Lesson 69: Basic Bee Biology Part I & How To Convince Your Friends To Keep Bees

Hello! We are David & Sheri Burns from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms in Central Illinois where the weather has been freezing!
We have some real nice videos in this lesson. If you received this via Email, and your Email program will not display the videos, you can use this link to view the two videos below: http://basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com
If you are new to our bee lessons, let me say we had a huge request for candy boards from our last lesson. Check out that last lesson if you missed it. Here’s a video showing how I place candy boards on hives that are short on food.

24 hours later, I took these pictures showing how well the bees took to the candy board. You can click on the image for a larger picture. In this picture, taken at 1:30pm January 13, 2010, the temperature was 30.6 (f). Even at 2 degrees below freezing, the cluster loosened enough to feed heavily on the pollen patties and the candy on the candy board. You can see how they have made chewing marks on both. I also noticed that some bees were breaking off the sugar crumbs and letting them rain down on the bees below who were immediately picking it up.  At this point, I am totally convinced that candy boards are a must on all hives in the winter, along with pollen patties. We sell are selling these boards as fast as we can make them. Click Here To Order
In today’s lesson, we’ll do two things. First, I will share how important it is to encourage others to become beekeepers. Then, I’ll teach Part 1 on bee biology and today we’ll look at the eyes of the bees. The better we understand the honey bee, the better care we can give them. Before we jump into today’s lesson, let me say that we are counting down to spring when we will enjoy watching the bees return to normal activities instead of being clustered in a ball in their hives.  This winter is certain to be very hard on the bees. While bees can withstand very cold weather, the longer they are cold and the longer the cold spell is, the greater the chance they might perish.
Here in Illinois we’ve had at least 2 weeks where the clusters have been forced to be extremely tight, unable to move within the hive for more food. Hopefully, by the end of this week, the weather will rise above freezing and allow the clusters to loosen enough to move over to more frames of honey. Today the weather warmed (30 degrees Fahrenheit), so I was out taking a peak and couldn’t believe my bees did so well in the extreme weather.
Here’s a video you’ll enjoy that was from last summer, showing how we find a queen, mark her, place her in one of our shipping cages and then how we add 5 young nurse bees to accompany her royalty during the shipment.

As usual I have many first time experiments underway to test for overwintering, and so far insulated top covers are proving to be winning the race. All hives that have wintered with pollen patties are doing terrific. We produced some outstanding queens last year, and some lines we loved but wouldn’t sell until we tested them for winter hardiness. This winter will be a great test and that line is still doing good so far. If they are winter hardy, then we’ve got a keeper!
It’s January 13, which means in just 3 months we’ll be getting excited about package bees pickup and delivery (with purchase of hive). Usually it is the latter part of April, so around 120 day and we’ll be out of winter and into a new bee season.

It is always paramount this time of the year that I encourage all beekeepers whether new or experienced, to be sure to have all their equipment purchased before April. Otherwise, you might get your bees before you have anything to put them in. Don’t delay. All beekeeping suppliers become overwhelmed with spring orders and shipments are delayed. So by waiting, you could risk having to wait longer for your equipment to arrive.

LESSON 69: Basic Bee Biology & How to Convince Others to Keep Bees.
First, how can we encourage others to become beekeepers? This is so important! The only way we can significantly improve the overall population of honey bees is to increase the number of beekeepers. Let me share three ideas with those of you who presently keep bees.
1. Set a goal, a certain number of people you wish to introduce to beekeeping. It might be one or it might be 10 or 20.
2. Introduce them to beekeeping by sharing how much you enjoy it, and how keeping bees benefits you and your area.
3. Offer to mentor them to help them get started.
4. Invite them to attend local or state association meetings or conferences with you to learn more about bees.

5. Invite them to attend one of our beekeeping classes or a class near you.
Some pointers about introducing people into beekeeping. Be encouraging and positive. Don’t make beekeeping sound worse than it is to prove that you are Rambo. And don’t exaggerate pests and diseases to the point where they think the sky is falling on the bees.
Sometimes we are reluctant to help others get into beekeeping due to a lack of information or help. But as you can see, when you direct your friends to us, we have the advantage of online lessons, real people answering the phones and your friends can receive everything they need from one place, including bees and queens! In fact, we have a lesson gear just toward the new beginner beekeeper. CLICK HERE You can point them to that lesson.
Now on to bee biology! The better we understand the bee, the better we can keep bees. Biology lessons can sometimes become too technical, complicated and seem impractical, so I want to share some bee biology in a way that you will not even know you are in biology class.
Let’s first look into the eyes of the honey bee. I spent an hour today, looking at bee eyes under my microscope. It is awesome to look at a bee under a microscope. How many eyes do bees have? You might be quick to answer two, but they actually have five. On each side of their head they have compound eyes made up of almost 7,000 individual hexagonal sections known as ommatidia. This is very important in helping bees see and evaluate light rays and movement from various flowers. Because of these 7,000 facets to each compound eye, the honey bee can quickly detect motion and movement. In fact, it has been said that if a bee were to watch a movie, they would see it as frame by frame. It would have to be sped up to be seen as we see it. That’s why you should not swat at a bee. The rapid movement is alarming and extremely exaggerated through their sights.
The compound eyes are fixed focus, so for a bee to see letters on a page as we do it would have to be magnified significantly. It is not true that bees are colored blind. They do see in color but not all of our colors, yet they can see colors we cannot, such as ultraviolent colors. They cannot see the color red. To the bee it would only look black or nothing. That’s why we wear red lights when working bees at night. They would be attracted to a white light.
In addition to the two compound eyes, bees also have three additional eyes located in a triangle on the top of their head. They are simple eyes with a single lens. These are the navigational eyes of the bees, the GPS that continually takes readings of the location of the sun’s light rays, allowing the bees to fly with little to no sunlight. These eyes are called ocelli. Just exactly what these three eyes do is still a mystery, but most agree that these eyes are used in orientation.
Thanks for joining us for another lesson today, and we do hope you’ve enjoyed learning about candy boards, how to package a queen, how to encourage others to become beekeepers and more about the eyes of the honey bee.
Here’s our contact information:
PHONE: 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
WEBSITE: www.honeybeesonline.com

Until next time, remember to BEE-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 E. Rd.
Fairmount, IL 61841

Candy Board Follow Up

Our recent lesson on Candy Boards generated a lot of interest, and I’m getting lots of emails telling me that the link did not work to order the candy boards. If you received the Lesson via Email, that link doesn’t work. So here are the proper links:

Candy boards for 10 frame hives. CLICK HERE

Candy boards for 5 frame nucs. CLICK HERE

Sometimes there is a difference in sizes of nucs especially 4 and 5 frame nucs, so let us know what size nuc you are using and we can provide candy boards for your equipment.

