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| bliss |
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| kofi with a toy helicopter i found tumbled in the rocks after a storm |
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| pinky-toe flower |
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| wenesday in a picture |
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| pig cooling-resting in a gutter-ditch at the anatto bay vegetable market on friday |
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| saturday's smoki kofi |
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| our first experiment with using tweezers to pull out the de-capped brood to check for mites quickly ended with the conclusion that we need smaller tweezers |
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| the bzz are doing great, we're starting to see eggs in the drone cells and capped sugar-honey, the signs of an artificial swarm to be triggered, time to cease the supplementary feeding (joshua helped us until he got stung) |
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| grounded |
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| balanced |
The past few days have been a blur of smoky dreadlocks, sea salt stars and dog-eared books.
Hi, My name is Charlie and your grand mother is friends with my wife through Quilting and I am a fellow New Yorker from LI. I'm the guy that your grandmother got the Bee suits from. I have read all of your blog writings and find them interesting. I have some comments, you mention angry bees in some hives, which is normal, but is Jamaica also a place where Africanized Bees are present which would account for angry Bees? Also, here in NC I started using Hive entrances that were only 1/4-3/8" high and only about 2-3" wide, which prevents intruders such as mice and other varmints from entry. You mentioned avocados being pollinated by honey bees. I got started into beekeeping hoping that a grove of avocados that I owned and lived on in CA would help pollinate the trees. I never saw a honey bee on any flower ever. I was told that the avocado tree or flowers are self pollinating?? Help me here is that true?? Sounds like you are having fun. Do you think that being deaf is an advantage over having hearing while working the hives?? Maybe when you return to NC I could get you to give the Surry County Beekeepers a little lecture on beekeeping in Jamaica??
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting reading
Hello Charlie!
DeleteI just asked Agape if there's any Africanized bees here and as far as she knows, they aren't here in Jamaica. Some of the colonies are just much more aggressive due to genetics. I hope to start observing and comparing a calm-mannered hive to an aggressive one and see if there is any difference in colony build-up, health and honey production. Supposedly aggressive hives are cleaner, healthier and stronger than the docile ones, which makes sense to me but will see.
I did some quick re-search on avocado pollination and it seems that avocado flowers have low attractiveness to honeybees (especially when there are other competing sources around that provide the bee with more resources than the avocado). Source: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/PC_91826.html#ref5. Perhaps that's why yr bees didn't pay much attention to the avocado?
As for avocados being self-pollinating, it seems that for best production you want cross-pollination between two cultivar flowers but it is not necessary... so perhaps they are? Source: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/calif/msg0721100618354.html
Being deaf while working the hives has been a delightful experience for me. I am much more grounded and calm and focused while working the hives. I notice certain scents, movements and vibrations that indicate the hive's temperament rather than hearing their hum like most hearing do.
I would love to speak to yr group about my experience with natural beekeeping in Jamaica, could send me an e-mail with more information (katgrrrrrl at gmail dot com)?
Thank you so much for reading and stopping by with your thoughts! If you have anymore suggestions or questions, I'd love to hear them!
Yrs,
Kaat
P.S. - Thank you for the bee gear, the jacket is being well used!
Hi kristi. Your pictures are just beautiful. Miss you Clohe sends her love. She is doing great. Glad you and charlie got in touch.
DeleteYou're pictures are BEAUTIFUL Kristi! You sound like you are learning so much and really enjoying the experience. What a great opportunity with Charlie! Miss and love you!!
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