Could bee venom one day be used for contraceptives and HIV protection?

Unconventional idea for antiviral contraceptive gel wins
Gates Foundation grant

From the American Bee Journal which reprinted from it Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Grand Challenges Explorations is a Gates Foundation initiative to foster innovative projects in areas where unorthodox thinking is most urgently needed. Recipients receive grants to explore creative solutions to global health issues.

Sam Wickline, MD, professor of medicine, of cell biology and physiology, of physics and of biomedical engineering at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one of 65 scientists selected in November to participate in the grant program.

Wickline proposes to develop a contraceptive, antiviral gel containing trillions of nanoparticles that will target both HIV and sperm and deliver a bee venom toxin that will incapacitate them.

“Sperm and HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus that can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS) are remarkably similar in their natural mechanism of genetic transmission,” Wickline says. “Both need to fuse with their target cell in order to deliver their genetic payloads – DNA in the case of sperm, and RNA in the case of HIV.”

Wickline’s plan is to use the very means by which sperm and HIV operate to destroy them. “The idea is to trick each to fuse with a synthetic Trojan Horse – a nanoparticle that will overwhelm sperm and HIV in numbers and in destructive power.”

It is an unconventional and creative plan for sure, but it is grounded in proven technologies and research-based knowledge. If the idea shows promise, the initial seed money grant can lead to additional funding.

The Trojan Horse or decoy that will be used to attract the sperm and HIV is a lipid nanoparticle created by Wickline and colleague Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, that has already been proven safe for clinical use. Given the size of nanoparticles – spheres of around six millionths of an inch in diameter – “Trojan Pony” may be a better metaphor.

A toxin derived from the substance bees insert into their victims when they sting is the agent that will destroy the sperm and HIV. The toxin, called melittin, comprises more than half of the dry weight of the venom of the honeybee Apis Mellifera.

The nanoparticles will carry a synthetic version of the toxin melittin to the targets.

“Cells readily take in melittin,” Wickline says. “But once it gets in, it pokes holes in cell membranes to destroy the cells."

A local biotech startup company, Kereos Inc., is testing melittin as an anti-cancer agent.

Since melittin can annihilate almost any cell, the trick is to target the melittin to the specific cells intended for destruction (cancer, sperm, HIV) without causing collateral damage to other cells in the body.

Wickline and colleague Paul Schlesinger, MD, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and physiology, attacked that problem two years ago when they developed “nanobees,” the name coined for nanoparticles that sequester melittin so that it neither harms healthy tissue nor is degraded before it reaches the intended target.

Wickline and his colleagues have also developed the ability to add agents to the nanobees to cause them to home in on specific target cells. Although nanoparticles are a few thousand times smaller than the dot above an “i,” each can carry hundreds of thousands of molecules on its surface.

“We have the ability to attach and swap in various specific targeting molecules to nanoparticles that will bind with receptors on the surface of selected cells,” Wickline says. “This gives the particles the ability to home in on specific target cells.”

To get the nanobees to hook up with sperm and offload their lethal cargo, Wickline intends to target a well-known “docking site” on the sperm cap. Sperm cells, which are roughly 160 times bigger than the 250-nanometer particles, will be swarmed with nanobees.

HIV virions (individual HIV particles), which are less than half the size of the nanoparticle, will be captured and destroyed with special molecules attached to the nanobees that bind to complementary molecules on the virion that play a role in initiating HIV fusion to cells.

Although these nanoparticles have been proven safe in the body, they are too large to move outside the vaginal vault, and will remain on site in surveillance for sperm and HIV until washed out by the body’s natural fluids.

“We believe this can succeed because both sperm and HIV are built to target, fuse and discharge their cargo,” Wickline says. “Our nanoparticles are similarly built to target, fuse and deliver their cargo. These attributes will enable a process of mutual assured destruction in a sequestered biological environment.”

If successful, Wickline’s idea could have enormous benefits for women, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounted for 68 percent of new HIV infections among adults in 2008. Women and girls in this area continue to be affected disproportionately — in some countries up to four times higher than males.

Sub-Saharan Africa also has the world’s highest fertility rate — 5.6 children per woman and twice the world average. The region’s population is expected to increase to 1.6 billion people by 2050 unless women are empowered to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

A contributing factor to the vulnerability of women to both HIV and unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa is fear of violence from male partners if condom use is suggested. This technology could enable women to protect themselves without the need to seek approval from male partners.

