done next to bee-preservation in the wild. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Keeping in mind that the ‘defensive’ trait is a dominant trait found in the genes, selecting bees </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">to breed with is something we will need to keep doing; The cross breed of local wild bees and</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">local bees kept by beekeepers, will mainly get the ‘defensive’ trait, se we need to keep </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">selecting the most docile ones.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Sidenote</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The audience wanted to know the difference in genetic structure between Tessel black bee </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">and Chimay black bee, for they heard that Dylan was using both lines to preserve the black</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">bee with his Zwartebij.org. So Dylan explained in short that hybrids have a different</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">genetic structure. As an example he used Ireland. There were black bees that showed </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">small </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">differences genetically, from other black bees from elsewhere. But there came a time that </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the Irish Black Bee was in trouble. To make sure the beekeepers kept some bees they </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">imported bees from the netherlands. So now you can see that in Ireland there are 2 </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">different species at work and that can be seen in the DNA of the bees. Those 2 lines must </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">be from the original local adapted bee, and the imported Dutch bee.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">For the black bee in Belgium, since the genetic pools are bound to meet each other as the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">species grow and pan out, Dylan wanted to know now what that bee would end up like. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Were there any problems we needed to anticipate? To answer that question he crossed </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">both species from Chimay and Tessel. The results are in the making but don’t show any </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">major problems as of jet.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">As specific traits for the Tessel bee Dylan pointed out the running on the comb (as an </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">undesired trait) vs the hygienic behaviour (a desired trait). I must have been distracted, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">or Dylan didn’t mention any specific traits for the Chimay bees.</span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The concept of breeding programs</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">When you start to select bees to breed from you start out with X number of bee colonies. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This is your base population. Out of those you select the ones you like ‘best’ and define </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the traits you want to select for. The minimum amount of bees to start such a selection</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">is 4 hives, and we’ll use that amount to start an example of how to select bees from there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJigz-wPi2z6L5zmw3QGvayYuk__aooHV-ChiyX9u5Bz9hmZ6m_rgujYJLv7-6_0tZOSnLXL9JoaSExtJnMtFeG-yE1u9d1nQcWkvJs6ADHAi0gTQnRSlslu7bSQgu2w4XbCPC48DoUuV-/s1600/20190921_135957_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJigz-wPi2z6L5zmw3QGvayYuk__aooHV-ChiyX9u5Bz9hmZ6m_rgujYJLv7-6_0tZOSnLXL9JoaSExtJnMtFeG-yE1u9d1nQcWkvJs6ADHAi0gTQnRSlslu7bSQgu2w4XbCPC48DoUuV-/s320/20190921_135957_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In our example we selected 4 colonies with a good </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">survival rate.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">We then need to divide the selected colonies into </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Drone lines (1) and Queen lines (3).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The drone line is best chosen one year in advance, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">so you can create a lot of splits from that hive to </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">increase the amount of drones when doing your </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">queen breeding. The apiary with the drone lines </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">will become your mating station.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">For each Queen line we need 6 mated queens, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">make sure you have plenty.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Now divide the new queens equally over 3 regions, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(after mating flights on the mating station) to see </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the impact of the ‘local environment’.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">If you are going to keep more, keep in mind that they </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">need to find enough resources in the regions you put </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">them in. So don’t overdo it, or you’ll end up killing your program by overpopulating your area.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Next step is to monitor your beehives per region, process the data - preferably through available</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">software - and then select 4 hives from the suitable hives to restart the process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dylan stressed that this is a selection process, so in order to keep the variables at a minimum </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">there is a protocol to be followed, the guidelines of which are yet to be laid down. But one of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the prerequisites is to not split these hives! As you want to monitor how they do with as little </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">interference as possible. You’ll be interrupting the natural process enough by monitoring for </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">desired traits like VSH (varroa sensitive hygiene) whilst opening the hives as it is.</span></div>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Steps</span></h2>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Step 1</span></div>
