Skep Beekeeping Tasks Through The Year

in the region of cultivated heathland between Breman and Hamburg in langen Felder near zensen lies The Farmstead of the head beekeeper geog Clint his speciality is skep beekeeping a large skep stand is directly adjacent to the house the L-shaped homeate pury with space for 270 skeps this is where the majority of the standing stocks spend the winter its orientation to the East and the South provides them with a maximum of sunshine during the winter the entrances of the skeps are shaded from the Sun to prevent the bees being tempted out too early in the year in March if the weather promises to stay warm the beekeepers remove the sun shades now it is time for the cleansing flight during which the bees rid themselves of the excretor from their winter feed the large scale beekeeper also needs several big outstands for his 700 winter stocks they are located on the periphery of the cultivated land close to the Virgin Morland with its sprinkling of birch Alder and willow trees closest to the far Farm is the outstand near Marsh hor its rectangular closed construction provides the skeps with a maximum of protection against wind and weather many of The Beekeeper seasonal tasks are performed in this rectangular space access to the isolated winter stands is usually quite difficult the single stand in Woodland cover near tvist bostel is also oriented to face the sun care is taken that the bees are able to fly straight out and find dry resting places on the grass in front of the skeps they have the necessary water supply close at hand the first spring feeding is provided by Hazel Willow and Alder close close to the winter stands at this third large winter stand near alasen in the warm sun the bees are now busily collecting pollen and water to help build up The Brood [Music] Nest by mid April it's time for G kinord to prepare the skeps for the spring migration in doing so he takes the opportunity of inspecting the stocks to assess their condition no beekeeper is ever without a smoker the smoke from the smoldering tanzi subdues the bees which are already actively tending their brood covering cloths made from GW or curtain netting are used to seal off the mouth of the scap during transport they are B tight while allowing air to circulate the entrances stay open until evening to allow the bees to forage freely the cloth must not come loose during the long journey to keep it tight the corners are twisted up before they are fastened on the shelves beneath each scap wax covers NW off the food cells and dead bees have been collecting throughout the winter to The Beekeeper this debris is an indicator of the remaining Food Supplies in the scap and the population of the [Music] stock the fact that the bees have built on to the dark old Combs of the bottom of the scap to enlarge The Brood Nest tells The Beekeeper that there is a good Queen inside while inspecting and preparing his stocks The Beekeeper is assisted by another beekeeper and an apprentice the colonies that have been assembled at only a few stands for overwintering are now going to be transported in small batches to better nectar and pollen yielding areas the majority of them including the best stocks are to be set up in the alter land this extensive fruit growing area between stard and Hamburg to the south of the elb is the preferred spring migration place for the heathland beekeepers to the back of the large Outlander farmhouses The Orchards of the Fruit Growers extend over a large area in groups of up to 20 skeps or singly the winter stocks are now distributed on small migration stands the scaps are put out immediately on arrival in the early morning before continuing his journey to the to the next migration Stand The Beekeeper opens the flight entrance which has been stuffed with moss or grass for transportation this allows the bees as soon as they have arrived at the new site to set out on their first orientation flight the same day a portion of sugar candy is placed under each step as bee food shallow Beachwood dishes with three carved feet are traditionally used for this purpose the feet prevent the bees from gluing the dishes to the Shelf with propolis and wax by feeding the bees The Beekeeper Tides them over the period of sparse foraging before the fruit Blossom is in full swing he prevents the stocks from being delayed in their early spring development if food in short supply the bees would build fewer brood cells and thus interfere with the Queen's egg laying activity the covering cloths are removed and will not be needed again until the skeps are taken back home there's an agreement between beekeepers and Fruit Growers that the stocks migrate to the alter land in time for the first flowering which is the sweet cherry blossom a fortnite later the sour cherries are in full bloom pollen is collected into the pollen baskets on the bee's hind legs the protein Rich pollen grains are used in rearing the already numerous brood in the scap and thus help to promote the growth of the colony the sugary nectar yielded by the blossoms is the source of energy for the bees in the scab when the sour cherry blossom is over the last blossoms to be worked by the bees in the alter land are pear and apple in mature Orchards these trees are planted in Long rows often alternating with one another the small migration stands are distributed all over the orchard area the Fruit Growers are Keen to get the trees pollinated as thoroughly as possible once a week The Beekeeper inspects the stocks in the migration stands when a colony has developed vigorously the bees begin to build large cells at the lower edge of the comb for the drones to be reared in in order to encourage the bees to enlarge The Brood nest for the workers Instead The Beekeeper cuts out most of the so-called drone cone for this purpose he uses a special instrument with a blade and hook known as a drone [Music] knife the pieces of Comb removed in this operation are collected for melting down to wax at a later date in the course of these inspections The Beekeeper pays special attention to the size and food reserves of his Stu box in good years when the bees have lots of natural food some of the sticky candy remains behind on the feeding dish in years like this The Colony develops at a rapid rate and the first queen cells signal the colony's readiness to swarm a premature Queen cell is being removed here as [Music] well if the beekeeper discovers a particularly weak stock while cutting off drone Combs he can promote its development by placing the scap where a highly vigorous stock in the same brood rearing state has stood up to now as the foraging bees always return to their accustomed location this enables The Beekeeper to equalize his stocks the bees remain in the alter land for 3 to 4 weeks their pollination activities are so important for the Fruit Harvest that the local Fruit Growers pay a fee for every stock that is placed in The Orchards whereas The Beekeeper is interested in the rich early nectar and pollen yield for his colonies so fruit growing and beekeeping go hand in [Music] hand at the beginning of May food supplies for the bees of the cultivated heathland area are low the beekeepers living here do their best to tide their stocks over this period by migrating to regions of higher nectar flow and pollen yield the skep colonies belonging to gor kintor Master beekeeper from zensen were taken to the alter land near Hamburg on their spring migration in the extensive fruit growing region the bees were able to gather a Rich Harvest of nectar and pollen for several weeks on end and the stocks developed vigorously after being transported back home to the large outstands the stocks must be supplied with food by The Beekeeper so that their development does not slow down before the impact ending Advent of the swarming season sugar solution is readily accepted by the bees The Beekeeper replenishes the feeding dishes underneath the SC several times a week in several of the skeps the Combs have already been built down as far as the dish the bees are busy feeding their brood the strength of this stock indicates