Treefall Bee Yards

12/07/2021

Memories of a successful relocation. I used the Price trap out method to get the whole colony out of that gnarly old maple, queen and all.

09/09/2021

This season's honey harvest has been spoken for and is sold out. Thank you for your inquiries. I am looking forward to hearing from you next season

08/03/2021

Wooliam's Mead Making Adventure

Mead is an easy to make and delicious alcoholic drink that has been around since at least the early bronze age.

It's simply honey, water, yeast, and time. Wooliam added his own twist to the mix this time. He threw in oranges, mixed berries, and cinnamon. This recipe is meant to turn out very sweet and will take about 2 months to be done fermenting.

Can't wait to taste test this batch.

07/24/2021

As many of you know, I am a history nerd as well as a beekeeper. One way these worlds collide is when I'm considering names for my Queen Bees. I have two new colonies as of this Spring, and it has taken me this long to settle on names for the Queens. Allow me to introduce the newest queens of my bee yard:

Cartimandua: This Iron Age Briton was the queen of the Brigantes tribe when the Romans were exerting their control over Southern Britannia. Cartimandua sided with the Romans, was ruthless with her enemies, and even instigated one of the messiest divorces in Roman History (that's kind of saying a lot). She was so impressive that she may have even held the title of King in the official statutes of Rome. Given the mysogyny of the Roman Empire, which means she must have been serirously respected by the likes of Tacitus. You can see Cartimandua depicted in this print handing one of her enemies over to the romans courtesy of the British Museum.

Tomyris: Queen of the Massagetae in Central Asia when the Persian Empire was expanding its borders under Cyrus the Great. Cyrus was having big success in Central Asia, routing the armies of Massagetae and killing the prince, Tomyris' son. This mother's revenge was swift and decisive. She gathered the warriors of her kingdom, chased down the Persian army, chrushed their forces, and killed Cyrus. You know, mom stuff. Tomyris was a warrior queen with relentless drive. You can see Tomyris depicted holding up Cyrus' head in the carved glass courtesy of the Corning Museum of Glass.

07/23/2021

An absolute beauty of a day working with the bees

07/23/2021

I had some help with assembling and painting honey supers.

Jenny isn't feeling very well. Please send kind wishes for the pretty lady.

07/07/2021

Time for more space in the hive of my newest arrivals. This colony was a successful passive swarm capture by bait box.

The box was hung on a tree about 15 feet up. My thanks to my aunt Elaine and uncle Doug Schaab for letting me hang it on their property.

06/23/2021

Gord Downie began Secret Path as ten poems incited by the story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year-old boy who died fifty years ago on October 22, 1966, in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario, walking home to the family he was taken from over 400 miles away. Gord was introduced to Chanie Wenjack (miscalled “Charlie” by his teachers) by Mike Downie, his brother, who shared with him Ian Adams’ Maclean’s story from February 6, 1967, “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack.”

The stories Gord’s poems tell were fleshed into the ten songs of Secret Path with producers Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin. Recording took place over two sessions at the Bathouse in Bath, Ontario, November and December 2013. The music features Downie on vocals and guitars, with Drew and Hamelin playing all other instruments, except guest contributions by Charles Spearin (bass), Ohad Benchetrit (lap steel/guitar), Kevin Hearn (piano), and Dave “Billy Ray” Koster (drums).

In winter 2014, Gord and Mike brought the recently finished music to comic artist Jeff Lemire for his help illustrating Chanie’s story, bringing him and the many children like him to life.

Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canada’s history – the long-supressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system – with the hope of starting our country on a road to reconciliation.

The ten song album will be released by Arts & Crafts accompanied by Lemire's eighty-eight page graphic novel published by Simon & Schuster Canada. Secret Path will arrive on October 18, 2016, in a deluxe vinyl and book edition, and as a book with album download.

Downie’s music and Lemire’s illustrations inspired The Secret Path, an animated film broadcast by CBC in an hour-long commercial-free television special in Sunday, October 23. The Secret Path and Road to Reconciliation panel discussion can be watched at cbc.ca/secretpath.

https://secretpath.ca/?fbclid=IwAR1QbNFk14eNPpQe-RabZbD5YlaA6EsgqBRLgQNd_HIL2CPdyVVAnAAmmCw

Secret Path is a ten song album by Gord Downie with a graphic novel by Jeff Lemire that tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year-old boy who died fifty years ago on October 22, 1966, in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario, trying to walk over 400 mi...