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<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 36pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Find beekeepers to cooperate with</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 36pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Find 3 regions, relatively isolated, with good forage.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 36pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Find at least 4 colonies to breed from (see example)</span></div>
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<ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Step 2</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Setup the test case hives with mated queens (use the same frame-sizes,
and hives throughout the project, or at least per region) in a non-linear way.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Step 3</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After 8 weeks (all bees are now from the newly mated queen) the first test can
be done (taking samples for DNA - wings - …)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Through the year; keep track of the gentleness, calmness, honey production,
any traits you want to select for.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">If you want to, this is how you keep track of hygienic behaviour:</span></div>
</li>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-roman; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">cleanup of brood [destroy (freeze, puncture, …) 50 brood cells and
monitor cleanup]</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-roman; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Take note of the natural mite drop (during first flow)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: lower-roman; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Count the mites on the living bees </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">within the brood nest</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> (sugar shake,
alcohol wash, …)</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Step 4</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Collect and process breeding data into values (preferably by bee breeding software)
to select hives from your project that look most promising and repeat. </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA0UJhjhUr5sS33e4FIRWpM8jIcKl0pdmIK7wTHEO366PYESs4fNY__9VEfJGnlX5ZOu2-me5kNS62GubCUPAufJr_v7iBM9Vc3iDmIcPqBRLr-mrgrDvELAFeFirrQ5JPnXwEn3dcf72/s1600/20190921_162752_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA0UJhjhUr5sS33e4FIRWpM8jIcKl0pdmIK7wTHEO366PYESs4fNY__9VEfJGnlX5ZOu2-me5kNS62GubCUPAufJr_v7iBM9Vc3iDmIcPqBRLr-mrgrDvELAFeFirrQ5JPnXwEn3dcf72/s320/20190921_162752_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkmUp1s9SGlk1EONP4vGklDrJ6bTmhu8_iBHhkclLoVGybYiBYoQqn-rjx3winkKHnRV7rcoFJGmyatdEelEyAgBqAADDxussObH3dMMnCqOyd1Q-UxRZzsA8EhXe3I62nxGRN7bohJNA/s1600/20190921_165115_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkmUp1s9SGlk1EONP4vGklDrJ6bTmhu8_iBHhkclLoVGybYiBYoQqn-rjx3winkKHnRV7rcoFJGmyatdEelEyAgBqAADDxussObH3dMMnCqOyd1Q-UxRZzsA8EhXe3I62nxGRN7bohJNA/s320/20190921_165115_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2dfzsDBcmMzoo65mUSV_dASyuT3BIxrawQmNf4azs0j9tm7wlT5St_AAaMLA7ZDDeAtBp8ANLf0uTG3a6bdyytqFgXV4yJ_eZ1f_640fLLW4qcD9glJYSeiYvg6LSZiwxCzuHtCRm6i8/s1600/20190921_135926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2dfzsDBcmMzoo65mUSV_dASyuT3BIxrawQmNf4azs0j9tm7wlT5St_AAaMLA7ZDDeAtBp8ANLf0uTG3a6bdyytqFgXV4yJ_eZ1f_640fLLW4qcD9glJYSeiYvg6LSZiwxCzuHtCRm6i8/s320/20190921_135926.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQUuH5aOeYloadrxLpOZD6J0e1eBiXdQrqvr_lfiG1XpY0H5WJTTc7HzQ7K_2hQ2-5xBbxtN6RL9WVjfd01SK72uC9ctLaqjLxKtm9YhmYQhyqDG6Loy1TsWUxzRUCFbZl-3BNhB2bciy/s1600/20190921_135939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQUuH5aOeYloadrxLpOZD6J0e1eBiXdQrqvr_lfiG1XpY0H5WJTTc7HzQ7K_2hQ2-5xBbxtN6RL9WVjfd01SK72uC9ctLaqjLxKtm9YhmYQhyqDG6Loy1TsWUxzRUCFbZl-3BNhB2bciy/s320/20190921_135939.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Meta population</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">When enough beekeepers keep their own AMM and enough local bee breeding locations
exist, we need to find a way to connect them (give them the means to breed amongst
themselves) and treat them as a meta population.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">To replicate this, once the bee breeding program is operational, and as a go between, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">since not all beekeepers will want to step into this program, we need to move colonies </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">from one area to another. This will ensure the diversity of the genes whilst still selecting</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> for the desired traits.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Backup population</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Keeping the wild populations alive as backup is a necessity. Selection programs lead </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">by human input can go wrong, as we have a more narrow selection process that filter out</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> ‘undesirable’ traits. It might just be the case that those -for us humans- undesirable traits </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">turn out to be vital for the survival of the bee species.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">To keep the bees in the wild you need </span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">a conservation area, (in Germany there are several with a 10 to 12 km radius).</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">an agreement within that area to only work with local bees and to let them swarms </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">(or at least have beekeepers that do not work with local bees cut the drones out of </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">their hives to minimize pollution of the gene pool)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">supervision of the population in the area</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">provide nesting cavities (with or without the option to monitor the hives)</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatLU99IGcMsIT7maguSx4QYvepKqnr2p6v7j_JVR2J2PQ66kJUnCVU2mlvFIEjnXPfjgDpLzhPshYCkrHtPhPtJ2VZpR4vL3IgTN28-1FQPYI1C53Iz1mW3_eQWm-2-uUQ8HFasIw-Y04/s1600/20190921_161034_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatLU99IGcMsIT7maguSx4QYvepKqnr2p6v7j_JVR2J2PQ66kJUnCVU2mlvFIEjnXPfjgDpLzhPshYCkrHtPhPtJ2VZpR4vL3IgTN28-1FQPYI1C53Iz1mW3_eQWm-2-uUQ8HFasIw-Y04/s320/20190921_161034_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 26pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Darwinian black box selection (dbss)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The idea here is to stop treating and let the bees </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">deal with outside pressures themselves.