water,” says Bouffard. “A creek, or even a dripping faucet in the backyard, works great.” And Fehrenkamp notes that plain sugar water works well as a temporary food supplement for new hives. “I use mason jars that fit on top of a hive box,” he says. “Just plain white sugar is good; raw sugar, like turbinado, isn’t easily processed by bees.” There are very few limitations to raising bees in Austin, and plenty of local honeybee advocates to help along the way—but as in all things, consideration for the bigger picture is important. Dr. Jack Neff, considered the native bee expert of Texas, points out that no honeybees are native to the Americas, and that they have been imported to the U.S. for nearly 400 years, leading to the rapid spread of pests and diseases currently ravaging honeybees worldwide. One very common pest for honeybees is a parasite called the varroa mite. One mite-infested bee can infect an entire hive, and that infection can quickly spread to adjacent hives. Heavy importation of bees from one country to another has spread varroa mites across the globe—from Japan and Russia in the 1960s to Hawaii and Australia in the late 2000s. And imported honeybees have the potential to present threats not related to disease. “Honeybees can, in some circumstances, compete with our native fauna for limited floral resources,” says Dr. Neff. “The best thing people can do for bees is to provide more native plants for bee forage.” The internet is filled with information on beekeeping—some of it dubious, at best. Ferehnkamp encourages newbies to do their homework, keep open minds and try to avoid feeling overwhelmed. “For new beekeepers, I’d say the most important things are to have a solid foundation of basic information from good sources and to be safe,” he says. “Other than that, each individual has to find his or her own way. I’d bet that even the best-known beekeepers in history, like L.L. Langstroth, carried unknown answers about bees to their grave[s]. That’s something I love about keeping bees…it’s a journey of a million questions.”
Resources
Photography of honey bee collecting nectar from lettuce blossoms by Eve Cheno
a veil and a good smoker come first,” he says. “It’s very difficult to work with bees without the confidence that safety gives you.” Beyond safety, consideration for neighbors, family members and even the bees themselves falls next in line. City of Austin code allows for beehives on residential lots, but it requires a dedicated water source to prevent bees from congregating around other sources, like a neighbor’s birdbath. And a colony may not be kept if it “interferes with normal use and enjoyment of public or private property.” “Talk to your neighbors; give them as much information as you can to try to alleviate any stress they might experience just thinking about bees living next door,” suggests Woodbury. “Hives should be located in a shady spot,” he continues, “where they are both accessible and safe—so next to a patio would be a no-no, for example, but perhaps behind a vegetated area.” Once the proper safety equipment is secured, a beekeeping network is established and the perfect place is located, it’s time to purchase or build a hive. There are basically two types of hives: conventional box hives (known as a Langstroth hive—named for 19th-century apiarist, clergyman and teacher Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, who is considered the father of American beekeeping) and top-bar hives. Langstroth hives consist of a series of square wooden frames hung inside a rectangular box, often with manufactured wax sheets that are already stamped with cells. These cells serve as the foundation that the bees will draw comb onto. A top-bar hive is more trough-like, and instead of square wooden frames with cells already in place, bees draw out their combs with cell sizes of their own dimensions, using wooden bars that span the top of the box as a guide to keep each comb straight. “For those on a budget, I generally recommend a top-bar hive,” says Woodbury, “because it can be built relatively easily with scrap material. But there is less internal structure in a top-bar hive, which makes a Langstroth hive a little easier to work, because the foundations are already in place and don’t require such delicate handling. Really, both work well—it just depends on personal preference.” No matter which hive structure is selected, a hive tool (or improvised hive tool) is needed to handle the frames and monitor the combs. A hive tool, or wedge tool, is a flat bar of metal with a hook on one end that helps grab individual frames from a hive, though Woodbury notes that a large flat-head screwdriver works well in a pinch too. Once the hive is built, it’s time to find some bees. “There are three options,” explains Woodbury. “One: capture a swarm; two: split an existing hive; or three: purchase a nucleus hive from a professional supplier, which usually includes a set amount of bees, by weight, plus a queen. The last is by far the easiest and safest option, but availability is usually limited to certain times of the year.” The importance of timing is also emphasized by Konrad Bouffard of Round Rock Honey. “The best time to select a location for a new hive is January,” he explains. “Hive boxes should be set out in February. Generally speaking, the best time to transplant bees into a backyard hive is in late March or early April.” One of the most reputable Texas sources for bees is the Weaver family in Navasota, which has been in the bee business since 1888—when Z.S. Weaver received 10 bee colonies as a wedding gift. R Weaver Apiaries and BeeWeaver Apiaries specialize in chemical-free bee production and queens with heritable traits for mite resistance. They supply queen bees, packaged bees, bee supplies and honey, and are a great option for beekeepers who want to manage hives without the use of chemicals. New beehives greatly benefit from supplemental food and water sources as the colony establishes itself. “In Texas, it’s critical that the bees be close to
Find more resources with links on edibleaustin.com Austin Bee Helpers: web.me.com/jackmills Bee Source: beesource.com The Bee Space: thebeespace.net BeeWeaver Apiaries: beeweaver.com City of Austin beekeeping code: ci.austin.tx.us/health/eh_ch-36_beekeeping.htm Dadant: dadant.com DIY Beehive: diybeehive.com Eastside Honey Company: austinbees.com Living Off the Grid: livingoffgrid.org/top-bar-bee-hive-perfect-for backyard-beehives Round Rock Honey (beekeeping classes): roundrockhoney.com
EDIBLEAUSTIN.COM
SUMMER 2011
45