Napa Valley Bee Company: June 2009

Here's a quick lil' 1700 word ditty I whipped up for the Grape Growers of Napa Valley. It's pretty cool Jim Verhey saw the post I did about his swarm and bees in an owl box and the next thing ya' know I'm a published writer. Well actually not yet, I kind of bagged on the whole monoculture thing. I guess the deal is we (the beekeepers) are meant to tread lightly on the issue as not to make any enemies. Don't get me wrong I'm not a hater, but I certainly not against squeezing a few fallow acres out of these guys for the bees.
I'd also like to throw a fat sticky honey thank you to Amanda Badgett for proof reading for me - she helps me look like a real bee smarty pants. Note to self: bee blog proofing professor some more nectar of the gods.
So here goes:
All 3 pages
1,732 words
7,810 characters (no spaces)
9,549 characters (with spaces)
15 paragraphs
and 136 lines of real bee love....

By now most people have heard something about what’s going on with the decimation of the honeybee population. If not, what wine cave have you been in for the last 3-4 years? Okay, I’m a beekeeper so I should be clued-in, but even without owning a television I see and hear about it all over every other media outlet. Even the White House got bees as ambassadors of bee goodwill. I get asked every day about the disappearing bee and CCD (colony collapse disorder). Unfortunately, much of what you probably have been hearing in the news is very true even in the Napa Valley.

In the past 8 years of beekeeping I have seen a dramatic decline in not only my managed colonies but even more so in the feral population. What is causing the huge decline in bee numbers? Some scientists say it may be caused by a number of factors, including lack of forage, disease from parasites, and infections from pathogens that bees are being exposed to. Really though, my guess is they aren’t sure what’s killing the bees, or they’re just not telling us. From my experience, the deepest of the numerous cuts that are killing our local bee is a parasite called the varroa mite. The varroa mite is a very prolific pest that has been in California since the early 1990’s and now infests at least 95% of the hives in Napa.

Most recently my beekeeping efforts have been breeding honeybees from the strongest local genetic stock I can find. I believe it is the best way to control varroa in my apiaries, and after three years have been seeing positive results. Now, most bees have mites like most dogs have fleas, but I have been able to isolate a handful of colonies that are showing resistance. I’m not saying these bees don’t have mites, they are just cohabitating happily in a parasitic relationship (sound like people you know?). Bee colonies of compromised genetic stock that aren’t building a resistance or that are not being treated chemically inevitably circle the drain and eventually die within 2 years. American Foul Brood, European Foul Brood, and Nosema are other diseases that are equally invasive that the bees need to build a resistance to (and all been found in areas in and around the Napa Valley). The bees have some work to do.

We need to help our local bee population by not treating them, letting them build their own resistance. A huge part of this is making sure the bees are fed well by having an ample year-round nectar and pollen source available. Between the monoculture in our valley and changing weather patterns -- including our extremely dry summers -- the bees are taking a pounding when it comes to forage material. A combination of these two things has prevented a stable source of protein and carbohydrates for bees -- resulting in smaller colonies and overall weaker local genetic stock. This has hit both feral and managed honeybees particularly hard in the rural area. And ironically, we’re not allowed to keep bees in the city limits where pollen and nectar are more abundant.

Fortunately there are a lot of beekeepers and wineries that are addressing and improving the condition locally. A few I know are: Daniel Townsend at Nickel and Nickel, Sarah Black at Joseph Phelps, Degge Hays at Frog’s Leap, and Paul Goldberg with Larry Bettinelli Vineyard Management. They all have a strong understanding of sustainable beekeeping and are looking very closely at what it takes to survive not only their own colonies but the species as a whole. What I have seen over the past few years as a beekeeping instructor is that there has been some cross-pollinating going on where all the beekeepers are becoming gardeners and all the gardeners are becoming beekeepers. Daniel, Sarah, Degge, and Paul are definitely both.

