President Joyce who is herself a bee keeper introduced Jason:
Jason started keeping bees about 7 years ago. When the pandemic started, he quit his job and became a full time Bee keeper. He has about 120 hives and manages about 10 others too. It is his passion.
His family are also hosts to some special needs women.
Jason likes to talk about bees. He said he drives his wife crazy so good for him to be able to talk to someone else about his bees.
There are three types of bees.
1. Worker bee - 90% of hive are worker bees. They are females and do most everything. Typically live 30 to 40 days.
2. Queen bee - only one. She lays the eggs. Worker bees feed her and remove her waste. Queen can live up to 5 years but rarely. Bee keeper or hive will replace her if she is slowing / failing.
3. Drones - the male bee, there to mate with Queen then no use. Workers will remove from hive, push drones out and expel. Drone will mate with any Queen.
Queen mates once with several drones, then has enough semen for season to lay eggs.
Worker bees graduate through hive taking on different jobs as they mature.
1. First they clean out cells
2. Nurse the baby bees, feed larvae and look after the brood.
3. Guard duty.
4. last before they die, they forage for food.
In the summer the bees work themselves to death.
Worker bees take 21 days to adulthood.
Drones take 24 days to mature.
Queen bee takes 16 days. Any worker could potentially be a Queen. All about the feeding of the larvae.
What kills bees in the winter?
Rapid temperature swings kills bees. Say 20 degree quick change in temperature too fast for bees in hive to adjust, so get some deaths. Bees in hive during winter work to regulate temperature and keep Queen healthy.
Starvation can kill bees in winter. Warmer weather bees more active and eat more honey. So warm winter they may run out of food.
Super cold can also kill bees, can't get to the food even if close if it gets too cold too long.
Varroa Destructor Mite - came to Canada in 1990's. If too many in hive will kill hive. They are the biggest killer. This mite also carries diseases. This mite breeds in the cells of hives feeding off larvae. They expand and if allowed will kill the hive.
In summer pesticides kill bees, especially if used on new buds / flowers.
Bee Keeper routine:
November / December - End of the season, and start of the next. Keeper insulates hives to help regulate temperature, closes up entrances. Bees will not defecate in the hive, so they hold it all winter.
January / February - little to do for keeper. Repair and rebuild. Bees cluster around Queen in big ball to protect her. Bees rotate their position in cluster, taking turns. Queen always in middle of cluster. Bees create heat by shivering. All about protecting the Queen.
March /April - Best and worse time for keeper. To see bees re-emerge, but die off percent can be the worse. Keeper has to check health of hives. Checks weight of hive. If light, no honey and keeper has to supplement with sugar water mix, syrup or brick form. Feed as needed.
When temperatures start to stay above freezing, the Queen will start to lay eggs again. Pollen is key, only baby bees eat pollen.
May / June - mite checks and then on monthly basis with treatments when temperature over 10 celcius. Goal is to keep mites to less than 2%. Check on health of Queen, that she is laying eggs.
If bees get too many in the hive, they swarm. Purpose of swarm is to strike out and form another hive. When they do this the worker bees eat as much honey as they can. They send out scouts to find new home. Keeper can catch a swarm, they will follow Queen.
Keeper works to fight the bees instinct to swarm and leave the hive. Keeper wants to keep the bees so they have to expand hive or start new hive.
July / August - time to expand hives. Queen will lay 2,000 eggs per day. Take honey in spring and late summer. Now is payback time for work. Typically 2nd week of August, a mite treatment but temperature important, not too hot. Starting to prepare for winter. End of August, early September pull the fall honey. Fall honey tends to be darker, thicker.
Honey from golden rod not very good. Good for bees. End of August, Queen starts to lay eggs for winter bees. These bees last all winter. Queen will stop laying in fall.
September / October - winter preparations. Bees frantic to store up reserves for winter. Hives should weight about 100 lbs. Bees will steal from other hives. Wasps will kill bees and steal food. Wasps cut off heads of bees. Wasps feed bees to their babies. Mite treatment again. Drones kicked out. Timing is all weather and temperature dependent.
Bees do a 'sun dance' or waggle dance. They are communicating to the rest of the hive where food is.
R Daniel thanked Jason for his presentation.