All We Are Saying, Is Give Bees a Chance...

Give bees a chance: Nine-year-old girl finds insects have made PEACE sign on honeycomb in father's apiary

• Nine-year-old Meesha Benefer found peace symbol in her honeycomb
• Symbol created by bees at the family bee farm in Leeds, West Yorkshire 

By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE

A nine-year-old beekeeper was astonished to find that the insects in her father's hives had made a peace sign on a honeycomb.

Meesha Benefer, nine, found the symbol made by a colony at her father's bee farm in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Her 38-year-old father Peter, who runs the beekeeping business on the side with the help of his young daughter said he was 'totally taken aback' when Meesha found the peace sign. 

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Buzz for peace: Meesha Benefer, nine, found a peace symbol in the honeycomb in her bee hive

Keen apiarist Meesha made the astonishing discovery while helping her dad at Benefer's Bee Farm in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Meesha said: 'Every Saturday me and my dad go to the hives to check on the bees and always hope to see honey building up in the comb.

'It means I have to pull the big heavy frames out and if we are lucky and its the right time of year, we drain it together to collect honey to sell and  have it in our porridge for breakfast.

'Last Saturday I was pulling out one of the frames and noticed there was a weird sign on one side.

'I thought it was the Volkswagen sign because I'd seen it before on my Grandad's car. But Dad was really amazed and said the circle with the three lines inside meant world peace.'

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'Pollen' their leg: Meesha first associated the sign with that of Volkswagen, but was told of its true meaning by her father while they worked at the family bee farm

The father-daughter team have been running Benefer's Bee Farm for three years, and balance it on the side of schoolwork and Mr Benefer's job in recruitment.

Mr Benefer said: 'I was totally taken aback by the symbol that one of our colonies left in the honeycomb.

'Bees are known to be highly intelligent creatures and have very sophisticated means of communicating to each other.

'Obviously this is an incredible coincidence - but I have to say a little bit of me did wonder if they were trying to leave us a message.'

The avid aphiarist who spends his free time with daughter Meesha reading up on honey bees' behaviour, said: 'I've read all sorts of incredible things bees have been known to do, but never anything like this.

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Family buzz-ness: Meesha and father Peter Benefer, 38, found the symbol while working on their apiarist business, Benefer's Bee Farm

'I've read lots of those stories about people seeing Jesus' face in slices of toast and their dead relatives in naan breads and whatnot, and I've always thought they're just a ploy for attention seekers.

'But when I saw this there's no way someone could have created that.

'Bees fill each cell in a piece of comb with honey and cap it off, but sometimes a few holes or large patches will just get missed and left uncapped.

'I'm amazed the they've missed out all the cells to make any sort of picture at all, let alone one which has a deep significance.'

Meesha, who stays with Peter at weekends after her parents separated, said they have kept the honeycomb to put in a frame on her bedroom wall. 

Peter added the two would continue to run their farm in the Headingley area of Leeds, which produces honey for the city's Double Tree Hilton hotel.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: MAILONLINE.COM

Beekeeper Wears 100 Pounds of Bees!

Don't sneeze! Beekeeper wears 100 pounds of bees!

Whatever you do, don't sneeze.

Beekeeper She Ping of Chongqing, China, managed to stand still while 100 pounds of bees (approximately 460,000 stingers) swarmed and crawled over his body, according to local media reports cited by Reuters andAgence France-Presse.

And, yes, he did it on purpose. What can we say? The man loves bees.

The feat was accomplished with queen bees. The queens drew hundreds of thousands of worker bees toward the intrepid She. Helpers used incense and smoke to keep the bees away from the beekeeper's face until he was ready. We're willing to bet She buys his aloe by the gallon.

As for why She subjected himself to hundreds of thousands of swarming bees with the potential to leave marks, it was all done in the name of commerce. He told AFP that although he was "very nervous," he did it to promote his honey.

"It hurt but I didn't dare to move," She told AFP.  "The main preparation is avoiding taking a shower, especially avoiding using soap because it can excite the bees," he said.

Here he is after the 40 minute endeavor. He told AFP he was stung more than 20 times. Not fun. But 20 stings from 460,000 bees? That's not a bad ratio.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS

Urban Beehive...

PHILIPS URBAN BEEHIVE

Most of the time you think of beekeepers as living out on large farms, tending to their hives with crazy hazmat-style suits on. With the Philips Urban Beehive, you can become your own beekeeper — with the bees living inside your own house. This stylish concept consists of two parts: an entry passage and flower pot that sits outdoors, and a glass shell inside. The tinted glass shell filters light to let through the orange wavelength the bees use for sight, and holds an array of honeycomb frames inside. When it's time to harvest some honey, just pull on the smoke actuator chain and grab some out while the bees are happily sedated.



