Paula and Scott Faser with Mitchell Pearce (4th generation)

All generations of our family contributed to the festivities and we were very proud to see our produce included with other examples of excellent Australian produce. The honey comb display case had been hand made by our 2nd and third generation (Len and David Walker ) last year and its raw unpolished appearance was stunning against the polished silverware of the buffet.

Len and David Walker (2nd and 3rd generation) hand made the honeycomb display case used as a centrepiece of the inaugural national feast

Australian honey as the centrepiece of the Inaugural National Feast

The Capital Region Farmers Market was well represented with local produce showcased on the menu. Of course our Canberra Urban Honey was the stand out produce on display in the buffet and the dining room.

Canberra Urban Honey on display in the dining room

The menu was designed by Clayton J Donovan, from The Jaaningtree, who is Australia’s only indigenous hatted chef. It was a remarkable feast prepared by Government House Head Chef, Jane Booth.

It was lovely to share the event on social media with a small number of people who also joined in the event across Australia. ACA executive chair, Roy Duncanson, hopes the event gets bigger and better every year, and said: “This is how we “first-feasters” toast everyone involved in making our remarkable agribusiness sector what it is today and we look forward to hearing how you all join in for the 2016 National Feast”.

It was a wonderful event, creating a memory of a lifetime and looking back, I wish I had taken more photos. These photos are collection of photos from our camera and also major contributions from Pip Courtney (Landline) , Scott and Paula Fraser (Obe Organic Beef) as well as Clayton Donovan (Jaanning Tree Restaurant)

Clayton Donavan with their Excellencies the Governor General Sir Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove

The Inaugural National Feast, Government House

It tasted fresh and light and the trout was delicate and smokey

Medium raw lamb was tender and cooked to perfection

The most superb, full flavoured kangaroo. The wattle seeds created a final coffee flavour.

Surprisingly light and crispy, perfectly sized portions that melted in the mouth

The familiar game-taste of duck was exciting when paired with citrus and caramel sweetness

My favourite of course, the feta was refreshing and the dominant sweet taste of honey was comforting as it evokes memories of family for me

My brussell sprout bravery was rewarded (I don’t usually like them). This dish was an adventure for my palate: buttery flavours of smokey bacon and warm chestnuts

I’m glad this one is blurry – it was a funny moment with Joel Fitzgibbon, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Senator Richard Colbeck (Tasmania), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture and our Mitchell (4th gen) in the background

Paula Fraser (Obe Organic Beef, Brisbane) and Clayton Donovan

Colin Bettles (Fairfax Agriculture Media)

Our 4th generation Mitchell Pearce, Managing Director of Canberra Urban Honey

Bill Lark of Lark Distillery, Tasmania and His Excellency Navdeep Suri, High Commissioner of India

A moment to toast across the twitterverse to @bushboywhotweet in Grafton, NSW

The dessert buffet was exciting, not only because of the treats it presented, it was breathtakingly pretty

The final treat – served with tea and coffee – a proud moment for our family

It was a wonderful night, and I’m so glad to see it featured on Australia’s premier agricultural television program –  Landline .  I hope we inspire you to all join in next year to celebrate the quality of Australian produce.

I’d encourage you to have a look at the Agribusiness Council of Australia, and get involved in recognising the excellent produce Australia has to offer. Or, as ACA executive chair, Roy Duncanson, said on the evening:  ”We could all do more to Advance Australia Fare”.

Regards

Carmen

Carmen with Pip Courtney (Journalist, Landline)

This blog has been archived on the Australian Web archive - Pandora - by the National Library of Australia

Working our way through the worst honey season in living memory

Fortunately for our family, in January of 2013, our master beekeeper recognised a pattern in the weather that he had last seen in the 1960’s.
His long range weather forecasting meant we had time to prepare for the worst “honey seasons” in living memory.

Our master beekeeper – Len Walker, 2nd generation

We’ve spent the past 18 months ensuring our bees were as healthy as they could be under the circumstances and this is a summary of how our family has managed the worst year in living memory:

• We protected our bees over the 2013 winter to prevent as much bee death as possible and our hives emerged from the 2013 winter in excellent condition,
• During the 2013 winter we also had prepared all our spare honey boxes to make sure we captured all the nectar our bees gathered in the early 2013 spring,
• When the heat wave hit in the 2013 – 14 summer we had already made fire breaks and sought sheltering shade for our bee hives,
• During the 2013 -14  summer all our hives had been painted a heat reflecting colour and had extra ventilation,
• This autumn (2014) we stopped our honey harvest early, and
• We’ve made sure our bees had plenty of stored honey and pollen to help them survive this years winter.