that it will soon be ready to [Music] swarm during the winter months The Beekeeper had already started extensive preparations for the time when his approximately 700 stocks will Swarm at Clint V's Farm most of the beekeeping equipment is stored in the Loft for the best part of the year for example the Swarm catching bags are hung up to air the wooden spiles for the skeps are also kept up here Gil kinart inspects his working equipment piece by piece in the barn he checks the Swarm catching bags fetched from The Loft these 1 and 1/2 M long tubes of Gau or curtain netting with their tip and Corners reinforced in linen have been sewn by the staff at The Farmstead damaged netting is repaired on the spot by the master beekeeper the Swarm catching bag serves to catch the prime swarm when it leaves the scap out of the entrance so the bag should not have any holes through which the bees might Escape in each case The Beekeeper makes sure that all four pins which attach the bag in front of the scap are firmly sewn on to the corners [Music] in the adjacent Workshop before the swarming season a large reserve of traveling boxes has been built up with a view to selling off the expected Prime [Music] swarms the Joiner work is undertaken by the beekeepers August vanen and Ingo Lao both on the staff of Clint bee [Music] farm the skeps are given special attention on the part of The Beekeeper he has to prepare hundreds of woven straw hives for the Swarms here he has laid out the ones in need of repair he uses his pocket knife to remove loose patches of cang with with which the scaps are coated and thereby uncovers the closely packed rolls of straw and Reed strips from which the scaps are woven by the spiral roll method regular care and attention is essential to ensure the durability and stability of these so-called lunor type scaps a goose Wing serves as a brush in such operations worn patches occur most frequently around the rim of the scap it is not always possible to remove the defective wrapping down to the last piece the replacement strips of Reed have been soaked to make them pliable where larger sections of the edge ing roll have been broken off the repair is more complicated straw has to be replaced as well the rice straw used for this purpose originates from special crops grown without the aid of chemicals only short sturdy straws are suitable for skep weaving the knife and the all are the chief tools used during such repair work [Music] while the top of each new strip of Reed is anchored in the row The Beekeeper cuts the tail off clean after first pulling it tight it is important for the lower rim of the scap to be absolutely even later it will form a Tight Seal where the scap rests on the stand many of the skeps used here are 80 to 100 years old skeps used to be made by the beekeepers themselves but today it's no longer necessary to weave new ones for a good number of years gor kintv has been able to buy up large reserves of skeps from abandoned bee farms the side walls of the skeps exhibit only minor damage and it's often enough for The Beekeeper to insert only a single clasp now the scap has been completely renovated if the basket work of the skeps is sound it only has to be cleared of wax residues Left Behind after the Combs were broken out in the dome of each scap three strips of foundation comb are now attached these 7x3 CM strips of wax cut out of old Combs are fixed by The Beekeeper with a mixture of hot wax and fur resin they serve the bees as a base on which to orientate their new comb building the skeist offers the bees further assistance in their comb building in the shape of wooden rods or spiles cut from Rosewood or buthorn into each skep he pushes six of these pointed spiles at regular intervals through the walls of the hive the spiles are arranged in peirs and aligned at right angles to the foundation strips the bees build all around the SP s and stick the Combs to them this gives the Honeycombs the stability required to withstand frequent movements of the scap final work on the skeps takes place in the open air it is carried out here by gorg Clint son of the head beekeeper and himself a master beekeeper to protect them against the weather he plasters the scaps with a new outter covering the most suitable material for this protective coating is cow dang collected on the fields in springtime this material spreads easily and seals the skeps adhering so closely to the basket work on drying that not even moisture can loosen it closing the entrance with dung prevents parasites from nesting in the scap while it is drying on the Shelf in The Stand The Beekeeper must reckon with several weeks of concentrated work before all the preparations for the swarming season at the end of May have been completed it is early June in the cultivated heathland area between Breman and Hamburg for the Heather beekeepers on the Clint vorts bee farm the season of most intensive work now begins it is the swarming season of the heathland bees in all the skeps the bees have built Queen cells to rear young Queens 9 days after the eggs were laid the queen ly floating in their reservoirs of royal jelly have developed up to the stage when the cells are ready to be capped over after another 7 Days the young Queens are mature sealed and unsealed Queen cells are continuously checked and nurtured by the worker bees soon after the first queen cells have been capped over the old Queen leaves the scap together with a few few thousand workers to found a new Colony if a prime swarm is not prevented from flying it first settles close by preferably under overhanging branches where it forms a dense cluster From Dawn till Dusk as long as the sun lures the bees out head beekeeper gor kintv and his assistants watch the stocks that are ready to swarm and have been brought back from the outstands to the house [Music] AP to avoid losing bees the prime swarms have to be caught directly on leaving the [Music] scap the experienced beekeeper can tell from their behavior at the entrance whether the bees are about to swarm so he has to keep a continual watch on the flight entrances he can confirm his suspicions by taking a look inside the skip a large number of Queen cells some of which have already been capped indicate that the stocks in these Gs are prepared for swarming if the bees are restless and tend to run back and forth in the bee ways this is an imminent sign of swarming [Music] swarming begins with the first Scouts pouring out of the entrance they track the other bees along with them which in turn hustle out the old Queen the prime swarm flies off this is the moment for The Beekeeper to intervene by spreading a swarm catching bag over the flight entrance he can prevent the prime swarm from flying away he uses earth to close a gap which the bees might use as an emergency exit each swarming skep is marked with a leafy twig or a wooden tag the Swarm catchers have been made by the beekeepers themselves the bees are encouraged to enter the bag by raising it slightly above the level of the flight entrance otherwise there is danger of the bees withdrawing into the skep again the behavior of the Prime swarm can be observed through the transparent gwes in the middle section of the bag also the humming of the emerging bees is a good indicator of the progress of swarming every gap between the scap and the stand which The Beekeeper notices on his control rounds is immediately sealed it's usually sufficient to surround the base with a [Music] cord if after 6 to 10 minutes no further bees emerge from the scap the catching bag can be unfastened and hung up in the [Music] shade [Music] under the shade of the shed roof the bees gradually calm down sh in a large home ay like this one several swarms May emerge almost simultaneously the experienced Eye Of The Beekeeper can detect the first signs of swarming even at some distance and distinguish them from the customary warm weather activity at the flight [Music] entrance prepared with cords and with a swarm catching bag in his hand The Beekeeper is equipped for every [Music] contingency warm sunny days and humid weather in particular