Keith Hallam and Oz visitors From Kangaroo Island in the News

BEE GOOD: Keith Hallam with some of his bees

 
What's the buzz, buster? Well, there's a mass bee shortage internationally. It's not apparent right now – not with 30,000 bees aloft within arm's length of me in Blackpool, and another 30,000 getting on with
everyday life within the two hives in a Blackpool back yard.
Welcome to the world of queens, workers, drones: apis mellifera, the honeybee, as beekeeper (or apiarist) Keith Hallam puts it. Keith's bees, Bulgarian bees, are remarkably placid, even with a stranger in their midst, and with neither of us wearing the body armour of a bee suit.
Yet, even with bees in my hair, on my forehead, on my clothes, and a strange Creature Comforts-like fixed grin plastered on my face, there's an air of calm about the whole process, for the bees aren't bothered with me, or bothering me, but going about the business of making honey.
And that's where it's easy to wax lyrical, because if you've ever tasted real honey, not the gloopy stuff which passes for such in most parts, it is as distinctive as a fine Barolo from a Beaujolais. The secret's in the pollen source... or the blend.
One of the best honeys in the world has just been sampled in Blackpool, courtesy of a leading specialist from Australia – on a flying visit!
Keith, of South Shore, is secretary of Blackpool and Fylde Beekeepers, which has 39 members locally, and has helped host a visit by Peter Davis and Susan McReadie from Kangaroo Island, off the south coast near Adelaide, here to visit a relative, Peter Seed, in Blackpool.
A whistlestop tour of beekeepers of the Fylde, and further afield, was organised, along with a meeting at Keith's own home.
It enabled beekeepers to compare results too, with honey from Peter's colony, where the bees thrive on eucalyptus, one from Lancashire, 20 per cent balsam blended with 80 per cent rapeseed honey. And, for my money, the finest honey from the hives of Bill and Mavis Poole of Marton.
Bill's Lancashire Honey is pure gold, rich, warming and strong. It hits the back of the throat like a fine malt whisky. Small wonder locals clamour for the limited run of jars produced.
But when it comes to imports and exports and honey trading, Aussie Peter has the edge; his queen bees internationally feted, dispatched around the world, to establish hardy colonies elsewhere.
He has up to 1,000 colonies producing more than 100kg from each hive, all organic, says Keith.
Kangaroo Island is one of the last bastions of the Ligurian bee, originally from Italy. Quarantine regulations are strict. The island's isolation helps protect the integrity of the breed.
But there's been one immense challenge, as Peter himself points out. Hives on Kangaroo Island are still recovering from the devastating bushfires of December 2007, and the ensuing dry seasons. Fires burnt out the eucalyptus plants, so the bees were starving to death.
Peter explains: "Many bees died of starvation because they wouldn't come out of their hives. They just stayed at home and ate everything there.
"Every beekeeper lost about half their hives, and it happened so quickly, over 10 days.
"We ended up with weak bees and it's taken several years to get our stronger hives back to full production. We're still re-queening and re-stocking. But now we've got stronger hives."
Peter says the Ligurian bee's links with Kangaroo Island date back to 1884 with legislation to protect them.
"There are very few Ligurian bees left in the world, but being on an island has protected them.
"With careful selection and careful breeding you can avoid any genetic problems. And Ligurian honey, mostly from the eucalyptus forests, is fantastic.
"But I don't think people realise just how lovely honey can taste. Forget the mass-produced supermarket stuff.
"We've been tasting the various honeys here. It tends to be clover and mixed flowers. It's like a wine tasting really, each has a different character, no two are the same.
"It is really important we look after the bees, through quarantine, and proper breeding, and improve the selection available, and develop more robust bees, along with
encouraging more beekeepers, but make sure they have training. You cannot learn it all out of books.
"It's also important we educate people about the importance of bees, and stop them using too many chemicals in agriculture – that's one of the greatest threats along with loss of habitat. Bees need nectar and pollen from different sources and different protein levels.
"Without bees, the world food supply for humankind would
dwindle. Starvation and malnutrition and scurvy would abound. It's that serious."