Todd, 3rd generation, doing winter preparation work in winter 2013

You can imagine, managing the weather like this has been a significant amount of work. Any beekeeper who made it through what we believe was the worst “honey season” in living memory should feel very proud.

Tim, Jodie and Dave, 3rd & 4th generation, working bees during the 2014 summer

We are very relieved to have survived it, and we are now starting to prepare for the spring ahead.  We are incredibly proud to have survived the worst “honey season” in living memory with distinction.

This year we were the first beekeepers in Australia to be awarded gold medals for light coloured honey, and the only beekeepers to win three gold medals in the same year. We are the inaugural recipients of the commercial honey Award of Excellence Medallion and will also be the first beekeepers in Australia to display the champion medal on our honey.

We are 2014 Commercial Honey Champions at the Royal Easter Show

We hope you all appreciate that Australian honey is an outstanding product and highly sought after on the international honey market. It’s something that every Australian should be incredibly proud of and we encourage everyone to eat more AUSSIE honey.  The label has to say: 100% Australian honey. Then you can be sure you don’t have a blend of Aussie and imported honey.

Buy 100% Australian honey to support the Australian beekeeping industry

We only have honey when our bees are healthy and that means any threat to our bee population will threaten how much honey we have. When there isn’t much honey, there wont be as many bees to pollinate our food producing crops. There are now grave concerns for pollination as we approach spring, however, we are looking to the future with hope and expectation. Our bees are healthy and we always hope the spring weather will be kind to our bees.

Len, 2nd generation, holding one of our late winter frames of brood

We are expecting that the outcomes of the recent senate enquiry into beekeeping and pollination will have far reaching implications for Australian agriculture, food security and labelling of honey. Other governments have realised that honey bees are crucial players in their economies, and we are desperate for the same to happen here.

We are encouraged by President Obama’s leadership in establishing a Pollinator Taskforce in the US.
What do you think?
Wouldn’t it be great if we could do so something like that in Australia, before we cascade further into pollinator crisis??

Warm Regards

Carmen and the Honey Delight Family

We thought we could help you understand the Australian perspective – based on how we’ve watched these issues evolve over the past three decades.

Pull up a chair, we want to tell you something

We apologise in advance if we seem alarmist but this is scary stuff and it is a huge concern to us because we love our bees.

The thing is – bees have been dying in alarming numbers all over the world, for decades. But in the past 12 months it’s become a lot worse. America is now thought to be one bad winter way from a food disaster, with over 60% of the bees in America now involved in paid pollination services for American food. Over 1/3 of our diet is reliant on bees because bees pollinate the plants that make our food.

Australia isn’t far behind, and we shouldn’t become complacent.

Our precious bees

Throughout the world, the vorroa mite has caused widespread bee losses.

A bee with a varroa mite (photo from ARS/USDA/Scott Bauer)

In Australia, while we don’t yet have the vorroa mite, not long ago, we had a new bee-pest arrive on our shores: the hive beetle. It caused significant bee losses. It was an environmental shock and it drove some beekeepers out of the industry. Fortunately, most of the Australian beekeeping industry absorbed the shock and we have prevailed.

Damage to a bee colony from the hive beetle (photo from Becoming a Queenbee.com)

However, signs are emerging that the Australian beekeeping industry is buckling and similarities can be seen between Australia and the rest of the world.  We’ve tried to spell it out clearly, so our apologies sorry if this seems intimidating.

This year, there aren’t enough bees to pollinate the almonds in California, and this year, the same thing is happening in Australia. Beekeepers who hadn’t previously been involved in the almond pollination in Victoria have been involved for the first time. They’ve travelled significant distances – and this the way pollination happens in America.

Almond orchard in Capay Valley, Yolo County. (Photo by Claire Brittain)

In China, people have resorted to hand pollinating their fruit trees and in Canberra, people are facing similar issues in their backyard vegie patches and orchards.

Fortunately, we have time to learn lessons from the rest of the world.

