July 25, 2016

Write-up and photos by Charlie Vanden Heuvel
Additional contributions by Linda Zahl

Summary: Portland Urban Beekeepers (PUB) hosted a delegation of enthusiastic, Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program students at the Portland Urban Beekeeping (PUB) treatment-free apiary located at Zenger Farm, SE Portland, OR, a sustainable, educational, urban farm. The delegation’s U.S. visit was financed by the U.S. Department of State arranged by the World Affairs Council of Oregon. Following a short presentation about bees, moved to a hands-on experience with beekeeping practices, and finally to tasting honey. The PUB beekeepers demonstrating honey bee care and health management were: Linda Zahl the PUB Board Member, Education Coordinator, Journey Level Oregon Master Beekeeping Program; Susie Wilcox, PUB Member; Charlie Vanden Heuvel, PUB Member, Journey Level Oregon Master Beekeeping Program; Annette Carter, PUB Member, Frank Gransha, Professor Geology Portland State University, PUB Member; Lily Glaeser, Botanist, presenter of The Honey Bee and Beekeeping, PUB Member; Micah Hamley, PUB Member; Luca, (teenager) PUB Member

This is the second year that the World Affairs Council of Oregon asked Portland Urban Beekeepers (PUB) to host a delegation from the middle east. Last year we hosted a group of Government Agricultural Agents from Afghanistan and we felt it an honor to contribute toward their understanding of American honey bee management practices. This year, when approached by the Council to host a group of teenagers from Iraq, we felt extremely privileged to be able to help the next generation become, if not beekeepers, then young professionals who understand the role of beekeeping in the world.

Beekeeping in Iraq has existed for 5,000 years until it was shut down in 1992 (Hartigan, Mahmoud and Michael, USA Today, 2005, Ancient tradition revived to turn honey into money). “The general situation is that conflict over the last decade and a half has devastated the beekeeping industry of Iraq, which at one time was a thriving activity with an estimated half million colonies of honey bees managed by a majority of the rural population.” (Sanford, Dr. Malcolm T., University of Florida)

It is currently being revived, so hosting teenagers from Iraq transcended cultural, theological, and language barriers. One look at the innocence on the faces filled with hope created an atmosphere for these students to experience first-hand apiculture in the U.S.

The Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) is one of the many exchange programs the State Department administers each year to strengthen people-to-people relationships between Iraqis and Americans. It enables Iraqi and U.S. high school students and adult mentors to develop leadership skills and build action plans to strengthen the future of Iraq and the U.S. The students on the IYLEP were introduced to new skills and networks through participation in community service activities and leadership workshops, interactions with U.S. students, and site visits to civic, youth, and governmental organizations. The group was comprised of students from Kurdistan and Iraq.

Throughout the four-week program, the seven Iraqi youth participants were accompanied by seven U.S. high school students and two Iraqi adult mentors. The group spent one week in Vermont, came to Portland Oregon for two weeks to emerge in environmental stewardship and cross-cultural leadership opportunities, and then will move on to Washington D.C.

The moment the group exited the bus at Zenger Farm their faces displayed excitement coupled with a bit of anxiety about meeting the apis mellifera ‘face to face’. Lily Glaeser gathered the group around the apiary for a short discussion on honey bee casts, drone congregation areas, plant pollination, nectar, and of course bee stings.

None of the students had prior apiary experience. Yet the students challenged the PUB presenters with insightful questions throughout the experience dealing with beekeeping management techniques and the honey bee.

PUB Members then broke the students into smaller groups delving into the hives to witness first hand hive activity and frames. Each ‘hive PUB mentor’ turned their hive tool over to the students to enhance their personal experience. The expression of joy was evident as they lifted frames of capped honey, capped brood, pollen, and nectar. Although fully suited, each smelled the hives’ honey and propolis all the while discussing the virtues of their apitherapy qualities. As the treatment of gout with honey is popular in their region it became a topic of discussion (Najafi, Tahereh Eteraf-Oskouel and Moslem) as did honey’s and propolis’s inhibitory effect on bacteria.

