Think bee this season
'We love bees and do everything we can to sustain their population.'
Down a dusty road on the outskirts of town lies the heart of all living things.
The heart is Yummy Honey Farm, owned by beekeeper Louis van Zyl, who has one of the most important ecology-sustaining jobs in the world.
Bees sustain life by simply going about their daily business. The pollen that sticks to their hind legs when they suck up flower nectar is carried over to the next flower they visit. The flowers are cross-pollinated and can then develop fruits.
In Randfontein, however, the main oasis of nectar lies not on the ground in flowers – it’s high up in the sky. Eucalyptus trees are their main source of nectar and this has an incredible effect on their behaviour. While bees feeding on sunflowers, for instance, are calm, those that feed on Eucalyptus trees are more aggressive and agitated. This is why bees in Randfontein are not a species you want to cross swords with.
Louis advises that with bee season approaching, community members should consider putting some precautions in place to prevent bees setting up house on their properties. For example, residents should cover holes in the ground, and check crevices in houses for possible bee colonies. Other places bees might want to move into are grass hen dens, hedges, trees, or empty bird nests.
He also says the bee population is threatened by the felling of the eucalyptus trees they feed on. “Robin Park’s trees were the source of great honey in the past,” Louis said. “Last year we had a lot of bee boxes in that area, but this year, all of them came back without any honey.”
Louis says the tree population is not the only thing that threatens honey production and pollination in Randfontein. He says he’s had a huge problem with theft of bee boxes. To ensure enough honey production, Louis has put about 200 bee boxes in fields on farms around his property. But with nothing anchoring these wooden boxes to the ground, passers-by have no difficulty stealing them. His solution was to create customised concrete bee boxes that are too heavy to steal – and the bees absolutely adore them. They also helped solve their destructive badger problem. “We are badger-friendly and don’t believe in killing animals,” Louis said.
With his unique bee-catching techniques and clever plans to protect the bee population, Louis is a successful honey producer. He brags with a hundred per cent pure honey bottled with love. The process of harvesting and bottling is simple. The honey is collected from the bee boxes and taken to the factory. It is then heated to 40 degrees Celsius to make it as runny as possible. It is then pumped through sieves and sent to the bottling room.
As flowers become scarce, the bees have to find alternative nectar sources to feed on. This accounts for different tasting honey throughout the year, and makes South Africa the producer of the widest variety of honey flavours in the world.
“We love bees and do everything we can to sustain their population,” Louis said. “Happy bees make good honey and good honey makes people love bees.”
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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