encourage the bees to swarm on such occasions anything up to 50 Prime swarms might emerge at the Clint Bart's home apy on a single day in cooler weather swarming occurs only sporadically just as in free flying swarms the bees in the Shaded hanging bags collect around their Queen to form the Swarm cluster if on the other hand the bees continue to move about restlessly while humming loudly the queen is obviously absent a queenless swarm will be released so that the bees can return to their home scab for 2 or 3 weeks the beekeepers at the home pury are on their feet all day preventing the prime swarms from escaping as soon as the bees have contracted to a dense cluster at the top of the Swarm catcher they can easily be shaken out of the bag during the course of each swarming day the prime swarms are packed in traveling boxes in former times the Heather skeist would put the prime swarms in empty skeps where they would draw out new comb and store Heather honey before the stocks were disposed of they would not keep a prim swarm stock with its old Queen over the winter today the sale of prime swarms is a guaranteed source of income for the clinard apy hive aurists from as far a field as South Germany have already placed orders for swarms to upgrade their stocks One Prime swarm can provide them with anything from 2 and 1/2 to 4 PB of bees the same evening the traveling boxes provided with B candy are sent for dispatch by rail if no further Prime swarms can be reckoned with today all the swarmed skeps are covered over with transport cloths made of gors the flight entrances are left open until the evening when when the scaps are taken to the nearby outstand at Marsh host where The Beekeeper waits for the second swarms or casts to emerge from the scaps the empty spaces will be filled with further swarming skeps taken from the other outstands depending on the number of overwintered stocks the kinart be Farm can reckon with anything up to 700 Prime swarms in a given swarming season to encourage swarming all the other stocks in the home AP are fed with sugar syrup which in the old days used to be laced with a little Spirits this is because only well-fed bees are prepared to go [Music] swarming early in the summer the beekeepers allow their stocks to swarm in order to increase their skep colonies the prime swarming period of the Heather bees is followed in June by the period in which second swarms or casts are thrown off the beekeepers of Clint vort large-scale bee farm are expecting the casts at the marsh host outstand on account of its enclosed Arrangement and location in a birch Alder and Pinewood this position is particularly suitable for the work occurring at this period once the prime swarm has flown 7 days after their cells have been capped over in each scap the young Queens are ready to emerge during this time the bees are gather Gathering nectar and pollen to supply The Colony the bees are now restless and run back and forth in the bee waves some individuals are occupied in uncapping the cells containing the fully developed Queens immediately on emerging the young Queen surrounds herself with bees in order to leave the scab the First cast is thrown off about 7 to 10 days after the prime swarm headed by the old Queen has migrated in contrast to the prime swarms which are caught at the skep entrance in special swarm catching bags The Beekeeper allows the casts to escape year after year they collect on particular trees one of their favorite swarming places is a group of pine trees under their branches several of the casts each weighing 1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds collect together they collect to form a swarm cluster of increasing size the queens of the various different cast find their way to the outside now is the time for The Beekeeper to act with a jolt he shakes the Swarm clusters into a catching skip while the scap is resting on the ground the bees again congregate around the Queens inside it consolidating once more into a cluster on the branches swarming bees soon form a new cluster Again The Beekeeper collects the casts at regular intervals two or three times he shakes swarms into the same catching scale in the course of the swarming day the casts increasingly tend to collect directly at the stand or in the immediate vicinity by means of a skep placed on the eaves The Beekeeper offers the Swarm a Dark Hollow which invites them to [Music] enter all day long for several weeks on end the master beekeeper G Clint Jr never stops dealing with the casts swarm clusters should never be left on their own for too long otherwise they will fly off to permanent quarters collecting skeps are smaller lighter straw vessels without Plastering the entrance is stuffed up the Virgin Queens emerge in the colony at intervals of about 2 days warm weather encourages them to swarm if however bad weather delays their swarming a particular noise known as tooting is a sure sign that further Queens are ready to [Music] emerge if a cast is thrown off now the Swarm follows the queen out of the scap entrance in a regular Cascade as more and more swarms are thrown off and collect under the branches and the eaves The Beekeeper assembles the filled catching skeps in order to provide for the casts in a part of the marsh hored quadrangle away from the swarming Activities The Beekeeper has assembled empty skeps which were previously provided with strips of Foundation comb and wooden spiles he fills each skep with about two wooden plateus full of cast bees they usually contain several virgin Queens only one of these will remain alive she and the bees will form a new stock to prevent the bees dispersing again the scaps are immediately sealed B tight with covering cloths the entrances are still stuffed from the plastering of the basket work second swarm bees are also filled into skeps containing old comb without honey or [Music] brood 1 and 1/2 lb is the usual starting weight of a new colony to ensure good air circulation and temperature Equalization the AP purist first lays the skeps on their sides on the Shelf young Queen are also removed individually from the catching steps together with a small number of workers they are transferred to speci specially made wooden nucleus boxes named Clint vs after their designer so that they can form small temporary colonies as soon as the beekeeper has supplied each box with a ladle full of bees he starts to search for the Queens among the throng one by one he places young Queens among the bees the idea is to obtain mated Queens to hold in reserve during the 3-we cast swarming period about 200 boxes are filled in this way at Clint vorts be Farm bee candy placed on the floor of the Box provides the bees with nourishment to start with because the flight openings remain closed for the first few [Music] days the casts transferred to skeps have meanwhile settled down quietly about 24 hours later towards evening The Beekeeper places the skeps upright as there is now no danger of the bees departing again he opens up the entrances that have been stuffed with Cowan the bees now set about enlarging the entrance of their scap by knowing it and smoothing it all around with propolis the sealed nucleus boxes are set up in the open 3 days after they have been filled when the larger of the two Escape openings has been unstopped the young Queen can fly off on her mating flight the spacing between the boxes makes it easier for the bees and their Queen to find their way back to their own place at this time a number number of tasks for the skeist overlap at the more distant outstands like this one at zass halts the recently restocked cast skeps have to be cared for they were taken out during the evening hours the obstructed entrances were opened immediately now the following evening the covering cloths are removed on this occasion The Beekeeper places a dish of sugar syrup under each of the scaps a splash of syrup inside the scap aims to lure the bees down to the food [Music] supply after standing undisturbed in the open for a few days the boxes are inspected for queen rightness well built up cones brood cells filled with