Rescuing the Bees: Vanilla Paradise Nevis' Unexpected Adventure
A sting operation
While the satisfaction and hard work of running a farm are often in the spotlight, what about the challenges and dangers that lurk on the land and beyond? Allow me to share the tale of when Vanilla Paradise Nevis faced the removal of a bee’s nest. If you've never been up close and personal with a bee’s nest before, read on—it's a treat!
The Buzz about Bees on Nevis
At Vanilla Paradise Nevis, we appreciate how important it is to let pollinators thrive, since we are obliged to pollinate each of our vanilla flowers by hand, as its natural pollinator (the Melipona bee), is practically extinct. So, with this in mind, we would not intercede lightly in the habits of bees, or of any insect.
A Surprise Discovery: Bees in the manifold of an old tractor
We discovered a bees’ nest nestled somewhere inside the rusted engine of a big yellow tractor. This tractor was found on the farm when we cleared the land and had probably not been used in 40 years. The operation would be a delicate one as we wanted to keep both humans and bees safe and did not know how to go about tackling it.
Enter Jamie "The Bee Man"
We wanted to do a live removal, and we knew we had to have an expert. Enter Jamie “The Bee Man”. Jamie Liburd, from Pond Hill, Gingerland, Nevis, is a local beekeeper who learned the trade from his uncle. It was fascinating to watch Jamie don his protective bee-keeping outfit, consisting of a bee suit, gloves, and a veil to minimise the risk of bee stings.
Navigating the Buzz
Jamie kitted up and ready to go
The Beekeeper’s Uniform:
Bee veil: A protective veil that covers the beekeeper's face and neck, preventing stings
Bee jacket: A heavy-duty jacket made of cotton or canvas, providing additional protection from stings
Bee gloves: Thick gloves made of leather or rubber, protecting the beekeeper's hands from stings
Preparing the Scene
Once in his protective suit, Jamie got to work preparing the scene, cutting down foliage and branches that had almost completely choked up the tractor providing great hiding places for the hive. Jamie dug around the old vehicle until he found the hive with its honeycomb and brought it out, nestled in a machine part. It was small and had been established recently, which was good news. It was very beautiful, and we had not seen anything like it!
The Tools of the Trade
In Jamie’s box of tools was a bee smoker, a device that helps beekeepers to calm the bees during hive inspections or removals. Gently covering the bees and their hive with cool smoke keeps the beekeeper safe since if bees sense danger, they release an alarm pheromone called isopentyl acetate that wafts through the air and alerts other bees to be ready to attack. The smoker is kept diffusing throughout the operation.
A Delicate Operation
Another crucial piece of kit is a bee cage that contains frames into which the honeycombs are placed . Once the bees had calmed down, Jamie removed the honeycombs from the hive, placing them delicately on the frames, all the while looking for the queen. It’s important to find and reunite the queen to her workers for a successful hive relocation. Once she was found – small and quite young according to Jamie – she was successfully placed on a bee-frame. In the video above you can see how Jamie put the queen in the special box and then inserted it into the frame. Jamie used the smoke to gently coax the bees which he had removed from the old engine part, into the hive to join their queen. They sense she is there and naturally want to join her.
A Successful Outcome
Jamie’s work was almost done. He secured the hive and placed it back on the old tractor so that, in the evening, when the rest of the worker bees returned, they would still find their home – just in a different form! This is exactly what happened. Jamie returned later that evening, removed the hive and relocated it. Our farm land was safe again and so was the Vanilla Paradise Nevis team, whilst the bees were free to buzz another day – just not on our farm! Jamie transferred them safely to one of his 17 hives.
A Grateful Acknowledgment
We were very happy to have been able to safely relocate this wonderful insect, so important to our ecosystem, to carry on making that delicious nectar that we so love! Honey is (almost) as sacred to us as vanilla! We are buzzing with gratitude to Jamie for his work! He produces his own honey and we have already tested it on our breakfast toast at Vanilla Paradise Nevis!
You can find Jamie’s “Sweet Honey” here.
