Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

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Zasso Nouka
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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

That's awesome news man, great that you've found someone willing to share a swarm with you. Hopefully you will have some bees really soon and you can have your hive working. I would be very interested in hearing how you get on with them. Given that A. Cerana normally inhabit all manner of places they probably are quite flexible in where they will live and might not be too bothered about the dimensions of a potential hive.

No luck here so far but I've been chatting with a beekeeper on Awaji island (Stephen Wheeler) and he said he captures most of his swarms during golden week so it's not all over just yet and apparently there is still a small chance that colonies will send out swarms even during the summer so we are keeping our hopes up.

We are actually keeping bees now, we made several bee hotels for solitary bees and they have already taken up residence so in that sense we are actually beekeepers already. Just not honey bees.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Shizuman »

The hives on this thread look pretty awesome!
im real keen on setting up a few flow hives once i get a plot all squared away.
is there any really special flavors of honey here in japan? i noticed you can buy wattles here id love to see if i can get some aus style honeys made.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

The maker reckons that Flow Hives will work with A. Cerana so you should be able to set them and give it a go. The traditional hives we have are very simple to make if you have a bit of time and a few basic wood working tools. The main problem seems to be actually capturing a wild swarm if you aren't lucky enough to have a local bee keeper nearby who is willing to share a swarm with you as Caleb is lucky enough to have (and yes I'm totes jelly :lol: )

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Shizuman »

Yea i had a look at the above conversation and it seems the getting of the bees is the trick!

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Eric in Japan »

Caleb Fuller wrote:So, when I get them, I may well be the first person in Japan keeping Apis cerana in a Warre style hive!
ahem...
http://japanhomestead.blogspot.jp/2010/08/swarm.html

Just kidding, I have the hive, just no bees!
"... so, the cucumbers said to the cabbage, `Lettuce Go.`"

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Shizuman wrote:is there any really special flavors of honey here in japan? i noticed you can buy wattles here id love to see if i can get some aus style honeys made.
Sorry I missed answer this part of your question. Honey from Japanese bees sells for truly eye watering prices sometimes, I've not tasted it yet but it sells for way more than honey from European honeybees. You can also get single crop honey so if you have a large flowering mono crop near you then setting up a hive of A. Mellifera and swapping out the frames as the crop blooms would be doable.

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Shizuman »

Zasso Nouka wrote: Honey from Japanese bees sells for truly eye watering prices sometimes, I've not tasted it yet but it sells for way more than honey from European honeybees. You can also get single crop honey so if you have a large flowering mono crop near you then setting up a hive of A. Mellifera and swapping out the frames as the crop blooms would be doable.
That sounds like it could be a really interesting project! thanks mate, i didnt know about the price of honey!

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Caleb Fuller »

Eric in Japan wrote: ahem...
http://japanhomestead.blogspot.jp/2010/08/swarm.html

Just kidding, I have the hive, just no bees!
Bummer that the bees left... So, no bees in 8 years?
Might be time to consider buying some seed bees?

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Caleb Fuller »

Zasso Nouka wrote:
Shizuman wrote:is there any really special flavors of honey here in japan? i noticed you can buy wattles here id love to see if i can get some aus style honeys made.
Sorry I missed answer this part of your question. Honey from Japanese bees sells for truly eye watering prices sometimes, I've not tasted it yet but it sells for way more than honey from European honeybees. You can also get single crop honey so if you have a large flowering mono crop near you then setting up a hive of A. Mellifera and swapping out the frames as the crop blooms would be doable.
I've tried Apis cerana honey - it is certainly good. The stuff I've had has been ver )y rich and complex in flavour - quite a bit stronger than the honey-flavoured sugar syrup you probably get in supermarkets here.
I don't know if this is a feature of the cerana species itself - I suspect it is more due to cerana keepers being more on the amateur/semi-professional side of things and letting the bees free range on a wide variety of flowers. I know Apis mellifera is quite capable of making very rich honeys given access to the right flowers. If you've ever seen Australian leatherwood honey - that stuff is almost like treacle!

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Re: Adventures in Japanese Bee (Apis Cerana) Keeping

Post by Shizuman »

Caleb Fuller wrote: I've tried Apis cerana honey - it is certainly good. The stuff I've had has been ver )y rich and complex in flavour - quite a bit stronger than the honey-flavoured sugar syrup you probably get in supermarkets here.
I don't know if this is a feature of the cerana species itself - I suspect it is more due to cerana keepers being more on the amateur/semi-professional side of things and letting the bees free range on a wide variety of flowers. I know Apis mellifera is quite capable of making very rich honeys given access to the right flowers. If you've ever seen Australian leatherwood honey - that stuff is almost like treacle!
Yea i miss a nice yellow box honey or manuka honey!
Im defiantly keen to see what flavors can be made from different settings!

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