We appeal to you all to please learn the lessons while we have time to preserve our beekeeping industry and before Australia is drawn into a global food security crisis.

Protecting Australia’s bees

In other parts of the world, bees can be affected by bee diseases and pests. In many parts of the world, it’s been difficult to stop the spread of bee diseases and pests like the vorroa mite.

Fortunately, in Australia we have benefited from being an island because it separates us from the rest of the world. We have quite good quarantine measures to protect us and we also have government sponsored bee disease and pest control measures in place. Our network of beekeeping associations also means information about new diseases or pests can be spread quickly throughout the country.

BUT – there have been cuts to quarantine measures in the past and there are constant worries about the future of those quarantine measures. The spread of some pests is thought by some to be “inevitable” and this means some people think cuts to the way we protect our bees is OK. There are also going to be changes to how bee disease is monitored through government programs.

We encourage you all to see the lesson here from the rest of the world. If we change the way we protect our bees it changes our ability to protect our bees and the their role to pollinate crops important for our food supply.

Access to bee food

In other parts of the world, bees can be in a bee-food desert because of changes to farming practices.  In many parts of the world soy beans (which have no flowers for bees) have become more popular. They have replaced lucerne and canola which, in the past, have provided bees with nectar and pollen.

Crop of soy beans

Fortunately, Australian farmers still plant lucerne and canola and they can be an important source of food for bees when little else is flowering.

Fortunately, Australian beekeepers have access to large expanses of native bushland that contain a huge variety of native flora. Generally, when the weather is favourable, it means Aussie bees can gather rich nectar and pollen to stay healthy. This is important because bees need a varied diet just like you and me to stay healthy.

Biodiveristy of the Australian bush – we see it in the pollen

We’ve been encouraged to see the Victorian government release extra land for use by beekeepers.

But – there are some who think that beekeepers should not have access to forestry, national parks and crown lands.  There are moves to exclude beekeeping access to these important bee food reservoir.

The Aussie bush is a crucial food source for bees

We would encourage you all to see the lesson here from the rest of the world. If we change the diet that bees have access to it can lead to malnutrition, which changes their ability to continue to pollinate crops important for our food supply.

Pesticides and fungicides

In other parts of the world, honeybees have been affected by pesticides. Even low doses of pesticides and fungicides are harmful.

In many parts of the world, the use of pesticides is changing. You’re probably aware that the European Union has banned some pesticides,  the US is changing the way pesticides are labelled and other countries are looking closely at what that might mean for them in the future.

Fortunately, it is already illegal to spray crops in the day time if bees are in the crop. Australian beekeepers generally work collaboratively with people who use these pesticides. Farmers make contact with beekeepers before spraying and we have the opportunity to move bees before they are exposed to pesticides, if we have to.

Aussie beekeepers and farmers work collaboratively

Also, Australian beekeepers have access to large expanses of native bushland and that limits our exposure to pesticides and fungicides.

The Australian bush is a refuge for our bees

But – we can’t keep using pesticides in rural and urban areas and expect that nothing will happen.

We encourage you all to see the lesson here from the rest of the world.

We have time to change the way we use pesticides and fungicides to make sure we have bees in this country to pollinate plants that are important for our food supply.

Again, please accept our apologies if our attempt to connect to dots about bees makes our blog seem unbalanced.

The thing is, the rest of the world has problems with pollination and colony collapse, and we are seeing signs of the same issues in Australia.

If we keep doing the same thing as we do now then we expect we will experience more problems.

We are different to the rest of the world because we have biodiversity and Australia beekeeping is something we should all be incredibly proud and protective of.

Australian beekeeping should be protected

Beekeeping in the rest of the world doesn’t look like this – this is exceptional

If governments make cuts to the way we protect our bees or changes to bee food areas, it exposes us all to the risks that diseases, pests (eg vorroa mite) and poor bee nutrition bring with it.

When people continue to use pesticides and fungicides, it also exposes us all to the risks that those sprays bring.

If you hear our plea to protect our unique biodiversity and our bees, please take action.

Bees are precious – you can help by planting bee friendly plants

Plant bee friendly plants and change the way you use pesticides and herbicides.

We especially encourage you to protect or plant the Yellow Box tree (Eucalyptus Melliodora) – its Australia’s best bee tree.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation have a free “Bee Friendly Planting Guide” that can help you.  Please click here

Please share this information and let us know what you think….