While bringing the technology forward for clinical use by women would require many months of testing, the concept is supported by a recent trial of vaginal gel-based anti-HIV drugs in South African women. That study found that gel based delivery systems can substantially decrease the spread of AIDS with no harmful side effects.

Wickline has assembled a multidisciplinary team of collaborators to carry out the proof of concept activities that the grant funds. Kelle Moley, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will contribute expertise in reproductive biology; Lee Ratner, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, of molecular microbiology and of pathology and immunology, will serve as the authority on HIV and human retrovirus infections; Schlesinger will provide expertise in membrane biophysics; and Josh Hood, MD, PhD, instructor in medicine, providing expertise in immunological targeting.

You can see my hives from high in the sky thanks to Google!

Well what do you know?  Google has changed their newest satellite maps in my area and now you can actually see the bee hives behind my house!

The older images that Google used before were seriously outdated.  They were really fuzzy and it was tough to make out the details about my area.  But they obviously decided to do an update sometime since mid-March of this year because my outbuilding, which is located at the lower end of my property, was finished when the image was made.

If you click on the photo above, you can see my house as it looks high in the sky.  You can see my house, then my outbuilding -- and just to the upper right of the building -- you see my hives.  And of you look really close, albeit a little fuzzy, you can even make out three bee hives.  I believe the glow from the hives is the sun's reflection from the sheet metal of the hive covers.  And if you look just beyond my hives, you can see the creek that my bees use for their honey and to cool the hives in the hot, humid summer months in North Carolina.

Looking at the image, I have to wonder if that's the view my girls see when they make their orientation flights to learn where home is?  Is that the sight they see when they come home after a long day of foraging?

Google is getting really good with the technology they use these days.  Before you know it, they'll get so good, you'll be able to make out the bees as they come and go from their hives!

If you want to see if you can find your house and even your hives, click on the link above and play around with it.  Its pretty simple to use and fun too.

Another reason to buy LOCALLY produced honey!

I was picking up a few things are the grocery store when I happened to take a good look at a bottle of honey sitting on the shelf.  And when I read the label, I could see just one more reason why people should buy locally produced honey.  

Whenever I talk to people about honey bees, I often tell them to support their local beekeepers.  Why?  There are so many reasons why.  Mainly because local honey is so much healthier and contains the elements (nectar and pollen) from local fruits and vegetables and flowers which is great for people with allergies and other health issues.  Plus its great to suppport the local beekeepers and their families because you keep local dollars in their pockets.

But here's another reason.  Take a good look at the label from this container of "Burleson's Natural Pure Honey" that I found at the grocery store.  While Burleson's is headquartered in Texas, the honey in the bottle comes from EVERYWHERE else!  If you read the print, you can see that it comes from the United States, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Vietnam!  So while the honey in the jar did in fact come from honey bees which makes it natural, it also comes from all over the globe.  And to me, that's just not good. 

I've read that almost 240 million pounds of honey is imported into the United States from a number of countries, but mainly from places like Argentina, Canada, China and Vietnam.  Who knows what kind of management practices some beekeeper in Vietnam may use with his or her bees...or what chemicals they use to treat them?  I've read accounts where Asian honey, tested by U.S. Customs, contained Ciprofloxacin and Enrofloxacin and different pesticides.  If you remember, Ciprofloxin or 'Cipro' was the same antibiotic used to treat people exposed in the Anthrax attacks years ago.  Who wants that made-made chemical compound in their honey?

Please understand that I'm not slamming beekeepers in other countries.  I have many online friends who are beekeepers in other continents and countries...including Canada.  And I thoroughly enjoy reading their blogs to see how they handle their bees.  But when it comes to honey, I just think its better to buy a locally produced product from people you know.  That way you know how they handle their bees and know about the end product.  My opinion is that's its better for everyone all around.

Support your local beekeeper!

North Carolina Governor Stung By The Beekeeping Bug!

(Raleigh, NC) On Tuesday, Gov. Bev Perdue suited up in beekeeper attire and approached a job perhaps no other North Carolina governor has tackled – pulling honeycombs from beehives with thousands of honeybees buzzing nearby.

“That’s a lot of honey!” Gov. Perdue exclaimed, as she removed a narrow honeycomb literally dripping gold.

The two beehives sitting on the north lawn of the executive mansion in Raleigh were installed late last year, after grounds supervisor Gerald Adams decided to explore the benefits of having bees to pollinate the gardens on the grounds. Adams, who oversees production of a number of crops used by the first family and donated to local area food banks, has already seen a dramatic difference.

