Just this afternoon as I was observing the entrance I saw something unusual, I saw a white worm crawling at the entrance of the hive due to my curiousness I opened up the hive and saw numbers of them but they were still few in numbers, I have had watch some hives that are infested in youtube and have already suspected that these are wax worms for I have seen some moths flying around the area and have eliminated some. Beekeppers always want to have their combs free of these wax moth larvae because it is a very destructive insect pest in the beehive. As a beekeeper in the Philippines we have small information about how to treat this but thanks to the help of technology beekeepers nowadays can share thoughts and ideas on the internet. The adult moth is a heavy bodied small moth about ½” to ¾” long, wings vary in color from grayish to brown and the underside is light gray. The mated females will fly into a colony 1 to 3 hours after dark and lay their eggs and then leave before daylight. The eggs are laid in masses and are light in color. Immediate action needs to be taken if a web has already been spun, larvae is described to be fat, pointed at both ends with a brown head and can get up to 1" in length, stay in the larvae state from 18 days to 3 months, prefer darker comb and will chew out oval depressions throughout your hive, destroy the comb and wooden ware, begin spinning a cocoon that can cover your frames. While these wax moth larvae are in the hive there are no chemicals approved to kill them, but if the combs are in storage they use "moth crystals" to kill the larvae but I still would want a safe control rather than chemical control, the only sure way to keep this from becoming a problem in the hive is to keep the bees strong and healthy so they can manage them successfully on their own. Depending on the extent of the problem there are several options: remove the infected super and add it to a very strong colony that will clean it up, place the comb inside a plastic bag and place in a freezer for 2 days. In my case it is still a minor infestation so what I did was I pulled out any larvae I can see and clean out all webs as of what I said earlier that there are only a few numbers of larvae, I was just too lucky to have detected it early.
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A honey bee queen is a chosen one, they are chosen by the worker honey bees when the colony is in need of a new queen, the making of a queen is triggered usually by a combination of conditions such as congestion in the hive and lack of egg laying space. When the first virgin queen leaves her cell two things can now occur, either the first virgin queen leads a smaller swarm from the hive (called a cast) or she locates the other queen cells and kills the other virgin queen bee inside the queen cells by stinging through the wax wall of their cells. Just today I saw a queen cell opened up by some workers and the virgin queen's head emerge, I was happy to saw that scenery but I still had those fear of loosing the virgin queen bee, for the first 5 days of the virgin queen was critical, I lost some queen bee that emerge during the rainy days maybe because when they had their first flight the weather might not be good. A virgin queen as I describe it has a short abdomen and not engorged with sperm glands from male bees. Virgin queens appear to have little queen pheromone and often do not appear to be recognized as queens by the workers. A virgin queen in her first few hours after emergence can be placed into the entrance of any queenless hive or nuc and acceptance is usually very good. I am producing queens using the split type method, it is not easy to split a hive and there is no guarantee, for a new queen might not emerge, might not mate and of course the first mating flight was so critical. I am always hopeful that the first flight of the virgin queen bee will be successful because it is never guaranteed there is always that fear in me that she might not make it on her first flight or she might be killed. As of the splits that I have made in 4 Nuc boxes I already have 1 mated queen, 2 virgin queens and 1 queenless . October is fast approaching and I'm getting ready for their build-up period, dearth period was not an easy stage for the beekeeper and the bees but we are almost at the end of it for this year. Just attended the "First Visayas-Mindanao BEES Forum" which was held at Redemptoristine Nuns Monastery. happy to have met those beekeepers that came particularly from Mindanao, Bohol, and different parts of Cebu, some are into farming particularly "Cacao" wherein they raise bees for pollination and some are raising different species of bees. It was also a day of electing the leader for on that day we organized an association for beekeepers and here are the officers: President: Clarita Vergara Vice President: Edu Pantino Secretary: Jessica Mahusay Treasurer: Alex Bautista Auditor: Beth Tamboboy P.R.O.: Allan Defensor, Clarice Tan, Jay Dilan Consultant: Stephen Bastida, Alberto Bartolata Spiritual Adviser: Sister Alice Laurente Agosto It was a day of the bees and beekeepers, of great minds and great deeds to have a goal and be with each other, truly there is strength in numbers and this organization that we made is simply just taking the first step. Life is full of surprises just