Journey Into Bees By Anthony Kilner
When the lid was lifted off the hive exposing the top super (this is one box section of the Langstroth hive), the buzzing of the bees certainly went up a notch, although in a way their sounds were almost meditative and quite calming. When the second super was opened and we delved into the brood box where the queen was hiding, the volume of sound was definitely raised. How dare we expose the queen and her attendees to the light! This was Jane and my first time being involved in opening a live hive as part of our Journey into Bees with mentor Jacqui Dunbar. For me, it was stay fearless and calm in the face of thousands of bees flying around me. While allergic to bees as a child, I’ve been told by the specialist I’m ok to go now – but it’s still nervy! Jane was as calm as a mountain lake, although nervous about dropping a frame with clumsy glove hands. I have to admit it was an amazing experience and a giant step forward in understanding that bees are very cool indeed!
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Supernal Magazine
Our journey into bees began several years ago when we attended a local council run bee info workshop. It was a little daunting and we found ourselves thinking yeah-nah, yeah-nah – Nup! The workshop was informative and filled with info, but it seemed like a lot of work. We did a second workshop online during Covid lockdown and were keener – just not quite convinced. One of our projects during lockdown was to build a fully enclosed orchard which would allow bees and other
propagating insects inside, and keep the birds, roos and deer out. While hammering away the conversation turned to pollinators and the lack thereof. Yes, there were bees however not as many as we’d like.
“While allergic to bees as a child, I’ve been told by the specialist I’m ok to go now – but it’s still nervy!” Searching through the local area of Research’s Facebook page, I came across Jacqui Dunbar of Honey and Pollen offering mentoring packages. One message later followed by a long chat, we then met up to discuss our needs and have a site inspection.