Regards

The Honey Delight Family

People say there are a lot of foods that rely on the pollination of bees.

To help put that in perspective, here is a list of all the plants that rely on the pollination of bees.

Apples

Mangos

Rambutan

Kiwi Fruit

Plums

Peaches

Nectarines

Guava

Rose Hips

Pomegranates

Pears

Black and Red Currants

Alfalfa

Okra

Strawberries

Onions

Cashews

Cactus

Prickly Pear

Apricots

Allspice

Avocados

Passion Fruit

Lima Beans

Kidney Beans

Adzuki Beans

Green Beans

Orchid Plants Custard Apples

Cherries

Celery

Coffee

Walnut

Cotton

Lychee

Flax

Acerola – used in Vitamin C supplements

Macadamia Nuts

Sunflower Oil

Goa beans

Lemons

Buckwheat

Figs

Fennel

Limes

Quince

Carrots

Persimmons

Palm Oil

Loquat

Durian

Cucumber

Hazelnut

Cantaloupe

Tangelos

Coriander

Caraway

Chestnut

Watermelon

Star Apples

Coconut

Tangerines

Boysenberries

Starfruit

Brazil Nuts

Beets

Mustard Seed

Rapeseed

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Brussels Sprouts

Bok Choy (Chinese Cabbage)

Turnips

Congo Beans

Sword beans

Chili peppers,red peppers, bell peppers, green peppers

Papaya

Safflower

Sesame

Eggplant

Raspberries

Elderberries

Blackberries

Clover

Tamarind

Cocoa

Black Eyed Peas

Vanilla

Cranberries

Tomatoes

Grapes

The Capital Region Farmers Market feels rural

Sure some Saturday mornings have been challenging …..

Sometimes its been raining

Sometimes its been foggy

Sometimes its been sunny, crisp and cool

Ok, yes, sometimes its been cold

But its always worth getting up and braving the Canberra winter to be part of the buzz at Capital Region Farmers Market. The freshest produce, direct from farming families – it’s the perfect way to start a weekend.

There is something fresh for everybody

The regular cooking demonstrations are a treat and maybe they  gave the market the extra buzz this week…

Did you try the Truffle Butter pop corn by Pepe Saya?

We think the buzz is about the people – it’s always fun to see you all xx

Its never too cold for Ice cream

What do you think?? What gives our market that  market buzz??

Warm regards

The Honey Delight family

“Outback Beekeeping” – David, 3rd Generation, sitting on top of the  bee trucks circa 1978

For many years during the winter, our family migrated to South West Queensland. Traditionally, our bees would be “in the west” by 25 April (ANZAC Day) and our family still owns property in Cunnamulla. We have so many marvellous memories of wonderful people, dusty roads, sun stroke, fighting fires, winning ribbons, camping along the Warrego River and bidding for the coveted Lizard Cake at Eulo during the Opal Festival.

Having fun “out west” – The Walker Clan with ribbons won at the Cunnamulla Show  (L-R Carmen, David and Kerrie)

Family pride – 1987  was the year Len, 2nd Generation, made the winning bid for the Eulo Lizard Cake

This year David and Jodie, 3^rd Generation Beekeepers, “went out west” in late March to “check the country”. It was a two week road trip to check the quality, size and abundance of flowering on the Napunya Tree and ground flora as well as a chance to spend some time with family friends.

Some might say it was eventful, but we think its just part of life.

David and Jodie on the way to check flowers in South West Queensland

Jodie saying thanks to the love of her life – some of the country can be rough, but its worth it

“Checking outback bee country” is a chance to spend time with family friends

The best part of “heading out west” is the people. If you’ve never been to this part of Australia – you really must go, just to meet the amazing people who live in this part of the world. We look forward to seeing them every year.

Our favourite place to stay when “checking country out west”

David (centre) talking with some of the people who live and travel “out west”

This year, the Napunya Tree flowering is magnificent and holds the promise of one the most productive seasons “out west” in many years. The bees will do well here this year and will survive the winter with nourishment from the varied natural flora that abounds in the outback.

We have to say – this is something that sets Australian beekeeping apart from the rest of the world. We don’t suffer from the problems related to mono?single floral planting that the rest of the world does. Australian flora is the most diverse in the world, is revered by many and is something we wish more people could see, feel and appreciate.