eggs and the first honey indicate to The Beekeeper that he can rely on a m Queen here he then closes up the flight opening the second Nursery colony is also Queen and therefore augments the reserve of usable Queens the two small Combs consisting only of drone cells and the eggs in several of the large cells tell the apiarist that the queen in this nuclear Colony has remained unmated so she has laid only infertile drone eggs on average he finds positive results in 3/4 of all the boxes if a box has been deserted by the bees he concludes that the young Queen has gone astray as work continues The Beekeeper allows two to three casts to swarm out of each skep in the marsh hor outstand until 10 to 12 Days After the prime swarm he takes action to prevent further casts being thrown off and thus depopulating the stock he now removes all the remaining Queen cells the stock is said to have been superseded Queen cells still containing virgin Queens are laid aside for the time being furthermore he cuts the comb edges off about 15 to 20 cm from the opening of the skep in this way the bees receive more space to build up new Combs which they can fill with [Music] honey he uses a special skep knife to do so to ensure that a superseded stock has a queen he finally opens one of the queen cells he has removed and allows a Virgin Queen to rejoin the colony he makes sure that she is perfectly [Music] developed by covering them with cloths the superseded skeps are prepared for transport to more distant outstands Skip by skep The Beekeeper Works through all the 700 colonies of his apiary in this way he gives them the best possible start for Heather honey Gathering from these scaps [Music] [Music] the sections of Comb removed are collected for wax pressing at a later date [Music] just like the casts shaken into skeps the superseded stocks also need Repose and the proximity of good foraging grounds for favorable development their young Queens make their nupal flight at this time it may happen that a queen fails to return to the Skip and the colony becomes queenless in this case the Heather aurist can have recourse to the mated Queen in one of the Clint water nucleus [Music] boxes such Queens are put into small Nursery cages the opening of which is sealed with bee candy these so-called Queen cell cages are made by The Beekeeper himself out of Willowwood they are provided with four longish slits and a spur for anchoring them The Beekeeper takes a number of filled Nursery cages along with him when he inspects the superseded colonies on the [Music] outstands If He is uncertain whether a stock is queenr he cuts a wedge-shaped piece out of a comb in the middle as far as the brood [Music] Nest he inspects it thoroughly to see whether the queen has laid eggs in the cells if he is unable to detect any eggs he must assume that the queen remained unfertilized or has been lost a stock in this condition is provided with a new Queen by fixing a queen Cell cage inside the scap the bees of the colony get into contact with the queen via the slits and if she finds acceptance they eat their way through to her and gradually release her the scap is provided with a [Music] sticker in this way all the the superseded stocks are controlled by the Beek [Music] keeper this test proves positive [Music] [Music] on average one scap in 10 has to be provided ided with a caged [Music] Queen in front of the accustomed standing ground returning foragers are already waiting to carry their supplies through the [Music] entrance since the middle of the swarming period a number of plants are in nectar flow around the outstand they help to bridge the gap until the Heather migration starts in August in the vicinity of the outstands the Bramble Blossom attracts the bees in the wood in the bushes alongside the paths it is mainly the Buckthorn Alder but honeysuckle is also a favorite here out on the pastures and field margins thistles and white clover are particularly important in former days buckwheat crops provided the main source of forage for the Heather bees at this time of year and additional feeding of the late casts was unnecessary in fields and at the Wayside the bees now prefer corn flowers as well as in particular chamomile as a source of nectar and pollen when the foragers return with this load they are able to communicate information about the source of nourishment as soon as they reach the scap entrance a further source of food is found on leaves particularly in Oak Woods the bees collect the sticky exudation caused by aphids known as honeydew the bee farms colonies are distributed over six permanent outstands located along the margins of the cultivated land about 30 cast colonies occupy the stand near the alpas hoisa Moore the loose arrangement of SES makes it easier for the bees to find their way home here The Beekeeper is check making their progress within 2 weeks this Colony has built new comb in the empty scap down to the first pair of spiles Skips where the Combs are built right from the start prove to be very productive of Comb [Music] honey here seven of the nine conbs produced in a lunor type skep have already been built if NE necessary the AP purist will straighten irregularly built Combs cells damaged in the process are soon replaced by the bees he carefully adjusts the be space between the Combs too some stocks have already built their Combs down to the center pair of spiles and laid out all nine coms if the skeist discovers a queenless colony while inspecting the comb development he shakes the rest of the bees out of the scap beforehand he makes perfectly sure that no Queen is present the evicted bees will beg their way into other colonies the skeps remain on the outstands for several weeks up to the time of migration to the Heather the bees are engaged in building out the Combs rearing The Brood and laying up the necessary stores with the help of casts The Beekeeper has succeeded in increasing his stocks three-fold at the beginning of August the scape purists at Clint W's commercial bee farm in langenfelder near zensen have only a short time to examine the total stock of skeps since the end of the swarming time they have assembled about 1,500 Heather honeybee colonies on several large outstands 100 skeps are positioned on the stand at twiston Boston about 18 km from the bee farm the bees in the newly reared cast colonies and the original stocks have increased in the skeps during the past 6 to 8 weeks and built out their conbs the beekeepers are taking an inventory of the state of their stocks while at the same time preparing them for the migration to the chief honey flow of the year the colonies should consist of as many workers as possible to optimize the yield of nectar and pollen that is why the AP purists pay special attention to the state of the Combs any Queen cells laid down in in the meantime and all drone comb sections are removed the reason is that drones and new Queens are Superfluous in a colony with a mated [Music] Queen drone comb is often built up right into the crown of the Skip by cutting it out The Beekeeper encourages the bees to build out new Combs which they can then fill with stores after inspection the scaps are covered with light cloths which allow air to circulate they are to be transferred this very evening besides the young Master beekeeper Gil kinford Jr the two assistant beekeepers Ela Bulman and August von bargan are at work here all available staff at the be Farm have to join in this major operation after a while the master beekeeper himself Gail Clint senior joins them at the time of filming he was 71 years of age he started beekeeping with only 70 winter colonies 50 years [Music] previously the empty feeding dishes are now laid aside the aurists had encouraged the development of their stocks after the swarming period by feeding them sugar [Music] syrup [Music] in the pieces of Comb removed one can see drones in all stages of development fully developed drones just about to emerge from their cells and Lavi without being fed by the nurse bees they will soon die the pieces of Comb are meticulously collected together as soon as the beekeepers