Argentinian pioneer Óscar Perone developed a method based on the observation of undisturbed bees in nature, particularly the size of the space choosen by bees and the way the nest “travels” through the combs they build themselves in that space as the seasons come and go. Mimicking these from the bees he designed a perone method. Here are some points that stand out compared to the mainstream beekeeping.
- No frames, just a grid for the bees to attach their combs.
- No stamped wax, let the bees produce their own.
- Large size cavity for hive and the respect of the bee’s nest space – no go zone for the beekeeper.
- The emptied honey supers are placed at the bottom. In the time of nectar flow the colony builds new combs there and as the space taken by the nest will grow in size in time of plenty, it will descend into these new combs, the top supers combs will turn into extra honey reserves – for the beekeeper to harvest.
- The only interaction with the hive is timing the harvest and harvesting. The hive is left alone between the harvests.
- No smoke, harvesting is done at the cool dark of the night under red light invisible for insects.
The method promises 60% less cost per kilo of honey,
strong, varroa and other pests free colonies and steady wax production. The promise is based on the idea that giving “our” bees the freedom to do what they know best leads to strong, healthy and by consequence optimally productive colonies.
The method has many followers and their numbers are increasing.
