Bees, Food Security and the Sacred Feminine
From a spiritual and energetic perspective most of us are comfortable with the concept that all things are connected. It's not a stretch to consider a link between the extreme weather we are seeing on the planet, and the destabilsation of bee colonies due to pests like varroa mite. Both the planet and the bee hive are held to be feminine in nature, both are representative of the Goddess, and have been manipulated and used by humankind for financial gain.
Interestingly, we are taught to work with and treat our bee hives, in ways that might have been considered by the ancients to be somewhat barbaric. Very process driven and commercial in nature. Is it time to change things around now? Can we respond to the current bee crisis in a way that honours and enables the resilience of the bees to shine through? Or has it gone too far? Have we forgotten how to be in sync with nature, to support it rather than attempt to overpower the natural rhythms? Is it possible for us to think outside of the box to find a way forward that can bring us back from the brink?
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Hello and welcome to this episode of the Salsa Wild Show. I've just recently been to the Off Grid Living Festival Chilton. It was on just last weekend.
Really, really great storeholders, lots of interesting things. And had really interesting time listening Adrian Iodici, or I'm not quite sure how to pronounce his surname actually, but anyway. Adrian, who runs natural beekeeping in New South Wales.
Very interesting guy, really interesting approach to beekeeping. Very, not the mainstream is probably the way to And I don't know if you know this, but I have a couple of hives here. I've been keeping bees since I moved here to the cottage. It's my hobby, because back when I was working full time, and running Albury Hypnotherapy Clinic, I looked in the mirror one day and went, Karen Seinor, you're the one that needs a hobby. You're working way too much. And now I'm definitely not working too much, doing way more fun things like keeping bees and going to festivals occasionally.
So... One of the things that happens with beekeeping is interesting practices that I have been a little bit challenged by. For example, you know, being a woman and aware of the importance of maintaining respect for older women particularly,
I've got a bit of a challenge about knocking off the queen every year or every second year as a matter of course and that's what a lot of beekeepers are taught to Now the reason that they do that is to keep the hive really active. They say that with a new queen that you can keep the bees calm and that's because
The queens are actually bred to be calm. And to keep that production of, you know, babies very high and that keeps the colony working at optimum level for greater honey production.Now, most beekeepers do like honey and they do keep their beehives so that the household can have honey and maybe family and friends as well.
But there are many beekeepers, you know, hobby beekeepers, who have a hive for the good of the planet to, you know, keep everything trucking along nicely with plants, you know, to improve veggie garden and so on.
So it's a concept that I have been challenged by. did actually have to do that a couple of years ago because I got a really cranky hive. So I definitely needed to change that queen.
But I'm aware that it is a standard practice rather than something that is generally considered dependent on the hive. So had a really great time listening to Adrian.
And I asked him about... I'm not sure if all of you are aware that this little pest is everywhere in the world now.
Australia was the last place to get it. And evidently,
we've had it here for two years, I believe. But I heard on the weekend that it's actually been here longer and that it was only just published to or announced to the public two years ago that it had been here much longer.
Now one of the things that we are being encouraged as beekeepers to maintain the integrity of, to keep our beehives alive basically is to treat them when Virol might come. Now it's already in New South, it's in Canberra and it will be hitting, live in Albury so it's, you know, if we get through the whole of next season without Varroa, we will be very, very fortunate.
And I'm right on the border of New South and Vic, so it's on the move. And so we're being instructed to treat our hives with chemicals.
Some are natural-based, and it's quite a complex little process, timed. Some of the treatments you can't, eat the honey, all sorts of things are going to, it's going to become a little bit more complicated.
Now there is, I discovered, quite a movement of people in the US and who do not treat with chemicals their beehives.
And the reason that they don't do that is that bees have the capacity to shed their DNA. So What that means, as I understand it and I've got a very basic understanding, is that
if they have a trait that is not used or not needed, they will shed that trait. So what that means if we treat all of our bee colonies with chemicals against something like Varroa and then our colonies will shed any resilience that they might have to fight back against broal mite.
Now, that's a complex thing, actually. So ethically, we want to be able to support the bees, to protect,
be resilient against a pest like that because it's brutal. What we've been told is to expect that we will lose 80% of beehives in Australia. Now, the outcomes of that, the flow on effect from that is going to be astronomical.
So think about it like this. I don't know that people have really got their head around what this actually could mean for us in terms of food production. And food security is a big deal for every single one of us.
So, you know, if you've got 10 beehives and you lose eight of them, that means that there's far less bees to pollinate veggies, fruit trees.
