Bees
As part of becoming a better global citizen, I am following up on what we can do to help the bees that live around us. I have picked up with Roland Berger who runs a purely natural Demeter apiary and will be learning how to keep my own bees. This is a long-term photo project, stay tuned for updates!
Roland's site: www.apis-z.at
Roland's site: www.apis-z.at
2014-06-14 - I drove to Lunz am See today to listen to a legend of beekeeping and forest expert share his knowledge about the best forest food for bees. Univ.Doz. Dipl.Ing. Dr. Hermann Pechhacker has been around for a while and really knows his stuff. He's also extremely well traveled and was able to recount several very interesting stories about beekeeping in Nepal, Chile and Australia amongst other countries.
Anyway, after a few very interesting hours in a Gasthaus where he showed us slides and spoke mainly about honeydew producing insects which are vital both for ants and bees, we went out to see an anthill inside a toolshed at the edge of the woods - certainly the biggest anthill I have ever seen! We followed the ants to find the aphids they "milk" for honeydew:
2014-05-25 - 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!
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!
2014/04/28 - was able to get a few first shots of my new friends! We are now proper beekeepers!
2014/03/30 - some nice buzzing outside our bedroom window...
2013/08/13 - went out to see Roland and Wolfgang 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...
2013/08/13 - another shot from Croatia. You can see the pollen sacs quite well and I love the whitish colour. However, look at its wings - they have very likely been shredded like this through the rough treatment they get from large commercial beekeepers.
28/07/2013 - saved a bee from the pool. Put her in the sun to dry off.
19/07/2013 - got a couple of snaps while on holiday in Croatia. Note the white fur on the thorax.
26/06/2013 - was out at Roland's Melarium again today:
23/06/2013 - Just one from Fuschl:
09/06/2013 - Some shots from out on the meadow in Breitenfurt.
30/05/2013 - Quick trip out there to a seminar being held in the "Melarium". Unfortunately the rain dampened any ideas I had of shooting bees. So here's a quick line up of Apis-Z products:
24/05/2013 - First set of pictures, taken in the "underbelly" of a hive that Roland opened for me at his melarium. It takes some getting used to the bees flying out all around you, sitting on your head, buzzing by your ear, etc. Wasn't the best of conditions for pictures but I had good access to one of the chambers in the comb which houses a queen bee in the making (4th and 5th picture). Haven't shot macro in a while so I will need to practice again and will definitely set it up better next time, maybe with someone helping me to hold a reflector rather than using flash.