find time they will be pressed to Summer wax in several skeps the Combs have been built down as far as the feeding dish straws which serve the bees as Landing places in it are also removed by blowing smoke from his pipe and by tapping lightly The Beekeeper makes the bees detach themselves from the Combs it is important to work quietly and gently to avoid frightening the bees [Music] with the narrow blade of his long-handled skep knife or with the hook at the other end The Beekeeper can work deep inside the scap and fetch out the smallest pieces without damaging the adjacent comb surfaces [Music] the square gauze cloths have to be pulled tight around the perimeter of the skep to prevent the bees escaping from the basket in transit occasionally The Beekeeper comes across weak colonies like this one that have not built out their Combs beyond the first pair of spiles as it is not worthwhile taking a stock like this to the Heather he leaves the skep [Music] open in addition he marks it with a twig or with a wooden [Music] sticker the four beekeepers required about 2 hours to process the hundred skeps standing here after a short break they will proceed to the next outstand the entrances remain open right up to the moment of dispatch to allow the bee's unobstructed entry and exit during the [Music] day for stuffing the entrance holes The Beekeeper is looking for suitable pieces of moss in the vicinity of the stand he places it ready in spaces on the shelves on other stands he makes use of grass as well immediately before transport the entrances are sealed tight after the bees have been driven back into the skeps by smoking bees which were still out foraging will beg their way into other colonies and thereby increase their strength the scaps are stacked close together on their sides in staggered formation sudden movements and rolling from side to side have to be avoided so that the bees do not panic and the basket work of the skeps is not damaged as the comb sections are arranged vertically JS during transport can be quite well absorbed the entrance holes are always on top the gauze cloths allow free exchange of air and thus ensure the necessary temperature Equalization the small number of skeps left on the outstands will be collected up to enable the beekeepers to look after them more easily on one stand very weak colonies are united or later added to another colony the destination of the summer migration is the lunor heath because this is one of the only areas where large expanses of Heather have survived the beekeepers have to travel anything from 60 to 120 km to get there this long-distance migration did not become necessary until 30 years ago up until 1955 there were sufficient Heath lands in the vicinity of the home Farm in those days the skeps were transported by horse and cart after a 2-hour Journey the first migration stand is set up on the heath in the evening hours the Heather stands are vital to the scape purist all his efforts so far this year have been directed at getting the bees to harvest Heather honey all the foraging the feeding to tide over gaps in nectar flow and all the other beekeeping measures have served to increase the number of colonies and to promote their development up to the Heather flowering time The Beekeeper built the stands himself several decades ago to protect them against Wind and Rain they are often located Lo ated on the edge of a Copus they are aligned East or Southeast so that the skeps catch the earliest Sunshine anything between 50 and 100 skeps can be accommodated on one Heather outstand this far excels the capacity of the small migration stands used in The Orchards of the alter's land the entrance holes are opened immediately the scaps have been set up this enables the bees to orientate on their first foraging flights early the following morning a second Heather outstand is filled with the scaps loaded near twiston bostel both stands are situated in the southern part of the lunor heath near Min haltz several evenings in a row the Clint for be Farm transports its skeps to the Heather until all the available standing grounds are occupied most of them lie in an area reserved for military training the experienced migratory beekeeper times the migration in accordance with the Heather nectar flow he does not set up his colonies on the heath until the Heather starts flowering this usually occurs by the 10th of August after the shakeup during Transportation the bees need some time to settle down in the skeps and get accustomed to the new location when the master beekeeper visits his STS the following day he takes care to protect himself very well at first there must not be a single gap between Veil and jacket the woven horsehair panel of the veil is provided with a leather-lined opening for the beekeeper's pipe up until the time when the Heather is in full blossom and nectar flow the bees need feeding to tide them over the Gap a shortage of food would impair the Queen's laying activity and endanger The Brood in the nest and as one has to reckon with substantial bee losses in the head anyway lack of food would considerably weaken the stocks The Beekeeper provides the bees with food at the same time as he removes the covering cloths on the home stands he uses feeding dishes and wooden platters for the sugar syrup or honey water but here on the migration stands the single portion of candy is simply placed on a piece of PL plastic [Music] foils on a Hot August day like this The Beekeeper cannot hold out long under his Veil he takes advantage of the opportunity to stuff his pipe again dried tanzy leaves are used for this purpose each colony receives a portion of about 2 lb of sugar candy this bee food takes some time for the bees to assimilate so they have Provisions for several days without a surplus of food occurring which the bees would put away in their Combs it has taken The Beekeeper an hour and a half to perform all the tasks at this stand the covering cloths are kept bundled up until they are taken home again a fortnight later in the second half of August the Heather is in full bloom in good weather the bees now find plenty of pollen and nectar in the blossoms of kaluna vulgaris the [Music] Heather every three or four days The Beekeeper does the rounds of his 15 Heather outstands to inspect the state of the stock as here near the small town of dmark during the 2 weeks since the beginning of the header migration the bees in this scap have drawn their Combs almost down as far as the shelf of the stand in sampling the skeps The Beekeeper is Keen to see whether the bees are already storing honey if a poorly built out comb structure indicates that a colony is weak he places the scap where a well-built out scap had stood with a view to increasing its be population the weaker colony is strengthened by the foragers of the previous strong stock returning to their accustomed location to optimize the honey Harvest all the skeps should be equally populous and well built out the most favorable Arrangement is for the migration stands to be in the center of the best foraging area and not too close together the the fact is that large continuous areas of Heather like this one on the rberg slopes are becoming less and less common in the lunarg heath these days grasses and birch trees are proliferating since sheep grazing has been on the decline especially in the military training areas which occupy a major part of the heath Woodlands are gradually taking over to avoid over foraging the Heather crop the migration beekeeper has to obtain a new license every year from the local Authority responsible for the area permitting him to use the stands and stipulating the number of skeps he may set here so migration stand number 61 in the administrative District of zto fing boso is licensed for 100 scap colonies Heather produces better nectar if the soil is poor in humus and relatively heavy but weather conditions before and during the flowering period are also a decisive Factor temperatures of around 20° centigrade and morning Mists are favorable for nectar and pollen Gathering but if long periods of low temperatures and