Our first encounter with honey bees were a long time ago, probably in Africa. Someone discovered - presumably simultaneously -, that these tree-dwelling insects a sweet, sticky substance in contrast to all other produces, and that she had in their tails.
If fire portable was, discovered, that someone else smoke bees robs accessible to more caused. Some time later found a further to settled trunk, they could to climb bees in baskets or pots, the she rescued the trouble on trees, around the honey to house, and the craft of apiary was also born. Pots, baskets and protocols further in use since many centuries, and during competent beekeepers would have understood a good deal for the behavior of their contactor Linge, remained the inner secrets of the beehive of observers until the end of the 18th Century closed, when a blind Swiss with the name François Huber they Found by the medium of his faithful - and seeing people - servant Burnens. Hubers New observations about the natural history of the bees remains a classic to this day.
Around 30 years later in January Dzieraon Hubers developed experimental hive further on the first really practical, movable frame to create bees floor, and shortly afterwards in 1852 publishes Rev. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth and patented his own version. So was his talent for Advertising and Marketing, that the "Langstroth 'and was remains the standard-Hive in the U.S. and the model, on the are based most other variants.
However, this type of the bees floor is expensive to buy, very difficult for amateur Wood Workers to build - needed because of the exact dimensions and many small components for frame - requires constant maintenance, caused great restlessness into the life of the bees, and is difficult and unwieldy in use . Many women, especially, were needed from beekeeping from the weight lifting, to put honey from a beehive reap Langstroth-Type, and hernias are at the agenda among commercial beekeeper.
In Nepal honey-hunting is always still of men descending cliffs on ropes and with long poles, in order practiced to displace of comb pieces. We can derive of of their longevity - Somewhere else are bees in skeps, baskets, pots, cavities in walls and other containers from local materials and developed always more or less well suited both for the bees and for their holder. Was the top bar hive as an "intermediate-technology-solution In Africa, probably the original home of the honey bee, in the location is using local materials and abilities and is essentially a beekeeper-friendly hollow tree trunk, with the advantages developed of movable combs , but without the need for machine-made parts.
Independently of the accommodation we offer them have our meeting with bees always a process of the negotiations, when also something unilaterally. We can to protect us before them, but they. Ultimately no protection before us The encroachment of the chemical agriculture, deforestation and urbanization have reduced their natural life space, during liberates toxic cocktails of insecticides their flowers have poisoned.
The honey bee is come to be seen as "canary in the coal mine 'of our civilization and they shows early warning signs of their impending demise, when we urgently need to pay attention.
Our challenge it is now, too new negotiate, our relationship with bees: we must learn, protect and maintain they, rather than simply to exploit, and we must learn, what they need, to hear from us. The process of discovery, how we do most effectively, that the project that have I and others set ourselves, and we hope, that many more will to join us and wear these works is.
We recognize the paradox in the phrase "natural beekeeping": Once we keep "bees keep, we begin of what really" of course "get lost In nature only bees keep bees..
In order be as "natural", our beekeepers-practice must take into account to:
the natural shoots and the behavior of the bees, including - Foraging, swarms, the storage of food and defend their nest
such as hive design acts bees
the suitability of materials are used in hive construction, including considerations of sustainability
the type and frequency of the interventions
the effects a localized increase of the honey bee population to other types of pollinators
the balance between honey harvest and of the bees own needs
the nature of any additional inputs - medications, feeding
We are located us in a process of work in direction of the ultimately unattainable to phrase completely "of course" Beekeeping busy while the realization that the bees go their own way independently of our wishes. Our relationship with them is, that the moderator or less instead of "Holder". We could say, that the role of natural beekeepers, so that our bees around the complete as possible expression of their bee-happyness, during is too reach in our care.
Our ultimate goal in natural Beekeeping is, to reach a state of sustainability: Balancing-and outputs, so that our activities to expand, rather than damage the health of our bees, other species and the planet.
To really be sustainable, a system must be, so close to carbon-neutral as it may be, require no synthetic inputs and without any negative effects on the natural environment. So, if we continue to are to have a relationship with honey bees, we must superior to, have what effects current practices and beekeeping, how our "natural" approach searches to improve on this state of the things.
A typical commercial beekeeping is a real energy guzzlers. Lumber - the not possibly come from sustainable sources - is cut into slices and milled by driven machinery before installation in hive-boxing, which are transported on the road, on water or rail in order further on the street, their beekeeping distributed around Locations . Regular visits by beekeepers need petroleum-derived fuel and more is needed to the boiler fire, in order heat the considerable amounts of water for sterilizing woodwork and washing off de-cappers, Puller, tanks and soils required. More power is needed, to retrieve the harvest, in order to extract they and to mix and distribute the sugar syrup for the bees the survival needed after the removal of their shops. Honey must then filtered, are bottled and distributed to wholesalers and from there to retailers. Meanwhile the beeswax is with steam or boiling water, cleaned and filtered and out to be melted again and won to a leaf basis, the sent then sold back to the beekeepers for pasting into framework of the next Season.
Wandering beekeepers in the USA truck-sticks of the thousands clear across the country for the almond-Pollination, during in the United Kingdom this type of activity is today largely restricted among hives up to the moors in August for the heath harvest, and some fruit garden pollination work.
