Bee Conservation and Ecological Beekeeping

Permaculture Chemical Free Beekeeping

The addition of bees to a homestead system can provide many benefits beyond honey production, including pollination, education and outreach, and the creation of windbreaks and privacy screens. By using small cell bees, which are healthier in this system, and reducing the weight of hives by using five-frame mediums, even children can participate in working with the bees without protective gear.

Edible windbreaks, such as Nanking cherry and comfrey, provide food and medicinal resources for humans and animals, while also reducing flight paths for bees. Grazing animals like goats and sheep can help maintain grass and clover around the hives, reducing the risk of pests like ants and hive beetles. By stacking these functions, the bee yard becomes a multi-purpose space that supports the overall homestead system. Inspections can ensure the health of the hives, and natural treatments like solid acid made from comfrey leaves can…

Creating Bee-Friendly Habitats

The article discusses the importance of bees in gardens and allotments and how their populations have been negatively impacted by the loss of flower-rich grasslands in Britain. However, there are simple things gardeners can do to help bees, such as planting nectar and pollen-rich flowers and avoiding disturbing natural nest sites. It is also important to avoid using pesticides and to leave lawns or grass areas a little longer between cuts to allow bee-friendly plants like clover and knapweed to flower.

Bee hotels or bird boxes can also be put up to provide nesting sites for different bee species. Becoming a beekeeper is another option, and urban beekeeping is on the rise. By taking these simple steps, gardeners can help transform their patch into a bee haven and support the important role bees play in pollinating flowers and producing fruit.

Video Summary:

- Bees play an important…

Organic Beekeeping

Jakob Warner is a beekeeper and permaculture consultant based in Missoula, Montana. He grew up working with bees and started his own side business, Sapphire Apiaries, which focuses on organic, natural and traditional beekeeping practices. He also offers consulting services for permaculture design and earthworks.

Warner emphasizes the importance of using a smoker when working with bees, even if it may not always be necessary. He suggests using burlap as a smoker fuel since it is natural, easily accessible and easy to light. When working with bees, Warner advises standing to the side of the hive to avoid blocking their entrance and minimizing the time spent in front of the hive.

Warner discusses the issues related to harvesting honey from hives and stresses that beekeepers need to be careful not to take too much honey away from the hive, especially in the first year of a new hive's…

The Power of Pollinators

The United States alone has 2.8 million honeybee hives, which equals to more than 50 billion honeybees flying around farms and residential areas every summer. However, settlers from England brought the first honeybees to North America in 1622, even though the continent already had more than 4,000 species of wild bees. Many of these wild bees' species are solitary, meaning that they live and work alone.

Wild bees come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and are crucial to the pollination process, with more than 80% of all plant species relying on animals to move their pollen from flower to flower. Bees are the best pollinators, and even though honeybees are the most talked-about, wild bees can be just as effective. Unfortunately, bee populations around the world are dwindling due to human impact. In 2017, the rusty patched bumblebee became the first North American bee species…