like what Forrest Gump always say "Life is like a box of chocolate you'll never know what you'll gonna get" and this colony of "Apis Cerana" a local honeybee surprise me today inside our well in our vacant lot, it was already an established colony of bees. Apis Cerana is smaller than the one I am keeping which is the "Apis Mellifera" or the European honeybee, Apis Cerana is the important pollinating agents for coconut palms. These are less aggressive than any wild bees and also less swarming behavior and can be easily used for beekeeping, so I decided to transfer them to a nucbox as we saw the colony, I smoke them gently with a smoker and put the box ready to catch them and as the hive fall into the box they became aggressive so I quickly put the top cover of the box and set it aside at the top of the well so they could enter at the entrance of the box I was sure that the queen was inside and when the queen was inside they could easily scent the pheromone of their queen I set it aside until 5pm and when most of the bees were in the box I already transfer the box to a new location where it would stay and will reorient themselves as they forage in the morning. I got stung 3 times but was still happy and excited as well to keep a local honeybee and I discovered new thing The sting of Apis Mellifera was much painful compare to the Apis Cerana. I haven't decided yet what type of box hive would I use for the Apis Cerana what I had in mind since Apis Cerana was smaller I'll make a box smaller than the box I'm using in keeping the Apis Mellifera, hope I could decide soon. I saw a documentary where a beekeeper said that bees choose their keeper and I guess with what happened today I'm starting to believe it. "Local raw honey is the best honey" was a quote that I've always heard in beekeeping industry. Buying local honey supports the beekeeping industry, an integral part of agriculture currently facing lots of challenges. It’s best to buy locally grown, organic, raw honey because the honey was produced by the bees in or near the environment you live, consuming foods from the area you live is beneficial as they contain the immune stimulating properties needed for your body to adapt to its environment. Fresh, raw honey will also be tastier, and more potent. When you buy from local beekepers you help your local economy. Imagine the bee pollinating the flowers of the plants and trees in your environment, we might take for granted those little bees but they are beneficial for the flowers to pollinate and we depend on them in order for us to eat those vegetables and fruits, 90% of the world food comes from 100 crop species 71 are pollinated by bees. Bees in the yard of a local beekeeper visit flowers within an 8 kilometer radius around where the hive is, they are intricately connected to the environment and benefit your local ecosystem. I always recommend those who are inquiring honey to find the nearest beekeeper in their area, for those beekeepers are the one who are taking care of the bees who are pollinating the flowers of the plants and trees in his/her area. Supporting the local independent beekeepers and helping them to stay in business is good for them and for the economy. here's a map of my apiary in Lapu-Lapu City: Honey flow was over and rainy days are here we call this period "Dearth Period" because during this period there is scarcity of food for the bees, one of the problems that occur during this periods for the bee keeper is the sudden aggressiveness of bees. Due to scarcity of food some bees may rob food from other colonies, thus the aggressiveness of bees take part, bees being robbed become aggressive defenders of their stores. This often results in a cloud of bees around a hive, just experienced a colony that I have to be so aggressive, it was my first time to handle the bees that aggressive even the smoker that I have didn't work I was afraid that they may be queenless because of their aggressiveness but lately I was wrong, due to the sudden change of weather a colony of bees that I have produced too many drones and I guess the abrupt change of weather was a factor for it, and the rainy weather, especially when it comes with heat and high humidity, makes bees cranky as well. During the “dog days of summer” no amount of fanning helps evaporate the nectar or cool the hive. It is already July and rainy season start early and though the bees still do have nectar sources it has slowed down dramatically. The bees are in defensive mode to protect their food source from any predator and also from the bees who may also rob their food. Things to do during rainy season is to put an entrance reducer if there is some fighting and some weird activities that you see in the entrance, and always have your smoker light up during inspection in case they really become really aggressive, but the last time I did my inspection I didn't use smoker at all, for the last time I used smoker they became aggressive some fellow beekeeper's advice if you use a smoker during inspection just lightly smoke them, two puffs of smoke at the entrance and then two puffs at the top after you have cracked the cover just enough to get the smoke in, and as of my last inspection I saw the queen and still have to observe in days to come, everyday is a learning experience and it is always good to know the