The urban beehive is a concept for keeping bees at home. The beehive is designed to allow us a glimpse into the fascinating world of these industrious creatures and to harvest the honey that they produce.
                                      

The design of the beehive is unconventional, appealing, and respects the natural behavior of the bees. It consists of two parts: entry passage and flower pot outside, and glass vessel containing an array of honeycomb frames, inside. The glass shell filters light to let through the orange wavelength which bees use for sight. The frames are provided with a honeycomb texture for bees to build their wax cells on. Smoke can be released into the hive to calm the bees before it is opened, in keeping with established practice.

This is a sustainable, environmentally friendly product concept that has direct educational effects. The city benefits from the pollination, and humans benefit from the honey and the therapeutic value of observing these fascinating creatures in action. As global bee colonies are in decline, this design contributes to the preservation of the species and encourages the return of the urban bee.

To make their hives, bees produce wax and propolis, a resinous mixture that varies with the bees’ environment and diet. Propolis has a structural function but is also believed to inhibit harmful pathogens in the hive and is sold as an alternative medicine. Once the health benefits of honey and propolis are better understood, the urban beehive could also have a role in the home apothecary.

                                                           

Far-future design conceptsThe urban beehive is part of the Microbial Home Probe, a far-future design concept. It is not intended as a production prototype nor will it be sold as a Philips product. Like past Probe Design Concepts that have stimulated discussion around a range of issues, this concept is testing a possible future – not prescribing one. 19 October 2011

ORIGINAL SOURCE: UNCRATE

ZomBEEs...

Vermont beekeepers face threat of 'zombie' bees; 1st time parasite found in Eastern US

Published January 29, 2014

Associated Press

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT. –  Vermont beekeepers face mite infestations, extreme temperature swings and the possibility of colony collapse. Last fall, a new threat emerged: zombie bees.

Beekeeper Anthony Cantrell of Burlington discovered zombie bees in his hive in October, the first time they'd been found in the eastern United States.

John Hafernik, a professor from San Francisco State University, discovered the first zombie bees in 2008. A fly called Apocephalus borealis attaches itself to the bee and injects its eggs, which grow inside the bee, Hafernik said. Scientists believe it causes neurological damage resulting in erratic, jerky movement and night activity, "like a zombie," Hafernik said by phone Tuesday.

These aren't undead bees doomed to roam for eternity. They often die only a few hours after showing symptoms, Hafernik said.

'It is seemingly kind of Biblical here. We're getting every conceivable kind of plague.'

- May Berenbaum, a top bee expert

Hafernik and his team of colleagues and students have been tracking the zombie bee spread across the United States. California, Washington, Oregon and South Dakota all have confirmed zombie bees while this is the first time the bee has been found this far east, said Hafernik. The fly previously attached to bumblebees as hosts, not honeybees, according to Hafernik.

"Right now, we don't know if it's an isolated thing," Stephen Parise, Vermont agricultural production specialist, said Tuesday at the state's annual farm show.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture hopes to use trapping to investigate the threat. Parise also told the Vermont Beekeeper Association that he expected more bee deaths this year due to wild temperature swings.

Chas Mraz, of Champlain Valley Apiaries, said mites, viruses and pesticides are bigger health issues for honeybees. A lack of nectar and pollen in a changing agricultural ecosystem focused more on corn and soybeans could affect bee immune systems, he said.

"There's tremendous pressure on bees," Mraz said. The apiary has been operating since 1931 and houses about 1,200 bee colonies. At peak population in good weather, that means over 60 million bees.

University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum, a top bee expert, agreed.

"It is seemingly kind of Biblical here," she said. "We're getting every conceivable kind of plague."

Given the way bee populations have become so homogenized and how they are shipped cross country to aid in pollenating, the first Eastern infection of the zombie fly makes sense, Berenbaum said.

"It's not surprising; it's certainly not good news," Berenbaum said. "There are so many pathogens and parasites that we're aware of that are afflicting bees."

New research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture released this month showed that a plant virus -- tobacco ringspot virus -- is now infecting commercial honeybees, Berenbaum said.

Leif Richardson, a doctoral student at Dartmouth College studies the interactions between plants, pollinators and parasites. Richardson said the fly involved in zombie bees could, besides using honeybees as hosts, potentially transmit viruses and pathogens.

Beekeepers "should definitely be concerned about it," Richardson said.

Hafernik said it would be a "game changer" if these flies could hatch from dead bees and complete their life cycle inside the hive, something that most worries Cantrell.

"I think it would be another nail in the coffin for honeybees in the northern hemisphere," Cantrell said.

Original Content from FOX NEWS

Trendy Hotels Add Beehives and Chicken Coops...

Beehives on the roof, chicken coops out back. Nope, you’re not on a farm — you’re at one of the growing number of trendy hotels adding to their roster of hipster-friendly amenities.