If you want to order these from our website, go to www.honeybeesonline.com then click on BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT AT THE TOP and then click on FEEDERS on the bottom row of links.

Thanks!
David & Sheri Burns

LESSON 68: What Do Bees Do During The Winter? & Candy Boards To The Rescue!!

Merry Christmas from David & Sheri Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms!
It is always so rewarding to enter into the Christmas season. For us, it means another year of hard work under our belts, experience gained and hopefulness for another great bee year. Of course, the greatest blessing of all is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We give Christ all the glory for blessing us beyond our imagination.
Sheri and Karee have been making lots of good food and some extra Holiday sweets that are impossible to resist. We had our family Christmas gathering at our home on December 20th, and we enjoyed entertaining 20! Our family continues to grow!
This year we insulated our entire bee building, added on another build room and a paint room. We’ve really been enjoying working in a warmer environment with more room!
We’ve decorated our home with a Christmas tree, lights and other decorations. For a tree stand I use a 3 gallon bucket, stand the tree in it and fill it with small rocks. It holds it really tight and then I fill the bucket full of water. My wife wraps the bucket with a special Christmas cloth.
Because our youngest son is only two, we could not put our gifts under the tree, or little Christian would open them up when our backs were turned. He likes Thomas the Train toys, so he’s got a little Thomas the Train track around our Christmas tree. Battery powered and all, playing Jingle Bells as it goes by. There’s nothing like see Christmas reflected in the eyes of a child. Here’s our family all dressed up for Christmas doing our annual Christmas dance!

Family Christmas Dance

LESSON 68: What Do Bees Do In The Winter? Home Of The Winter-Bee-Kinds!
In previous lessons I’ve talked about how to prepare our hives for winter. Please review those previous lessons if you become nervous about your bees this winter.
But before you become too anxious about your cold bees, let’s gain some comfort from understanding how bees overwinter.
The bees prepare for winter long before we even think about it. In the early spring bees are working hard to store up honey for the long winter months. All spring, summer and fall the bees are making preparation for winter. Their stored honey is their only hope of making it through the winter. They only need 3 pounds of honey per month, provided there is no significant brood to feed. That’s why most hives are doing fine now, in December and January, because with little to no brood to feed, there is food in the hive. However, in January as the days begin to lengthen slightly, the queen begins to lay alittle more, thus requiring more food to feed the larvae. This increases week by week until most hives become stressed in February and March, unable to continue to feed themselves or the larvae and they perish from starvation. Therefore, candy boards to the rescue!
I believe the reason most hives perish in late winter is because they were reserving limited stores of food and therefore reduced their brood rearing. This makes for a decreasing hive in number and a hive that will eventually die out or become so weak that even if it survives into spring, it will not make any surplus honey.
When beekeepers complain of low honey production, their hives probably suffered from low nutrition in December and January when they needed it the most. Now is the perfect time to slap on some candy boards.

Bees do not hibernate during the winter. Instead, we use the word “cluster” to describe what bees do all winter. They cluster together. When I first started keeping bees I remember someone explaining to me that the bees form a ball in the hive and cluster in a ball and stay warm. My first thought was wouldn’t the frames interrupt their ability to form a tight cluster? One year I removed some frames to see if the bees overwintered any better since they could actually form a ball without frames breaking up the cluster. Didn’t make any difference. Heat travels well through the combs and frames even plastic frames. Remember, the bees do not heat up their entire hive like we do our homes. Instead, they merely gain heat from their surrounding sisters. When the temperature outside dips to 50 and below the bees begin to form their cluster. The colder it becomes, the tighter the cluster.

The cluster moves around more when the temperature reaches around 50 outside. At this temperature or higher, they may actually travel to a frame of honey that is around them and carry that honey back to the cluster to feed others. And at temperatures 50+ they will fly outside the hive to finally go to the bathroom (defecate). During the winter, the temperature in the center of the cluster is maintained around 80 degrees and warmer if there is brood. However, toward the outside of the cluster the temperature may barely be above freezing. Cold bees are pulled back into the warmer cluster by warmer sister bees.
I believe my bees do better the more winter fly days they have per month. It seems to me they stay healthier if they can fly one or two days per winter month. But that sometimes never happens here in Central Illinois.
In the cluster the bees stay warm by generating heat by flexing their muscles. To do this, it requires eating honey. The colder they are, the more they will need to eat. But the warmer it is, the more they eat because they’ll want to move around and even fly out. Therefore, we have no choice but to leave 60-80 pounds of honey in the hive for winter, or feed them candy boards or sugar water during the winter. By January and February the bees have made their way up into the top deep hive body. The image shows how we can rotate our two hive bodies in April. But, never rotate the hive bodies unless you are absolutely sure that the entire cluster is in the top deep. Never break up the cluster if they are in both the top and bottom deep. Some beekeepers rotate their boxes too early and put the cluster in the bottom deep away from the upper heat source as heat rises. A cold snap can produce a larger number of dead bees than is acceptable.
Winter-Bee-Kind For Winter Feed For Bees
Winter-Bee-Kind For Winter Feed For Bees

In The summer of 2011 we introduced our Winter-Bee-Kind after several years of studying overwintering hives. We could barely keep up with production they were in such demand. We still make them right here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms but we've expanded our production methods to keep up with demand. So many beekeepers told us that these were the only thing that got their hives through the winter. This year, it's time for the 2014 production year. We even mix the sugar and pollen and right here and pour the candy into the Winter-Bee-Kinds. WHAT IS A WINTER-BEE-KIND? It is a one piece candy board that provides food, ventilation, upper insulation and an upper exit/entrance to help bees remain healthier during the winter. Someone said it insulates, ventilates and feed-i-lates. With the built in upper vent, you don't have to worry about snow covering up your hive's lower entrance. The bees can still go in and out through the top vent spacing. We avoid shipping Winter-Bee-Kinds in hot weather and start shipping each September-March. You can place our Winter-Bee-Kinds on your hive anytime, even in the winter. Because it goes on top of the hive in place of the inner cover, and you are NOT removing any frames, it can be placed on the hive in cold weather. Just do it fast. Open the top, remove the inner cover and place the candy side down and the vent slot toward the front of the hive and you're done. Click here to order your Winter-Bee-Kinds Some form of a candy board has been around for a long time. Beekeepers of long ago placed candy in their hives to provide enough food for their bees to survive the long months of winter. There are various mixtures and receipts for candy boards. Some are made with soft candy and some with hard candy. The end result is still the same. The bees will consume the sugar as they need it. We've always been concerned about the amount of condensation that can develop in the hive during the winter. The bees produce heat within their hive and as the temperature is very cold outside the hive, condensation will develop on the warm side, just above the bees on the inner cover or top cover. This condensation can accumulate and drop down onto the winter cluster of bees below. Bees can stay warm in the winter but they must remain dry. If this cold water drips down onto the bees, it can reduce their ability to keep their cluster warm. The insulation on our Winter-Bee-Kind helps reduce the excessive moisture and even puts some of that moisture to work, as it accumulates on the candy and makes it easy for the bees to consume the sugar. Thus, a Winter-Bee-Kind can help lessen two winter stresses, the lack of food and excessive moisture. We make our Winter-Bee-Kinds with sugar and a healthy amount of pollen powder. Many beekeepers make the mistake of only feeding their bees sugar in the winter, but the bees also need protein which they obtain from pollen. Our Winter-Bee-Kinds come with pollen mixed in with the sugar.. Click here to order your Winter-Bee-Kind today. We recommend that you place candy boards on your hive any time between Oct-March.