But in my book the captain of the cover crop and at the helm of the bee boat has got to be Mark Griffin at The Napa Valley Reserve. When it comes to bee-friendly gardening Mark is the cover crop cowboy. I’m extremely lucky; not only does Mark have my bee back by hooking me up with feral swarms, adding genetics in my bee yard, but he also has some of the best bee forage in the valley. And the best thing is that one of the biggest apiaries I manage with the St. Helena Montessori School kids is only about 700 yards (as the bee flies) from Mark’s bee pasture. So when Mark and I roll around his vineyard checking the bee activity, I can say with confidence “ These aren’t all your bees brother, they’re our bees” with a fat grin. For me it’s exciting to see the ways he’s helping the pollinators. You see, it’s not just about the European Honey Bee but all pollinators, native and indigenous. Although we are a little partial to Apis mellifera, all pollinators are in the same sinking forage boat. Mark sees the bees needs and has been throwing them a life-line by really pushing the cover crop far beyond just the standard nitrogen rich varieties. When I dropped by a couple weeks ago Mark was growing about an acre of cilantro that had the most amazing small white blossoms the bees were working like crazy. Just about as crazy were the vineyard maintenance guys who were working the cilantro to spice up their salsa. For all the effort cilantro tends to be a little quick to bolt for me, so I was happy to see he was also growing buckwheat too. Mark took me on a drive-by crop sighting to see for myself and I was amazed at how hard the bees were working the delicate white flowers. The buckwheat is what they call a pseudocereal so people won’t get it confused with being in the wheat family. But who cares really, the bees love the stuff and it’s easy to grow. And at five bucks a pound we should all be growing it. I can see it now…Napa’s second crop. Buckwheat may not have much in the way of nitrogen but it sure makes for great pancakes so I’m all over it. Next year I’m going big with both buckwheat and borage so perhaps Mark’s bees will be coming to our place for an insect play date for a change.

Why should you care anyway? You should care because without pollinators you won’t be eating about two thirds of what you are currently accustom to consuming. That’s a pretty big deal since one of our favorite things to do here in the valley is eat. How about this… what if the European Honeybee is the next rung of indicator species? I feel fairly confident that most the people reading this will make it through. Things might get a little hairy toward the end of our lives but I think we’ll be generally okay. It’s my five-year-old beekeeping son I’m concerned with. If for nothing else you should care for the future of our kids and your mother – earth, that is.

What can you do as a grape grower in Napa valley? Rip up an acre of grapes for every ten you have planted and let the land go fallow encouraging both native and indigenous bees into your vineyards. OKAY - okay…. Don’t shoot me I’m only the messenger….
I know that’s wishful beekeeper thinking but realistically you could utilize some of the hedgerow and end-cap space by encouraging beneficial plants that would offer pollinators a food source during the dry season. The roses at the end of the vines are lovely to look at but don’t offer anything to a bee. The cover crop offers an ideal opportunity here, and the nitrogen rich blends are a great start. However, because of the early mow-down they aren’t much in the way of bee forage. At least that is what I saw out at the College Avenue apiary when we surrounded our bees with 2 acres of vetch, field pea, and barley. To get the full benefits of the nitrogen back into the soil the cover was turned in long before the bees had a chance to work any of the flowers from it. I begged to leave just a small patch around the bees, and towards the end of April and early May, when all the plants had time to mature, the bees were in heaven. I didn’t really see them working the barley but there was some activity on the field pea and they were all up on the vetch and still are where it hasn’t died out. I understand Napa Valley Ag Supply has some great beneficial blends.

You could also get a couple of colonies of strong Napa survivor stock for your property. I think you’ll surprised at the increase in the wholeness of life they will bring to your vineyard even though technically the bees don’t pollinate grapes – perhaps someone is up for putting that to the test – I’d supply and manage the bees for the season to put that one to rest. I’d argue they help.

And we need to respect our riparian corridor and any Valley Oak trees because they are the feral bee habitat. If a swarm happens to settle on your property, don’t panic, call a beekeeper.

You might call our Napa City Council member Pete Mott and remind him how important the bees are to our valley’s well being and encourage him to support revisiting the current legislation regarding beekeeping in the city limits. After all the bees are doing far better in the urban landscape these days. Plus, it will give me a little ammunition when I’m popping a bee cap in him to make change. Actually, Pete is 100% behind the bees and guiding me in the necessary steps to make Napa one of the first cities in the area to become more pollinator friendly. I’m shooting for three colonies per household in the city limits.

Lastly, plant lavender or some rosemary to offer something for our little pollinators. Or perhaps buy a small jar of regional honey to help a local beekeeper. Baby bee steps towards a brighter future.