“Apple trees that have never had more than a handful of apples on them now show 50 or 60 or more,” he said. “The pollination benefits of the bees have been clear already within the first six months of having the hives.”

The honeybees, which may fly up to a 2-mile radius around the hive every day, were sprayed with non-harmful smoke to subdue them; then the governor assisted Danny and Mary Jaynes as they removed the trays of honeycombs from the hives. Danny Jaynes is the president of the Wake County Beekeepers Association and has mentored Adams during his introduction to beekeeping.

"The honeybee is not only North Carolina’s state insect, but also a crucial player in North Carolina agriculture. Their role in pollinating our crops is essential, and often overlooked by people who don’t know the important part they play,” said Gov. Perdue. “Having the bees here on the mansion grounds not only gives us a chance to boost our own fruit and vegetable production, but also serves as an education tool for the school groups and tours who visit the mansion regularly.”

So just how much honey did the group harvest? According to the Jaynes, nearly 12 gallons, or some 150 pounds. The honey, which was inspected and deemed “Grade A,” will be bottled and used at the mansion, given as gifts from the governor and first gentleman, and donated to local food banks.

Story from a news release from the North Carolina Governor's Office issued July 23rd, 2010.

Attention ladies: There really is life outside the hive!

I have to admit that I've been a little concerned about the new orange hive. Why? Because its seems that its been extremely slow to respond after last week's split. Every day I've watched this hive to see what the bees were doing. And other than the occasional bee flying in or out, not much has really been going on.  

Honestly I couldn't understand it. When I made the first split weeks ago, the green hive was busy with bees out and exploring within three or four days. But not the orange hive. Six and a half days later, and there wasn't much of anything going on. I was so concerned that I opened the hive on Tuesday evening just to see what was happening, and I found a deep chamber with lots of bees just sitting there. Some of the bees were newly hatched, all bright yellow and fuzzy, and there was lots of capped brood yet to hatch, but the house bees just seemed to be lifeless and bored.


But that all changed. On the seventh day, Wednesday afternoon, the lethargic hive came alive! While looking out the kitchen window, I noticed a flurry of activity in front of the hives, and when I took a closer look, I realized that much of it was in front of the orange hive. I grabbed up my camera and headed for the yard, and what I found was a whole volley of bees doing orientation flights from the orange hive. Like all bees do, they would crawl out on the entrance or the face of the hive, then they would start the slow back and forth flight in the front of their home. Once they got a few feet off the ground, they would start making smaller circles -- and the higher they got -- the wider the circles -- then they would fly off in all directions.


Seeing that made me feel a lot better about this colony. It is my hope that since they now know where their home is, they'll start doing what bees are supposed to do and that's to forage and fend for themselves. And while I do feel better, I'm sure that I'll still have some concerns about them until I see the constant traffic coming and going like I do at the other two hives.

But you know, just in case, I'll be here to nurse them right along.

Two new queens and one old queen are in residence...

As you can see my own little back yard apiary is expanding. It hasn't been easy, but with baby steps, we've done pretty darn good. And I do have to admit I'm proud.  

It was this time last year I started my beekeeping voyage with one package of bees from Georgia, most of them dead and the rest struggling for life. But with some quick thinking, a new queen, two frames of brood from another apiary and lots of TLC, it became the thriving colony it is today.

As I mentioned awhile back, I found all kinds of swarm cells in the yellow hive, so I moved those over to a new hive (green) with brood and bees to start a new colony. My inspection about a week later indicated that the swarm cells were gone and a lot of supersedure cells had popped up -- a situation that perplexed me and more experienced beekeepers too. But I decided to wait it out because I wanted to see if a virgin queen might be there...and see if she may fly away to mate, come back, then come home to begin her own family.

That never happened it seems. Apparently the queen (if there was one) never returned and so my worst fears came true. When I opened the green hive, I found eggs alright. Two or three eggs per cell. Some had one, but many of them had two and three eggs -- meaning that I now had evidence of a laying worker. Since that means the colony is headed for disaster, I had to act quickly -- so I took the hive to the other side of the yard, almost a couple hundred feet away -- and I shook every single bee off every frame. And when I got back to the hive stand where the green hive rests, a swarm of the bees from the hive had covered the entire inner cover which I propped up. And as I sat the hive back up where it belongs, the bees started marching back into their home. It was a great sight to see. I'm just hoping the young laying worker wasn't able to find her way back to the hive.