06/14/2021

I would like to express my grattitude for the fine municipal employees of Dundalk, Ontario. A downed tree in the park of the village of Dundalk had a colony of bees living in it. The honey comb was exposed and on the ground. The fine municipal workers on the scene spent their day calling local beekeepers to get the bees safely relocated.

Their efforts saved those bees, who are now happily in the bee yard of a fellow beekeeper.

Good job, people of Dundalk. Thank you.

06/06/2021

Visit #3 of 3 to the Ancient Saugeen Maple in Durham, Ontario. If you've been following this story, this is the third update on the Price Trapout process I have been working on. I recap post will be coming soon to outline the whole process.

Friday night, 10pm. My father and I arrived well after dark, to give the night a chance to cool, to encourage the bees to move inside the hive box on the front of the tree. It has been hot, and that box was crowded by this point, so during warmer temperatures, they've been bearding on the front of the hive to stay cool.

When we arrived, only a small number of bees were hanging out on the outside of the hive box. A little smoke drove them in. The first job was to staple 1/8 inch hardware mesh over the entrance to keep the bees safely inside. Next I unscrewed the box from the brackets that were holding it in place.

The following step was the riskiest; carrying the box (now heavy with bees) down the 15 feet of ladder, and to the truck bed. Success!

My dad and I transported the bees to my bee yard, set them up on a stand, and pulled the mesh covering off of the entrance.

The next morning I checked on the bee yard to see how the new residents were settling in. They were doing orientation flights (figure 8 hovering to memorize their new location). That was a good sign.

My dad and I returned to the tree to check our work, and clean up the site. I pulled the blackout plastic off the tree, made a neater and tighter hardware mesh covering for the entrances to the cavity in the tree, and added a wire mesh escape cone. This cone is designed so that any remaining bees can leave the tree, but no bees can enter it.

The job was a success. 95% of the bee population was at the Treefall Bee Yard. The first time we had visited the trees, thousands of bees were flying in and out, landing on me and the mesh I was mounting. This trip, only a handfull of bees were buzzing around.

No trap out is perfect, and a colony in a tree like this in an unpopulated area would be better off left untouched. But when there is a risk of stings, especially to children, that's when a trap out might be appropriate. The Price method has been hugely successful, and any beekeeper who is doing traditional trapouts should consider switching to the Price Trapout. I have saved significantly more of the population, with significantly less stress for the colony. It's a longer and more complicated process, but well worth it.

My deepest grattitude to the property owners who thought to save their little insect neighbours.

05/20/2021

For I introduce a baby honey bee! Only just hatched and exploring her world for the first time.

Welcome to the world little bee. She'll rise through the ranks as a cleaner, a nurse, a builder, a guard, a water gatherer, and a forager over her lifetime career as a worker in her mother's home business.

05/19/2021

Visit #2 of 3 to the bee colony in the ancient maple on the Saugeen outside of Durham:

My last update about this call outlined the general process of a Price Trapout for relocating a colony from inside a tree. Last weekend my dad and I visited the tree for the second time.

Complication 1: The bees had another entrance into the tree. The solution is simple. Cover the opening with hardware cloth, then black it out with garbage bags.

The steps that I had to accomplish on this visit are meant to bring the population out of the tree, and have them take up residence within the hive box that I installed two weeks prior.

Step 1: block the entrance extension under the Hive Box so that that box is now they only way in and out of the colony

Step 2: add a one-way bee escape between the tree cavity and the hive box, so bees can move from the tree into the box, but not the other way

Step 3: add two frames of uncapped brood (eggs and larva) from a healthy hive into the box. This will coax the queen, and nurse bees out of the tree cavity

Step 4: Close the lid of the box, step back and watch the bees adjust to their new living quarters. Give them a week or two to transition.

My next visit to the maple by the Saugeen will be the last. All that's left is to go after dark, block the entrance, and relocate to Treefall Bee Yards. I will finish by cleaning up my materials the following morning, and blocking the openings to the cavity so future bees don't take up residence in the tree again.

