In 2014 I visited the curious backyard of Kelly Lees in Mayfield, Newcastle, NSW with the Hunter Organic Grower's Society...
Sweet honey.... is in fact not pollen or nectar, but bee
vomit. Across Newcastle this fact seems to be having no impact on the ground
swell of urban bee keeping. Bringing sustainability to the suburbs by feeding
and pollinating local gardens, Urban Hum is at the heart of creating a truly
local food source, all be it of vomit.
An initiative of Kelly Lees of Mayfield, it began for this
self proclaimed insect nerd, in her small backyard. On Hunter Organic Growers
visit in September approximately ten hives hummed to the tune of urban bliss,
so naturally it’s no surprise that Kelly outsourced additional hives to new
hosts in the Newcastle region. 24 hives call home in 24 locations within a 20km
radius of Newcastle, keeping her busy with the bees particularly in spring time
when the hives are split to make more.
A swarm of bees is in fact not dangerous, as they are in a
delirious state after gorging on honey.... somewhat like a Saturday night out
for some? If you see a swarm call a bee keeper, as they are in search of a new
home. In this state they begin to waggle dance as they vote on the location of
a new hive (the more vigorous the waggle, the better the local food source).
Kelly demonstrated the splitting of a hive, how to calm them with smoke (it’s
not known why this works but don’t be in a bad mood when bee keeping, they’ll
pick up your vibe via your pheromones and get nasty!), and how to construct a super
ready for honey ‘growing’. And of course
what we were all waiting for (at least until I discovered the true nature of
honey) the tasting of the bee vomit and honey comb! Yum, yum! The flavours vary
with the seasons and are infinitely complex, no doubt a trademark of the
variety of forage available in the urban landscape.
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Kelly Lees talks about her passion for beekeeping |
Bees are a fascinating creature.... when bees move to a new
hive the guards give them an all over crew cut (chewed, not with scissors) and
after their spring clean are let into the hive.... the workers not the Queen
are in control of the hive and decide when a new Queen shall be hatched....hives
must only be moved at a meter per day or they lose their positioning (GPS gone
haywire), unless they are moved beyond a 3km radius....
Keeping your own hive is a wonderful addition to the organic
garden and a great way to support these pollinators that are crucial to our
food production.
Visit www.urbanhum.com
for more info on how you can be a part of this project.
Nice web site and well done Kelly.We look forward to having you on the swarmpatrol.com web site......
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