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In nature one hive throws swarms (splitting the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">varroa population in 2 or more ways) preventing </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">the varroa to grow out of control. This process is </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">recreated in the following concept :</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">In May we add a full brood box for the hive to expand.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">As soon as both boxes are full, we split the hive 5 ways.</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">1 with the mother queen, </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">4 others with open brood or queen cells from that hive. </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Practice shows that 2 of the 4 splits will not make it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This concept has shown it is viable and after 4 years the bees were still alive. The bees </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">themselves did not develop in the same way though; there were 3 different developments </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">for dealing with varroa.</span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">is mainly grooming</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">is VSH </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">has some of both.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Dylan told us there is a beekeeper in Belgium, Kamthout region, that has made a deal with a</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;"> professional beekeeper to recreate this project with 40 hives. They remain the property of the </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">professional beekeeper, so there was no cost for the person conducting the experiment. And </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">so far the experiment is working… No details were given, but the news makes me happy as </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">there is merit in my own project.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">After all this theory, Dylan opened up some hives to show us what traits to look for. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Calmness, defensive posture, … he allowed the people to puncture some cells with a </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">needle so they could </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">get the feel of how it’s done.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">That’s all for today folks,</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Bob Out</span></div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-77847358529655384702019-09-16T13:58:00.001+02:002019-09-16T13:58:53.198+02:00What's going on lateley?<p dir="ltr">Hello Readers,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Today will be a snippet of what is going on in my beekeeping life as of late.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Helping out the government</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">First off, I'd like to inform you that I was contacted by the local government through the FAVV (The Federal Agency for Food Safety). The explanation I received was this: One of the ministers of the Belgian government has asked to do a study with beekeepers to find out what is going on with honey bee health in general. Why is the bee health drastically dropping, is it the varroa, or is there something else going on?<br>
The idea is to follow some hives through a longer period of time. What the inspections will cover or what they’ll be looking for, I have no idea. But as I firmly believe we have to help eachother out I see this as the government reaching out to do it’s part, even if they’re a bit late in doing so… I know with that comes the danger of laws that take away certain freedoms, but let’s not jump the gun and trust our government to do the right thing…<br>
I am going to welcome the federal inspector when he chooses to visit my home and give him access to 3 of my hives. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The MC2018 F1 Buckfast bees, the colony I started out with.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">The LL2019 that was left behind by the black bee I got from Luc Lamon who swarmed.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">The ZP2019 a swarm I collected this year in Waregem.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
I hope to be able to talk about how I think helping nature in general would be a major step in the right direction for more than just the bees. In time, if there are larger and older forests, the bees will take up residence there and resume their life in the wild. Since in Belgium it is, amongst other things, the shortage of habitat for them to live and the shortage of forage that is keeping them from doing so now.<br></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:20pt;margin-bottom:6pt;" id="docs-internal-guid-79cb902a-7fff-5c7d-a7d3-af0d61b75add"><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 400; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking a class to see a provincial apiary for educational purposes</span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did I mention on here already I’m starting a beekeeper class for 3rd and 4th grade students in one school in my region Waregem? It’s a Freinet school and I was asked to place a beehive there. I responded: ‘sure, but why not make it a project so the kids get to know what’s going on?’</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing led to another and now I’m scheduled for 2x 10 classes of beekeeping. I’ll have to adjust myself since I’m talking to youngsters with a short attention span, and some of them might not even be into beekeeping.