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Posts Tagged: Norman Gary

Not Waxing Poetic

Ever seen a wax builder?A "real" wax builder?Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey and beekeeper-research associate Elizabeth Frost of the Harry H....

Flakes of wax on a wax builder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Flakes of wax on a wax builder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flakes of wax on a wax builder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two wax builders and their sister on the hand of Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two wax builders and their sister on the hand of Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two wax builders and their sister on the hand of Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 10:17 PM

The Bee Man

It's a honey of a book.Honey bee expert Norman Gary, emeritus professor of apiculture at the University of California, Davis, is the author of a...

NORMAN GARY combines two occupations: bees and music. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
NORMAN GARY combines two occupations: bees and music. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'BEE MAN' Norman Gary with a cluster of bees. This photo was taken prior to a bee wrangling stunt for a television program earlier this year. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
'BEE MAN' Norman Gary with a cluster of bees. This photo was taken prior to a bee wrangling stunt for a television program earlier this year. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Environment, Innovation

Bee-ing green

Going green in your backyard doesn’t mean just planting a bee-friendly garden and providing water for the bees.

Have you ever thought about becoming a backyard beekeeper? You can help boost the declining bee population while engaging in a fascinating and rewarding hobby. Your flowers, fruits and vegetables will benefit (as will your neighbors' gardens). Another reward that’s sweet: honey.

There’s another benefit, too. If you’re into photography, especially macro photography, this is a perfect opportunity to “bee” there.

The number of backyard beekeepers in the United States has increased by about 15 percent over the last three years, according to Kim Flottum (top), editor of Bee Culture magazine and author of The BackYard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden. He estimates the number at 100,000-plus and growing.

“Backyard beekeepers easily represent more than 80 percent of total beekeepers, but have only about 25 percent of the total hives,” he told us. “They contribute lots to local pollination of small gardens and orchards and plants for wildlife. And, they are responsible for most of the local honey one sees for sale, since most sell close to home in farmers’ markets and the like.”

Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (left), member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty, also advocates that folks do their part in the honey bees crisis. Don’t just plant bee friendly plants, but plants that bees can forage on in the late summer and fall when food is scarce, he says.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation provides regional lists of bee friendly plants. The UC Berkeley Urban Gardens website maintains a California list.

What are some of the first steps in becoming a beekeeper?

  1. Join a local beekeeping association where veterans can assist you. Bee Culture maintains contact information for beekeeping associations. The Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis maintains a list of beekeeping clubs in California. Many 4-H clubs also offer beekeeping projects where youths can learn the not-so-secret life of bees.
  2. Check your city and county ordinances and your county agriculture commissioner for bee-colony regulations.
  3. Contact your neighbors to see if they are allergic to bee stings or if they have any objections to your keeping bees.
  4. Start a library of beekeeping books. Some of the most recent books by bee experts include The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum; Honey Bee Hobbyist: the Care and Keeping of Bees by UC Davis retired emeritus professor Norman Gary (his experience spans six decades); and Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees: Honey Production, Pollination and Health by University of Florida Extension beekeeping specialist Malcolm T. Sanford, with expertise from the late Richard E. Bonney's book, Beekeeping and Hive Management.
  5. Subscribe to bee publications such as The American Bee Journal, Bee Culture and Speedy Bee.
  6. Glean information from the Internet, including YouTube, but be aware that some info is misleading and inaccurate.

Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey of UC Davis and Washington State University cautions that you must take care of your bees to ward off diseases and pests. And, if you’re catching swarms, especially in southern California, be aware that some could be Africanized bees.

“The swarms are initially docile, but can become very defensive when they grow and have brood and honey—and turn to a public health issue,” she says.

Cobey advocates that would-be beekeepers find a good mentor and/or bee club that offers beginners’ classes and arranges purchase of good queens.

“Temperament alone will make a huge difference,” she says.

Good advice!

On the light side, once you’re a bonafide beekeeper, you can wear T-shirts like “Show Me the Honey,” “I Have Hives” and “I Smoke Burlap.”

The best part of rearing your very own bees, though, is making an individual statement in a world filled with millions of unanswered questions.

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is one of them.

(Editor's note: Kathy Keatley Garvey, a communication specialist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology, comes from a long line of beekeepers tracing back to "at least the 1800s.")

Backyard Bee
Backyard Bee

POLLEN-PACKING honey bee heading toward rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Smoking the Hive
Smoking the Hive

BEEKEEPER smoking a hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 9:22 AM

So You Want to Keep Bees...

So you're thinking about becoming a backyard beekeeper... What considerations are involved? Honey bee guru Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist and...

Eric Mussen
Eric Mussen

HONEY BEE GURU Eric Mussen at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bee on Begonia
Honey Bee on Begonia

HONEY BEE foraging on a begonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 7:34 PM
Tags: beekeeping (15), Eric Mussen (289), Kim Flottum (16), Norman Gary (27)

'The Human Bee Hive'

Many beekeepers keep bees, but Norman Gary wears them. Gary, who received his doctorate in entomology (apiculture) from Cornell University, served...

BEE MAN Norman Gary, emeritus professor, University of California, Davis, is covered with bees during a shoot for the History Channel. The segment, for Stan Lee’s “Super Humans,” is scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m., Pacific Time. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
BEE MAN Norman Gary, emeritus professor, University of California, Davis, is covered with bees during a shoot for the History Channel. The segment, for Stan Lee’s “Super Humans,” is scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m., Pacific Time. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

CREW kept busy doing the bee shoot. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
CREW kept busy doing the bee shoot. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

B-FLAT CLARINET--Norman Gary plays the b-flat clarinet during the photo shoot. He's a professional musician who formed the Beez Kneez Jazz Band. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
B-FLAT CLARINET--Norman Gary plays the b-flat clarinet during the photo shoot. He's a professional musician who formed the Beez Kneez Jazz Band. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources

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