I spent the day at the Melarium (the Apis-Z apiary) where Roland and Wolfgang held a seminar about the Bienenkiste, a highly non-invasive way of keeping bees which allows for appropriate care (including the necessary steps to fight Varroa infestations) but also just provides a simple frame for the bees to build natural hives in. The seminar was full with about 15 enthusiastic people looking to become beekeepers. It was great to have theoretical knowledge transferred but at the same time open a hive and also allow a swarm to colonize a new box. At one point we had a swarm of bees travelling into the new box with about 20 people, including 2 small kids, standing around and it really was wonderful to see that the bees felt comfortable enough not to sting at all since everyone was calm and caring. Just think of the numbers: the hive we opened has about 50000 bees in it. The swarm probably contained about 10000 to 15000. There were 20 people in a small courtyard with all of these bees and not one person got stung.

Another fun fact: when bees are swarming, they are looking for a new place to live. Dark, enclosed, dry places are perfect. The lens hood on my 100mm macro lens is ideal for them and so after taking a couple of pictures of the swarm I found the inside of my lens hood covered with about 30 bees!

Went out to see Roland and Wolfgang from Apis-Z (www.apis-z.at) today, they have 12 hives in a little custom house in Klosterneuburg which is on the property of the Martinschloss. Had a few minutes for macro shots of the bees at one of the hives. Got a couple of nice ones but also caught the efficient murder of a bee by a wasp...