I ordered two new queens from an apiary in Winston Salem, North Carolina, called Tate's Apiaries (on Union Cross Road, 336-788-4554). Larry and Janice Tate raise Carniolan and Italian queens, and since my good friend Jared Watkins had such great success with his, I decided to get two Carniolan queens. There they are on the right, and although they're hard to see, if you click the picture to enlarge it you can almost see the blue marks on their backs. 

The colony in the green hive had been queenless for weeks, so I went ahead and introduced one of the new queens that same day. But since I was doing a second split (making it my third hive) -- I decided to move frames of brood and pollen and nectar into the newer orange hive, wait for 24-hours for them to realize they're queenless, then introduce the new caged queen and let them slowly get used to her. As you can see, there are quite a few bees from the mother hive in the new orange hive. And after making a small hole in the candy with a nail, I tightly wedged the cage between the frames so the workers can take care of the new queen and her attendants.

Take a good look at one of the brood frames I moved into the new orange hive. Nice, huh? This is from the mother hive or the yellow hive. As you can see, the queen is a laying machine, so I had enough frames to move into the green hive and the orange hive. And guess what? While I was busy looking to make sure I wouldn't move the queen from the mother hive, through the corner of my eye, I happened to see something green lumbering across the frame. It was the original queen I introduced in 2009! For the first time since last October, there she was moving ever so graciously through her daughters on the frame. Her green dot (indicating she was a 2009 queen) was worn but still there. Am I planning to replace her this year? No way. If she continues to do this well, she's got a home for as long as she wants. I was very careful to make sure she stayed in the yellow hive because I separated the frame she was on from the colony...and was careful to put it back when I was done.  

As soon as I put the cage with the new queen in the orange hive, the bees went to work checking her out. No aggression or anything to indicate they wanted to harm her. They just appeared to be curious and even started working on the candy stopper. I'm hoping that she'll be released in the next few days, and as it stands, I'll give them the standard five days to see if she's out and hopefully laying eggs. I'm hoping I'll find pleasant surprises in both hives in the next few days.

As you can see...this is a happy update and I'm excited. My mother hive is ruled by an Italian queen, and the two new hives will be dominated by Carniolan queens. I am looking forward to working with this race of bee since I've heard good things about them. I hear they're hard workers, gentle, and adapt to local conditions better than Italians. And besides, if it doesn't work out with them, Larry and Janice Tate sell Italian queens too.

So it looks like my apiary is moving right along and now I'm thinking about at least one more hive behind the house. If I decide to expand beyond the four, I think I'll have to find another location. My neighbors seems to be very cool with my backyard apiary so far -- and I just want to keep them that way.

Expect an update soon with the details of how my new colonies are faring.

New hive bodies and a great first full inspection!

Introducing the lemon yellow hive! No, its the same colony of my girls, but they now have a delicious, lemon yellow exterior to their home. I was tired of looking at the plain white hive, so I decided to change it up a little. So I painted my second stand-by hive a bright, lemon yellow. And I have to admit that I really do like it. 

Well, I have to be honest and say that my reasoning was two-fold. One, I just wanted to make the hive boxes more colorful. But two, I wanted the bees to be able to recognize their own hive when I have two of them sitting side by side. I already have one that's bright yellow, and now I'm painting their old hive -- get this -- electric lime! Oh yeah, a bright lime green color. So now I can refer to my hives as lemon and lime. And when I have a new stand-by swarm hive, I plan to paint it orange. How I came about with all these citrus colors, I don't know, but they're the ones I liked best when I went to the paint department at Walmart.

While I was moving the frames into the yellow hive, I did a full inspection. The sun was bright and it was 76 degrees..the perfect day for doing it. While I did not find the queen, she is definitely there. I found an abundance of tiny, newly laid eggs with just about every cell filled. I also found larvae and pupae throughout the frames, so her highness is in residence and already laying. I also found drone cells through several frames too -- and thankfully, no swarm cells anywhere. Since this colony is already active, and it is full of bees -- that's been my biggest fear, that they're going to get the urge to swarm. But so far, so good. I plan to get a new queen so I can split this hive soon. While I could chance it and let them raise their own queen when I do the split, I'm not too hip on that idea. I'd rather buy a queen from a reputable dealer like Busy Bee Apiaries in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and know that chances are, she'll be as good as the one I have now. 

