Tanglewood Hollow

I made a few experimental beehives last year. They are frameless hives, so the bees can make their comb in a natural way. The hives are basically just empty boxes with a couple of thin wooden supports to help support the comb.

One of the hives failed in a cold snap this February. Last weekend we harvested the honey. We ended up with 2 ½ gallons of honey from one failed colony.

Watch the video to see what the inside of a natural beehive looks like.

Harvesting Honey from Jeremy Marr on Vimeo.

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That’s a pretty big word methinks. It’s an attractive word though. It means the study of honey, pollen and the sources of both. Say it with me.. Melissapalynology.

I am on my way to becoming a melissapalynologist. I’ve purchased a microscope and a bit of equipment for cataloging the pollen that is collected by my bees. I hope to be able to identify what flowers they are visiting by examining the morphology of the pollen they bring in. I’ve found several databases so far. If you can recommend any please send me a note.

I hope to eventually create my own database for southwest Michigan. Something that could be useful regardless of your scientific background or lack thereof.

Fun times to come!

Now I’m wondering if I can make a centrifuge into a car’s hub cap…

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I guess it really shouldn’t surprise anyone..

Monarch butterflies use medicinal plants to treat offspring | Michigan Today

Monarch butterflies appear to use medicinal plants to treat their offspring for disease, research by biologists at the University of Michigan and Emory University shows.”We have shown that some species of milkweed—the larva’s food plants—can redu

ce parasite infection in the monarchs,” said Jaap de Roode, the Emory evolutionary biologist who led the study. “And we have also found that infected female butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on plants that will make their offspring less sick, suggesting that monarchs have evolved the ability to medicate their offspring.”

via Monarch butterflies use medicinal plants to treat offspring | Michigan Today.

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