“Green” hotels have served produce from their own gardens for years, but some are taking it a step further. Across the nation, hotels are cultivating beehives and chicken coops to offer guests fresh — and (hipsters rejoice!) locally sourced — honey and eggs, as well as opportunities to interact with the wildlife (yes, even the bees). Fairmont hotels now have beehives installed on 21 of their rooftops, including those in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Vancouver, Dallas and San Jose, housing more than 2 million bees and producing roughly 5,000 pounds of honey each year. The Waldorf Astoria in New York has six hives abuzz with roughly 300,000 bees, and The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa near Denver has five hives and 150,000 bees.

Recently, chickens have joined in the trendy hotel offerings, as two California-based resorts installed coops on their grounds this year. Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley now has 12 chickens living in its reclaimed-wood coop (which also has chandeliers and framed artwork). Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel Valley installed a chicken coop on its land last month “as a natural evolution of its growing farmstead experience that already includes Italian honeybees.” They also plan to compost the chicken manure.

While such offerings may cater to the foodie obsession with provenance that the IFC comedy series “Portlandia” pokes fun at, hotels say they’re offering these perks to help the environment. Fairmont says it “has been committed to protecting the environment for over 20 years” and that its hives were installed to help with dwindling bee populations. Carmel Valley Ranch says the chicken coop “contributes to the resort’s philosophy of honoring and being of the land.”

But, of course, pleasing locavores can also be a money-making proposition. “The hotel market is increasingly competitive, especially with the competition from Airbnb and non-hotels,” says Andy Brennan, an industry analyst with IbisWorld. In turn, hotels are looking to differentiate themselves from one another, and one way they’re doing this, he says, is with local, organic offerings. “Providing more gourmet, high-end products will impact the bottom line,” he says.

Enter the bees and chickens, which, relatively speaking, tend to be fairly inexpensive to board, as the hotels already have the real estate (lawn or the rooftop) and can train existing staff to care for them. Setting up and maintaining a colony of bees can sometimes cost under $600 the first year, including clothing and equipment for the beekeeper, hives and the bees themselves, says Rick Reault, founder of New England Beekeeping Supplies. After that, it’s even cheaper: Ian Bens, the executive sous chef at the Fairmont Washington, D.C., who also cares for the bees, says that it costs “way less” than $1,000 a year to maintain the hives.

What’s more, the buzz won’t go unnoticed by guests — and many will pay for the bee products featured on hotel menus. At the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, you’ll find Caneles on the menu, which the hotel describes as a “custardy treat baked in a traditional fluted mold coated with beeswax.” At the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, there are honey truffles (a.k.a. “Bee’s Knees”) and a Honey Lager; at the Fairmont in Dallas, you’ll find honey incorporated into such dishes as the cheese plate, Greek yogurt parfait and the crème brûlée; and the Fairmont in D.C. has a bee-tini (a martini-like drink made with honey), as well as honey butter and seasonal honey desserts. The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa offers a special afternoon tea featuring its honey. The chicken’s eggs will pop up on the resorts’ menus as well: The chef at Carmel Valley Ranch plans to use the fresh eggs in his dishes once the chickens are full grown, and the chef at Calistoga Ranch plans to set up a special omelet station.

Furthermore, the hotels market their coops and beehives in ways that aren’t food-related. For example, the Waldorf Astoria offers a tour of its beehive-filled rooftop. And Carmel Valley Ranch plans to launch educational programs around its chickens, such as how to start and maintain your own backyard chicken coop and how to handle fresh eggs safely. 

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Market Watch

Stung to Death?

A Polish beekeeper passed out after being stung and woke up inside a coffin.

Jozef Guzy had been pronounced dead after suffering a suspected heart attack and was about to be sealed up in a coffin when the undertaker discovered a faint pulse.

An ambulance was called and a doctor declared that the 76-year-old had died.

“There were no signs of life when his wife called the ambulance," according to Jerzy Wisniewski , of the Katowice Regional Ambulance Service.

'The patient was not breathing, there was no heart beat, the body had cooled - all are the characteristics of death.

Three hours later, an undertaker arrived to take the body away.

He was placed in a coffin by undertaker Darius Wysluchato until Mr Guzy's wife, Ludmilla, asked him to retrieve her late husband's necklace before closing the lid.

As Mr Wysluchato fiddled with the watch chain he happened to touch Mr Guzy's neck and detected a pulse.

He said: 'I touched around the neck artery and suddenly realised he asn't dead after all. I checked again and shouted, "It's a pulse!"

'I had a friend check and he noticed the man was breathing. God, it was a miracle!"

The same ambulance that had earlier called Mr Guzy's death rushed back to the scene before admitting the pensioner to intensive care.

After several weeks he made a full recovery.

Doctors have concluded that it was a case of suspended animation.

The doctor who falsely diagnosed him as dead has apologised.

Mr Guzy added, “The undertaker saved my life. The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take him a pot of honey.”

* Source: The Belfast Telegraph