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now I have to lay out a lesson-plan for those 10 lessons, the first of them is tomorrow already…</span></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We took the classes to see an active educational apiary, operated by the province of East-Flanders, thanks to one volunteer. (also a member of the local beekeeping club in Deinze)</span></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The visit there showed me a couple of things, but these are the most important that I can remember:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The kids are easily distracted. I was hoping to support the volunteer by anticipating and grabbing some stuff he could use, like drone comb and a drone. But as soon as I moved there was always a group more interested in what I was up to, instead of listening to what was said.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The attention span of kids is indeed very short. They are full of questions, and it’s best to answer them with short answers, even though the truth is a bit more complicated. They tend to jump from one topic to another and are easily triggered by what they see. I’ll have to find an individual approach for each kid and give them something to do that they actually want to do.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though some of the kids were afraid at first, the curiosity gained it in almost all cases. Nobody getting stung helped a lot!</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall I think the kids enjoyed the visit, and I hope they are keen on helping me out in building an apiary and a beehive for their school.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Apis Centric Beekeeping</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.40em;"><b>The Lecture</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Jef Wynants</p>
<p dir="ltr">This Sunday I attended a lecture by Jef Wynants. About 20 people attended.<br>
He talked about what beekeeping actually means and that greatly depends on the beekeeper. He focused on a natural way of keeping bees, putting the bees and their health first and stressed that he believes that any form of treatment is a step in the wrong direction. The bees have to be able to deal with whatever is thrown at them by themselves. It is our task as humans to support them, not treat them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He started off with a song: </p>
<p dir="ltr">Based on the texts of <a href="http://www.katsandogz.com/onpleasure.html">Kahlil Gibran</a> where both flower and bee profit from eachother. </p>
<p dir="ltr">He concluded that beekeeping doesn’t have a set of rules to follow and that it is the beekeeper that makes his own rules.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He then continued by drawing a parallel between beekeeping and agriculture and the different ways of committing to those tasks.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Classical way (monoculture/honeycrop)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Biological way (respect for nature, no pesticides)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Biological Dynamic way (greater respect for nature and support for the natural way of life)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"></p>
<p dir="ltr">Biodynamic beekeeping does have a set of rules, those can be found in a charter by <a href="https://www.demeter.net/certification/standards/beekeeping">demeter</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jef also touched upon the difficulties the bees, and the world in general, are facing.<br>
We have reached the limits of what we can throw at nature. His idea is that we have to go with a hands off approach and let the bees tackle their own problems as much as possible. Rather than stretching the rubber band further by introducing forren produce (chemicals, or organic acids) into the hive.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jef states that bees, like nature, strive for a balance within the hive, as such we have to treat the colony as one (super)organisme. In this respect he advises the work of Jurgen Tautz (the buzz about bees).<br>
Respecting the bees is following their pace in life. To create bees, we need to wait for them to swarm, as it is only at that time that they are ready for it. Time is working against us humans, as we have to go to work and can’t sit around to wait for them to swarm.<br>
Respecting the natural residence the bees choose is another pillar we need to look at. Here the work of Thomas D. Seeley is put forward (Honeybee Democracy) He points out that all work written about bees, apart from this book, does not look at the bee living in its natural habitat.<br>
Looking at the moisture and temperatures within a natural beehive has been studied by Torben Schiffer, who states that no man made hive trumps the hollow tree. A tree keeps the inner temperature at an almost constant number, where outside the cycle of day and night shifts quite a bit. Keeping the temperatures inside the hive warm enough for the bees is done by themselves. To do so they burn sugars, honey, and by doing so, they create moisture. A reserve of 15kg honey creates 10l of water. So isolating with styrofoam is not good, for it traps the water, solving this with a screened bottom deteriorates the insulation value, causing more honey te be needed to bridge the gap towards better weather conditions during winter.<br>
Moisture is a breeding ground for fungi, and it is said that not the varroa, but fungus is killing bees. In a good hive bees are able to create a micro-climate that allow them to keep their home more pure and clean than an OR! ( Study Revolution of beekeeping )<br>
And whilst this environment is used by thousands of other organisms they live with the bees in harmony. A normal hive does not allow for those other organisms to find a home. A skep however did provide a home for a lot of these organisms. One of those organisms is a pseudo scorpion, that can be found in every colony living in the wild.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another concern is what kind of bee to work with. Normally Jef would choose for the local bee, but, as there are very little black bees to be found and he’s not keen on introducing a black bee queen into another colony, he prefers working with swarms from bees that survive in this local climate, no matter the origin.