The members began to take covers off Langstroth Hives in search of the queen. Then rapidly moving to the upper box where each handled frames in exploration of the intricacies of hive populations and their interactions. Being August only a few drones were evident, but when found the drone was picked up by the student to have an up close feel. Each PUB mentor brought the hives inner-workings into the personalized time.

One of the hives was experiencing Idiopathic Brood Disease Syndrome (Oregon State University insect ID Clinic, Oregon State University) allowing a great opportunity to visualize hive disease. Iraq’s existing hives, according to a report by Sanders in 2005 have 10% and 40% Varroa mite infestation. Due to time constraints, discussion on treatments of this devastating issues did not transpire.

When one of the students came away from the hive with a dozen of the girls on her finger, it became clear a bond, as we have all acquired, was fermented. Watching each of the group’s zeal as they held up frames, picked up drones, smelled the honey and propolis, and observed the bees on each frame proved the benefit of this occasion.

Some of the group moved on to the Top Bar Hive for a discussion on the differences between it and the Langstroth Hive. While the Langstroth Hives predominately had frames with foundations, in the Top Bar Hive the students witnessed natural comb. This provided an opportunity to discuss the bee’s wax gland and how comb was created.

After the students’ apiary explorations the group moved to a honey tasting table to sample different types of the hives’ gold, donated by PUB members from their local bees. Evidently this proved delightful.

While standing around the table, an open discussion of the morning’s events transpired. “What is swarming?” “How long does it take the hive to recover from a swarm?” “How do queens mate?” And more. This culminating forum was evidence of the impact the morning’s experience was for these eager minds. Allie Collopy, representing World Affairs Council of Oregon, at the end of the morning shared how excited the group was about their activities in the apiary.

Thank you, IYLEP high schoolers, for all that you gave us. And thank you, World Affairs Council of Oregon and the State Department, for making it possible.

References

Hartigan, Mahmoud and Michael, USA Today, Ancient tradition revived to turn honey into money

Sanford, Dr. Malcolm T., University of Florida

Zenger Farm

Najafi, Tahereh Eteraf-Oskouel and Moslem, Traditional and Modern Uses of Natural Honey in Human Diseases: A Review, National Institutes of Health, US National Library of Medicine

Oregon State University insect ID Clinic, Oregon State University

World Affairs Council of Oregon

Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program

Curious about which Varroa treatments are most effective? Here’s an update from OSU on the research they’ve been conducting:

Varroa Treatment Efficacies

This document and several other helpful resources are available on our club Resources page.

Bill Catherall, President of Portland Urban Beekeepers, was interviewed this morning about bees in Portland and the upcoming event, Tour de Hives. Stop by Pioneer Courthouse Square anytime between now and June 14th to see their Festival of Flowers. PUB will have a booth there on June 14th from 11:30 am – 2:00 pm.

The following article was written by Tom Unger, Oregon Region Communications with Wells Fargo, regarding recent connections made between Wells Fargo and Portland Urban Beekeepers at their Eco Fair. Reprinted here with permission.

Barnhart team members help save bee swarm in Beaverton

Team members save endangered bees by tapping a connection made at their Eco Fair

5/12/2016
Page Content
By Tom Unger, Oregon Region Communications

BEAVERTON — The [Wells Fargo] Barnhart Center is usually a beehive of activity as our team members are busy as bees serving customers by phone. But last month the center was the site of an actual swarm of endangered bees and our Green Team team members jumped in to save them.

Two team members first noticed the swarm on a tree near the call center’s patio on April 26. They told Sandra Busch, a member of the center’s Green Team. She informed JT Davis, secretary of the Green, who reached out to Bob Wayman, a CBRE building maintenance technician based at the Barnhart Center.

Bob checked out the swarm before leaving work that night.

“It was very small at that point, about the size of a racquetball. I was thinking maybe they would take off and go to another area. When I came back early the next day, it had grown to the size of a basketball,” Bob said.

There is a middle school near the Barnhart Center and one of its staff members was about to spray poison on the bees. Bob intervened and told him not to.

“These were honey bees and they are an endangered species. We don’t have enough of them,” Bob said. “But the swarm was so big, I knew I had to do something.”