Through the, what one than the Langstroth hegemony can, these whole scenario shall be adopted also in Miniature of amateur-beekeepers who imitate largely the activities her commercial brothers. You can only a few hives on the floor of their gardens, but in most cases they have taken into account no alternative to the expensive, energy-hungry equipment from the shiny catalogs of the beekeepers suppliers.
We know that bees not much more than a dry, ventilated cavity in which build their nest. Instead, insist "modern" beekeepers on supply with a crate full of wooden frame, in which the sheets made of wax, helpful ready imprinted with oversized "workers-bee 'hexagonal cell bases are mounted. A newly hived-bees swarm must be surprised in fact, so much for them done: ready-made comb bases were hanging in rank and file, with spaces around them for the access - what for a blessing for a busy colony!
But what at first glance seems be a great convenience, also has some considerable disadvantages. All these printed cells are the same size, but all, the natural comb has observed, white, that cell vary sizes considerably, and indeed not only between workers and drones: worker In cells themselves vary in diameter according to the rules only bees are consciously. All these dead-straight frames can look neat, but bees not build dead-straight comb - they want a gentle curve here and there. And if you build bees natural comb in an unlimited space to see, they hang in chains, legs linked, as if about the dimensions of the comb in space, how they work about their own heads - something that they can not do on basis.
Such a good Deal the so-called "modern 'apiculture - in fact almost unchanged since the middle of the 19th Century - is untenable from our perspective, than also than a nuisance for bees. In relation on the honey harvesting, it is clearly a improvement on tree trunks and skeps, but in terms on the health of bees and energy efficiency, it a disaster has proved to.
The task of the natural beekeepers is it, to find ways of interaction with bees, the are really sustainably, both for the bees themselves and the planet.
In The Barefoot beekeepers, I have proposed, to consider the following three simple principles for the "natural" beekeepers:
Disturbances in the natural life of the bees is reduced to a minimum.
Nothing is placed in the floor, the be known to be or probably harmful either to the bees that is taken us to lose or the environment in the further senses and nothing out that the bees can not afford.
Know The bees, what they do: our task it is, listen to them and offer optimal conditions for their wellbeing, both within than also outside of the beehive.
These principles seem to me a solid foundation for our thinking about how we are approaching to form bees and Apiculture. Once we about these basic principles step and try further in order to define the parameters, we find us to begin in danger, to create a 'Book of rules ". And it needs not much search on all over the world to see today, how-separating and destructive other "Books of rules" been.
"Natural", "balanced" or "sustainably 'apiculture - what name we give it - is a process, no goal. We must remain flexible and always on the search for ways to to improve our techniques, so that everything is offered in this sense in this book: clues about what seems to work, always with the possibility, that there is still discovered even better opportunities be, or - more likely - newly discovered, since is really nothing new in the Apiculture.
Seen historical, we have begun, our relationship with bees, if someone discovered, that the taste of honey was worth it to harvest cost the pain. We were honey-hunters, and while it were only few of us and many of them this was sustainably.
If someone discovered, that it was possible, protection to offer honey bees during they their honey made, and then they kill from, order to about fall their shops, we were beekeepers, and while it was only a few beekeepers and many honey bees, also the sustainably.
Then someone has invented,, to kill a way leading to house bees, which not demand they, but the people allowed, to Manage and to control, to a certain degree, mediation things so, such as they than in the production more honey for their masters for themselves to cheat, and we was bee farmers. And that was sustainable for a while, because there were still many of them, and although it also many of us, we could their procreation to manipulate so, to make more of them than we needed.
Now it has become clear that we gone too far, have begun for bees, from diseases that in the old days were as good as unknown affected, and they have be given medications in order they keep alive. And because a whole industry has themselves gezüchtet around the agriculture of that bees, and there are a lot money on the game stands, Beekeeper have been slow, to change their habits and many could not do such a, out of fear before the insolvency, and so become the health of the honey bees worse and they are subject of the parasites and viruses, which themselves never the trouble they. in the past
Meanwhile, we have forgotten how to foods in the manner, that we had done once grow, because we do not more inclined, working on the fields, and instead developed clever ways, order to support the earth more grain. We poured fertilizer on our fields and killed off uncomfortable creatures with "pesticides" - defined a whole class of living beings than our enemies and therefore dispensable. This was never sustainably, and never can be.
And that is, where we to find us today, and that is the problem, which we: bees have weakened themselves through exploitation and of a poisonous agricultural system, connected with the expectation impossible continuous economic growth.
As "natural beekeepers is restore our most urgent working for the bees in their original, healthy condition,. We understand ourselves as' guardians' within the meaning of promote 'and support to" and not "enslave". We must try, the protection and preservation of the honey bee through the work in their natural ability, not constantly she urged to a always stronger production. We must demand the whole agricultural and economic system, which prompted us, has arrive at this point, because without Change on a this level, the Future for us and the bees is grim.
We can make a Start after restoration of the natural,-violent ways of the cooperation with bees: neither we nor they have no need of routine or prophylactic 'treatments' with synthetic antibiotics, fungicides or miticides. We need not operate to "honey factories - we can us with the provision of accommodation for bees in return for everything, what they can afford it, to give us content In some years this can to be at all nothing, during gives in others a. may be abundant harvest. This is Nature: bees do not depend honey for her survival, we....