Commonly Asked Questions
Q: Which way does the candy face in the hive?
A: The candy faces down just above the winter cluster. Normally, this means that the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the brood box that contains the cluster. For example, if you overwinter your bees in a single deep hive body, the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on this deep hive body with the candy facing down toward the cluster. If you are using two deep hive bodies to overwinter, then the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the top deep hive body. It is best to disregard the use of an inner cover, and simply place your top cover over the Winter-Bee-Kind.

Q: What about winter moisture?
A: Moisture can develop in the winter from condensation, a contrast of the heat the bees produce in the hive and the extreme cold temperature outside the hive. Condensation accumulates on the warm side, which means moistures collects on the inner cover or top cover above the hive. This can drip down on the bees and chill them during the winter. A Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of an inner cover and any moisture that develops from condensation aids the bees in consuming the candy.

Q: How long will a Winter-Bee-Kind last on a hive?
A: On average about 3 weeks. However, a colony that has ample stored honey may not consume the candy board as fast or not at all until they need it. A colony close to starvation may consume a Winter-Bee-Kind within a week or two.

Q: Since Winter-Bee-Kinds are placed or replaced on the hive in the winter, can I open the hive up on a cold day?
A: It is best to place the candy boards on a hive when the temperature is above freezing and try to place the candy board on and have the hive sealed back up within 1-2 minutes. It should not take over 1 minute. Do not remove any frames in cold temperatures, only place your Winter-Bee-Kind on and off quickly. If you can choose the warmest day during the winter, that would be best. Try to avoid very cold, windy or rainy days.

Q: How do I refill a candy board?
A: It is best to send back your candy board and we will refill it for $7 plus shipping. If you are a good candy maker, you can do it yourself.

Q: How do I get one with a pollen?
A: Our Winter-Bee-Kinds contain pollen as well.

Q: Can I make my own?
A: You can, but you must experiment, because you do not want the candy to be too hard or too runny. The exact mix depends on your altitude, heat source and other conditions so it will be different from one location to another.

Q: Why was some liquid sugar dripping out of my Winter-Bee-Kind when I received it?
A: It is the nature of candy boards to be a bit on the dripping side even though the top may be hard. Do not be concerned if you see liquid sugar dripping out of your boards when you receive it. It usually means it was left on end during shipment for a prolong period of time. The bees will clean everything up and enjoy this soft liquid.

Q: How much sugar is in one Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Approximately 5 pounds

Q: When do I put a Winter-Bee-Kind on my hive?
A: Any time! Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb are good months to place on the boards.

Q How often should I check my Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Every three weeks, take a peek.

Q: Do you make Winter-Bee-Kind for 5 frame nucs or 8 frame hives?
A: Yes, check out our website to order, but carefully read the description to make sure you are ordering the correct size and type.

Q: Can the candy break loose from the board on the hive?
A: It rarely happens, but during extreme winter weather, the candy and separate from the board while on the hive. This is not a problem. The bees will continue to consume the sugar.

Q: When I place it on the hive, do I use my inner cover. Just how does it go on?
A: Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of your inner cover. Simply place the Winter-Bee-Kind on the top of your upper hive body or super with the candy facing down, then place your top cover on top of the Winter-Bee-Kind. Be sure to use a rock or brick to make sure the wind does not blow your top cover off. There is overwhelming enthusiasm about our Winter-Bee-Kinds. Click here to order now.

It has been a pleasure being with you today, and from Sheri and David Burns, we do wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
Here’s our contact info:
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 E. Rd
Fairmount, IL 61849
WEBSITE: www.honeybeesonline.com
BLOG LESSONS: www.basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com
PHONE: 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/longlanehoney

Lesson 67: Woodenware Improvements, Pollen Patties, AFB & Mice

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, from David & Sheri at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms! Thanksgiving is one of the holidays that our family enjoys the most. All the women love to cook and all the men love to eat. Sheri and hope you find plenty of reasons to be thankful.
Today, I want to give a lesson on improvements we have made to the woodenware (hives) we sell and how I recommend pollen patties to be used in the hive and why mice are bad for hives during the winter. But first, alittle about what we’ve been doing.
We are enjoying an Indian summer, nice warm days. That should change soon, but we’ve taken advantage of these nice days to try and get our outdoor winter preparation projects finished.
This week , I’ll be moving a bunch of my hives into an area where we had walls of dirt brought in to act as a wind block. Then, I have large, and I do mean LARGE, canvas material that I am going to use to shield the hives. Again, this is somewhat experimental. I’ve never had any better winter survivability when I’ve wrapped in the past, but this time I’m adding more ventilation. So we still have lots of hives to move.
(Remember you can click on all pictures for a larger picture.) We had a new and larger sign made for our farm, and signs for the vehicles. I have been really surprised at how much business those signs have generated.
I was featured in another newspaper. It was a nice article, but the reporter got a few details incorrect on the timing of raising queens. That article really generated a lot of interest and phone calls. Here’s the link if you want to see the article. CLICK HERE


LESSON 68: WOODENWARE (Langstroth & TBH Hives), POLLEN PATTIES & MICE
Woodenware is a term used in the beekeeping community to refer to the actual wooden bee hive, not the colony of bees. There are two commonly used hives today. The most common is the hive that pastor Langstroth designed back in 1851. Pastor L. L. Langstroth was pretty depressed over his ministry and found comfort in his bees. It’s hard to believe that a congregation could sting more than a hive of bees. During his work, he designed discovered bee space, a space measuring around 3/8” that bees would leave as a travel space. With that knowledge he designed a hive known as the removal frame hive. Before that, most bees were kept in skeps and logs.
Another common hive is known as a Top Bar Hive. TBHs are gaining popularity. They are shaped like an upside down triangle. Simply put, the only part of the actual frame used is the top bar. The bees add their comb to the top bar down toward the bottom. Langstroth’s hive is not the perfect design, nor is the TBH.
I’m often asked what I think about TBH. I’ve never operated one, so I may change my mind if I were to use one. But apply some basic beekeeping knowledge and comments I’ve heard TBH folks make, here’s what I think.