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.40em;"><b>Practical issues when choosing for biodynamic beekeeping</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Flowers and local food supply for bees<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">method of keeping bees:<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Honeyhunter instead of keeping bees, zeidlerei, hollow trees<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">as little interference as possible<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Allowing swarms<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">no feeding sugars<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">only take away the excess of honey (after the winter is over, and you didn’t feed sugar… all that is left is yours. So as soon as the cherry blossoms bloom, it’s harvest time)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">when feeding is needed, do so with honey<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">natural selection (opposed to insemination or artificial queen rearing)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">No wax-sheets to allow for natural building of comb<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">distance between hives<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">No cutting away drone comb.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">No travelling with bees.<br>
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<p dir="ltr"><br>
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<p dir="ltr">Materials used within the hive<br>
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<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Natural materials<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
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<p dir="ltr">better insulation<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">attention for moisture within the hive<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
<span style="font-size:1.40em;"><b>Different hives</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">To finish his lecture Jef showed us some of his hives. Some designs are based on the sunhive. Others are experiments he came up with by himself. One of those is a double simplex body, with comb from top to bottom, so no frames. The body is encased with peat and then finished with a wooden outer layer. The bottom has a board with straw to allow other organisms to live in the hive. And the roof is insulated with natural materials and allows for a honey super to harvest from.<br>
Another hive was a hollow tree trunk with windows, the bottom was filled up with mulch from leaves and other natural materials. A project he finished out of interest in a course he followed.<br>
A home made design is what he calls the Langstroth TopBar Hive was also showed.<br>
His designs show that Jef is as much an artist as he is a beekeeper.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That’s it for today guys and girls</p>
<p dir="ltr">Bob Out<br>
</p>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-46044469880930004492019-09-01T16:10:00.001+02:002019-09-01T16:10:47.775+02:00A hive using condensation<p dir="ltr">Hello readers,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Today I want to write an article about temperature and condensation within the hive.  I want to point out that I have not done any research to support my claims here, this is all knowledge I read elsewhere and gut feeling.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Introduction</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">I want to start by stating what I know, which is very little, and I might be wrong.<br>
I believe there are 2 temperatures (Celcius) that are important within a hive.<br>
The first and most obvious number is 35°, the heat needed to sustain the brood and let it hatch.<br>
The second temperature that is of importance is 12°.  The lower threshold for bees to remain alive in a comfortable way, when they don’t have brood to take care off.  They might survive temperatures below that, don’t get me wrong, but if the cluster drops below 12°, in my opinion, there is something wrong.</p>
<p dir="ltr">These two numbers are what I believe the ‘constant’ values you will see in a hive.  Brood cycle = 35; winter cluster = 12. No matter what the outside temperature is, one of these two values will remain more or less constant within the cluster - either the winter cluster (12°) or the cluster of bees that’s nursing the brood (35°).<br>
Temperatures outside that cluster will rise above or drop below the given values this will cause a    side effect: Condensation.  Looking at the definition of the word condensation we find:</p>
<p dir="ltr">Water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">The conversion of a vapour or gas to a liquid. (a reaction in which two molecules combine to form a larger molecule, producing a small molecule such as H20 as a by-product - CHEMISTRY) or (the fusion of two or more images or ideas into a single composite or new image, as a primary process in unconscious thought exemplified in dreams. - PSYCHOLOGY)<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">A concise version of something, especially a text.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
For us only the first two parts of the definition is relevant.  The forming of water as a result of humid air touching a colder surface.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now I want to look at what this condensation does within most hives we use, opposed to what’s happening in a tree cavity.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>How nature fixes condensation</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Now that we know condensation is taking place in our hives, we should ask ourselves what this means, do bees need this condensation?<br>
I think the humidity of a hive has an importance, especially during brood periods.  Given that warmer air can contain more moisture it is a given that the humidity during a brood period is going to be higher than outside this period.  What the ideal percentage of water in the air inside a hive is during both periods, I have no clue. But do the bees need the condensation? I don’t think so.  In fact, in a tree the hot air, generated by the cluster, will rise, touch the ceiling, in this case the inner side of the tree and water droplets will form. I believe that, even when the tree is dead, the texture of the wood, containing capillary channels, will suck up the moisture, preventing those droplets to fall down on the bees, where in most hives we use, the water droplets are not absorbed by the ceiling of the hive, causing a pool of water to be formed on said ceiling.  If the roof of that hive is not sloped, and most hives I know are place level on the ground with a flat rooftop, the pool of water will find its way down under the influence of gravity. The droplets are going to fall down more or less where they are formed and start forming a pool. This is above the bees that generate the heat. This means the droplets will land on the bees, making them wet and cooling them off. This works counterproductive, does not happen in a natural bee cavity and should be addressed.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The climate the hive is in also has an effect on condensation inside the hive.  Condensation does not appear to be an issue in warmer climates; The air outside is warmer and dryer and as a result the passive circulation of air is more effective.  The dry air outside, coming in contact with the more humid air inside the hive, will absorb some of the moisture, preventing condensation.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Effects of condensation in most hive-types</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Worst possible effect for your bees?  They cool off and die due to the condensation falling on top of them.<br>