You know, the almond industry, for example, they truckloads and truckloads of beehives are transported in in the spring when the blossoms are out to pollinate those almonds so that they maintain their production, growing of the almonds. So there's only 20% of bees available to do that rather than 100%, that's going to mean a lot less almonds.
the price of almonds is going to go up. and just spread that across the whole country. And it starts to paint a picture about what's going to happen to the quantity of food and the cost of the food that is available.
mean, not tomorrow, but it's going happen. So that's a big concern. It's really got my mind thinking, you know, wow,
We've got this set of rules that's been set out. This is how we're going to treat it.r
And we've got treat it with the chemicals. That's definitive. And I understand that. One of the things that's important is that, like for me, I've got to, my neighbour across the road has been, so anything do or don't do is going to impact his hives. Because if my colonies get where I'm, I'd,
His will end up with it. So
if I don't treat and I've got varroa mite, then his hives are going to be affected. Yeah, not good. So we kind of need to work together as a community of beekeepers to get things happening. And apparently the way varroa works is that even when there's some resilience, I mean,
The bees do fight back, obviously. And this for all might, for us, it would be like we had a dinner plate stuck to our back. And you can imagine if you, those little things with something, know, what comparatively would be a dinner plate for us on our back, that's going to weight them down. It's going to reduce their health, their ability to do their work.
And...
When the colony gets weakened, then other pests come in, things like small hive beetle and wax moth.
So the colony might not get wiped out by the varroa mite, but it gets weakened and then those other pests come in. Now, under normal circumstances, the bees themselves can deal with small hive beetle and wax moth most of the time.
So, you know, for us beekeepers, it's our job to look after the hive sufficiently to make sure that the bees aren't taxed by too much space…
Yeah, so there's a real lot going on in this space and whether there's going to be grouping of people here in Australia who do things differently.
As I understand it, and I'm not really completely on top of this, I've just had some touches of information that have sparked off lot of thoughts.
My understanding is that In places like Europe, they've pretty much across the board just treated chemically their hives. So their bees have not had an opportunity. If there are any colonies that have resilience against the pest, they've been knocked out from having that because of that DNA shedding that bees do.
So I wonder whether Australia, and obviously how the government is, You know how organisations are. They just do what they do and don't think for themselves.
So I wonder how it would be if we did some really controversial sort of thinking and applied... different protocols rather than just doing what others have done, which hasn't been 100% successful. For example, there's a huge – it happening here in Australia is going to have a massive impact on the US because Australia has been exporting huge quantities of bees to the US to keep them afloat, and we're not going to be able to do that anymore for them.
So they're going to be on their own. in regard to bee production. So interesting times ahead, very interesting times ahead. So for those of you who are interested in food security and have an idea about the importance of that, then you'll understand why so many people are profoundly concerned about this issue.
And yet it's not something that is really out there and being discussed. I'm fascinated about this food security thing too because when I drive down the Hume Highway or the freeway, I've noticed all this fantastic grazing land.
And whether you're a vegetarian or a vegan or a carnivore, it's food production land, although mostly for beef cattle, that I've noticed.
it's now got solar panels on it. Now, one of the things that is of concern is the leaching into the soil that happens from these solar panels.
Is it from the lithium? I'm not 100% sure on that. So what that means is that that land can't be used to grow food for quite a period of time.
So we're actually being hit on a number of different faces here in terms of the security of our food sources.
Interesting times I feel, very interesting times. Now one of, I've got a fabulous book here, I'm just looking at my bookshelf to see if I can see it.
It is called, it's got a yellow spine and I don't actually see it there.
Anyway, Darn it. How annoying is that when you know you've got it and it just can't be seen? Anyway, this guy, he talks about the bees and timing of how long, once the bees are gone, how long we've got, basically.
Chilling thought. Very chilling thought. Fascinating book, actually. And he talks about He makes a reference of the colony. It's like the human brain.
There's nothing separate. We know, think we would all agree, that everything is connected, yeah? He talks about the structure, you know, the shape. of the wax little containers that the bees make. They build out the wax foundation and then they put honey into that and the queen also lays the eggs into that shape, a hexagon sort shape.
It is the strongest shape. It will withhold the most pressure. That's why those dome houses are so fantastic. And he also talks about...
Rudolf Steiner is the person who's written this. Actually, I think this book is taken from lectures that he gave to beekeepers in Europe. So it's an old book.
This all happened a long time ago. Very clever guy. You have heard of Steiner Education. It's quite innovative. He talks about that shape being the central shape this planet so even our bones the shape of our bones the cells within our bones have that shape fascinating stuff so yes a bit of a random rant about beekeeping and me sharing my thoughts from attending that talk but so many different things have come up from just listening to that short what 45 minute talk by Adrian
not only about beekeeping practices, but that tendency for us to just follow the rules, shall we say. And we do tend to do that. We just follow what is given because we all want to get along and do the right things.