A medium size Napunya Tree (Eucalyptus ochrophloia)

Spectacular budding of the Napunya Tree

A close up of the Napunya Tree Flower – a magnificent flower

We love these photos of the Napunya Tree and the way they contrast with the deep rich red earth and crystal clear sky. If you go into this country the colour will seep into your skin, your clothing and your soul.

David, at dawn, in the midst of his love affair with his outback country

During March and April the looming winter forced David and Jodie into the reality of planning the logistics for moving multiple loads of bees “out west” and the last of the bees were on properties of family friends by late April.

Take a ride in the truck with us in this mini movie, at dawn, just as the last two loads of bees arrive into the outback.

(We move bees overnight to reduce stress on the hives and you can read more about how we move bees  by clicking here.)

A load of bees in South West Queensland

Now it’s July and the outback honey harvest has begun. The first of the honey is a blend of the honey that was on the bees when we moved them “out west” and the Napunya. We wait until the hives have two full boxes of honey on top of the brood box (or bottom box). We only take the top box off so that the bees always have at least one full box of honey with the hive at tall times.

Hives three boxes high (one brood box on the bottom and two honey boxes)

When the honey is ready to harvest we stand the full box of honey up on its end.

Helen and Tim (4th Generation) harvesting a load of outback honey

The bees are naturally compelled to go back into the hive because they are drawn to the scent of their queen.

It takes a while for the bees to walk home and it’s the perfect time for a break, lunch or a nap.

Lunch time break – David with Helen and Tim (4th Generation)

David resting and waiting for bees in the distance to walk out of the honey boxes

David takes a nap while while waiting for the bees to walk out of the honey boxes

Over the past six months its been a joy to share our work with tourists who have been interested in bees and beekeeping, but they usually watch from afar.

David talks flowers with visitors to south west Queensland

The outback beekeeping viewing station (station wagon)

The bees will stay “out west” for a few more months yet and soon there will be some outback honey for you taste. It is nearly ready, but you have to be patient, just like we are, and wait for the pure outback honey that will be harvested in a month or so.

Outback beekeeping is beautiful and we will admit the work is hard and dirty, but we have made life long friends and we cherish the memories they give us.

David (3rd Generation)  - bee boxes full of outback honey are heavy 

Red bulldust – the soul of outback country

Jodie (3rd Generation) – covered in outback honey and dust 

Outback beekeeping has given us life long friends

We cherish the memories our outback beekeeping has given us

We look forward to hopefully sharing our exceptional outback honey with you all soon. (It will always depend on the weather). Our outback honey has won blue ribbons at The Royal Easter Show in Sydney and is among the thickest honey we produce. Sometimes its dark amber, and tastes of caramel and spicy butter scotch with a hint of pepper. Other times, when the Napunya Tree flowering is prolific the outback honey is light amber, delicate and gentle with a soft nutty flavour.

Warm regards

David and Jodie and the Honey Delight Family

xx

Terra Petra Truffles setting up their stall next to ours

We had been anticipating the arrival of truffle season with great excitement because we’ve been hoping to make truffle honey.  We hope you can imagine our joy when Kate of Terra Petra Truffles gave our family two big truffles to experiment with. It was treasure of the most magnificent kind.

One of the magnificent truffles we experimented with

The aroma of the truffle filled our home when we set to work to find the perfect truffle and honey pairing.  There has been broken hearts over recent weeks because we have discovered not all honey pairs well with truffle. For example, the truffle totally changed the taste of our award winning sunflower honey and it has been discarded.

Truffle honey that hasn’t worked

With the passage of time, trial and error has triumphed and we have found the perfect honey to pair with truffle.

It is one of our award winning honeys and we are absolutely sure you will be delighted when you try it. We wont describe the taste, because we hope you will experience the joy and excitement we felt when we discovered which honey worked.

Sweet success of the perfect honey and truffle pairing

All we will say  is – oh my – yes, it totally works !

The special truffle honey is available at Capital Region Farmers Market and from Tetra Petra Truffles for a short period until sold out.

Warm regards

The Honey Delight family

While the rest of the world fights to save bees some people in Australia think this is OK. Why do people do this to bees?