The TBH followers claim it is much more natural and usually they are referring to the cell size. Since bees are not using a pre-existing foundation pattern, and some conclude they make smaller cell size. Then, the small cell size proponents claim this helps reduce mites. However, in scientifically controlled assays the results did not show any advantage of small cells comb in controlling mites.
The disadvantages I see with TBH are:
1) In order to inspect a frame, the comb is often attached to the side of the hive and must be cut away to be lifted out.
2) Honey frames cannot not as easily extracted and is often crushed and allowed to drain.
3) Other components are not as available, such as feeders, supers etc.
4) Some state bee inspection rules state that frames must be removable and might not view TBH frames as easy to remove without having to cut the comb.
And I always suggest and encourage new beekeepers to become familiar with beekeeping by using the traditional Langstroth designed hive, and once they have the basic fundamentals under their belt, then they might try a TBH.
We’ll probably one day make and sell TBH but as for now, we are happy with the Langstroth’s hive.

The Langstroth hive has been slightly improved over the last 158 years, but is basically the typical white hives you find sprinkled throughout the countryside, and city backyards.
We enjoy the ease of the Langstroth hive. It is easy to use, compatible with various accessories such as pollen traps, top feeders, frame feeders, entrance feeders, supers, cloake boards, fume boards etc.
Since we are beekeepers, we keep improving upon the way we make our hives that we sell. I want to point out a few of these improvements.

Here’s a picture of one of our deep hive bodies being built. We now place 9, 8 penny nails in one corner. That’s 36 nails in one deep hive box. Holes are predrilled. Also each corner receives a generous amount of exterior glue. Those of you who are wood workers know the strength is really in the glue. But those 9 nails give the box strength especially the 4 nails that are cross nailed.

Also, we’ve hunted and hunted until we’ve finally found the perfect wood we like for our hives. We use a high quality pine. It took us several years to finally locate the perfect wood source. We buy it through our local small town lumber yard. They actually get it out of Indiana. It is strong, dried to our perfection. Knots are small and kept to a minimum.

Here’s a look from the inside of the deep hive. We make our own metal frame rests. Notice how we staple them in from the side not the top. When stapled in from the top, the staples catch the hive tool when scraping off propolis. So we staple the frames rests in from the side, leaving the top smooth. These frame rests allow the frames not to stick to the wood. In other words, a wood frame against a wood frame rest can become so glued together by the bee’s natural bee glue (propolis), that the frame’s ear can actually break. But the frames do not stick as much to a smooth metal surface.
Also, this picture shows the frame rest area that is cut into the front and back pieces just above the metal. Since the board is 3/4” thick, half way through is 3/8”. However, we have widened that cut so that the remaining piece is slightly thicker because historically that has been a weak spot.
We’ve also improved out telescoping top cover in three ways. First, we’ve added a screw at the bottom of each corner. We noticed that beekeepers use their hive tools to prior open the tops when they are glued down by the bees. So we’ve stiffened up the corner with a screw. Secondly, we’ve started using screws to fasten our metal down. Thirdly, we are now using a high quality, painted aluminum for the metal top.
Another improvement that we’ve have made to our hives is the frames. The frames that we now use in our hives are of the highest quality. No knots on the wood used for frames.
Notice in these pictures that wide staples are used, connection points are glued, side bars are a full 3/8 inch, bottom bars are much thicker and ears are tapered up to assist in moving and freeing the frames if the bees use lots of propolis.
The final improvement we have made to our hive is our paint. We’ve always used a high quality Valspar exterior paint, but we’ve added a paint room to our operation. The controlled and consistent drying temperature and humidity has significantly improved the overall paint coverage.

We’ve also listened to our customers and they keep telling us they need an entrance reducing cleat that fits when they have their entrance feeders on in the spring. So we now include two entrance cleats, a large one and a smaller one for use with our entrance feeder.
These improvements require more time in producing your hives, but we feel quality is important. But do remember, that your bees really aren’t impressed at the quality of your hives. Bees are comfortable in old, nearly rotten trees. But the better quality your hive is, the longer it will last so that you can enjoy years of beekeeping.
POLLEN PATTIES
We’ve been asked a lot of questions about pollen patties. I’m sure I’ve address the issue before, but rather than waste time trying to find out, it is faster just to address pollen patties here. WHEN, WHERE, WHAT and WHY?
It is my opinion that the major producers of pollen patties are good and reliable. We sell BROOD BUILDER pollen patties which are filled with pollen, and other minerals and nutrition that is good for bees. You’ll find some beekeepers like some brands better than others.
These are pre-made and come between two pieces of wax paper. Again, I can only share my opinion and experience, but I feel and have found that pollen patties are very beneficial to the overall improvement of nutrition in the hive. Of course, one would expect that the bees would bring in plenty of their own choice of pollen during nectar flows, and they do. So I only use pollen patties in late winter, early spring just prior to a good balance of natural pollen. However, if a beekeeper only has a few hives, it wouldn’t hurt to keep a pollen patty on the hive all year, just in case they need a boost. It will not get mixed into the honey because pollen is kept separate than honey in the hive.
Lay the pollen patties just on top of the frames above where the winter cluster is located. One is plenty, maybe even half of one is enough. Keep an eye on it and when it is almost consumed, add the other half. The bees can move up into the pollen patty on warm days. DO NOT remove the wax paper. The bees will consume it. If you remove it, you’ll find on warm days, the patty can become so soft that it can melt and fall between the frames, and be messy in the hive. So keep the paper on it.
Here’s a friend of mine who has a pollen patty on now that it is fall. You can see they have not consumed much of the pollen patty. You might also notice the Ziploc bag full of sugar water with a few holes on top to help feed the bees. Wonder why they are not consuming the pollen patty?
I found out why. He called me in fear that he might have American Foul Brood. He saw a frame that appeared greasy and spotty. So, I ran out the next day and we examined his hive. Though I have never had AFB, I have examined several frames of it in study of my master beekeeper certification. Spending any extended time in the presence of a frame of AFB makes me nauseous because it smells so horrible.
My friend pulled out the frame under suspect and I’ll let you see it here too. What do you think? Click on the image for a full size picture and see if you know what is wrong with this frame? I’ll give you a minute and then I’ll tell you… His description was accurate. Looks greasy and wet and perforated.
Nothing is wrong! This is a beautiful frame, not of brood, but of bee-bread. Bee bread is a combination of pollen and honey. Take a look at this article on the discovery of what bees do with bee bread:
Scientist solves secret of bee bread from Science News, Nov 5, 1988 by Ingrid Wickelgren
A microbiologist has discovered the microbial ingredients honeybees embed in the nutrient-packed pollen derivative known as bee bread.
Martha A. Gilliam of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Ariz., identified 107 molds, 81 yeasts and 29 bacteria in the bread while she and co-workers sifted through the yellow granules for proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes.
Workers bees newly emerged from the comb must eat bee bread so their glands produce food for the queen and developing larvae, whereas older worker bees -- the foragers -- survive primarily on honey.
"We think bee bread is somewhat more nutritious than regular pollen, but until recently, we weren't sure what happened to it [after the bees collected it]," says Elton Herbert, a research entomologist at the Agriculture Department's Beneficial Insects Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md.
Using standard chemical methods, Gilliam picked apart pollen on its path from plant to hive. She took samples from beeless almond trees, from the carrying basket on the bee's leg and from the combs in the hive.
"We found that as soon as bees touch the pollen on the plant, they are adding glandular secretions, microorganisms and either honey or nectar to make it sticky," Gilliam says. The added microbes produce enzymes that help release nutrients such as amino acids from pollen, and the organisms manufacture antibiotics and fatty acids that prevent spoilage. The bees also remove unwanted microbes from the pollen.
My friend was pleased and overjoyed that his hive did not have AFB, but rather had a good source of bee bread to take into winter and next spring!

