Because bees play a vital role in pollination of crops, it's important to improve diversity of bee populations and ensure there are enough of them to withstand any future threats. Besides pollination, bees provide us with wonderful natural honey too and for many people this is their main reason for keeping bees.
Bees are not just rural dwellers. They can be kept in hives on balconies, rooftops and in city gardens. Keeping bees for honey actually works well on a small scale because overcrowding of populations is completely unnatural – like it is for most species. Honey bees which are mass farmed are more susceptible to disease and parasites.
In order to keep them in good health, it's important to develop an understanding of how the colony works as a complete living entity, and how it interacts with the environment including other living organisms.
There may be legal restrictions in some places that control the keeping of bees.
Hives need to be registered in some jurisdictions. Eg. All beehives in Australia need to be registered. Contact your local Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, or Primary Industries for details.
Locating the Hive
Finding suitable sites for hives is very important. We move our hives from place to place following the blossom so that the bees have a plentiful food supply and make more honey. In some seasons we move the hives every two or three weeks. For those that just want to keep themselves in honey, find the most suitable site and leave the bees to it.
Types of Bees
Not all bees are the same. They are often confused with wasps; but they are not wasps!
Bees belong to several different families and there are a hundreds of different species; but all are related, and share the following characteristics:
- All have hairy legs; aiding in collecting pollen.
- Plumose (feather like) hairs can be found somewhere on the body
- Larvae are normally fed with honey (sometimes called bee bread)
- Many (but not all) have long tongues that are used to eat nectar
The bees that are kept for honey are social, living in large communities, but few other species live in large communities. Most bee species live a solitary life.
Honey
One great characteristic of this natural sweetener is that it can be stored for a long time. When stored properly, it can stay fresh for up to two years without any preservatives or additives.
To help retain its wonderful texture and flavour, it is best stored at cool room temperature away from heat (i.e. heaters or cooking elements) and away from windows that receive a lot of sunlight. Extreme temperatures can cause the honey to change colour and potentially lose a bit of flavour. Kitchen cupboards or pantries work well.
It is best to store honey in glass containers; metal or plastic containers not originally intended for food may cause the honey to oxidise or leach harmful chemicals into the honey. While bacteria don’t grow very easily in honey for the lack of water, it is important that the container has an air-tight seal as honey is very impressive at absorbing moisture and odours.
Unlike many other natural products, there is no need to store honey in the refrigerator, it will just make it more difficult to spread. In fact, refrigeration can speed up the rate at which the honey crystallises. You can know your honey is crystallising when it begins to thicken and hard, grainy looking particles form on the top. This can take place anywhere from three to six months after the containers first opening. Some honeys chrystallise much faster than others, for example, dandelion, clover and lavender honeys are very quick to chrystallise, whereas
Tupelo and Acacia honeys tend to stay liquid for much longer. This physical change is completely natural, in fact, if it doesn’t happen, the honey you’re dealing with mightn’t be natural, unprocessed honey.
Extracts from an ebook being written by our staff in April 2016 - scheduled for publishing later in 2016