We found these hives a few months ago when vandals attacked our Project Pink hives.

Vandalism of our “Project Pink” hives earlier in 2013

This type of vandalism happens in Australia more often than it should, and we found more of it today.

It’s heartbreaking for our family when we discover one of our apiaries has been vandalised because frequently a hive that has been vandalised will die.

Vandalism in beekeeping – it disrupts the hives so much that often the bee colony will die.

Heart breaking vandalism of bee hives in Australia

Vandalism to bee hives  in Australia

We have reported this vandalism to the police, and we hope they will find the people responsible.

Please report any suspicious behaviour when you see it – “neighbourhood watch” works in rural areas too.

From a sad Honey Delight Family

These are few of the highlights from today.

There is always a cheery GOOD morning from the person at the gate, no matter what the weather is

The gate from the southern entrance

It was a stunning autumn day in Canberra, perfect for an authentic Farmers Market, and it was a lovely to see the colours on the way in at the garden stall.

The view of the market shed – some of it is a HONEY SHED

Halfway down the first aisle, you will find us, and the part of the market shed that is the HONEY SHED … looks like this:

Todd, at the HONEY DELIGHT stall today

A fresh breakfast is a highlight of our morning, and today we indulged in chicken wraps – yummo!

Chicken makes a fabulous late breakie and early lunch

At the end of the market, something we always do, is swap produce with other farmers (stall holders) and today we swapped honey for eggs.

Love to barter with The Chicken Lady

It was great to see some of you this morning, and we look forward to seeing you next week

Regards

Carmen and Todd and The Honey Delight Family

Normal hive activity: bees have been out collecting nectar and pollen

Where possible we have left a full box of honey on all hives, so they have plenty to eat during extended periods of cold weather. This is something that seems to be unique to Australia because our international beekeeping friends tell us they don’t do this. It seems presence of colony collapse disorder and the varroa mite around the world now means that honey is considered precious, and is not left with hives over winter as food. We are fortunate in Australia to have access to winter sources of nectar and pollen and this usually means we can survive the winter without feeding any form of sugar.

We live in a cool to moderate climate, so we always seek winter sun and protection from the winds when we settle our hives for winter.  Position of  hives in winter is important. The sun warms the hive and helps the hive maintain a consistent temperature. When the hive is cold bees shake their little bodies and they use energy when they do that. They  have to eat their stored nectar and pollen when they have to use extra energy to stay warm so we try to prevent that – by keeping them in a warm environment. We also do a final disease check and placed new hive beetle traps inside the hives at this time of year. We have also reduced the size of entrances to about 5cm to reduce the amount of heat loss from the hive.

Bees in full winter sun with protection from surrounding trees

As part of the “tucking in” process we have taken all surplus bee boxes off the hives. In most cases we have pushed them down to “doubles” (the brood box plus one box full of honey). Doubles are better in cool climates because they are warmer. We have painted the lids of hives as well. The dark lids help the hives keep warm as the dark colour absorbs more heat from the sun.

The lids of our urban beehives are painted as well

The lids when we’ve finished painting

A load of bees ready for winter

Packing bees tight

If you’re an amateur beekeeper, and worried about the survival of your hives in a cool climate, you might like to try a technique we call packing them in tight. We say: “packing them in tight” because the tighter they are, the less air space they have, the warmer they will be, and the higher the likelihood they will survive the winter. David, one of our master beekeepers and third generation beekeeper, laughs about this and says..”We want our bees tucked up so they don’t know whose leg is whose”. When using this technique we place a dark sheet of plastic on top of the bottom box (also called the brood nest), under the queen excluder.

The plastic has to be clean, dark or black. If you have a piece of plastic that is dark on one side and white on the other – then place the white side upwards.

Our master beekeepers says – any dark plastic will do

Using dark plastic to “pack bees in tight”

When placing the plastic, we recommend that you leave 5cm at the back and 2.5 cm at the front. The 2cm gap at the front allows excess moisture in the hive to run down the front of the hive, and out the entrance. The 5cm at the back is very important in case you need to feed the bees over winter. If the bees have ample stores you can choose to arrange the plastic with 2.5cm space all the way around the inside of the box.

