Bees 'en Famille'
Bernard Vallier translated by Pam Todd
This article was first published in L'Abeille and tells us about beekeeping in cottage walls
IMAGINE YOU are in the outcrops which, silhouetted
Monges mountains, a against the sky, are
reminiscent of an illustration stone’s throw from Digne
from ‘Tintin in Tibet’. Butin the Haute Provence
this is not all – the MongesAlps. Here you will
mountain area, with its tinyencounter great winds,
hamlets perched on rockyaccessible mountain
ledges, is a country of
summits, clear blue sky strange beekeeping
and 360-degree views. All practices. The rapport that
this plus the lake ‘Clue de man has formed with the
Barles’, a sabre-shaped bees in his home remains,
crescent of clear water for the most part,
inexplicable.around which the rising
mountains, at 2000 WALL HIVES
metres above sea level,
Admittedly, having bees inform a protective ring. The rugged countryside in the Haute Provence Alps
your house is not exclusive
The forest quickly to this region. One finds
disappears as you climb, herd animals, his dogs andevidence of it here and – ideal homes for bees –
giving way to heavenly cats and the beasts of histhere within all the regions the hives built into walls,
alpine meadows where wild dreams! of France and in other parts having been constructed and
lavender, gentian and of the world. The particular integrated into the houseThere were plenty of raw
edelweiss bloom. Let us feature of the wall hives of itself, were in common usematerials readily to hand in
visit this splendid country, Barles rests in the proximity in 1938 and several still inthis area for the making of
with its thundering torrents of bees and man that has use as late as 1950.hives, baskets and other
bordered by rugged rocky hallmarked beekeeping in beekeeping items. In the TRADITIONS
this area since the high Monges mountain
seventeenth century. slopes, bee colonies were Received wisdom, local
first housed in hives, set beliefs and randomIn one house, the beekeeper
together in pairs under a opinions argue that thedivided up his bedroom, his
window of the living room, bees were kept in wall hives workshop and his life to
lined up in a barn or to keep them warm duringshare with his bees. They
the winter – and this isranged above the stable.became the companions
true. Later, they were enclosednot only of himself but of
within the actual walls ofhis wife and children, his They also defended the
the room. property, deterring uninvited
visitors and thieves! It isAn alighting board is fixed The holes which allowed
said that these bees did not below the entrance on the bees access were never
outside of the house wall sting their master, nor anyplaced lower than a man’s of his family. Instead of
full height. It is, however, viewing them as dangerous,
interesting that after the or an object of fear to the
date when Messieurs children, they were
Langstroth and Dadant were The entrances to the bee considered contented
hives are just visible in this proposing new hives of companions of the families,
view of the outer wall easy and rapid construction their mules and horses.
Bee Craft digital December 2008 Page 15
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