bee_yard
Small experimental colonies at the Baton Rouge USDA bee lab apiary. May, 1999.
russionbees
Colonies of the now famous Russian bees (imported from Russia to fight against the varroa mites) at the Baton Rouge USDA bee lab apiary. May, 1999.
front_yard_cerana
Front yard beekeeping of Apis cerana colonies. This is at Puwa, a place about 100 km from Beijing. With very tough terrain, it took us about 4 hours to travel there from Beijing. We were there to look for varroa mites (nothing) and to buy two colonies for research. May 12, 2001.
cerana_fixed_frame_hive
Apis cerana kept in fixed wooden boxes. These were then left in the balcony of a government office building and apartment. In the far background you can see a similar hive on a stand. Out of the 2 million colonies of Apis cerana in China, some are still kept this way, in hives with non-movable frames. Yunnan, China. May, 2001.
high_security_yard
A high security bee yard in South Africa. Apparently bee colonies get stolen quite often there, requiring this for theft prevention. South Africa. Oct 31, 2001.
DSCN2797
Streetside beekeeping. Migrating beekeepers have their bees, a portable wooden house, in Beijing, right on the road side. I was told that they were move north soon so here is more like a rest stop. Beijing, China. June 7, 2001.
DSCN8836
An apiary of Apis mellifera near the rubber tree forests in Yunnan, China. Rubber trees have extra-floral nectaries and can produce high yield (but considered so so quality) honey. The owner tells me he sells only about 400 yuan ($50 US) per ton of honey. March 28, 2002. Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China.
mobile_beehouse
There were about 6-7 different bee-houses each representing a family (usually a couple) in a small stretch of road near the outskirts of Beijing. Beijing, China. June 7, 2001.