Eco Fair Connection

Luckily, the Beaverton center had held its annual Eco Fair last month where the participants included two beekeeping groups. The groups had passed out cards with the phone number of a “Swarm Hotline” (staffed by a network of bee associations throughout Oregon). The network locates and contact beekeepers closest to where a swarm is located.

Bob called the hotline around 6:45 a.m. on April 27. He used the phone keypad to enter the center’s address and phone number into the automated system.

A woman beekeeper in Hillsboro [Lynnea L-K] called Bob within a few minutes and was on site by 8 a.m., Bob said (see photo below).

“When she came out, she was amazed at the size of the swarm. There were probably around 4,500 to 5,000 bees there,” Bob said.

“I thought it was great that through the Eco Fair, we made a connection we might not otherwise know about and then were able to reach out and get help for an unusual situation,” said Operations Processor Debra Kennedy.

Bob remained on scene the entire time to warn team members to stay away. He also asked the school to keep the students inside their building.

The beekeeper had a wooden container. She sprayed a mixture of sugar water and honey into it and to coax the bees into the box, filling it completely (see photo below).

“She was very nice and answered a lot of questions from curious team members,” said Sandra.

A Thick Cloud of Bees

At one point during this two-hour process, the bees started swirling in the air between Bob and the beekeeper. The bees were so thick that Bob couldn’t see the beekeeper standing only 10 feet away.

“I was covered with bees all over my shirt and hair for about 45 minutes,” Bob said, adding he got stung a couple of times.

After the beekeeper got all the bees into the box, she taped it off to keep curious bystanders from getting stung. She came back early the next morning to take the bees to her home where she has a few beehives.

“It was a wonderful experience for me,” said Bob. “I was amazed to see how this person was taking care of these bees and how careful she was.”

The following information is a new requirement (as of 2016) for beekeepers in the state of Oregon with 5 or more hives. Please note it does not replace or change Portland’s permit process.

Any beekeeper; whether backyard, hobbyist or commercial; who had 5 or more hives (not including nucs) during the previous (last) year is now required to register with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA). This is the result of House Bill 3362 which modified Oregon Revised Statute(ORS) 602 and the subsequent adoption of Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 603-055 by the ODA. The registration fee is $10 ($20 after July 1) and 50 cents per hive. The registration is for one year and must be made each year if the beekeeper had five or more hives during the previous year. The registration runs from June 1 to May 31.

Previously only those beekeepers engaged in commercial pollination were required to register and the moneys collected by the ODA went into the agency’s general operating budget. The new law and rules make it clear that the monies from the new registration fees “shall be spent on pollinator research that is predominantly focused on honey bees.” The ODA agreed with the OSBA that most (all) of the collected monies will go to the Oregon State University (OSU) Bee Laboratory and the ODA will not use any of the monies for their administrative costs. Members of the OSBA met with the ODA and requested that specific language for our agreement be included in the OAR. The DOA proposed the addition, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney assigned to the ODA said the agency did not have the authority to include it in the OAR. Nonetheless, the ODA said it will honor the agreement and look to adding the language to the ORS in the future.

It should be noted that the ODA not only will not receive any monies for administrative costs but also there will be no monies for enforcement (at least at the present time). This does not mean you should ignore the law as it is a legal requirement and there are benefits to registering. Registering might serve to strengthen your position as a responsible beekeeper should a legal issue arise. In addition, you will receive notifications from the ODA on matters relating to beekeeping, such as the registration of a new Varroa mite control and the monies will go to OSU for research on honey bees.

You may register on-line or by mail by going to the Apiary Registration page and filling out on line or downloading the application form. You may also request a hard copy by calling the ODA, Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program at 503-986-4636.

When counting the maximum number of hives (not including nucs) that you had, you look to the previous or last year when registering your hives and as of now, that period ran from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. The registration year is not the same as the calendar year because the registration year begins on June 1 of the current year and runs until May 31 of the next year. The registration year was chosen to better accommodate commercial beekeepers who may not know the maximum hives they have until the following spring.