drought Prevail or cold rainy conditions endure the bees will start to eat up their stores of honey that is why The Beekeeper makes sure during each inspection round that they are continuing to lay up stores and he checks how well the honey cells are being filled the scaps have been standing in the Heather for 3 and 1/2 weeks now if favorable conditions endure The Beekeeper will let his bees work for him for a further week before taking the stocks back to the bee farm around the 15th of SE September in a good summer the scaps on the Heather outstands have increased in weight by as much as 35b each their Combs now contain the Heather scap aurists entire Year's Harvest of Honey after the bees have been shaken out at the home Farm the beekeepers will St to break the Combs out of the scaps and harvest the honey in a big apy like that of beekeeper Clint vort which lies near zensen in the cultivated heathland area between Breman and Hamburg there are typically seasonal jobs while the Heather was in flower Clint V's 1,500 skeps stood in stands on lunberg Heath after the bees had collected the Heather nectar and pollen for several weeks they were returned to their stands at the Home apier in nearby Marsh host there are about 400 skeps those to be overwintered are selected and those from which honey will be harvested are prepared in the early morning the beekeepers AUST Fon baren and Ela Bulman begin this task they go through the skeps one by one in the skeps from which wax and honey will be harvested the bees are sprayed with sugar solution this will make it easier to remove them from the Combs if the Heather flowers gave a good honey harvest the bees will have built as shown here their Combs completely to the underside of the scap and already sealed the cell full of honey that will give a good yield of Comb honey in each skep to be harvested the entrance is closed with moss whereas the skeps selected for overwintering are immediately placed back on the shelves sometimes the old dark Combs are found inside the skeps and no newly built light Combs no comb honey and little pressed honey will be harvested from such [Music] skips often the neighboring scap is entirely differently built up reflecting the condition of the colony and the richness of the honey flow where the hive comes from the skeps selected for over wintering like this one should be 3/4 full of well-built conbes not too old the skep wall has to be in proper condition the entrances of the winter skeps are left open but entrances of the skeps selected for harvesting must be [Music] sealed these skeps will be prepared for the next stage of harvesting the removal of the bees from the scap after the removal of the bees The Brood will have to be killed this will be done by sulfuring and for this purpose gor clinard son of the head beekeeper and himself a master beekeeper digs square holes in the ground and enlarges them towards one side he stuffs Moss around the edges to make the join airtight Hazel Twigs support sulfur impregnated paper which will later smolder under the skeps altogether he prepares five holes in this way the process of removing the bees is aided by the use of an elastic empty scap only scaps bound with cane are usable here the scaps are bounced rhythmically in order to drive all the bees into the empty scap The Beekeeper then checks to make sure that the entire Colony has been driven out of the scap he calms the bees with smoke from the beekeeper's pipe he always attempts to find the queen in the mass of bees [Music] bees from such a colony with their Queen will then be added to a previously selected scap in order to increase its population winter colonies constituted in this way should now weigh 5B the scap to overwinter is then returned to the stand while the SK earlier emptied of bees is brought to the sulfer holes by farmer Yan kinfor the beekeeper's brother nearby gor Clin Jr and his father are also cooperating the old beekeeper frequently checks the insides of the skeps which hold the proceeds of the year's work the scap must usually be bounced 30 or more times in order to to empty it this work requires not only physical strength but also skill and experience breaking the Combs has to be avoided patience is needed in the search for the queen The Beekeeper would bounce the skep once more if no Queen were found the skeps with fortified populations are closed with special cloths so that they can be taken to the overwintering place the same evening whilst August gorg and Elka go through the shelves one by one the old beekeeper personally suers the first skeps for that purpose he lights the prepared smoking strips and then stands the skeps on the Moss ring round the hole [Music] bees removed that The Beekeeper does not want for his overwintering scaps are collected in an empty scap reserved for sale they will have been ordered long beforehand in order to work on the 60 skeps here in the marsh hor Stand The Operators require half a day with five people working the removal of the bees is the job of August and gorg the experienced beekeepers and the young Elka helps the old bee Master undertakes special tasks such as the sulfuring while his brother Yan transports the [Music] skeps as soon as several colonies have been assembled for sale The Beekeeper fills them into crates the colonies are sold weighing £4 each that makes about 20,000 bees per colony the package crates are homemade on the farm it is work that is done during bad weather and mainly in [Music] wintertime the individual weight of every crate has to be taken into [Music] account bees from different colonies put together will allow only one Queen to live and to head their New Colony bees which have flown away will collect in the winter skeps as shown here in the foreground skeps whose combes are built down to the spiles at the bottom The Beekeeper lets bees in one out of every three colonies over winter in their own scab of the remaining two he adds one B lot to the skep selected for overwintering and sells the other lot in the meantime the remaining brood in the Combs of the emptied skeps has been killed by The sulfur fumes for transport the entrance remains closed and the skeps are stood on their base in this way bees are prevented from entering thus avoiding honey robbing new sulfur paper is immediately put into the holes in the ground in order to protect the Combs from heat the strips are placed into the lateral cavity above which the scap entrance is then aligned it has got warm under the beekeeper's protective Hood with its front woven from horsehair time for a cigarette the skeps must remain in place for about 5 minutes to prevent the bees from scenting the Heather honey and collecting on the sulfured scaps these are removed from the area as soon as possible Yan takes them to the farm which consists of three buildings Barn living quarters and [Applause] shed in the barn is a store room where the skeps are packed so that mice and bees cannot get at them when stacking them Yan is careful to ensure that the Combs remain vertical so that they do not break under the weight and let the honey flow out the entrance should be on top a good skip can yield over 30 lb of Heather honey in a good year up to 1,000 skeps are stored here in the Next Room The Beekeeper prepares the bees for transport the bees readily drink sugar solution so they are supplied during transport with water for possible Cooling and nutrients crystallized honey put into a top container serves as food for the often long train journey the bees can sustain themselves on this for 3 Days the water used for handwashing will later be used as food for the bees the colonies of bees for sale will be supplied to order to beekeepers all over Germany the Returns on each colony are about 50 marks The Beekeeper will take them straight to the nearest railway station so that they catch the evening Train The Beekeeper also has a home apuy on the farm located undisturbed Behind The Farmstead it's a good overwintering place facing the Sun in space for up to 270 scaps the colonies are fed here in Readiness for overwintering the transport cloths have already