MYSTERY PHOTO??????
WHAT IS THAT…..
A friend had this dripping out of the edge of his hive. Anyone want to venture a guess? Most beekeepers can quickly identify it as propolis. Indeed it is as I pinched and smelled it. But the real question is why would it run out of the hive and down onto the cement stand. Email us your answers and we’ll publish them in the next lesson. Email your guess to: david@honeybeesonline.com
MICE
Mice like warm places to overwinter. When nightly temperatures drop and farmers harvest their crops, mice look for shelter. What better place than a warm and roomy bottom board of a bee hive. Dead bees are nicely dropped down for the mice to consume. Often, mice and bees coexists without harming the other. In the spring, mama runs out of the hive with her new family. However, usually what happens is the mouse gets greedy and wants more than just dead bees. They start eating live ones, honey, wax, pollen and begin to move up into the brood next of the hive where the heat and food is and by that time, the mouse will kill the hive. It’s challenging enough to overwinter bees, so don’t over winter mice in your hives.
Usually the entrance cleat is sufficient to deter mice from taking up residency in the hive. Do keep mice out! One year I overwintered a nice number of colonies along with huge families of spring mice. That crop of mice then raised me a nice crop of snakes who stayed curled under my hives waiting for mice. So, since I stopped raising mice in my hives, I no longer have snakes either.
That’s all for now and I do hope you’ve learned a thing or two new about beekeeping. Maybe it’s all new and maybe it all sounds Greek. Don’t despair. We beekeepers just like to rattle on and on about beekeeping. But you can be an excellent beekeeper just by keeping it simple. Bees existed fine before we tried to domesticate them, so rest assured your bees will be very forgiving of your learning curve.

WE ARE NOW TAKING ORDERS FOR PACKAGE BEES ONLINE. CLICK HERE TO ORDER Package Bees

Here’s our contact information

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 East Rd.
Fairmount, IL 61841

PHONE 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
WEBSITE: www.honeybeesonline.com

Until next time, remember to BEE-Have yourself!

LESSON 66: Become a Better Beekeeper Through Books, Conferences, Magazines & Mentorship

We are David & Sheri Burns from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms located in Central Illinois and it is nice to join you for another lesson in beekeeping.

Before we get started today, we are happy to announce that we are now taking online orders for packaged bees!! That's right, interest was so strong, we jumped in a week early. CLICK HERE to order your packaged bees online now. Don't delay too long as last year many people called us too late and we could no longer supply bees.
You can click on all images and enlarge them. Have you ever wondered how we make up packages of bees. Here's a video I took in April outside of Orlando, Florida. We will do it all again in just 5 months. These packages are available for local pickup from our apiary here in Illinois but must be pre-ordered online or by phone.

We spent the summer adding on a new build room to our operation, and it will be a very nice addition to our production of bee hives.
We are already having an unusual increase in orders, which leads me to believe that it will be another year of extraordinary interest in beekeeping.
In our next lesson, I want to share some special and unique touches we have incorporated into our beehives. I can't wait to share those things with you.

And we have a new edition of our Podcast, Studio Bee Live available, so check it out at: www.honeybeesonline.com/studiobeelive.html
One more thought before we jump into today's lesson. Feed your bees on these nice fall days. Use 2:1 sugar water with Honey-B-Healthy. Several days this week will be perfect days to feed bees here in our apiary, and so I've already mixed my syrup. I'm feeding them now with chicken waterers. I do have to modify the opening by placing in a piece of 1/8 hardware cloth to keep the bees from going up into the jar. They will get up into the jar and then they drown. Every beekeeper needs to have a roll of 1/8 hardware cloth available to keep bees either in or out.
As you can see in the picture, since the syrup mixture is so thick, I've started heating mine on the stove to dissolve the sugar. I also add several other spices and such that I've found to be helpful. I will not share my secret receipt, not because it is a secret, but because what I do has not been tested or written up about, but I believe it in. I add a natural mineral and spice along with Honey-B-Healthy.