Other effects include better conditions for disease organisms, fungi and molds to grow inside the hive.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>How do we fix this now</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">As I am a new beekeeper my knowledge is still limited, and as far as I know, only one main technical solution is applied.  The inner cover is made so air can flow through and the bottom of the hive is comprised of a screen. A circulation of air is created to remove the hot air containing the moisture out of the hive whilst attempting to trap the heat inside the hive, not an easy thing to do with the chimney effect at work.  The heat is trapped by a barrier of material that has a hygroscopic property as well as some isolation value; Wood shavings, pieces of cloth, newspaper, cardboard clippings, hay …</p>
<p dir="ltr">I am not in favor of this practice.  In a natural environment there is no airflow other than what the bees create themselves by fanning or the convection current caused by the difference in temperatures.  But I can’t deny it’s an effective method.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another ‘practical’ solution is to tilt the hive, letting the pool formed on the ceiling slide off to one side before gravity makes the droplets fall and preventing water to form a pool on the bottom of the hive.  The direction to tilt the hive is towards the hive entrance, ensuring that if water does pool up on the bottom of the hive, it can flow out.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Can’t we use this condensation to our advantage?</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">My first thoughts were to create a hive with a roof that let’s the condensation flow out of the hive through an air gap in the walls.  I was thinking of a sloped cover with the bottom part, above the air gap, stripped from any insulation, whilst the rest of the roof would be insulated, trapping the warmth inside.  Then the water could be guided outside of the hive through the air gap on the bottom of the hive.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/ss8_YEwovQDrleMu44odWRA/image?w=1343&h=1060&rev=173&ac=1&parent=11ldSozPKDAoekg34uxsiqLFMlR3vS_lnCTCr6Rbt7hE"></p>
<p dir="ltr">But then I thought, bees collect water, so why not keep the moisture accessible to the bees?  Of course we would have to keep the water circulating to prevent bad organisms to grow in it. So in draining the water, maybe we could use that water for other purposes?  Providing drinking pools for chickens or other creatures? Providing water for plants?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Contemplating further on this, why not make this water provision adaptable so whilst flowing down into a water station it picks up sugar on it’s way down to feed the bees when needed?<br>
I would have to experiment with the following</p>
<p dir="ltr">is a dripping system through a sugar cone actually achievable, or will the water close off the sugar by making it hard on the surface <br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">how much sugar is absorbed by the water, since most beekeepers feed their bees with a solution between 1 or 2 parts sugar to 1 part water.<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">How long does it take before the solution is spoilt<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr">Does it need an overflow?<br>
</p>
<p dir="ltr"><br>
<span style="font-size:1.50em;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">Of course all this is dreaming out loud, since this is only my 2nd year of beekeeping and I’m still looking at creating my locally adapted bee, untreated, that can survive without the help of the beekeeper.<br>
So if you see merit in my thoughts and have the experience and time to set up this kind of project, please do so, let me know how it went!</p>
<p dir="ltr">For myself,...   I’ll have to keep it in mind for later.<br>
Who knows, maybe this winter I’ll find the time to make some Nucleus hive with this system of feeding built into it.<br></p>
<p dir="ltr">So that’s what I have on my mind on this topic.  And now it’s out here, for you to do with as you please</p>
<p dir="ltr">Bob Out<br>
</p>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-75756058765473209362019-08-26T18:41:00.001+02:002019-08-26T18:41:23.305+02:00A day with beekeepers...Hello readers,<br />
<br />
This Sunday, August 25th was a day where I was surrounded by other beekeepers.<br />
<br />
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:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8c7DF5embXiD9K6aGDs8YfMKPQkVgvLJEQPrL2hNnz61LegNMrTn83-gYvmg6g2_PNbuxwj4GpFgGVHG55uvqmOTuYUocIxnTkQ-Oud3ErxVhlIzRFNbBQuDgIsiq2fQjMPZX2qiQuer/s1600/IMG_20190825_084210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8c7DF5embXiD9K6aGDs8YfMKPQkVgvLJEQPrL2hNnz61LegNMrTn83-gYvmg6g2_PNbuxwj4GpFgGVHG55uvqmOTuYUocIxnTkQ-Oud3ErxVhlIzRFNbBQuDgIsiq2fQjMPZX2qiQuer/s640/IMG_20190825_084210.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h2>
The first speaker </h2>
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.<br />
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)<br />
<br />
<h2>
The Second speaker </h2>
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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Now he only treats the hives if he sees none of these signs.<br />
<br />
I would very much like to hear for Erik again in a more in depth conversation some time...<br />
<br />
<h2>
The afternoon get-together</h2>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
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.</div>
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<div>
This was my beekeeping sunday!</div>
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<br /></div>
