So the world as we know it came to an end last fall (make pretend). It was a long, crazy winter as the world spiraled out-of-control and anarchy and lawlessness ruled supreme. You survived, however; but the road ahead is not easy. Hunger is always present as you scramble to find food. Summer roles around and you’re busy as hell gardening, getting firewood, etc. You’re working hard in the garden as you notice honey bees also working hard, and you think, “Gee, I wish I’d kept bees so I could have a honey source. That would be . . . . sweet (nyuck nyuck nyuck).” Or maybe if you kept honey bees you’d think, “Gee, I wish the neighbors hadn’t smashed my bee colony in search of food.”
But wait! You’ve heard of a “bee line” – right? Of course, it means a straight line. When bees are loaded with nector they head back to their hive in a straight line. Soooooo watch that bee! Follow that bee! From flower, to flower, to flower, to flower, to over there, to flower, to flower – okay – there’s an easier way:
- get an old piece of honey comb from any old nest and fill it with honey or sugar water
- put the comb in a hinged box and place it near busy honey bees
- walk away, come back in a little while, watch which direction the bees are flying, and get a compass bearing
- flip the cover on the box to trap some bees inside
- walk in the direction of your compass bearing for a ways
- set the box down, open it up, and see if the bees are still heading in the same direction. The closer you get to the hive, the more bees will come.
- Keep moving the box until you’re able to find the bee tree. Keep looking up, because the hive will likely be inside the tree up high
Now comes the fun part – layer up in 14,000 sets of clothes, cut that tree down, and come back in an hour – lol. Have fun with that one!
After the bees recover from their own SHTF situation, locate where in the tree the hive is, and make a small, very smokey fire near it. This should help chill the bees some. Then cut the tree above and below the hive, set the chunk up on its end, and give it a good ole whack with the axe – shazam! You’re swimming in a whole lot of honey.
It’s THAT easy!
Yeah, easy, right. But hey, sugar will be a very valuable commodity after Doomsday.
- Ranger Man
BTW: Bee keeping is on my list of things-to-do. You know . . . someday . . . when I have lots of spare time . . .
Here is an article – Lessons of the Great Depression from Mainers who endured it
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{ 6 comments }
Gotta love that honey! Just hope you are not allergic to bee sings!! The article on the Great Depression was very good. I was discussing the financial situation with a person at my local smoke shop and in all fairness I don’t really know this guy but he said he was in the “financial world” and he is advising his friends and family to have as much cash around as possible in small denominations(which is not such a bad idea) so that when banks put a hold on our money, so we can’t touch it for 30 days one can survive. I don’t know if this is fact but he told me that due to the credit crisis that the FDIC gives the banks the ability to hold your money up to 30 days before releasing it to you. I can’t really see that being legal but the whole financial melt down does not seem legal to me, But anyway, the article mentioned banks holding money for 2o days and it got me a “a thinkin”. Anyone with ideas or info? It is a very scary thought not to be able to access my money to pay bills and ummmm buy food! I can’t imagine the social unrest that would follow.
Brad
Sugar stores forever, and in current times, is cheap :). Theres no excuse for not having a fair amount stored up anyways :P.
But of course, it will eventually be used/bartered away, so then the honey bee trip may be worth the effort. But certainly its a lot easier to buy some extra sugar now, than to cutting down trees infested with bees post SHTF.
About all wild bees are dead, Varroa mites. Your picture is of a swarm, not a hive tree. Bees are good for gardens, yours and your neighbors. Open sugar water will attract bees just fine. Cutting down a hive tree will almost certainly doom the hive. If they are Africian bees they will be very aggressive when approached. A person would need a smoker and bee face mask when approaching any bee hive,
It is expensive to get started in Beekeeping. Figure 300 per Hive. Base board, Mite check board, new plastic frames, super and broodbox plus all the extras. Well worth it I believe, IMHO.
Beekeeper Earl
Earl is right. When I was a kid in the 1970′s a typical flower bed at home would have 50 bees at a time buzzing around it. Now – zero.
Now I sometimes come across a hive deep in the forest where isolation may be protecting it from those destructive mites. But they are few and far between.
The life on planet earth has been really taking a hit the last couple of decades. Something is going to give at some point and human kind will go the way of the bee.
YA EVERY MORNING HERE IN BEAUTIFUL KISSIMMEE I SEE 1 BEE HOVERING AROUND
THE FLOWERS AT THE SAME TIME…EVERY MORNING!!! AMAZING!!!
ITS TOO BAD THATS JUST ABOUT THE ONLY BEE I EVER SEE~~!!!
i like that thanks..