As you can see, the bees go crazy over it. I did review various scientific research that has been done on this particular mineral to help bees, so that gave me the idea to add it to my fall syrup.
LESSON 67: BECOME A BETTER BEEKEEPING THROUGH BOOKS, MAGAZINES, CONFERENCES & MENTORSHIPS
In most parts winter is setting in, the bees have kicked out all the drones and soon the bees will form their winter cluster. The bees have done all they can do to prepare for winter and we hope as beekeepers we have done our part to help them make it through the winter. There is very little we can do now except wait for spring and see how well the bees go through, what many are saying, is going to be a harsh winter.
But, why waste your time worrying and wondering about your bees! You did a good job as a beekeeper, now relax and use this winter to become a better beekeeper by reading good beekeeping books, which I want to tell you about two books that are really good, and by attending conferences and association meetings where you will find those willing to mentor you along.
First, let's look at two books that I highly recommend. HONEY BEE BIOLOGY AND BEEKEEPING by Dr. Dewey M. Caron. This is an excellent book. With some books on beekeeping, they are either oversimplified or overcomplicated. But this book finds a good balance so that it is helpful to the new beekeeper and to the experienced beekeeper as well. Dr. Caron is Professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware where he was presented the University's Outstanding Teaching Award.
Here's what Dr. Caron says about this book. "My intent is to explain bee and beekeeping basics in a manner meaningful to a person who lacks an extensive background or knowledge of biology. Yet I have not oversimplified bee biology to the point where it is meaningless to the serous beekeeper or informed biologist."
I will suggest where you can purchase this book, but first let me tell you about another great book because you can purchase both books from the same place.
The second book is another book that I highly recommend. "What Do You Know" by Dr. Clarence H. Collison. I met Dr. Collison in August at the Eastern Apicultural Society conference in New York. Dr. Collison heads up the master beekeeping program. Dr. Collison is Professor of Entomology and Head of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. He has also had a column in the magazine, BEE CULTURE, for over two decades.
This book is fun! It allows you to answer questions to see how much you really know about beekeeping, then the next chapter gives you the answers so you can see how well you did and learn the correct answer.
Both books are available at WICWAS PRESS. Dr. Lawrence Connor is WICWAS PRESS. He's an Entomologist and is always on the cutting edge of beekeeping and has a column in the magazine, AMERICAN BEE CULTURE. Contact Larry today and order these two books. You can email Larry at LJconnor@aol.com or call him at: 269-344-8027 or online at www.wicwas.com
These two books will greatly advance your beekeeping knowledge!
BEEKEEPING CONFERENCES
Most state beekeeping associations offer conferences and classes. Most areas have small affiliate beekeeping associations. To find one near you, you should contact either your state's Department of Agriculture or Department of Natural Services. You can also contact your local county extension office. Attending local bee clubs and state associations is a great way to meet other beekeepers, learn from knowledgeable and experienced beekeepers and develop friendships that can turn into mentorships. By subscribing to the beekeeping magazines, you can read all about the conferences, workshops and classes in your area.
BEEKEEPING MAGAZINES
I used to think that subscribing to beekeeping magazines were expensive. But, when you consider the information you gain and how much money that information can save you through better beekeeping practices, it is well worth the investment. There are two major and well known monthly magazines: AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL also know in conversation as ABJ. It's a product of Dadant & Sons in Hamilton, Illinois. The second magazine is BEE CULTURE. It's a product of the A.I. Root company. Both journals provide the latest discoveries. I highly recommend that the serious beekeeper invest in subscribing to both magazines. Click on the links below for more info on each:

AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL
BEE CULTURE
Finally, let's talk about mentors. Every new beekeeper could benefit from having a more experienced beekeeper to lean on. Of course, not everyone who keeps bees is a beekeeper. Some are bee-havers, meaning they just have bees but they have not gained experienced through the above mentioned points of learning. So here's what to look for in a mentor:
1) Has kept bees for at least 5 consecutive years.
2) Attends regular club meetings or state association meetings, classes or conferences.
3) Is well read in beekeeping.
4) Lives near you or has email and you have the ability to email digital pictures of your hives when you have questions.
5) Is willing to help you.
It really is nice, when you first start keeping bees, to have someone that can answer what you might call "silly questions". I think that new beekeepers would enjoy beekeeping faster if they spent the first year being tutored by a seasoned and well informed beekeeper.
Thanks for stopping by for another lesson in beekeeping. Do keep us in mind for all your beekeeping needs.
Click here to order your hives today. Remember two hives are always better than one. If one hive begins to weaken or loses their queen, you can use bees and frames from your other hive to strengthen the weaker hive.
For those of you wishing to drive out and pick up your supplies but not sure of our location, the easiest way to find us is to go to google.com and type Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, then click on MAPS
Here's our contact information:
PHONE: 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
WEBSITE: www.honeybeesonline.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 East Road
Fairmount, IL 61841
Until next time, BEE-Have yourself!
David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms

Lesson 65: Screen Bottom Boards In The Winter? Fall & Winter Feeding

Hello, we are David & Sheri Burns from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms in Central Illinois.
Today, I want to address a few controversial issues about preparing a colony for winter. For example, screen bottom boards are of tremendous benefit in reducing mites in the summer, but should we leave these open for the winter winds? And, what about feeding bees in the winter? How can we feed bees without the sugar water freezing? Before I address these and other issues, let me remind you of our upcoming beekeeping class.
WARNING: There is a push to make beekeeping appear practically hands free. New beekeepers are failing to implement best management practices. I want to be your mentor. I am currently accepting positions to mentor a limited number of beekeepers. You'll have access to my personal cell phone and private email. And you can send me videos or pictures of your hive when it just doesn't seem right or you don't know what's going on. You'll also receive 4 new instructional videos from me and a weekly tip of what you should be doing. Click here to see if spots are still available.













Those of you who have visited us know why we are called Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We live down a long lane, a long gravel lane and with heavy trucks coming and going, our road is constantly full of potholes. So, we added Thomas the Tractor to our arsenal against potholes. A 1958 Case 800 tractor with a front pallet fork and a rear box scraper. I'm a penny pincher. When we first moved here, I had 5 loads of gravel dumped in piles down my lane and for weeks, my son and I used shovels and rakes to smooth it out. I've been working on Thomas for a couple of weeks, repairing hydraulic lines but now the old tractor has joined the work force at the honey bee farm.
LESSON 66: Screen Bottom Boards In The Winter & Fall & Winter Feeding
In a previous lesson, I shared several approaches on how to prepare for winter. In this lesson I want to go into more detail about screen bottom boards and winter feeding.
Screen bottom boards prove to be very beneficial in the summer for reducing mites and for increasing ventilation. But do they pose a threat to a colony during the winter? That's a debated issue. Some cover their screen bottom boards while others leave them open. A few years ago, we did a simple test. We placed covers over 3 colony's screen bottom board and left the others open. We lost all three that were covered. So we always leave our screen bottom boards open all winter. It is our opinion that an open screen bottom board cuts down on excessive moisture. Cold air sinks and warm air rises, so the threat of an open screen bottom board, in our opinion, is minimal.