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See you next time!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Bob Out</div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-19927309134942156412019-08-24T22:53:00.001+02:002019-08-24T22:53:40.370+02:00 The Arboreal Apiculture SalonHello readers,<br />
<br />
Today I joined the arboreal apiculture Salon for the first time.<br />
<br />
I had no idea what to expect, or how many people would be on. I was the 6th person to enter and join <a href="https://gaiabees.com/about/" target="_blank">Michael </a>and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0TrWdhElvQ" target="_blank">Jonathan </a>and by the start of the event we were a group of 13 people from around the world.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
<i>Sure science can prove to us, without a doubt, that his or that is true, but in our heart, we already know it. </i><br />
I once heard there are no lies, we only let ourselves be deceived by untruth's because we are not interested in the truth.<br />
<br />
After that we came back together and talked about what topics we discussed. <br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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'.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-6556570314041365012019-08-18T16:58:00.002+02:002019-08-18T16:58:57.593+02:00Meetings and conventions<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e41a114f-7fff-4110-f92a-e322b2e211ca" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hello readers,</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
<br /><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conventions or other ‘meet and greet’ style events in general</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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 :</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the convention in Berlin Germany - ‘Learning from the bees’ - coming up August 29 through september 1st.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The apimondia convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada - 46th Congress of the international federation of beekeeping associations - coming up september 8 through 12</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both of which I can’t attend for several reasons, then there’s the smaller events closer to home I do get to attend; </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day of Study Buckfast Flanders - Kalmthout, Belgium (in the beekeeping museum) - august 25th, from 08h30 - 12h30 (Brussels timezone) followed by</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Local meeting of the ‘Koninklijke Oudenaardse bijentelersmaatschappij’ (Royal Beekeeping Association Oudenaarde) - Oudenaarde Belgium (at the president's home) - august 25th from 14h00 till …</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is if nobody falls out at work since I’m on call…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why I’ll never stop going to events (when I finally get to go)</span></h1>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Touching back on my previous topic, where one might stop going to an event due to different opinions, leading up to enemy status relationships.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The silent treatment</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ‘spun out of control’ discussion</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proper etiquette</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe this is proper etiquette when attending an event:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You respect the speakers</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You respect the hosts</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You respect the people that attend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Information gathering</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t we all go to events to meet people and exchange our views?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are we not there first and foremost to listen to what the speakers have to say?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In any case, to gather information requires you to listen, and listening is done in silence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As it is, I hunger for more information every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bob Out</span></div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-90641457299886090642019-08-17T16:30:00.000+02:002019-08-17T16:30:17.688+02:00Transition in the beekeeping world<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-3c59cdb3-7fff-6054-95c5-1b4d942af511" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hello readers,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Transition in the beekeeping world.</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is this transition I’m talking about?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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, …)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Governments are protecting more and more areas and are reducing the amount of concrete and ‘wildlife’ is being looked after, instead of hunted down;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This sort of transition is also needed in the beekeeping world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bit of history.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More and more people see the need to unplug the machine, take the losses that come with it, and build up with the survivors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to go about this transition</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first option: wait it out...</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;">
<span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second option: help the science, be part of the sollution</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;">