been removed from the skeps for sugar solution food containers are put under the skeps cut straw gives the bees a foothold so that they can drink the liquid ordinary sugar has been used to make the solution 2 kg of sugar to 1 L of warm water the bees are given as much food as they would use in a day's work in warm weather to attract the bees to the food The Beekeeper pours a little solution directly into into each [Music] skip sometimes bees for overwintering are put in empty skeps and they build new Combs down to the bottom spiles in quite a short [Music] time overwintering colonies are located in four or five other places nearby as well as here behind the farm a total of 600 to 700 colonies are prepared for overwintering about 10 times as many as a single Heather beekeeper could maintain using only traditional technology the five beekeepers in gayor Clint V's business can work with such a large number of skeps only through the use of modern transport and certain rationalization techniques after bees in all the skeps have been fed For the First Time The Beekeeper must continuously ensure that the bees can obtain enough food to guarantee overwintering before he restarts the work he lights his pipe smoker dried ferns are usually burnt in [Music] it because there is little nectar for the bees in late Autumn The Beekeeper must feed them every 2 to 3 [Music] days on his rounds he gets to know the condition of the combs in his newly constituted colonies in which the last brood of the year is now emerging in order to ensure successful overwintering the skeps with their contents should weigh 32 to 35 after 2 to 3 weeks of feeding on sunny and warm October day days bees can still be seen flying before they cluster together for the cold winter [Music] months when the cold Comes The Beekeeper will cover the entrances with a screen to prevent the bees flying out on sunny days with this the beekeeper's work for the year is done Autumn is harvesting time for Heather honey on the farm of gor kintv this apur is located in the cultivated heathland area between Breman and Hamburg and specializes in comb honey and pressed honey in the building Facing The Farmhouse The Beekeeper works on the skeps from which the Honeycombs are to be removed up to a thousand straw scaps are stored here Out Of Reach of the [Music] bees the stability of the combs in a scap is preserved by six thin rods or spiles carefully inserted through the sides the bees have fixed their Combs to the spiles so they must now be carefully removed the spiles are cut from either Rose or black Alderwood and will be used again next spring the Combs are also cemented securely to the walls and the top of the scap but to blow at an angle to the Combs will loosen them the honey Harvest begins with the removal of the comb honey GA Clint reserves this work for himself comb honey is Heather honey sealed in new white coms which have not been used for brood rearing besides every comb has empty wax cells and darker cells filled with honey and pollen these different pieces of comb are divided and placed in a wax barrel and a honey Barrel the comb honey is cut and packed as pound or half pound portions by idel trout The Apprentice comb honey is a speciality of The heathland Beekeeper only Heather honey is thick enough not to run out of the cells after they are cut in a lunab borg type Heather scap the bees draw out nine Combs comb honey is found primarily over the central brood nest in the scap at the top and along the wall behind The Brood nest comb honey consists of completely built and well-filled cells because bees seal the cells only after they have been filled out with honey for some time The Beekeeper must often jog the skep once more to dislodge the last narrow comb from it with a special tool The Beekeeper scrapes off the remaining wax from the scap walls wax has been valued for centuries so even the smallest pieces are collected in an average year The Beekeeper harvests about 2 of Comb honey from AAP but in a particularly good year the yield can be 20 comb honey is very highly prized by Christmas the annual yield will have been sold at 25 marks for a 500 g [Music] pack press is subsequently extracted in a room in the barn which can be well heated this work is undertaken by gor Clint vort the head beekeeper's son and himself a master beekeeper he uses a ster type screw [Music] press the pieces of Comb which have been cut off during the separation of Comb honey and collected in Barrels have been kept warm in a heated cabinet for a day at 35° C this allows the honey to flow out of the cells more easily after cutting up the pieces of Comb containing pollen and honey cells into smaller pieces they are filled into a pressing cloth of the type used for fruit [Music] pressing to prevent the cloth opening during the pressing the ends are twisted together and laid with the opening facing downwards in the Press The Beekeeper washes his honey covered hands in a special water bucket this water can be used later to feed the bees by turning the screw he forces the block against the pressing cloth through the ribs on either side the honey flows out of the press and drains off onto the takeoff board the honey containing tiny pieces of wax and pollen is collected in a bucket when the honey ceases to flow the Press is opened with Clean Hands The Beekeeper Kneads the tightly pressed wax inside the cloth so as to loosen it a second pressing extracts the last remaining honey from the wax pieces it requires the utmost effort to close the Press once more but finally the last of the honey is squeezed out [Music] [Applause] the Pressed honey is poured into 600lb Barrels in order to clear it to filter out coarse pieces The Beekeeper pours the honey through a fine mesh [Music] screen he then makes the Press ready for the next run collecting the lumps of wax which remain in the cloth to use them in subsequent wax process [Music] processing it takes the Beek keeper until January to complete the work on the Honeycombs from his skeps the freshly pressed honey must stand in the barrels for about 2 days the remaining particles of wax and pollen will then have floated up to the surface where they are removed this impure mixture will be used as food for overwintering hives or a stimulant feeding during the springtime the honey must be thoroughly stirred before The Beekeeper can fill it into smaller vessels the Pressed natural Heather honey is sold in jars and cans a pound is priced between 10 and 15 marks each can is filled with 5B batches of Honey an empty can covers the weights on the scales after putting Lids on the cans the Apprentice takes them to the adjoining store room for labeling the cartons of honey jars are also stored here for one pound a portioning the standard jars of the German Beekeepers Association are used the brand of the association guarantees quality honey the special cross-shaped labels indicate the name of the producer and the relevant identification [Music] number the gluing board is again the responsibility of The Apprentice who finally provides each jar with a marker indicating the type of honey the harvested Heather honey is sold mainly in Northern Germany but by mail order it can be obtained anywhere in the Federal Republic of Germany too on the cultivated Heat eath land between Breman and Hamburg in langenfelder near zensen stands The Farmstead of the head beekeeper gor Clint in late summer when the work of the swarming Season is Over The Beekeeper has time to deal with his Harvest of Summer beeswax this task is done in the main Farm building AUST vanen veper and employee of Clint vot's Apiaries prepares the wax press in a special wax room he Kindles a fire with wood scraps under the big cauldron in in which he's going to melt the wax he uses tap water to help in the melting process a smaller cauldron is used to heat water for pressing the wax meanwhile enough water has been let into the wax cauldron and it is heated to Boiling freshly cut Beach logs provide plenty of heat a lot of wax has been saved in big barrels since wax was last pressed the previous winter in December and January the wax