bees. I am always thankful for them for it was a wonderful honey season they spent with me this year. Beekeeping is LOVE! We had our second harvest from this honeyflow season last April and we gathered at least 30Liters of honey, one of the process during honey extraction was uncapping of the sealed honey comb, our method was so simple, bees use wax for their honeycombs and also sealed it with it, we always prepare these things that we need: Metal Pitcher full of water, at least 2 pieces of knives, electric heater and a plastic basin. The method is so simple first heat the water in the pitcher using electric heater up to its boiling point and put the knives in it and when the knives were heated use a knife to uncap the sealed honeycomb it is easy to uncapped it when the knife was hot because it melts the wax, uncapped it in a basin so those honey that flows will not be wasted,. those were the simple method that we are using in uncapping the sealed honey comb. Rainy days are almost here and it is a sign that honeyflow season is at its end for this year, well we need to prepare for the dearth season, enjoy the taste of honey until the end of 2014's honeyflow. Beekeeping is LOVE! Got this picture early in the morning after going through the bees, I saw a bee on a flower of Averrhoa bilimbi (commonly known as bilimbi, Camias or Iba), I got my camera and took a photo of a bee on its flower. Averrhoa bilimbi is a fruit-bearing tree of the genus Averrhoa, family Oxalidaceae. It is a close relative of carambola tree. Averrhoa bilimbi is a small tree, growing 5 to 12 meters high. Leaves are pinnate, 20 to 60 centimeters long, with hairy rachis and leaflets. Leaflets are opposite, 10 to 17 pairs, oblong, 5 to 10 centimeters in length. Panicles growing from the trunk and larger branches are hairy, 15 centimeters long or less. Flowers are about 1.5 centimeters long, and slightly fragrant. Fruit is green and edible, about 4 centimeters long, subcylindric, or with 5 obscure, broad, rounded, longitudinal lobes. Camias does not seem to have varieties. However it has been reported to have a sweet variety in the Philippines. Camias is generally regarded as too acid for eating raw, although in Costa Rica, the green, uncooked fruits are prepared as a relish which is served with rice and beans. Sometimes it is an accompaniment for fish and meat. Ripe fruits are frequently added to curries in the Far East or used in place of mango to make chutney. In cooking, fruit often used in combinations with Tamarind (can be also used with Sweet Tamarind to neutralize the acidity). The fruit is rich in vitamin C. The fruit juice is popular for making cooling beverages on the order of lemonade. To reduce acidity, it may be first pricked and soaked in water overnight and boiled with sugar to make a jam or an acid jelly. Half-ripe fruits are salted, set out in the sun, and pickled in brine and can be thus kept for 3 months. A quicker pickle is made by putting the fruits and salt into boiling water. This product can be kept only 4 to 5 days. The flowers are sometimes preserved with sugar. In the Philippines, the leaves serve as a paste on itches, swelling, rheumatism, mumps or skin eruptions. Elsewhere, they are used for bites of poisonous creatures. A leaf infusion is efficient against or as an after-birth tonic, while the flower infusion is used for thrush, cold, and cough. Malays use the juice as eye drops and regard it as a magic curative. Nutritional Value for 100g of Edible Portion:
I've been to Ayala Activity Center, Cebu yesterday to attend a free seminar about modular aquaponics and beekeeping, I've met some personalities who is into organic agriculture and who were bee keepers too, Rico Omoyon was the speaker about bee keeping, he is into organic cosmetics and some products that involve the product of bee keeping, he is a businessman and a beekeper most of the bees he keep were the local bees, particularly apis cerana and the stingless bees (Trigona Spp.). There were products that were displayed during the seminar, Culinary Herb Plants in which I've bought some herbs particularly mint and rosemary, there were honey and honey wines of Mr. Eddie Bohol, products from Milea mostly cosmetics, soaps and organic beauty products, bee propolis, bee pollen, and some organic juices. It was a fine day to spend with my dad and my sister as we attended the seminar, and also a learning experience and the people we have met were amazing. SOAP is an advocacy group that promotes organic agriculture. The free seminar was a collaboration of SOAP with ATI, BAR, AMAS & BAFPS, in which it tackles the topic in Modular Aquaponics and Beekeeping in learning to grow your own food in an urban setting, with limited time and space and understanding the importance of our natural pollinators, the Bees the speakers during the seminar were Martin de Leon who discussed about the Aquaponics and Rico Pietro Omoyon who discussed about the beekeeping. Honey flow season is here and I'm getting ready for the honey bottles and containers and of course the label. So here's the design of the label of the honey bottle I'm planning to put in the bottle.
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Dilan's Apiary
Address: Kagudoy Road, Basak, Lapu-Lapu City Archives
June 2022
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