Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Ahh Vacation...



The Isner's have been having a great time away.

This is just a little piece of paradise.


Just lovely.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Small Hive Beetle Worms

Well I know this is not a pretty picture, but someone was asking about Worms in the Hive.

So I found a lovely picture o fSmall Hive Beetle Worms, we had one show up once a couple of years ago 

and I recall I totally freaked out!


Yuck!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Iowa State Fair

Mark Lantzakis is enjoying the midwestern bees!





Looks like a lot of fun to me.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Better than a Sting

Tom Flebotte got some great ink!

I am not that brave for sure.

 It looks just awesome Tom!

Friday, August 14, 2015

Beeing Grateful

A huge THANK YOU for all the happy workers at last nights meeting.

We couldn't have done it without you all and in record time!



Those sweet packages of honey candy are all ready for happy folks at the Big E.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

HCBA August meeting

August 13th, Thursday at 7pm

WHIL in Chicopee, MA

This is our honey candy packaging night, so don't miss out on the fun!

We will also have the labels for those who are selling honey this year.

Many hands make light work, just like in a hive..well not hands there but you know what i mean.

Come package those delicious honey candies,enjoy some lemonade and pizza and some treats.

Oh yes, and to add to the fun we will have a hard copy for Big E shifts to add to the mix.

See you there!



Saturday, August 8, 2015

That Darn Mite!

Mark Lantzakis took this up close picture...then...found an interloper..pesty little things on such a beautiful bee.

Thanks Mark!


Friday, August 7, 2015

Bees with attitude

Some reasons bees act the way bees do.

A•Bee•Cs Beginning Beekeeping BEE-ATTITUDES You’re causally strolling the back 40 when, bam! Out of nowhere a stinger pierces your right cheek. Someone’s got a bad attitude! Attitudes of honey bees vary dramatically dependent upon environmental conditions and seemingly astrological positions of the celestial bodies. In other words, no one is really certain what the colonies occupants are considering at any one specific point in time. There are general guidelines though. I suggest we all bee-aware and attempt to understand and honor the BeeAttitudes of a hive. BAD BEE-ATTITUDES 1. Bees bouncing off your veil (warning you to keep a safe distance) may be caused by: • Bumping or moving hives • Using an overabundance of smoke • Smoker fuel which is petroleum or wax based (cardboard) • Leaving colonies open too long • Inclement, cold, violent or unsettled weather • Dropping frames • Queen-less hives or those housing a failing queen • Toxic chemical applications • The aftermath of skunks severely depleting bee stocks • Diseased colonies • Too much perfume or deodorant • Human breath • Cigarette smoke: evidently hives don’t have non-smoking sections • You! When you haven’t greeted them properly—smiling while snapping a ‘selfie’ 2. Bees aggressive behavior (with major stinging) may be caused by: • Hives targeted by vehicles or pelted with foreign objects cast by bored or drunken joy-riders • Cavorting cows knocking hives over in their quest for the perfect back scratcher • Honey flow dwindling If you have a question you would like to share, email it to Editor@KelleyBees.com by Phill Remick

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Hotels are Buzzing!


Buzz worthy: 5 top luxury hotels that have taken up beekeeping



(CNN)What do London's Buckingham Palace, New York's Whitney Museum of American Art and the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris all have in common?
They're all keepers of honeybees, part of a growing collection of bee-friendly landmarks around the world.
In recent years, global hotels have joined the urban bee-keeping trend too, bringing their own honey direct to their tables.
That's good news, considering the well documented decline in the bee population in certain geographical areas, notably North America and Europe.
A number of factors, including disease, pesticides and habitat degradation are attributed to diminishing bee numbers, and the losses are significant.
September is St. Ermin's Hotel's annual honey month, when its house-made amber nectar is celebrated through food and cocktail menus. During the same month, the hotel also hosts an urban beekeeping workshop with their expert, Camilla Goddard of Capital Bee.These sweet creatures are the globe's most prolific insect pollinators, whose combined annual economic value to agriculture worldwide is estimated at $167 billion.
Here's a look at five top luxury hotels creating a buzz in their local communities.

