THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 27, Number 15 Thursday, April 21, 2011 THE Page 2 April 21, 2011 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. To “Bee,” or Not to “Bee” by Rick A. Richards “This is a great hobby,” said Theis in his deep radio voice. “By doing this, I’ve been able to learn more about fl owers and wildlife than I ever thought I would.” Still it’s hard work, which is why the 82-year-old Theis looks 20 years younger. The retired Valparaiso postmaster lives a few miles south of the Porter County Expo Center, just off Indiana 49. From the picture window in his fam- ily room, Theis has a clear view of his hives, which during the winter are kept near a small grove of trees at the back of his property. While he’s excited about the new growing season, Theis also is a bit apprehensive. At the end of each season, beekeepers like Theis expect to lose a per- Beekeeper Ken Theis talks about his 35 years of experience with honey bees. (Photo by Rick A. Richards) centage of their bees, but in recent years, the num- bers have soared. Ken Theis has been raising bees for more than “Years ago, if we lost 1 or 2 percent, we would 35 years. At the far end of his backyard are more have been screaming,” said Theis. The past few than 75 hives, each with more than 3,000 bees and years, the losses have been between 50 and 70 per- queen. And if everything goes right, the result is cent. And last year, said Theis, of 75 hives he used, about 120 pounds of Pure Northern Indiana Honey only one survived the winter with live bees. per hive that Theis makes available to friends, fam- “What’s going on baffl es me,” said Theis. “And it’s ily and a few stores within a few miles of his house. not just me. This is happening everywhere. There But things haven’t been going right in recent has been a lot of talk about colony collapse disorder, years. While disappointed that his output of honey but no one knows what causes it.” was just 40 pounds per hive last year, Theis said For Chesterton beekeeper Bob Kress, the problem he wouldn’t consider quitting the bee business. He has him stumped, too. “I don’t know if it’s bacteria loves his bees. or chemicals in the environment,” he said. “Maybe To him, there is nothing better than suiting up in plastics have something to do with it. We just don’t his protective bee headgear and getting a close up know.” look at his hive. “They don’t want to sting you,” he said as he popped the lid on a hive and pried out a comb that was covered in young bees. “All they want to do is make honey. I’ve come out here in the summer and did this in a T-shirt and shorts and not gotten stung. It’s all in how to approach and handle them.” The key, he said is patience. And that goes for the care and nurturing of his bees as well. On April 5, he received 75 three-pound boxes of bees (there are about 3,000 bees per pound) that he has placed in his hives. As soon as the weather warms up, Theis hauls his hives to area growers, where the bees will do what they were born to do – pollinate plants. One of those growers is County These are some of the 75 hives beekeeper Ken Theis has in storage in Line Orchards between Valparaiso and Westville. the backyard of his Porter County home. (Photo by Rick A. Richards) THE April 21, 2011 Page 3 HAVE A MONTESSORI KINDERGARTENER? Wonder where they go from here? Keep reaching higher. Beekeeper Ken Theis of Porter County with one of his many hives. RenaissanceRenaissance AcademyAcademy Charter School:School: a a uniqueunique PreKPreK –– 88thth (Photo by Rick A. Richards) GradeGrade MontessoriMontessori schoolschool with top qualityquality academics, highhigh Last years, Kress’s 200 hives pollinated fruit or- expectationsexpectations ofof students,students, and and required required participation participation in a wide in a chards and blueberry farms in northern Indiana widearray array of enrichment of enrichment activities. activities. and southern Michigan. “Any time you move bees to •x SmallSmall Private Private School School Atmosphere new locations, that’s stressful for them and you will •x AcademicAcademic Excellence Excellence lose some bees, but I try to keep it to a minimum.” •x ExemplaryExemplary Gifted Gifted and TalentedTalented Program Program Kress is approaching the bee die-off problem like Experience the Joy of Learning a mystery. “It’s a challenge to me. I’m going to fi gure 4093 West US20, LaPorte, IN out what’s causing this.” One thing he has done is (219) 878-8711 [email protected] return to using older, wooden hives. www.rschool.net “The new ones are made out of plastic, and those are full of chemicals. And I try to locate my bees where there is a little bit of everything.” Kress and Theis said the lack of plant varieties For men & women: Irregular Choice, Camper, for bees may be a contributing factor to the die-off. Toms, Birkenstock, Uggs, Dansko and more.more. In recent years, farmers have cleared fencerows of unwanted plants and drainage ditches have been ´ 4?.;1 <=2;6;4 :.F #$ ´ cleared of weeds and plants. “And have you noticed that you can hardly fi nd wildfl owers anymore?” said Theis. Bees Continued on Page 4 P\ZR `RR dUNa¸` V[`VQR a\QNf urban soles energy + heart + shoes 624 franklin street | michigan city | 219.221.6508 The queen is contained inside this small box-like hive that’s placed monday-thursday: 11am-6pm | friday-saturday: 11am-8pm inside the larger hive. (Photo by Rick A. Richards) THE Page 4 April 21, 2011 THE CASUAL CHEF CAFÉ THE PUMPERNICKEL INN THE CASUAL CHEF WOULD LIKE YOU TO COME AND CELEBRATE SPRING WITH US! WE HAVE SO MANY NEW EXCITING THINGS TO SHARE WITH YOU! Create A Sandwich Open Mic COFFEE Contest! Night! Think you can We are looking for DEAL! create a sandwich anyone interested worthy of OUR Before the These young bees were just placed inside this hive only 24 hours earlier. menu? Simply reply in participating The most noticeable feature of a young bee is the fur-like with the recipe in an open mic summer begins appearance of their body. (Photo by Rick A. Richards) and your info, if it night. We will stop in and pick Bees Continued from Page 3 makes the cut to provide the venue the final 3, you will up a Casual be notified and if it and equipment, Chef carry out That has eliminated a lot of the variety of pollen wins? Not only will just bring your coffee card! that bees used to feed on. Now, bees feed on just we name it after talent!!! Please one or two kinds of plants, and the lack of variety you & put it on After 9 cups the email us with your 10th one is on of pollen may be making them more susceptible to our menu, you will talent and contact receive the gift of us! We will even disease, said Greg Hunt, a biologist and bee special- information! four free lunches at keep it on file ist at Purdue University. the cafe! info@ for you! He pointed to a recently published report by the Send to pumpernickelinn.com National Academy of Sciences that said four species OPEN DAILY FREE WIFI 269-469-1200 of honeybee have declined by 96 percent over the 16090 RED ARROW HWY. • UNION PIER, MI 49129 last 15 years and the range of honeybees has shrunk WWW.PUMPERNICKELINN.COM by as much as 87 percent. Further, the report states that bees pollinate 15 percent of all crops in the na- tion, representing $3 billion. No specifi c cause for the decline is known, although a combination of fac- tors ranging from loss of habitat to pesticides from pollution to disease were blamed. The last big bee die-off was in 1990, said Hunt, adding, “The die offs are kind of cyclical.” Hunt, CALL TO ACTION an advisor to the Indiana Beekeepers’ Association, doesn’t know if this is part of a cycle or something more serious. Still, he points to the varroa mite as one reason for the decline in Indiana. The mite, about the size of a pinhead, has been responsible for honey bee die offs in Canada and Europe. It origi- nated in Southeast Asia and is described by Hunt as “tick like” for the way it affi xes itself to bees and sucking its hemolymph fl uid, which acts as blood in bees. Varroa mites are carried inside a hive by host bees and once inside, the mites attack bee larvae, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS either killing them or causing birth abnormalities.