If your hive is up in the air 6 or 8 inches, then you want to prevent cold wind from curling up and blowing onto the cluster. This can be accomplished by building a wind block around your hive.
Remember, that a winter cluster warms only the cluster and not the inside of the hive. On an extremely cold night, the air several inches away from the cluster will be the same as outside the hive. The bees consume honey, and vibrate by flexing their muscles to generate heat, much like we do when we shiver. That heat is transferred throughout the cluster. They will be able to accomplish generating the cluster heat with or without the screen covered.
WHAT ABOUT WINTER FEEDING?
Many beekeepers allow their colonies to become extremely undernourished. Pollen and stored honey is essential to winter survival of colonies. In the fall, I work to beef up my colonies. It's tricky for me because of the number of colonies in one location. Even an inside top feeder can create a robbing frenzy. In the fall, boardman feeders placed in the front of hives is a certain robbing disaster.
So my approach is two fold. 1) During the fall only, after most nectar is no longer available, I want to prevent robbing, and 2) I want to beef up my colony nutrition for winter.
You can click on the images for a larger view. My approach is simple. I do use boardman feeders, but I place them on stands throughout the bee yard. And on dry days, I pour dry pollen out on the feed stands. My sugar mix is two parts sugar and one part water for fall. I have to make the holes bigger in the lids for the syrup to pass through. I also add one teaspoon of Honey-B-Healthy.
Winter-Bee-Kind For Winter Feed For Bees

In The summer of 2011 we introduced our Winter-Bee-Kind after several years of studying overwintering hives. We could barely keep up with production they were in such demand. We still make them right here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms but we've expanded our production methods to keep up with demand. So many beekeepers told us that these were the only thing that got their hives through the winter. This year, it's time for the 2014 production year. We even mix the sugar and pollen and right here and pour the candy into the Winter-Bee-Kinds. WHAT IS A WINTER-BEE-KIND? It is a one piece candy board that provides food, ventilation, upper insulation and an upper exit/entrance to help bees remain healthier during the winter. Someone said it insulates, ventilates and feed-i-lates. With the built in upper vent, you don't have to worry about snow covering up your hive's lower entrance. The bees can still go in and out through the top vent spacing. We avoid shipping Winter-Bee-Kinds in hot weather and start shipping each September-March. You can place our Winter-Bee-Kinds on your hive anytime, even in the winter. Because it goes on top of the hive in place of the inner cover, and you are NOT removing any frames, it can be placed on the hive in cold weather. Just do it fast. Open the top, remove the inner cover and place the candy side down and the vent slot toward the front of the hive and you're done. Click here to order your Winter-Bee-Kinds Some form of a candy board has been around for a long time. Beekeepers of long ago placed candy in their hives to provide enough food for their bees to survive the long months of winter. There are various mixtures and receipts for candy boards. Some are made with soft candy and some with hard candy. The end result is still the same. The bees will consume the sugar as they need it. We've always been concerned about the amount of condensation that can develop in the hive during the winter. The bees produce heat within their hive and as the temperature is very cold outside the hive, condensation will develop on the warm side, just above the bees on the inner cover or top cover. This condensation can accumulate and drop down onto the winter cluster of bees below. Bees can stay warm in the winter but they must remain dry. If this cold water drips down onto the bees, it can reduce their ability to keep their cluster warm. The insulation on our Winter-Bee-Kind helps reduce the excessive moisture and even puts some of that moisture to work, as it accumulates on the candy and makes it easy for the bees to consume the sugar. Thus, a Winter-Bee-Kind can help lessen two winter stresses, the lack of food and excessive moisture. We make our Winter-Bee-Kinds with sugar and a healthy amount of pollen powder. Many beekeepers make the mistake of only feeding their bees sugar in the winter, but the bees also need protein which they obtain from pollen. Our Winter-Bee-Kinds come with pollen mixed in with the sugar.. Click here to order your Winter-Bee-Kind today. We recommend that you place candy boards on your hive any time between Oct-March.

Commonly Asked Questions
Q: Which way does the candy face in the hive?
A: The candy faces down just above the winter cluster. Normally, this means that the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the brood box that contains the cluster. For example, if you overwinter your bees in a single deep hive body, the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on this deep hive body with the candy facing down toward the cluster. If you are using two deep hive bodies to overwinter, then the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the top deep hive body. It is best to disregard the use of an inner cover, and simply place your top cover over the Winter-Bee-Kind.

Q: What about winter moisture?
A: Moisture can develop in the winter from condensation, a contrast of the heat the bees produce in the hive and the extreme cold temperature outside the hive. Condensation accumulates on the warm side, which means moistures collects on the inner cover or top cover above the hive. This can drip down on the bees and chill them during the winter. A Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of an inner cover and any moisture that develops from condensation aids the bees in consuming the candy.

Q: How long will a Winter-Bee-Kind last on a hive?
A: On average about 3 weeks. However, a colony that has ample stored honey may not consume the candy board as fast or not at all until they need it. A colony close to starvation may consume a Winter-Bee-Kind within a week or two.

Q: Since Winter-Bee-Kinds are placed or replaced on the hive in the winter, can I open the hive up on a cold day?
A: It is best to place the candy boards on a hive when the temperature is above freezing and try to place the candy board on and have the hive sealed back up within 1-2 minutes. It should not take over 1 minute. Do not remove any frames in cold temperatures, only place your Winter-Bee-Kind on and off quickly. If you can choose the warmest day during the winter, that would be best. Try to avoid very cold, windy or rainy days.

Q: How do I refill a candy board?
A: It is best to send back your candy board and we will refill it for $7 plus shipping. If you are a good candy maker, you can do it yourself.

Q: How do I get one with a pollen?
A: Our Winter-Bee-Kinds contain pollen as well.

Q: Can I make my own?
A: You can, but you must experiment, because you do not want the candy to be too hard or too runny. The exact mix depends on your altitude, heat source and other conditions so it will be different from one location to another.

Q: Why was some liquid sugar dripping out of my Winter-Bee-Kind when I received it?
A: It is the nature of candy boards to be a bit on the dripping side even though the top may be hard. Do not be concerned if you see liquid sugar dripping out of your boards when you receive it. It usually means it was left on end during shipment for a prolong period of time. The bees will clean everything up and enjoy this soft liquid.

Q: How much sugar is in one Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Approximately 5 pounds

Q: When do I put a Winter-Bee-Kind on my hive?
A: Any time! Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb are good months to place on the boards.

Q How often should I check my Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Every three weeks, take a peek.

Q: Do you make Winter-Bee-Kind for 5 frame nucs or 8 frame hives?
A: Yes, check out our website to order, but carefully read the description to make sure you are ordering the correct size and type.

