The Blessing of Bees
By Sandra McAllister (first published in The North Coast Courier, June 3, 2011)
Bee keeper Trevor Thompson (left) treated the ladies of the Umhlali Garden Club to a talk on ‘The Blessing of Bees,’ on May 4 which held them in rapt awe, the silence being broken only by the occasional gasp or giggle.
Bee keeping, according to Trevor is not a hobby or a business, but a way of life.
“It has been a re-kindling of nature and a realization of God’s creation. You get to walk in green pastures, beside still waters, see incredible sunrises and wonderful countryside.”
A keen birder , Trevor said that he has not seen a honey guide bird at his Seaforth Farm in Salt Rock for over 40 years and now, as soon as he dons his bee keeping outfit, they flock and follow him to the apiary.
Trevor attended a talk on bee keeping which kindled a spark and given that another hobby of his is carpentry, the flame was lit.
The boxes and trays, which make up the bee’s mobile homes/ hives, are made of wood, usually by the beekeepers themselves who apparently all have their own style and ‘tweaks’.
He told the ladies that it is widely reported that bees in other parts of the world are dying off, but our local African killer bees, the most aggressive in the world, are in the best of health and Trevor puts this down to the fact that our bees exist in the wild.
In the northern hemisphere, there are no wild bees, they live only in man-made boxes and this is suspected as the reason for their lack of resilience.
A killer mite called Veroa, kills adult bees by anchoring on to their back and sucking out all the blood. European bees cannot reach the mite to remove it but the African bee is much smaller and can easily reach the mite to pluck it off and then bite off its head.
Trevor spoke lovingly of the tones of bee noise, how it varies from contented-business-as-usual, to raw aggression from our African killer bees. There are three types of bees in a hive, the queen, the female workers and the drones, males who hang around droning on, gorging on honey, sleeping and waiting for a suitable sex partner, Trevor explained to his female audience. Only the top 10 drones get to mate and when they are done, the queen tears off their sperm sac and they drop dead, albeit with a smile, said Trevor, with the ladies hanging on every word.
Other than the drones, the females belong to the house, nurse, builder, guard, ventilator, cook, or cleaner category.
Now that he is the real deal, a bona fide beekeeper, Trevor gets called out to remove hives from unsuitable places where they are either in danger or causing danger. This is achieved by gently scooping the bees into the hive he has brought along and in one of these scoops the queen will be transferred which keeps everyone happy.
The hive then has to be left where it is so that the bees that are out at work have time to return home. If they return to find their hive, queen and swarm gone, they will die from exposure, as bees need warmth and the structure of a swarm and hive. The hive and bees are eventually transferred to Trevor’s entirely suitable farm to add to his ever-growing apiary.
While snapping photos of Trevor and his helper Ringo removing a comb from a hive, there were suddenly more and more bees on the buzz. We had apparently been spotted by the lookouts and bee security had been called so we turned tail and left the bees to settle back into their sleepy state – as they do in cool, wet weather.
Try Trevor''s wife Sharneen''s delicious Honey Cake Recipe!
What to do when stung
• In case of a bee sting - crush the bee on the site of the sting (it will die anyway).
• Scrape the bite area with one sweep to remove the barb as it keeps pumping venom for 20 seconds.
• The crushing part is to stop the smell alerting the other bees that an enemy approaches.
Interesting bee facts
• The world would starve within four years if there were no bees, as no pollination of plants, crops and fruit would occur.
• A good swarm is about 20 000 strong but could go up to 50 0000.
• Eight kilos of honey produces one kilo of wax.
• African bees are the most productive in the world; they are also the most dangerous.
Stay at Seaforth Farm
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Seaforth Farm is in Salt Rock, Umhlali on the North Coast of Kwazulu Natal and is a peaceful, secluded working farm with charming accommodation in wonderful gardens. Trevor is a Nguni cattle farmer, a bee-keeper and expert wood craftsman. Sharneen is a local artist, well-known for her watercolours and floral arrangements. Stylish Bed and Breakfast bedrooms and a comfortable family suite have private entrances and WiFi.
- More about Seaforth Farm
- Bookings and enquiries: res@portfoliocollection.com
1 Response to The Blessing of Bees
really interesting to know that Trevor shares the same passion for bees as i do, maybe more. From a little boy bees always facinated me, never got around though to put anything
in practice until lately. i have searched the net ever so often but cannot find any local supplier of bee keeping equipment. If it is possible i would really like to learn more about this facinating creature, and one day be able to have a colony of my own.
By Roallen (3 years ago)