SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 10:10-10:50 A.M., meet in Bloedel Hall
Don't miss this Sunday forum between the 9 and 11 a.m. services on June 4. All are invited to taste the honey made by the bees that live on the Saint Mark’s property, meet the beekeepers, learn about pollinators, and try a bee craft. At the conclusion of the forum, everyone will head outside, and The Rev. Linzi Stahlecker will bless the hives for the new season.
See a video introduction to the beekeeping ministry from Fall 2020 below:
SUNDAY, MAY 29, 10:10–10:50 a.m., Bloedel Hall
The cathedral beekeepers will share about their ministry and the current state of the bees who live on the roof above Bloedel, and we’ll conclude with a blessing of the hives.
Note: Doreen Tudor's birthday celebration, previously announced for this time, will be rescheduled for a later date.
See a video introduction to the beekeeping ministry from Fall 2020 below:
by Rob Reid, cathedral beekeeper ministry leader
APRIL 20, 2022
It’s Spring when another season of beekeeping begins. Now is when we decide if our hives are strong or if we need to buy more bees. Did our bees survive the winter?
We always hesitate to open a hive until it gets warmer outside. When it’s below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the bees cluster together around the queen, generating heat. They do this for months, day and night. Hopefully, they move around as a cluster and access honey that was created from nectar collected when flowers were blooming. We can also supplement with sugar if there is not sufficient honey that can be easily accessed. Sometimes there’s honey but the bees don’t find it. To inspect and also preserve heat, we quickly open the top of the hive. We can add granulated sugar on newspaper on top of the frames and at the same time look for bee activity. After the cold snap we had in January, an inspection revealed no signs of live bees. The bees in both of our hives did not survive so we will be adding new bees in April or May. They probably could not generate enough heat to survive. There are other contributing factors though.
One of the contributing factors affecting all beekeepers is the problem of varroa mites in both commercial hives and those of hobbyists. We knew we had significant numbers of this tiny parasite and therefore treated the hives with a natural substance, oxalic acid. This acid kills the mites but not the bees. We treated our hives a couple of times and found lots of dead varroa on the bottom board of the hive. There is a lot of research on varroa and we’re hoping to have bees that can survive the presence of this parasite on their own. There are some hives with bees that can naturally limit the varroa. Scientists are trying to reproduce those bees and let nature take its course. Wouldn’t it be nice to let natural adaptation fix the problem with minimal intervention from us humans?
Honey from the cathedral beehives has been harvested! Thanks to beekeepers Rob and Penny Reid, with help from Jaime, Yoshi, and Keiko, who collected honey from the hives in the cathedral kitchen at the end of July 2021.
The honey is separated from the wax using a hand-cranked machine that spins the frames at high speeds.
The Cathedral Breadbakers Guild are now using our bees' honey in their loaves prepared for communion every Sunday. "Bee prepared" for honey to be sold in the nave, coming soon!
Click photos to enlarge.
We are happy to report that we continue to have two thriving hives on the roof of Bloedel Hall. We are especially grateful for the steady help and interest of Jaime Rubio. He has given our bees the extra daily attention they’ve needed this season. It’s been enjoyable to watch the hives flourish. We witness healthy behavior including the bees fanning their wings to regulate temperature in the hive. We continue to see lots of yellow pollen coming in.
It became apparent that we have relatively high numbers of varroa mites which is a huge problem for all beekeepers. A recent commentary says probably every hive in the US has some mite infestation so we decided it was time to bite the bullet and treat using oxalic acid vapor. Thus my “super mask” in the photo below. Since mites get into the cells where eggs are laid by the queen, three rounds of the acid treatment are required to successfully reduce the mite population. This can be done with very little damage to the bees.
You may be wondering about the honey. We will be leaving honey in the hive this winter so the bees have plenty of nourishment through the wet, cold weather. We hope to harvest next year after the bees have survived and when pandemic precautions are no longer an issue. We ask you to remain patient and continue praying for the health of our winged friends.
Peace to all,
Rob Reid
The cathedral building has two beehives on the roof of Bloedel Hall. Thanks to beekeeper Rob Reid, our bees are thriving! Scroll down to view pictures.
Your prayers for the health of our hives are welcome. For more information about protecting pollinators, visit this link.
If you are interested in helping out with the bees, contact the cathedral and we will put you in touch with Rob.
Sundays & Beyond Update August 30, 2020
Sundays & Beyond Update July 19, 2020
The active honeybee hives on the roof of Bloedel Hall have been busy. And, apparently, they have a sense of humor: Q: Why do virgin bees mate in the air? A: They can’t get any privacy in the hive. Consider planting pollinator-friendly plants in your own garden or window box. And reduce or eliminate pesticides on your plants.
Sundays & Beyond Update July 12, 2020
Did you know St. Mark’s has two active honeybee hives on the roof of Bloedel Hall? Installed on May 10, they include thousands of residents. Recently, our apiarist Rob Reid suspected one of our hives had lost its queen because, when inspecting the frames, he was unable to find eggs. But wild bees are able to create a new queen with remaining larvae. To assist our bees, Rob and Jaime Rubio moved eggs from the healthy hive to the queenless one. Now the bees can create queen cells and feed them “royal jelly.” If all goes well, in less than a month, the new queen will mate in mid air with drone bees and start laying fertile eggs. There’s lots of miraculous science involved. You can see where the expression “the birds and the bees” comes from.
Sundays & Beyond Update July 5, 2020
This week’s thought: The world is facing a mass extinction of species, including pollinators. Bees are critically important to our global food production and nutritional security. Estimates suggest that pollinators directly contribute US$235–$577 billion to global food production each year. Without pollinators, many of the foods we depend on would become scarce, putting life on our planet at risk. When planting your flower garden this summer, consider planting pollinator-friendly plants. Take Earth Day Network’s Pesticide Pledge, and learn about additional actions you can take to help protect pollinators.
June Update from Beekeeper Rob
The bee population in our hives is increasing rapidly. We have added a second deep hive box to both hives. I may try to split an existing hive and create a third hive. Providing another queen can be tricky though.
Some of you have joined me in caring for the bees already. Thank you for your company, Jaime, Keiko, Yoshi, Barbara and Steve, and Nancy.
May Update from Beekeeper Rob
Penny and I picked up bees from the Snohomish Bee Company at the Monroe Fairgrounds last Sunday afternoon. Then, we “installed” two “nucs” of bees into two of the existing hives on the roof of Bloedel Hall. I ordered them several months ago and they were shipped here from Northern California a week ago. Each nuc comes with 5 frames and a working queen and thousands of worker bees. It was quick and easy to move the 5 frames, one at a time, into our hives. In fact, miraculously, I saw the queen on one of the frames as I was moving it from nuc box to hive.
