Biodynamic Bee keeping

The wisdom of the hive guides its keeper

Honey bees have accompanied mankind since ancient times yet today they are stressed and more dependent on human care than ever before.

Bees are, like humans, creatures of warmth and maintain a constant temperature in their hive. This warmth helps bees to create wax for their comb, maintain their organisation and keep healthy. It is also through this warmth that the colony finds its identity. The bee colony is an organism with each bee and bee activity integral to the whole. No single part, not even the queen, can be seen as isolated from the whole.

Keeping bees

Biodynamic bee keeping is an approach which respects this integrity of the colony. Its aim is to minimise stress factors and allow bees to develop in accordance with their true nature. Bees are allowed to build natural comb, swarming is acknowledged as the only way to rejuvenate and reproduce a colony, the queen is allowed to move freely throughout the hive and sufficient honey is retained in the hive to provide for the winter. A system of bee keeping that respects a colony's natural integrity will not only reduce stress and encourage healthy bees, it will also be commercially viable. The carefully developed Demeter Bee Keeping Standards provide clear guidelines for biodynamic management. For bee keepers setting out on the road towards this kind of bee keeping some Frequently Asked Questions are answered by biodynamic bee keeping consultant Michael Weiler.

Three books can be strongly recommended. The one is Bees and Honey from Flower to Jar in which Michael Weiler describes in loving detail the life of a bee colony and indicates the approach needed for successful biodynamic bee keeping. Another is Bees by Rudolf Steiner, nine lectures offering fascinating spiritual insights into the world of bees, wasps and ants. A third is The Buzz of Bees by Jürgen Tautz which is filled with beautiful pictures and describes the bee colony as a super-organism comparable to a mammal.

Most of the problems facing bees today are caused by stress of different kinds including that inflicted upon them by misguided management techniques. Many environmental factors have also bee identified. The most serious is undoubtedly that of pesticides. The neo-nicotinoid range are particularly damaging and have been banned in many parts of Europe. Please support the petition launched by the Soil Association to ban their use in the UK.

Courses in Biodynamic and Natural Beekeeping

The BDAA run a 2 day couse with Michael Weiler each year - Please contact the BDAA office on 01453 759501 or email office (at) biodynamic.orguk for details or to book your place. The next one will be sumer 2011

The Natural Beekeeping Trust runs lots of wonderful courses - see our events page and click on their link on the left hand side or go to their website at www.naturalbeekeepingtrust.org for full details