has been compressed and the barrels sealed while the cauldrons are heating the containers have been brought up to room temperature the residues are contaminated with dead bees ly honey pollen and fragments of draw from the sugar solution feeders commonly used in skep beekeeping The Beekeeper makes sure that the larger pieces are completely melted and that the wax and water are well mixed also compact pieces of light wax from drone comb which has been previously melted must be melted again the liquid mixture is bubbling and producing Steam in the wooden press the cloth used nowadays is of the type manufactured for pressing fruit PP Special Care is taken not to spill any of the [Music] wax [Music] freed of coarse solid contaminants the hot wax water mixture runs into a wooden tub only tiny particles can pass through the [Music] cloth when it is sufficiently full the cloth is twisted up [Music] the farmer Yan Clin one of gor's Brothers screws the Press closed and the spindle pushes the heavy wooden board against the ribs at the front of the pressing space this particular model is known as a starder press after every pressing the big cauldron is refilled [Music] [Music] [Music] towards the end it takes considerable effort to turn the screw to maximize the yield the Press is opened at this stage to press the wax a second [Music] time the contents of the cloth are loosened and replaced after turning with the help of boiling water the rest of the wax is washed out after this effort the pressing is finished the cloth with the residues is set aside to cool the wax is added continuously and to keep the vessel on the boil wood is placed on the fire at regular intervals few words are exchanged as August and Yan work [Music] together before reusing the cloth the cooled residues are discarded the next pressing [Music] begins [Music] [Music] because of the danger of the hot spurting wax and to avoid too rapid a cooling process the Press is [Music] covered in the tub the wax and water have separated the lighter wax floats so that the contaminated water underneath can be run off once more it is time to refill The Cauldron with further wax to be treated as soon as the collecting and cleaning tub is filled with wax this can be ladled into molds to form wax blocks care is taken to remove wax only from the surface hot water in the bucket mold prevents the wax from cooling too quickly which might cause cracks while hardening the hot water also serves to keep the wax from sticking to the mold and makes it easier for the last of the contaminants to [Music] settle the Press is unscrewed again in order to turn the cloth and its contents around hot water is added to reheat and rinse the [Music] contents in the same way one cloth after another is pressed to make room for the newly processed wax water must continually be let out of the tub if the temperature is allowed to rise too steeply there is danger that the wax will boil over and Catch Fire therefore the temperature is regulated by adding cold water AUST and Yan must work several days to process all of the wax saved since the previous winter [Music] from 3 Kg of crude wax 1 kgr of clarified wax is obtained up to 150 kg of clarified wax are made on a single day of pressing the wax blocks must be cooled at least a day before finishing this work is done by the head beekeeper gor Clint himself his brother Yan helps him the top of the blocks are rounded off so that the edges are not fragmented during transport at the bottom of each bucket mold a thin layer of fine impurities has settled out of the wax this layer is paired off the block and discarded to do this The Beekeeper uses a strong pocket knife typically for summer wax wasps and flies become embedded in the top layer during the cooling process they must also be removed the cleaner the wax the higher the price it fetches when it is sold [Music] 10 to 15 blocks are the product of one day of pressing because wax is so valuable the pairings cleaned off the blocks are saved for the next pressing until they are sold the wax blocks are stored in the Loft the average weight of these wax blocks is 8 1/2 kg there are 50 50 to 60 blocks of wax in The Loft at beekeeper clino's apuy 500 kg the product of a good year at about 12 marks per kilo each block is worth 100 marks a useful Reserve when special outlays have to be made e two elderly beekeepers are going to show us how they make a skap beehive by coiling bundles of straw as a binding material withies are used the flexible shoots of oers the farmer Fritz finen 67 years of age Cuts suitable shoots close above the ground with his pen knife they should be long and without lateral shoots brambles The Boiled roots of fur trees or reads were also used in this region on the other side of the narrow ditch between the meadows where the oia beds are found is the farm of his neighbor AUST langor who has just been sweeping the hall he is 70 years old both men have spent many a winter evening making beehives together now they start preparing the straw for the skep Beehive the straw comes from Rye that has been harvested by hand and also hand threshed with a wooden rake Fritz finen Combs out the short loose pieces and the leaf blades for making skeps straw of uniform length is required Straw from Sandy hungry soil is most suitable because it is stronger and not so liable to snap e once August langor has pulled out the last loose straws both men go over to the forage kitchen to continue their work neighbor finstead occupies himself with the freshly cut withies after removing the tip he makes two incisions to divide the wiy into three sections into these incisions he presses a carved wooden jemi and splits the wiy from top to bottom to prevent the strips of wiy from Catching in the straw bundle he carefully sharpens the thick end he smooth the split edges and split surface as well by pulling the cut surface over a rung of the chair he makes the wiy Supple now the skep maker can commence skep coiling to start with he needs a bundle of straw at the upper thinner end he bends the straw back and pulls a ring of cow horn over the bundle the ring serves as a template for the thickness of the straw coil and helps to keep it together he pierces the pointed end of the first wiy through the loop of the straw bundle he fixes the End by pulling the next wrapping of the withy tight the SC beehive will be built up in a coil made from a single large bundle of straw very carefully the skep maker wraps the tight first coil in the crown of the hive and finally attaches this to the first Loop of the straw bundle which he pierces several times when necessary he uses an all to pierce the bundle with the addition of further handfuls of straw the coil is continued in the same thickness the cow horn ring template is an important help here using the technique known as wrapped and pierced coiling the coil spirals are closely interlined while AUST langor is already working on the cylindrical part of the scap walls his neighbor has split and smoothed the last with is for him next day the skep maker continues with his work [Music] alone by using the all he can pierce the withies through the coil without any trouble to make the hive entrance for the bees he cuts out about 1/3 of the coil over a length of 8 cm the all he uses is a forged Spike with a head and rectangular shaft the end of a bundle is sewn up and cut off short once the next coil covers it the flight entrance is complete occasionally the scap has to be pressed into the right cylindrical shape meanwhile it has reached the intended height of about 40 cm the ring template is no longer required the skep maker carefully pierces the thinned out end of the straw coil before fastening the final binding The Beehive is complete

Channel: TheOhioCountryboy

Views: 17,222

Keywords: skep beekeeping, beekeeping, honey, bee, honeybee, traditional beekeeping, history of beekeeping, traditional bee keeping, skeps, traditional honey harvesting., medieval beekeeping, beekeeping class, beekeeping history, beekeeping documentary

Id: DReZb6NEvhU

Length: 151min 36sec (9096 seconds)

Published: Mon May 03 2021