Q: Can the candy break loose from the board on the hive?
A: It rarely happens, but during extreme winter weather, the candy and separate from the board while on the hive. This is not a problem. The bees will continue to consume the sugar.

Q: When I place it on the hive, do I use my inner cover. Just how does it go on?
A: Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of your inner cover. Simply place the Winter-Bee-Kind on the top of your upper hive body or super with the candy facing down, then place your top cover on top of the Winter-Bee-Kind. Be sure to use a rock or brick to make sure the wind does not blow your top cover off. There is overwhelming enthusiasm about our Winter-Bee-Kinds. Click here to order now.
Feel free to order your hives for the spring by calling us at 217-427-2678. We take credit cards over the phone, or you can order online by clicking here.
We always appreciate your business, whether it is for your woodenware hive needs, queens, packages, nucs, clothing or extraction equipment, we always appreciate your loyalty.
Here's how you can contact us:
Phone: 217-427-2678
Email: david@honeybeesonline.com
Web Address: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/
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Until next time, remember to BEE-Have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
Fairmount, Illinois

Lesson 64: Why Is Honey So Good For Us?

Hello Friends! We are David & Sheri Burns operating our family honey bee business in Central Illinois where summer seems to be giving way to fall. We've had a few cool nights in the mid to upper 40s so it seems like fall.
NEWS FROM AROUND OUR FARM
Sheri's chickens are laying about 5 eggs a day, not quite enough to keep up with our family's need, but they are just now 20 weeks old. Every day we all race out to the chicken coop to gather up the eggs. I didn't realize until I read up on it that fresh eggs are much better for you than older eggs. Speaking about what's good for us...we all know that honey is good for us. And in today's lesson I want to give you some information explaining why honey is so good for us. Before I start today's lesson, let me continue to bring you up to date on what we've been doing.
I bought an old farm tractor,  a 1958 Case 800 with a front end loader. We are always plowing, digging and hauling things around, so this will be a big help for us. I bought it on Ebay and hauled it up out of southern Illinois last Saturday. It's two years older than me!
Two weekends ago we had a wonderful group at our beekeeping and queen rearing courses we offered at our honey bee farm. We had people here from Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and California. The students were very enthused about keeping bees and raising queens. The weather was great so we were able to spend some time in the hives as well.

Our honey crop was good and we were able to bottle up a good amount of beautiful tasting honey and our customers have lined up to buy it before we run out as they do every year. Our customer's appetite for honey is greater than our bee's ability to keep up with demand.
This will be our last month to produce queens. It becomes much more difficult to produce late queens but this is when so many people want to requeen, in September. Once again we gained so much knowledge and skill in our queen rearing operation. Can't wait until next year!! Where we really need to improve is in overall production of our queens. We have the quality where we want it, but now we must increase quantity. We had to turn away so many request.
on including the location and directions: http://www.easternmobeekeepers.com/meetings.htm
And for those of you who are Studio Bee Live addicts, we are producing more finally! These are broadcast that we produce here on our farm and place on the Internet. These broadcasts are located at: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/studiobeelive.html Check it out!
LESSON 64: Why Is Honey So Good For Us?
Nutritional Value
What's in honey? The actual chemical make up of honey can be slightly different based on the local nectar sources. Typically, honey consists of simple sugars known as glucose (dextrose) and fructose (levulose).
Bees do not gather honey from flowers. They gather nectar which is a sugary substance from plants which is very high in moisture. The bees carry the nectar to the hive and then hand it over to carriers in the hive. These carriers work the nectar droplet. Invertase is added by the bee who works the nectar to help evaporate the moisture from the nectar. This goes on for nearly several minutes and then the nectar is placed in the comb where it dries even more. Bees fan the open cells of nectar to cure it by evaporating the moisture level down to around 18%. Then it becomes honey and is sealed over with a wax cap.
Honey is made up of Moisture (17-18%), Fructose (around 40%) Glucose (around 30%) and other sugars, vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates.
Honey is fat free, sodium free and cholesterol free! Honey does have vitamins like B6 and thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin. Honey contains minerals that are good for us like calcium, copper, iron magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
Antioxidants are also found in honey, such as chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase and one antioxidant that is only found in honey, pinocebrin.

This nutritional information was obtained from the National Honey Board's website.
Honey is the only unprocessed food that never spoils. Sometimes honey will become hard or solid. This natural process is known as granulation or crystallization. For the most part all honey will eventually crystallize over time, but some takes much longer than others. The deciding factor is the type of nectar or floral source from which the nectar was gathered which determines the sugar content.
What causes honey to crystallize or granulate? Since honey is composed of glucose and fructose, this high concentration of the sugar begins to separate out and can then form crystals. Remember that honey is 70% sugar and 20% or less of water. Any small particle such as pollen specs, or even air bubbles will provide a seed for these sugar crystals to begin to grow. We count on this process in making our cream honey. We just grind the seed crystals to be extremely small so it makes the honey feel creamy.
Granulated honey is not spoiled. It can be warmed and most of the crystals can be re-liquefied. Remember, all honey will eventually granulate unless it has been heated to 140-160 degrees and highly filtered to remove all particles. Of course, heating honey damages it by removing or killing valuable enzymes.
Something that often does follow granulation is fermentation because water is forced out of the sugar in the granulation process. This extra water causes the honey to ferment. Natural yeast within the honey will begin the process of turning your honey into mead or alcohol when the moisture level is above 18%.
Honey absorbs water? It will absorb it from the room you process it in. That's why I keep my processing room around 30-35% humidity and dry my supers 3 days before I process the honey. I've never had a fermentation issue.
What is the shelf life of honey? A long time! Do not put it in the refrigerator. It is fine left at room temperature.
Many people including myself use honey on skin injuries. I recently spoke with a hand surgeon and he explained to me that honey can keep a wound very moist to aid in healing yet kill bacteria. Honey kills bacteria because it is hygroscopic. This means that honey absorbs moisture from bacteria that tries to grow.  This is why honey is such a safe food to eat no matter how long it has sat out, maybe centuries!
Thanks for joining me today, and I really enjoy preparing these lessons each week.
I want to remind you that we manufacture our own hives, built to our own specifications because we are beekeepers. Please check out our website at: http://www.honeybeesonline.com for all the honey bee products we carry including hives!
I always welcome you comments or suggestions on future lessons and I also appreciate it when you pass these lessons on to others.  You can encourage your friends to sign up to receive these directly via Email.
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Here's our contact information:
PHONE: 217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
WEB: www.honeybeesonline.com
Until next time Bee-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 East Road
Fairmount, IL 61841