To Bee or Not to Bee
“That which is not good for the bee-hive cannot be good for the bees.”
We are stewards.
We steward Brown family history from as far back as their Palatine immigration to the New World. We also care for the John Brown House, St. Catharines’ oldest home, and the Norton Cabin, an early home of the Mohawk Chief John Norton. We take great joy in learning about and preserving the past, so that it can still inform, and be enjoyed by, present and future generations. This autumn, we learned that we were also stewards of a different kind; we were stewards of a hive of honey bees.
As many of you know, honey bee populations are in decline worldwide. There are many reasons for this, several of which are interrelated, including: pesticides, destruction of natural habitats, air pollution, nutritional deficits, the rise of varroa mites, and climate change. Nevertheless, pollinators are vitally important to our environment. Without them, one third of our crops would have to be pollinated by other means and up to 75% of crops would suffer a decrease in productivity (Greenpeace Research Laboratories Technical Report). Honey bees are small, but they are mighty; they contribute to complex ecosystems and support the growth of plants, animals, and other insects.
So what do honey bees have to do with The Brown Homestead?
In early autumn, as we worked away in our upstairs offices at the John Brown House, we began to notice a few daily visitors humming around us. You guessed it, they were honey bees. Our fearless Administrative Assistant, Stephanie, voluntarily caught them in plastic cups, took them outside, and released them, wishing them well on their travels. At first we figured that the bees were coming in through our open front door, but as the days passed, more and more bees began visiting, and we realized this was not the case. We also began seeing them between the storm and inner windows in two of the upstairs offices. We realized we needed to call in reinforcements.
We called George Scott from Niagara Beeway to come and assess our situation. The Niagara Beeway is a great organization that advocates for bee species native to the Niagara Region. They do this by protecting existing native plants and restoring and creating native habitats. They also monitor and study local ecological systems, and work to develop policies that promote native species biodiversity. They work with many local groups, exchanging ideas to enhance appreciation for the local ecology. In addition to all of this, they perform what they call “bee friendly honey bee removal,” which safely rescues and removes honey bees. We felt they were right for the job, because their vision of ecological sustainability aligned with our own.
Pressing his ear to the side of one of our deep office windows, George told us that he could hear the hive roaring within. Taking turns, we each listened in wonder, as we pictured the honey bees in their hive, making and storing honey. George also informed us that honey bees are not normally aggressive, and do not typically sting people unless their colony is in jeopardy - phew!
He also explained that the honey bees in our wall were at their peak population, and that it would be best to leave the hive alone until springtime, when their numbers would have decreased significantly and he could safely remove them. He would bring in a new bee box hive that the honey bees would be smitten with. To them, it would be as though they were moving into a gorgeous new condominium. He could then relocate the smaller hive safely. We whole-heartedly agreed that this was a much better option than fumigating the nest and killing the bees.
George explained that in autumn the honey bees enter a “winter cluster,” where they group together for the cold winter months. They stop flying altogether when the temperature drops below 10ºC. The worker bees gather around the queen and begin shivering to keep the centre temperature between 27ºC and 34ºC. These worker bees rotate between the inside and outside of the cluster to ensure that no bee gets too cold. During this time they consume the honey they worked hard to store in order to produce body heat, and some will die as the honey depletes. Honey is of great benefit to the honey bees during the cold months - but they are not the only ones interested in it. We learned this the hard way.
The Office at The Brown Homestead
After George left, we were surprised to see even more bees in our offices. Stephanie continued cheerfully ushering them outside. After a while it seemed that one of her primary administrative tasks became being the honey bee’s tour guide! We really bee-nifited from her services!
One sunny afternoon in late October, we heard a shriek. It was Kathy, our Program Manager, and she had been stung. Not once. But three times.
“I thought honey bees don’t sting?” she demurred. So did we!
We closed Kathy’s office door and called George. He asked us to take a photograph of the bees in Kathy’s office so he could take a look. Apparently, our new friends were not honey bees at all. They were yellow jackets!
Yellow jackets are often mistaken for bees (and vice-versa) because they share similar colouring and markings. Yellow jackets, however, are predatory wasps that feast on honey bee larvae and babies, as well as on honey. These particular yellow jackets had discovered our honey bee hive - and infiltrated it.
George told us that the yellow jackets could also bore through wood. He filled many of the cracks in the wooden trim around the window with polyester fibre, and left us with some as well. Nevertheless, with their talent of boring through wood and the age of the deep wooden window wells, the yellow jackets continued their regular visitation. Closing Kathy’s office door kept most of them out of the rest of the house, but we still saw them from time to time. Much to our dismay, we even noticed several carrying dead honey bees. “Nature is cruel,” we agreed with a shudder.
We were told, however, that cooling temperatures would kill off the yellow jackets within 30 days, and then the hive could settle in for the winter. Patiently waiting, we hoped they would die naturally and that the honey bees in our wall would continue with their winter cluster, despite the barrage of the yellow jackets.
More than a month went by and we were still seeing yellow jackets daily, making our upper floor offices increasingly uninhabitable. Since we were now dealing with yellow jackets and not honey bees, we called Orkin Canada, a pest control company, to come and further assess our situation. We wanted Kathy to be able to work back in her office and we certainly did not want to risk another staff member getting stung. Much to our dismay, Orkin told us (and we confirmed) that they could no longer hear the honey bees in the side of our window. The hive had been decimated by the yellow jackets and the honey bees were dead. They sprayed insecticide along the window’s base and filled the cracks once again, to stop any remaining yellow jackets from entering.
We were disappointed by the news that the hive had been lost. We had grown fond of our little friends and wanted to see them prosper with us through the winter months.
Although our story has a sad ending, we tried our best to keep the honey bees safe until spring. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, especially where nature is concerned. The honey bees’ presence, however, has taught us a new lesson in caring, not just for our history and work, but also for these tiny but important creatures working alongside us.
What can you do to help honey bee populations thrive?
One of the easiest ways to help honey bee populations is to plant nectar-rich plants in your garden. Bees love sunflowers, primrose, foxgloves, lavender, cosmos, and many other beautiful flowers. The David Suzuki Foundation provides insightful information on how to create your very own seasonal pollinator garden as does the comprehensive guide from Happy DIY Home. Be sure to check with your local nursery that the plants you purchase have not been sprayed with pesticides, as these will harm the bees.
Would future programming at The Brown Homestead about honey bees and other pollinators be something of interest to you? Bee sure to drop us a line to let us know! Bzzzzzzz …