And when they say this is the right thing, we tend to just go there and just accept that. But is that right? Now, I'm not saying that I will not be using chemicals to keep my beehives alive. I'm not saying that at all.
I'm just saying, is it the right thing? I know I'm going to do a little bit more research now and look beyond what I've been given. And I've been given, like all beekeepers in New South and probably Vic as well, lots of information and lots of support about how to deal with this when it comes.
But I'm interested now in looking further over the fence. What else is there? Are there other people who are doing things outside of the standard square? Sometimes we actually need to do that to get a different result because this has not really been resolved anywhere else at this stage.
We may still have a chance, maybe we still have a chance to resolve this. I mean, since I'm talking about bees, I love bees, and the golden liquid, beautiful honey. Honey is such a healing thing. You know, a bee, one teaspoon of honey is the output from a bee's life. For that reason I'm often astounded at people who smother it on and... chow it down like it's junk food. I think about honey as nectar, like medicine.
It’s an interesting thing, that in the hive, in the colony, the queen bee is the central piece, she is the cog around which everything rotates. Similiarly, in a traditional household, it is the mother figure who keeps the family or household ‘on track’.
When a woman is really balanced and calm and taking care of herself, she's able to care for the others and the group seems to do better. An interesting thought isn't it? I'm digressing a little bit here.
I actually wanted to talk about this issue about the bees, and what is happening, and the potential issues for us with food security, and whether or not our practices, which are fundamentally commercially based, are the best approach.
I've just got a couple of beehives here. It's very hands-on. I work with the weather. I don't go out to the hives if I'm off kilter. I need to be calm and relaxed and balanced, move slowly, have time. Be in the right space so to speak.
It's not something that you can rush if you're working with your bees. Because when you’re calm, they're calm. And it's easy to work with them. So in a commercial situation, it's quite different.
I've actually got three hives here. I've got a Kenyan top bar hive, a flow hive, and one of the more traditional, square commercially based Langstroth hives.
And working on those three hives is very, very different - mostly because of the physical setup. Which of those is best for the bees? Personally I think that the Kenyan is the best.
To be honest, for me, it's actually the easiest to work with because I'm standing up. It's at waist height and there is no bending or lifting heavy boxes with honey in. Also, the bees create their own foundation to the size that they want.
Unlike in a Langstroth where you provide foundation and provide a square frame, they have to build it within that space.
In the Kenyan top bar hive, they actually make their own comb, their own honeycomb, and so they do the size that's right for them. So they make different sizes. So, for example, there is a bee called a drone, and they're bigger and need more space. In a Langstroth hive, where the foundation is provided, then those drones are smaller. They're forced to be smaller.
Whereas in a more natural sort of environment, like out in the bush, the bees just make the comb to the size that is appropriate for them. Yeah, very interesting, interesting stuff.
I think that we do not appreciate honey for what it is. It's an incredible healing liquid. In essence, when I go and take honey from my hives I'm stealing their food. So I really consider that when I'm looking at what's available. You know, is there going to be enough to take them through the winter? What do I actually need.
And of course, that's a big question for us at the moment. This particular year, there's a lot of people who are already feeding their hives because it just hasn't been a great season food-wise. So the bees are under the pump here, they're hungry already. There's not a lot of food around for them, so that means that the queen lays less eggs. So we're kind of setting up for this unpleasant little potential storm for next season. Yeah, watch this space.
Keep your ears peeled for what's going on in bee world because bee world matters to our human world for sure. Yeah. So all praise to the bee goddess. We've got to look after her. We've got to do what we can to keep those bees in a good place.
And, yeah, I'm going to be looking into this a little more and I invite you to keep your ear out and hear what's going on. You know, it’s the million dollar question, “Do we have all the information?” I never really know that.
We certainly get told what the corporations and the governments want us to know, but do we know it all? I don't know. But, yes, sacred honey, sacred bees, they're under threat.
So something to know, something to think about. Maybe this is a time to consider whether you might get into beekeeping to help be part of the saving of the bees. I don't know.
The other thing, before I finish off, what does it mean when an organism that is so female-centric, like a bee colony, is under threat in such a tangible, physical way?
Is that not a reflection on the feminine, as in the big feminine, the big mama, as in the planet? Do you think there are correlations between these things? Many believe that everything is connected.
Challenging times, right? So this is not a big boo-boo thing. I just thought I'd share these thoughts about what's going on with the bees and hopefully prompt some thought on the topic’ Invite you to think about what it could mean for you, and for us as a collective, with the bees under threat in this country and across the world. I mean, we've been sitting here pretty on our little island or our big continent, safe and protected, but no longer. we're now in there with everybody else and bees are under threat.
Interesting times ahead. Take care.