Waldorf Astoria New York

On a rooftop 20 stories above Park Avenue, some 360,000 bees produce more than 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of honey, harvested annually, which not only finds its way into the hotel's menus, but also into treatments at the hotel's Guerlain Spa.
"It is an important statement about our concern for the environment, it is educational for our culinary team, and it provides fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers throughout our hotel," says David Garcelon, director of culinary at Waldorf Astoria New York.
With home-harvested honey, the hotel created Waldorf Buzz beer last year in partnership with the Empire brewing Company; a yet-unnamed new brew with lemon verbena and hops from the on-site garden is slated to be launched this fall.
Twice weekly, the hotel's Historical Tour stops off at the garden to see the hives and its more than 60 types of herbs, fruit, vegetables and edible flowers.
On the menu: The "Wax Poetic" and "Leaves of Grass" cocktails at Peacock Alley lobby bar and restaurant are both made with Zubrowka bison grass vodka and house-made honey syrup.
Waldorf Astoria New York | 301 Park Avenue, New York City, NY 10022 | +1 212 355 3000

Mandarin Oriental, Paris

Paris has been a pesticide-free zone for the past 10 years, making the French capital an attractive urban environment for honey bees.
With the help of local organization Apiterra, 50,000 bees reside at the MO rooftop beehive, with last year's sweet haul totaling 25 kilograms.
Guests who can't get enough of the ooey, gooey and very sweet syrup (in the words of Winnie the Pooh) offered through the hotel's F&B menu can opt into the hotel's eco-initiatives -- such as reusing towels -- to receive a jar of honey to keep.
On the menu: The "Homemade Honey" cocktail at Bar 8 is made with Yuzu liqueur, jasmine tea with ginger, Champagne and house-made honey.
Mandarin Oriental, Paris | 251 Rue Saint-Honore, 75001 Paris France | +33 1 70 98 78 88

W Taipei

Following a good eight months of prep work, W Taipei became the first urban beekeeping establishment in Taiwan when it opened up its 32nd floor rooftop to host some 150,000 busy bees in partnership with Syin Lu Social Welfare Foundation.
After six months and two harvests from the Sweet Reward program, the bee colonies were moved to another downtown building as part of the foundation's larger urban beekeeping project.
Whatever honey the hotel chefs and mixologists don't purchase from Syin Lu, the foundation (which produced more than 800 kilograms of honey in the first half of the year from 94 hives) either sells or produces soaps with it in their factory manned by disabled workers.
On the menu: The "Detox Martini" cocktail at WOOBAR is made with green tea-infused Belvedere vodka, Grand Marnier, orange juice, yuzu juice, house-made honey and Sprite.
W Taipei | No.10 Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei 110 Taiwan | +886 2 7703 8888

Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver

From May to September, Fairmont Waterfront guests can join a daily tour of the apiary and rooftop garden with a resident bee butler.
The pioneer of in-house honeybee production and supporting global bee health is Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, whose Bee Sustainable program comprises honeybee apiaries at more than 20 properties across the world.
"By building more than a dozen luxury bee hotels from coast to coast, we are doing our part to build a more sustainable world," says Jane Mackie, Fairmont Brand vice president.
In June this year, the Fairmont Waterfront became one of the first hotels in the group to build a solitary pollinator bee hotel (aptly named Bee & Bee) designed to give busy bees a break between pollination missions.
The hotel also hosts 500,000 resident honeybees in the 195 square meter herb garden on the third floor terrace, which forage over 67 square kilometers and 60 different plants (particular favorites being the pollens from blackberry blossoms and American bamboo blossoms).
From May to September, guests can join a daily tour of the apiary and rooftop garden with a resident bee butler (and have a sneak peek at the bees from the observation hive). Guests can also request to go on a Pollinator Corridor Walk through the city with Hives for Humanity's Julia Common.
On the menu: The "Waterfront Bee's Knees" cocktail at ARC Bar is made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, lemon juice, house-made honey syrup and topped with Earl Grey tea foam.
Fairmont Waterfront | 900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3L5 Canada | +1 604 691 1991

St. Ermin's Hotel, London

St. Ermin's has been keeping bees for some four years now, first on the main rooftop and later expanding the installation to include a specially planted wildflower terrace where a new bee hotel -- the first hotel in the UK to have one -- now resides.
The hotel had their own honey analyzed, with results showing their bees gather nectar from over 50 different plants and trees within their three-mile forage radius (which includes Buckingham Palace Gardens and St. James' Park).
September is the hotel's annual honey month, when they celebrate their house-made amber nectar through all of the food and cocktail menus. During the same month, the hotel also hosts an urban beekeeping workshop with their expert beekeeper, Camilla Goddard of Capital Bee.
On the menu: The 'Bowler Hat' cocktail at Caxton Bar is made with dry vermouth, London gin, raw house-made honey and lemon juice.