One of the many amazing things about honey bees is how adaptable they are. Bees are kept on every continent save Antarctica, in every kind of climate. Beekeepers use many styles of hives, and more are being developed even today. From the ancient skep (coiled hemp rope) to the traditional Langstroph hive (like I use) bees can be kept in anything that provides them a safe, weather tight environment with enough room to store honey and raise brood. You may remember the first bees we captured here were perfectly at home in the eves of our house. In the wild, honey bees live in hollow logs and trees, and even today occasionally you will find a bee tree in the woods. I remember growing up (not so long ago) there was a bee tree on my family's property for years and years. As kids, we thought racing past the tree was pretty exciting but I don't think the bees gave us a second thought.
Recently a friend of my family shared these pictures with me of bee hives he saw while visiting Nepal.
The thing I thought was so neat about this was how the locals had adapted items they had on hand to house bees. I found it inspiring that without milled hive boxes and specially manufactured parts they were (apparently) successfully keeping bees. In the end maybe all a beekeeper needs is healthy determination and good old fashioned innovation.
Thanks to Paul Green for the photos.
By the way, this is our 100th post! Thanks for all the support, this blog never would have made it this far without you. Cheers!
KJ
No comments:
Post a Comment