The craft of beekeeping is largely misunderstood yet the simplicity and joy that comes from it is worth getting to know. It seems like it might be scary for some people However beekeeping is therapeutic, relaxing, grounding and rewarding for all ages. It doesn't matter if you have an acre, a patio or even a roof top. Bees are docile intelligent creatures and willing partners.
Their social activities are still largely a mystery because it's complex and not entirely clear how much of the hive activities are dictated. It's almost beyond comprehension that these tiny bugs are so evolutionarily ahead of their time. It bring to mind the book "The Rats of Nimh". Except that bees were never part of a science experiment. Getting close to bees leads you into their magical world as well as gaining a deeper respect for nature.
We all love honey, but it is expensive and becoming more difficult to find raw medicinal honey without going over our budget. It is the perfect sweetener and medicine to be used at home for everything from cough syrup to preservative, in tea and in cakes. When we have our own bees, we have an unlimited source of natural, raw potent honey, wax, pollen and propolis for the family or as a side income if done with care.
One out of every three bites of our food was pollinated by bees. That is 75-80% of our diet relies on bees. This is one reason that our future depends on the bees future. Another reason is the protection of a potentially endangered species. A world without bees is a world without a soul.
Bees are disappearing at an alarming rate in recent years. Colony Collapse Disorder is something that has been observed over and over in the past 10 years. A hive will be hard working and strong and in a matter of hours they are all gone. An entire hive of thousands of bees just gone. Between GMS's pesticides, chemtrails, and cell tower radiation, the bees are being murdered through greedy corporation's actions.
Another reason for protecting the bees is that they have become indentured servants to Big Ag . Big industry/agriculture uses bees for pollination on large heavily pesticided mono-crops. Bees have a natural varied diet consisting on pollen from wild flowers, fruit trees, gardens, forest flora etc. When Industrial bee managers pick up the hives and place them in the middle of a 300 acre almond orchard, for example, the bees are forced to feed solely on heavily sprayed almond blossoms for months. This causes sickness and death because they are unable to keep their immune systems strong with the needed variety of medicinal pollen. When the time comes to move the bees to another plot of trees or GMO wheat etc, they randomly pick up the hives with a fork lift, load them on to huge trucks and drive away leaving millions of bees in the orchard without a home to return to . They will die without their home. They are just replaced with other beehives bred for this industry. This broken system is failing and time is running out.
The only way to remedy this is to have backyard beehives. We can each do our part to protect the bees to ensure future generations of bees and humans and life on planet earth.
If even just a few families in every area, set up just one beehive in their backyard or rooftop, that would add up to thousands of beehives and millions of bees. The more there are , the better the chance of their survival, cross breeding, resulting in strong bees and the more fruit trees, gardens and wild flowers would be pollinated ensuring continued growth, food, forests and natural biological balance.
Raising bees doesn't require too much investment which will be repaid in untold riches (honey) The first step is to obtain a hive either through purchase or from finding a swarm. Our job as beekeepers, is to provide a safe place for the bees to live, respect, to let them run their lives as only they know how, and observation to learn from them and make sure the hive won't be over run by pests.
As you learn through observation reading, internet videos and articles and /or mentoring by a local experienced bee keeper, you will begin to get the hang of it and love the craft more and more.
Bees are social animals. They are constantly communicating with one another . They prefer this from us as well. One important commitment we have to our bees, is communication. They communicate with us and when we learn, we can speak with them as well. It is a well known tradition to tell the bees the going-ons of the family they belong to. They respond well, don't leave their hives (unless it is out of their control such as CCD, mentioned above), make good honey, and tend to their hives in a healthy manner. If we abandon the bees and neglect to tell them our stories, they will usually leave, become sickly or fail to produce good honey. This is an important part of beekeeping, however silly it might seem. We are inherently connected to bees by design. There survival means our survival and our fight for freedom is their fight as well. So open communication is crucial.
Bees , a bee box, suit and simple tools are really all you need to get started. The bees do the rest. Many of these can be found second hand as well. This can be a community project , involving parents, teachers, children and anyone else who might show an interest. We can all benefit from information and experience and involvement in our world. Or it can be done as a family side business, as a study of farming, animal husbandry or science .
There are many resources online and ( in most local areas) there are beekeepers who are willing to share information and support. When we pull together to work for the greater good and for all bee-kind, the bees recognize this, appreciate the effort and will continue to do all they can to do their part.
I have learned many things from my bees. One very important lesson is to defend the hive, the family at all costs. We must stick together to do the same and contribute to future of humanity for us and for the bees.
Right now we are fighting for our freedom and our health and our future.
The bees are as well, but they can't fight, so it's up to us. We need to speak up, support and do whatever we can to help the bees survive. The earth and all it's many and varied species, including humanity, depend on it.
For more information on beekeeping, just to get you started:
See my interview with local beekeeper, Ido Barav You can see it on my podcast page or on my channel on brighteon.com
The novel "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Also the movie " Vanishing of the Bees" . This is an amazing documentary of this world wide problem directed by Maryam Heinen who cares deeply for these little creatures and their role in our world.
Bee-evolve
and bee-involved
It will be one of the greatest investments you, your family and your community have ever made.