04/28/2021

Time for a little spring cleaning

04/25/2021

A wonderful weekend working with my dad and bees.

04/24/2021

I responded to a call outside Durham today. A really great family has a tree with a colony of bees living in it, and they want the bees safely relocated.

For this call I am performing a Price Trap Out. It's a bit more work than a typical trap out, but it saves the whole colony, including the queen.

Today I reduced the hive entrance, added a tunnel to extend the entrance away from the tree, and added a box for the bees to claim as part of their hive.

By tomorrow the bees will have accepted the box as a new addition to their existing hive, like a brand new enclosed front porch. In a few weeks I will add brood (eggs and larva) from a healthy hive to this box. That will encourage the queen to move in and begin laying eggs. Next step is to add a one way bee escape, so the whole colony will have moved out of the tree and into my box. This can then be safely relocated to my bee yard.

Thank you to the family for calling me, and choosing to save the bees. And a big thank you to my dad for the tools, supplies, truck loan, carpentry skills, and company on a long day in the sun.

04/22/2021

My cousin shared this video with me. This is what I do. If you have an unwanted swarm, or established colony of bees, I will come and relocate them for you. I will save those bees, remove them from your property, and I won't charge you for that service. Plus then if you buy my honey you can say, "my bees made this." Which is a stellar brag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaTgwxeFy2Q

This guy saves bee swarms from being exterminated — sometimes without any protective gear

04/13/2021

FAQ BEE SWARMS, BEE REMOVAL / RESCUE:
-call or message a beekeeper any time you need help or advice about bees.

It's a little too soon in the season to see them, but it's never too early to talk about swarms. Until you know about them, these events can seem really scary, but I'm here to help!

WHAT IS A SWARM?
- Swarming is the way bee colonies reproduce. When a hive becomes too crowded, the nurse bees will start raising a new queen. The old queen signals the older forager bees to get ready to leave, then takes off with about half of the other bees in search of a new home. What we see as a swarm is a queen and the mature bees of the original colony looking for a new home to colonize.

IS A SWARM DANGEROUS?
- No. Though anyone with a severe bee sting allergy should always avoid any contact with bees. A swarm has no bees on guard duty, and has no brood (eggs and larva) or food to protect. Bees in a swarm have their honey stomachs full of honey, which makes them very gentle. It is extremely rare for a swarm to lead to a sting.

HOW LONG DOES A SWARM STAY?
- The bees need to rest sometimes on their mission to find a new home, so they will cluster on a tree branch, or some other safe place for a few hours at most. While the swarm cluster rests, scout bees are out looking for a suitable home. Once a good location is found, and the bees are rested, they will move on.

WHERE WILL BEE SWARMS STAY FOR GOOD?
- Scout bees are looking for a dark, enclosed space with one or two small entrances. Scout bees prefer to select a location with 2-4 cubic feet of space inside. Their favorits spots are cavities in trees, but will happily take up residence inside unused trash bins, the cavity between wall studs, stacked car tires, or chimneys.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SEE A SWARM?
- Leave it alone. It will move on in a few hours.
- Call or message a beekeeper. I will happily come and relocate the bees safely for free

WHAT IF BEES MAKE A PERMANENT HIVE ON MY PROPERTY?
-Call or message a beekeeper. I will come and safely relocate the colony for free.
-If bees have made a hive in the walls of a structure on your property, it is important to have them removed by a beekeeper, and not killed. A dead colony of bees in your walls will attract rodents, and produce mold.

WILL A BEEKEEPER CHARGE A FEE FOR BEE REMOVAL?
- Not usually. Relocating a swarm is usually safe and easy. And removing a colony from a rain barrel, or planter box, or bird house requires no significant repairs.
- There are some circumstances when there might need to be a fee though. If the bees have moved into a space that requires tools to open, and repairs after the bees are removed, then your beekeeper will need to negotiate with you or a contractor about the labour involved. This is worth it though, as a colony of live bees in your walls can be a major problem. A dead colony in your walls is worse, as it will lead to rodents and mold.

04/08/2021

Beauty and the Bees

Every time I visit the bees, my smoker goes out on me. In our family, Kasey has always been the more skilled firemaker. Camping, cottaging, and bee-smoking included. I'm grateful to have such a skilled Assistant To The Regional Beekeeper.