While I didn't see any hive beetles, varroa or wing issues, and this is still one booming colony even though we had a rough winter -- I did see some spotting on the front of the white hive that could be a possible indicator or Nosema. If its there, its slight, but I plan to make the trip to Dadant and pick up some Nozevit (all-natural) and give them a spring treatment. While I'm at the warehouse, I plan to pick another hive set-up just in case I get lucky and catch a swarm sometime this year.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my honey bees and how they've fared. Very pleased! I can't wait to split them soon and have my second colony in the electric lime hive. And as you can see in the picture above, my old hive is still in great shape, but I have a lot of propolis to scrape before I give it a fresh coat of paint. It gives me an excuse to get out and enjoy this wonderful spring weather!

Happy SPRING everyone (now that its official by the calendar)...

These girls don't know the meaning of a holiday...

Thanksgiving is a day of rest for many. A day of over-indulging in all sorts of rich foods, parades, movies, football - and then dozing after all that fun. I'm no exception to that rule, after all, who am I to turn down my own generous helping(s) of my Mom's turkey and dressing with cranberry sauce? 

The one common denominator for many on Thanksgiving is that its a day off from work. Some people get the one day off and many turn it into a long holiday weekend. But whichever it may be, usually very little work gets accomplished during this time.

Not for the honey bee!

Oh no, not my girls. As you can see in the picture above, the early morning of Thanksgiving, the temperature was still in the low 40s and the girls decided to sleep in some. But take a look at the picture on the left and you can see that by 11:00am, the temperature was up into the low 50s and the hive was wide awake. There was a flurry of activity, the traffic coming and going from the reduced entrance was constant, and lots of buzzing all around the hive. While I stood there to make the pictures, a few of the girls flew around me to check me out..but otherwise I guess they were too excited to take advantage of the warm, dry weather. 

The one thing I noticed is that amid all this buzz of activity, quite a few of the girls were bringing in lots of pollen. It seemed that over half of the incoming foragers had varying amounts of golden yellow pollen in their leg sacs, a darkish yellow, and when they landed, they would scurry inside the entrance. Then some would exit, flying up and around, and take off. I'm not all that wise on flowers, but I have seen pansies and other wintering flowers out in full force now, so maybe that's where they're getting it from. I'm lucky that many of my neighbors work hard to landscape their yards with flowering plant, so my bees found a treasure of pollen somewhere close by. Although I've sprinkled some pollen substitute across the frames of my hive, it looks like my busy bees decided to find their own -- and they're doing a darn good job of it too.

Side note: My brother told me that he's noticed more honeybees at his house this year that ever before. He lives about a half mile from me and said he believes they're my girls. I have no clue if that's true or not but I've had several people stop when they see me working my hive (remember I'm within seeing distance of the city's scenic walkway) to thank me for putting a hive in my yard. They're hopeful that my current girls (and a new hive coming this spring) will make their gardens more fruitful than ever. I hope my bees won't disappoint -- many people have great expectations from them this coming year!

I've been asked what I would like for gifts this year. First and foremost: shallow honey supers! I get the oddest looks when I say that I want honey supers and frames for gifts...but think about it. What else could a beekeeper want...or need...especially when its something that will be nothing but an asset? This year -- I hope Santa brings shallow supers from Brushy Mountain.

Dear Santa, don't you let me down!

New entrance reducer works like a charm!

Sorry for the less that stellar picture, but I made it with my cell phone. Its rainy and gloomy so I decided to head out and see what was going on around the hive.

As you can see, I have a new homemade entrance reducer in place. I made it over the weekend. Luckily for me, I have a duplicate hive set-up in my garage, so it was easy to measure and make the wooden reducer that would fit my hive. As I mentioned before, since I'm using the new Dadant heavy-duty plastic screened bottom board, a standard reducer is worthless -- too long and to thin to work. So I made my own and its working great it seems.

I'll share manufacturing details later, but for now I can take satisfaction in knowing that unwelcome visitors will have a hard time getting inside this hive. And none too soon either...I found the girls dragging a wasp out the day I put the temporary reducer on. Then this past Sunday, when I put the new one on, the guards were fighting a honey bee at the entrance. It wasn't a member of this colony either...she was extremely dark colored (my bees are a bright Italian orange)...and they were giving her a hard time, dragging her out and letting her go, then doing fly-by knock downs when she would land on the front of the hive. So it looks like it is working as it should. 

More later! 

I didn't excel at wood shop...and it shows!

