life - FOOD & DRINK
From Pasture
to Plate.
by Mark Young
St Helens Restaurant
A swarm after it has
been contained
Whilst deciding on the subject
for this issue’s column, we
were in the middle of the
best Aprils I had ever known.
Spring was really springing,
lambs were skipping around
the surrounding fields, birds
were returning from their
winter’s abroad and bees
were working the swathes
of blossom adorning the
hedgerows and trees. A general
feeling of good was in the air
and with all that buzzing my
thoughts turned to honey.
My research told me there were
eighty-one people registered with
the Isle of Wight Beekeeping
Association. Some are awaiting
eagerly their first swarm, others
already producing from one
or two hives. But In order for
one to really learn about this
ancient art you need to talk to
the two grand masters of the
Island bee keeping fraternity
Mary Case of Limerstone Farm
and Terry Willis of Adgestone
Road are the top bananas of the
Island honey scene, if it’s worth
98
knowing about bee keeping they
know it. And spending time with
them has been both pleasurable
and educational on what is a
truly fascinating subject.
Bee keeping’s earliest records date
back to the Egyptian sun temples
of 2400bc, the ancient Greeks used
honey both in cooking and medicine
and during the reign of the Roman
empire, beekeeping flourished.
The Case family history of
beekeeping doesn’t quite stretch
back to Roman times but Mary
is the fourth generation of
Island beekeepers. Between
her and Terry they have over
41 years of experience.
Terry: I have just
Q. MARK: How long have you
Q. MARK: How much honey
both been keeping bees?
Terry: Eighteen years now.
It started as a hobby but
lately it is taking up more
and more of my time.
Mary: Twenty-three years.
Beekeeping has become an integral
part of Jeff and I’s farming income.
would you expect them to produce?
Terry: In a good year I would
expect to produce a tonne of
honey to retail, but this does
depend on rain, sunshine
and temperature levels.
Mary: We expect about two tonnes
of honey from our bees and we also
use the beeswax in other products.
Q. MARK: How many
colonies do you have?
over forty colonies
divided between
five apiaries, in
Sandown and
Ryde with one
in Whitwell.
Each colony has
between 60000
and 80000 bees.
Mary: About
eighty scattered
across the
Island in nine
different apiaries, including Niton,
Godshill, Idlecombe, Thorley,
Compton, Brighstone, Limerstone,
Atherfield and Kingston.
Q. MARK: I was going to ask
about beeswax, how is it made?
Terry: The bees make the wax,
when the hive temperature is right.
They gorge on honey and then
hang themselves up to produce
the wax from eight wax glands
situated on their stomachs. It
comes in flakes that other bees
remove and then use to produce
the cells for storing honey, eggs
and larvae. These are what we call
honeycomb. The mature bees are
only capable of producing wax for
about four or five days of their lives
Q. MARK: What is the
honeycomb used for?
Sponsored by - www.holidays2remember.co.uk