Starvation during winter

A couple of our urban hives have been light on stores, (had minimal stored honey) and this means we are concerned they may not survive the winter due to starvation. Starvation is quite a worry for us with our  Canberra Urban Honey hives , and many beekeepers are probably feeling that same worry. The problem is, when the weather is cold and wet, bees will stay in the hive and eat their stores.

In anticipation of a wet winter we have left the 5cm gap in the plastic at the back of the hive. We can then give any starving bees about three cups of raw granulated sugar if we need to every two to three weeks. (Not white or refined sugar). When feeding bees raw sugar to prevent starvation, the sugar is placed in the BACK of the hive, across the end bars. The sugar will fall down between the frames and become a food supply when or if needed. If the bees don’t need it, they will take it out of the hive and discard it at the front entrance. Don’t place the raw sugar into the hive across the front because the sugar will block off the entrance!

This technique may be new to some beekeepers, who may have read that sugar syrup or white refined sugar is the best way to feed bees. In the end, its up to you, but be alert to the age of some research. Also, be careful when feeding sugar syrup during the winter in cool climates as bees can interpret it as good conditions and fail to recognise that they should stop breeding for winter. Raw granulated sugar is what we use for feeding in the winter, we have been doing this for over a decade and it works well for us. As far as we are aware, the technique hasn’t been studied so we don’t think you will find any research on it. The best we can do is suggest that the trace vitamins and minerals in the unrefined sugar supplements a bees nutrition, which is better for their overall wellbeing. Raw granulated sugar also has a lower melting temperature, so bees don’t need added water in the hive to use it. We feed it slowly and only when needed so that bees will still forage and seek natural nectar if they can find it.

Feeding raw granulated sugar at the back of a hive

Please think of bees over winter during cold, dark or raining days. We feel confident the summer has provided most of our hives with ample stores for winter. If you’re an amateur beekeeper, we hope this helps you prepare for the winter ahead.

Regards

The Honey Delight Family

The lessons were an innovation of Robyn Cairns  who is a environmental science /sustainability educator in a primary school in Victoria.  Its been a  joy to help out along the way and know children are being taught about bees in our schools. The lessons started with pictures and lots of talking about what bees do.

The faces of the children have been cropped on purpose .

Lets talk bees

A lot of effort went into learning about hexagons, making them and fitting them together to make a hive.  Then children got up close and inspected pollen in flowers.

Hexagons and the start of a been hive

Understanding pollen and bees

Having learnt about pollen the children played a game based on how bees collect pollen from flowers and store it in their hive.

Playing the “bee and pollen games

Over a period of a couple of weeks the hives at the “bee school” have been evolving into a busy colony with  baby bees and stored pollen and nectar.

What do bees put in their hexagons?

Busy bees, the hive is being transformed

A working bee hive through the eyes of 7 yr olds

The children have played question and answer games too. They were matching questions to answers… that got them thinking !

Question and answer games

The children have worked hard to build their hive and store plenty of honey and pollen. It looks like enough for the hive to survive the winter and to feed the baby bees.

A hive that will survive the winter

One Mr 7 thought when the baby bees are big enough, they could play on their very special bee playground.

A baby bee playground

Imagine lots of 7 yr olds doing the waggle dance!  It must have been fun, and this is what they said about it…

Bees and the waggle dance through the eyes of a 7 yr old

Waggle Dances

Waggle dancing

One questions was – Do bees get tried when they have to waggle about flowers that are a long way away?

Our answer was – yes, we think they do, because if bees don’t have a good breakfast of honey and pollen, they get so tired they cant get home. Isn’t that sad

The final lessons are going to include honey tasting and honey judging of Honey Delight produce. It has been amazing to us to learn some children have never tasted honey

Honey to be judged

It will be very interesting to see if we have any future honey judges among the students. We look forward to connecting with Robbie and her students again this coming week through twitter and the interactive whiteboard. Isn’t technology amazing !

Its been a lot fun watching the children learn about bees – Rob Cairns you are amazing! We hope this might inspire other teachers to bring bees back to the classroom

If teachers are inspired, and there is honey tasting to be done around Australia, or the world please buy a named brand. The no-name / home-brand honey is devastating our industry and the honey is inferior. “Bee School for Seven Year Olds” could also be an opportunity to help children understand that beekeeping in Australia produces the best honey in the world (no, we aren’t biased) and its something we should all “bee” incredibly proud of.

Regards

The Honey Delight Family