I've been trying my hand at Japanese honeybee beekeeping since last year, and I finally succeeded in my first honey harvest the other day!
This time, I'll be reporting on the progress so far, leading up to the first honey harvest.
Background
As I mentioned in a previous note, I set up a beehive last spring. Last year, I attempted to harvest honey in the fall, but unfortunately, there was hardly any honey accumulated when I opened the hive.
When I consulted my mentor, he told me that the number of bees and their honey collection ability vary greatly depending on the bee colony, so it's possible that honey might not accumulate in a single year.
By not harvesting the small amount of honey in the hive and leaving it as food for the bees to overwinter, we can prevent them from starving.
Last year, the season ended with the hope that the bees would successfully overwinter through the harsh winter in Yamato Town.
Then, this spring, they successfully overwintered and the swarms energetically divided!
Reasons for Harvesting Honey at This Time
The honey I harvested this time was not from a divided hive, but from the original hive (the one from which I couldn't harvest honey last year).
While I was expecting to harvest honey this fall as the number of bees had increased, bees kept coming out of the hive excessively from August onwards. On hot days, bees are often seen coming out and fanning their wings to send wind into the hive, but this situation was different, as if the hive was too crowded.
When I opened the hive and looked in from below, the bee colony was all the way down to the bottom of the hive.
The colony, unable to expand its nest, would decide that it couldn't grow any further and would leave the hive!! ＞＜
I thought I had to harvest the honey quickly, and that's why I decided to harvest it at this time.
How the Raw Material is Used
Here, I'd like to briefly introduce how the raw honey is used.
Until now, I had been purchasing and using Japanese honeybee honey from local beekeepers.
The representative ice creams that use this honey are the collaboration ice creams with chef Yoshiko Takahashi: "Egyptian Salt & Honey Milk" and "Arles Salt & Honey Tomato"!
These flavors are very popular and appear quite frequently in stores, and this honey is essential for them.
In the future, we will be developing ice creams that combine various ingredients such as citrus, so please look forward to them!
Impressions of the First Honey Harvest
Getting back to the topic, my impression of this first honey harvest was, in a word, "感動!!" (deeply moving!!).
While a large number of honeybees fly around, almost none of them are aggressive. This is because by having the overly expanded comb cut, the honeybees can nurture new life.
This is proof that humans and honeybees have a symbiotic relationship.
It is said that one Japanese honeybee collects only about a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime. I was able to collect a lot of this precious honey, and I was once again reminded of the social nature and diligence of honeybees.
Amount of Honey Harvested This Time
The beehive is a three-tiered type, but this time I conservatively took only one tier.
The amount this time was about 2 kilograms. It would be great if I could harvest another tier around November.
It's also a season with many natural enemies like hornets, so I hope it grows steadily.