<span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The third option: Sweep in front of your own doorstep</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to advocate to stop dragging bees all across the world and to start working on a local project with beekeepers around you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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… </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t care what bees are in my boxes, as long as they survive and remain easy to work with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So in option three, you go with a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">local </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How I want to do it</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me transition means I don’t treat my bees. Instead I help them along in growing (by splitting them).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year 3 of my 5 hives survived winter. I divided them up, and still one of them swarmed on me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do I want to help others make the transition?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In browsing the web I have found a website : </span><a href="http://www.bees-fortknox.pl/eng" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.bees-fortknox.pl/eng</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I would…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that’s all for now. I hope to see you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bob Out.</span></div>
Björn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5942138926345371596.post-42786058002386414312019-06-06T17:31:00.002+02:002019-06-10T18:01:59.067+02:00first time introducing unmated queensHello readers,<br />
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No weather report or hive report today, instead I'm going to go over my plans on how to introduce an unmated queen.<br />
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Method 1</h2>
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I'm going to make a split of one hive using only one frame, and adding some bees. I'll be inspecting my Piet Deweer swarm today and hope to transfer one frame of capped brood with bees to a nucleus hive where I'll release an unmated queen. I'll spray the bees with water to add them to the nucleus and the queen is now in a queencage inside the box the bees are going to be moved to.</div>
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The box has some drawn out comb, to let the bees store food in and to give the queen, once mated, a chance to start laying. It also has some sugar dough.</div>
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The frame we'll add to it must have capped and emerging bees, and hopefully some honey and pollen.</div>
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If not I might add a second frame with pollen and nectar.</div>
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<ol>
<li>I'll be taking the queen in her cage out of the nucleus and will lay her on top of the frames in the cage.</li>
<li>Once I have transferred one frame of brood with bees into the box I'll put the queencage on top of that frame, to see how the bees react to her.</li>
<li>When the bees seem to be ok with the queen, as in not balling her, I'll then throw in 2 more frames of bees on top of the queen provided the frame had food stores; If not I'll add another frame with bees that contains stores.</li>
<li>In case the bees are shaken on top of the queen I'll spray them with water and wait for a bit to see if they too are ok with the queen.</li>
<li>I'll release the queen from the cage and let her walk into the hive.</li>
<li>The box will be moved to another location on the same apiary, allowing the older bees to fly back to their own hive. And to let the queen go on a mating flight when she's ready.</li>
</ol>
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As you see I'll not be leaving it up to the bees to free the queen, a risky business, but hopefully it will work.</div>
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This method can be used since the nucleus has the same size frames as my beehive I'll be using bees from. In fact, if you only use one frame of bees to move into the nucleus, you could shake (young) bees in there from another hive.</div>
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<h2>
Method 2</h2>
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I don't have Warré frames in my operation (yet) so I had to come up with another method of introducing this unmated queen. I consulted the mighty tool that the world wide web is and came up with 'a shook swarm'.</div>
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This shook swarm will be shaken directly into the Warré hive. The first box has frames in it, some are built out. The second box is empty to allow me to shake the bees in more easily I'll keep this hive closed to let the bees form a unit over a periode of 2 nights:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Day 1: shake the bees in, keep the box closed and move it to it's location or keep it stored in a cool place</li>
<li>Day 2: don't disturb the box, keep it closed</li>
<li>Day 3: Ensure the box is in it's permanent location and open the hive early morning or late night.</li>
</ul>
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Here are the steps I'll take for this method:</div>
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<div>
<ol>
<li>Prepare the hive (food, drawn comb, empty frames)</li>
<li>Queen in the cage on top of the frames from box one in the empty box 2 (super).</li>
<li>Take young bees from (different) hive(s) and shake 3 full frames of bees in the top box, making sure you don't shake the queen from any other hive in there.</li>
<li>Spray the bees with water and see how they react to the queen.</li>
<li>If the qeen is accepted close up the hive and store it (on it's permanent location or cool) for the desired time before opening it.</li>
</ol>
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Footage:</h2>
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Here you can see how I did it:</div>
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<h2>
Closing thoughts</h2>
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I know there is a ton of different ways to go about introducing unmated queens and that most beekeepers will use mating hives to make sure the queen is laying before introducing her to a colony, this greatly increases the chances of acceptance. As it is I don't have any kind of mating nuc or other box on hand, so I chose to go about it in two different ways.</div>
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I'll keep you updated when I check on these hives, be it through the BuzzBox app that tells me (or doesn't) that the hive sounds ok in the coming days, or through a full inspection later on.</div>
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The hive I used to take the bees away from had a queen on one of the frames, I captured her and wanted to mark her afterwards, but that didn't work out very well:</div>
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That's it for today!<br />
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Bob OutBjörn Lefevrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424826679105467869noreply@blogger.com