Fall. According to the calendar, it arrived weeks ago. Even though the season is officially here, the daytime highs have still hovered in the 70s with the lows at night getting into the lower 50s - maybe down to 48 and then stop.

That was until today. Fall arrived here like a lion, complete with cold temperatures and blustery winds. Actually it got up to 50 on my home thermometer...but the constant barrage of heavy winds made it seem much colder...almost like winter. And for the next week, forecasters say the temperatures at night are expected to reach 35 to 38 degrees.

As most of you know, I've been concerned about winterizing my hive. A few weeks ago I put a mouse guard on...but then I took it off because I'm sure that the metal bar with the small holes was causing an air flow issue on warmer days. Plus I worried that if the bottom board got cluttered up with trash, like dead bees, that the colony could die from being trapped inside. Even though I know it is a necessity and serves a purpose, I am just not too crazy about the mouse guard. But as the season progresses, I'm sure I'll probably put it back on, just not right now. And I don't want my girls getting too cold from the cold winds whipping through the entrance and the bottom of the hive. 


Now before I go any further, let me say that I'm not a carpenter. Truthfully, I hated wood shop in school. I barely made the required wooden key, one to hang your car keys on. But I made it so I could pass the class and to this day it hangs in my parent's kitchen (my Mom acted as if it was the greatest thing ever). I picked up enough skills in the class that if the need arises, I can create something. It may not be great, but hey, I can make it. And today was one of those days. I needed an entrance reducer to keep the wind out, and the ones I got from Dadant would not work. So with the few tools I possess, I got cracking in making a homemade entrance reducer, Mark-style!

If I had kept the old fashioned wooden bottom board, I could still use the usual Dadant reducer -- but with the new plastic screened board they sell, it will not work at all. They're too long in width and too narrow to cover the entrance (with gaps top and bottom). Sure I could trim the excess off, no problem there, but I can't fatten them up. They're worthless to me now. I sent Dadant an email and explained to them that their old fashioned reducers don't work now. Who knows what they'll do, maybe just ignore it. 

Remembering I had some old political campaign stakes in my garage, I took them out and decided that they would work perfectly. So I got the current measurements of my hive entrance and went to work. It would be a little tough to trim it to fit inside the entrance with a hand saw, so it would have to sit outside the entrance -- but that's okay, at least it would block the cold wind.

So with my hand saw, I cut it to the width of the hive entrance which worked out fine. But then the question came up inside my head...how would they get in and out, Mark? No problem! I took my drill and a wood bit and cut a hole at the bottom, then trimmed the round part out...making an upside down U-shape for the girls to come in and out. Oh, and to keep it from tipping forward and falling off -- I came up with the dandy idea of placing two popcicle sticks under it and slightly forward, so I stapled them to the stake, thus keeping it upright!

So now was the time to test my homemade reducer. And not a minute too soon either, as I got to the hive, there was a fight underway -- the girls were dragging out a wasp that tried to sneak into the front entrance. 

Okay, a drum roll please? TA-DA! Well, it fit okay, all except that I trimmed the width slightly short, leaving a slight gap. You guessed it, the girls were going in and out of the sides! It was a true Charlie Brown moment..I felt like a total block head. But after a few minutes, they started going in and out of the hole in the middle, although they were still using the gaps on the sides too. Oh well, at least the cold, blustery fall winds will not penetrate the front of the hive and chill the nest, not now anyway. 

I plan to tweak this idea some, and I have a cousin who is a cabinet maker with tons of tools, so I'm going to see if he can work on an entrance reducer for me. Until that time, I think my girls will stay toasty warm at night, and be able to get in and out and maintain housekeeping in the daytime. So even though it wasn't perfect, it was still a success.

You know...that mouse guard might not be such a bad idea after all.

Until next time, BEE warm!

Old Time Theater - featuring - "Her Majesty, The Queen Bee!"

Let's take a trip back to 1933 and watch an old 35mm film on beekeeping. Its called, "Her Majesty - The Queen Bee!" I have tried to research who made this film and for what reason (I assume it was an educational film) but like many old movies of that time period, it seems no record exists. But it is a pretty cool film is I do say so myself. Its pretty short, almost six minutes, so sit back and relax and let's go to the orange groves with some hard working honey bees!

 

To medicate or not to medicate: that is the question.

It has been a gloomy week here in the Piedmont-Triad. It has rained, rained...and then rained some more. I can only imagine how bad it is in Georgia where they're getting flooded by heavy rains. And since it has been so rainy, it has given me some time to think about my colony and whether I should take preventative measures and medicate it before winter. The question that keeps playing over and over again in my mind is...should I or shouldn't I? 

