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Iowa Honey Producers Association |
The Buzz Newsletter November 2006 |
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BEEKEEPING: The honeybee has been in existence since early biblical days. The Romans used them as a weapon of war. As the enemy approached the fort, colonies of bees were thrown over the side near the enemy and the angry bees soon caused the warriors to retreat. There were no honeybees in the western hemisphere in the early days after the discovery of America. The first bees were brought to the western hemisphere in the early 1600s, about 1620, the first known date of their arrival. It would be interesting to know just what kind of container or confinement they were kept in while making the many day trip over the ocean. Years went by and as people that arrived in America migrated westward so did the honeybee. They were helped by the people because they had learned of the value of bees for their production of honey. That was a sweet that was readily available as soon as the bees had produced it. At that time bees were kept in all sorts of containers called hives, homes, or houses anyplace they could be kept where it was available to the owner to get some of the honey. It was 128 years after the discovery of America until the first bees were brought here from Italy and Germany. It was another 233 years until Dr. Langstroth designed the removable frame hive. That came about in 1853. The German bees were black and quite aggressive stinging at every chance and this made it quite difficult for the beekeepers. That bee continued to be used for many, many years. The last of that sort died out about the late 1930’s or early 40’s. The Italian bee was of yellow color and reasonably gentle. Some strains of the Italian bee were quite a golden yellow. The Italian honeybee is or has been the most popular bee kept throughout the United States for all these years. In the early 1900’s a breed of bees was brought to the U.S. from the Caucas Mountains of Russia known as the Caucasian. They are of grey color and quite gentle. Following all that we now have mixed breeds and some crosses between the various breeds. Our scientists some 35 years ago discovered a means of artificial insemination so now we not only have the advantage of different breeds of bee, but also bees that are more gentle and bread for various uses. For EXAMPLE: Some are better pollinators while others are better at gathering an abundance of honey. There is no official record, as far as I know, as to when honeybees were first brought into Iowa. We do know that in 1856 or 150 years ago, the Henry Stanley family came to homestead in Ringgold county Iowa near Beaconsfield. Again we have no knowledge of just what kind of home or hive they may have had for the bees. That having been just three years after the advent of the removable frame hive, it is doubtful they had modern hives. Years later Wendle Stanley, the son, kept bees in numbers of 40 or 50 colonies. After that, the beginning of the next generation, Orin Stanley, son of Wendle became of age and began beekeeping as a business. His main objective was to produce a quantity of quality queens to sell to other beekeepers, most of which were hobbyist. However, many large orders of the queens were sold through the A.I. Root Company’s branch office in Council Bluffs. I worked with my father as he went about his work producing queens, then after that the bees were moved to Gilbert, Iowa in 1936. In 1938 my brother Lloyd upon returning from a hitch in the Navy, joined Father in beekeeping. In the late 1930’s and early 40’s we operated 1300 colonies and it just happened those were the golden years of honey production in Iowa. In 1942 I joined the Armed services and returned in 1946. After that Lloyd and I continued keeping a few hundred colonies of bees and we did so until 1996. Following that I managed a few colonies for a friend until three years ago. They were sold so now I am keeping only a couple of colonies. It is a great hobby which I enjoy but it is all together different than managing a few hundred. With many colonies there is always that advantage of shifting bees and equipment where necessary BUT with only two it is all together different. Fortunately I have been able to get bees that are so gentle I seldom bother to put on a veil. The last ten years of our partnership the bees were nearly as gentle and what a pleasure it is to work bees of that nature. Beekeeping has com a long way when we think of how important bees are to our every day living. Many problems face the beekeeper today the mites being the major problem. This is my 77th year among the bees. Maybe it’s time to give it up. Glen L. Stanley
Pollination Services Wanted The Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association would like a listing of all the available beekeepers that do pollination. They are featuring a speaker from the Iowa Honey Producers Association at their meeting in January and want a listing of the pollination services available in the state. Please send your name, name of your beekeeping business, address, phone number, e-mail address, and the areas of the state you would be willing to pollinate. Please indicate the number of colonies you have available for the pollination services. We can discuss this at the annual meeting also and we will compose this list and have it ready for distribution at their meeting which is also held in Marshalltown. Maury Wills
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