As I've mentioned before, I want to keep my colony as natural as possible, and I prefer to use all-natural methods to treat my bees. When the state apiary inspector came to inspect my bees, I spoke to him about medicating a healthy colony. In some books, like Beekeeping for Dummies, it recommends that you medicate hives in the fall and the spring, and it is best to treat your bees much like you would treat your pets...you should use preventative methods to keep your hives from becoming ill. Kind of like you would treat your dog to keep them from getting heartworms or rabies. The books recommend you be a proactive beekeeper, not a reactive beekeeper.  

But Don Hopkins, the apiary inspector, didn't seem to be too quick to recommend proactive colony treatments. While he didn't rush to tell me yes or no, he did give me a clear indication that if a hive is healthy, you should keep a watchful eye, otherwise leave it alone. And my hive is doing really well and I want to keep it that way, especially with winter on the horizon. But should I put chemicals in a healthy hive? Some sources say yes, others say no. It truly is mind boggling and confusing for me as a new beekeeper.

I read conflicting information about Honey B Healthy. Some swear that it is a miracle potion that bees go nuts over and makes them thrive in the hive. Others say it is a total waste of money, or to be more blunt, that it is a form of "snake oil" for honey bees. It runs in the neighborhood of around $20 bucks for the smallest container, and for that price, I would hope it would do something miraculous. I found the recipe for Honey B Healthy online, and when I called the vitamin store to price the key ingredients to make it at home, I discovered it would cost me more to do it that way and it would be cheaper to buy it ready made. Since I didn't speak to a single soul that's used it and found great success, I decided to forget about it. Maybe I'll try it in the future, but for now, no.

Apiguard. The one thing I don't have is a problem with varroa mites. I did a three-day test using a sticky piece of corrugated cardboard, and I couldn't find enough mites to do a decent count. I've already done a powdered sugar dusting in the hive and after I finished...it looked like whirling snow storm of honey bees. While I'm sure that Apiguard does a fine job for hives with a varroa mite problem, I don't think mine would benefit in the least from a treatment. And besides, many sources say that mites develop a resistance to varroa treatments over time, and the last thing I want to do is run out of options before there was a problem to begin with. So for now, I'm saying no to Apiguard.

One thing I would consider using in my hive is menthol crystals which is used to treat tracheal mites. I know a guy who lost his colony to these invisible mites. They basically get in the breathing tubes of the bees and suffocate them. The most recommended treatment for tracheal mites seems to be bags of menthol crystals (which comes from oil of peppermint). It is recommended that you put a bag in the hive when the daytime temperature is over 70 degrees. The crystals slowly evaporate and give off a gas which the bees breathe in and cause a decline in the mites. While it won't eliminate the mites, it will cause their numbers to drop. I am still mulling this one over since it is a natural way to treat the bees.

I don't think I need Fumagilin-B. It is an antibiotic used for the treatment of Nosema, an intestinal disorder of the honey bee. Usually if a hive is infected, it will have yellow or brown streaks on the front of the hive or the bottom board which comes from a form of bee diarrea. Nosema usually infects adult female workers. And sources say it rarely infects drones or the queen. It is recommended to use Fumagilin-B in the fall and spring and with with all newly installed bee packages. Since I haven't noticed any outward signs that my bees have a tummy disorder, it doesn't seem sensible to treat them for something they don't have. I will keep it in mind though. Beekeeping sources say that Nosema is more prevalent in overwintered colonies, so who knows what this coming spring will hold. Thank goodness I'm one hour away from the Chatham, Virginia, branch of Dadant & Sons in case I need a bottle.

I could go on and on, but the more I think about it, I really believe that I should leave my colony alone medication-wise and just keep an eye out for any possible problems. While I'm fairly confident that I'll leave my girls alone, I've also learned to never say never. I plan to continue my research to see if I'm making the right decision, but since we're already in autumn by the calendar (and the weather on some days too) I have to hurry. But I think I'm going to ride it out.

I would love to hear your ideas on medicating colonies and whether you do it or not. Please feel free to share!

Bee-have yourselves!       

Happy Rosh Hashanah! Break out the honey and apples!

Today, the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown and ends on Sunday at dusk. This day should hold a particular interest to us as beekeepers since the observance includes the fruit of our labors -- delicious honey. It seems to be a custom that is almost as old as life itself.


In case you're not familiar with it, Rosh Hashanah, literally "head of the year" -- is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the Jewish High Holidays or "Days of Awe" or the Ten Days of Repentance which are days specifically set aside to focus on repenting. It concludes with Yom Kippur. It is the new year for people, animals, and legal contracts.


Rosh Hashanah is observed as a day of rest and certain activities prohibited on Shabbat are also prohibited on Rosh Hashanah. It is characterized by the blowing of the shofar which is a trumpet made from a ram's horn, and is intended to make the listener arise from their slumber and alert them to the coming judgment. During the afternoon of the first day, prayers are recited near natural flowing water so that one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. And many Jews throw bread or pebbles into the water to symbolize the casting off of one's sins.


Of particular interest to beekeepers would be one of the meals during Rosh Hashanah that includes honey and apples -- which symbolizes a sweet new year for those of the Jewish faith. The apple is dipped in honey, the blessing for eating tree fruits is recited, the apple is tasted, and then the apples and honey prayer is recited, "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe who creates the fruit of the tree. May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our ancestors that you renew for us a good and sweet year. Amen."


L'Shanah Tovah!

Inspection report: A box full of brood and a gold star for my queen!

Since I'm going on vacation, I decided to check on my colony to make sure everything was on task before I hit the road. Just yesterday, I noticed these tiny, fuzzy creatures sitting on the hive front, and I knew it was newly hatched baby bees. It was funny to watch them walking around, not really doing anything other than walking in and out of the hive. Every now and then one of the adult workers would come over and check them out, but otherwise, they just did their own thing.

So today I light up the smoker and decided to concentrate on the lower brood box. That's where I saw the eggs and larvae last week, so I figured that would be the place to go first. Once I gave the hive a few gentle puffs, I tried to take the top chamber off, and it was as heavy as lead. After getting my hive tool between the boxes, I was finally able to pry it apart and I sat it off to the side and began my work.

Without going into long details, let me say that her majesty has bounced back full force. While some of the frames in the lower deep held nectar and pollen, there were at least four middle frames with capped brood, and another was full of newly laid eggs. One side of a frame was jam packed with nothing but capped brood, and the other side was capped brood and larvae. So needless to say, she has made up for the time she stopped laying -- the time that almost called for her to be replaced with a new queen. Maybe she's trying to make up for being naughty?

I decided that I would check the top chamber while I had the hive apart, and I was surprised that about eight of the ten frames are pretty much drawn with comb...much of it filled with beautiful white capped honey. That's the reason the darn thing is so heavy, they've filled it up for the winter -- and might I say, doing a rather thorough job. I was thinking that I may have to feed them this winter, but if they continue to fill up the top brood box with honey, I may not have to feed until later in the winter, depending on how fast they consume their current stores. But I'm very proud of this colony and how hard they've worked, and I'm thankful my queen hasn't let me down.

By the way...funny story. I thought I would put the mouse guard on the hive since the weather is turning cooler, but in order to fasten it to the hive, I needed a tack which I didn't have. I decided to see how it works and if the bees could get in and out of it okay before I fasten it on.

After a few tries, most of them got right inside the hive -- but one poor girl, her pollen sacs were packed full, and she could not seem to grasp how to get inside. She got her upper body in the hole, and she fought and fought to get her rump inside, but it just didn't work. Then she flew off a couple of feet, eyeballed the hole -- and tried it again -- but it was the same thing all over again -- she got her head inside, but the rest of her body just wouldn't go. I decided to help her and pull the mouse guard off, and before I could get my hand on it -- boom -- she popped herself inside the hole. I felt sorry for the old girl, and I'm sure she wondered what the heck happened in the time she left home for work...who put that funky looking wall there? I'm going to give them one more week of a wide-open entrance, then I plan to put the mouse guard on for the fall. The last thing I want is some field mouse building her nest inside my hive. I love handling my bees...but mice? No way!

Like they used to do in elementary school for a job well done -- my colony gets a gold star for today's inspection. Can you tell I'm smiling?     

Do the Honey Bee!

Honestly, this is better than the dance they do on the Haagen Dazs "Help the Honey Bee" website. It has a true message and it has rhythm too! Thanks to Cliff at the Beekeeping for Beeginners blog for sharing! 

By the way, this video was produced by Haagen Dazs too. It just seems to be much better than the one featured on the Help the Honey Bees website, least to me anyway! Okay...altogether now!