Ormond Aebi
Encyclopedia
Ormond Aebi was a beekeeper
who was reported to have set the world's record for honey
obtained from a single hive in one year, 1974, when 404 pounds of honey
were harvested, breaking an unofficial 80 year-old record of 303 pounds held by A. I. Root. Together with his father Harry, the Aebi's wrote two books on beekeeping
: The Art and Adventure of Beekeeping (1975) and Mastering the Art of Beekeeping (1979) (both currently out-of-print).
), excellent weather conditions, or extraordinary good luck.
In 1979, Earl Emde of Big River
, Saskatchewan
, had several colonies produce over six hundred pounds each, though Guinness was never employed to substantiate the production. Many other beekeeper
s in Canada, Australia, North Dakota, Florida, and the mid-west have seen similar results on rare occasions. However, a Mr. Rob Smith of Australia surely holds the world’s most astounding result for an apiary. According to Bill Winner, Beekeeper Services Manager, Capilano Honey Company, “We can confirm the average production of 346 kilograms (762 lbs) per hive from 460 hives. (This is almost twice the Aebi claim to fame, and it is an average from hundreds of colonies, not just one hive's unique production.) The beekeeper’s name was Bob Smith from Manjimup, Western Australia. The honey was Karri. The year was 1954.” Mr. Winner adds: “This figure is confirmed by R. Manning with a reference to a journal highlighting a box titled World Record in Honey in 1954."
In comb honey
production, during 1959, Karl Killion was reported to have produced 344 sections, an equivalent of approximately 600 pounds of extracted honey production.
' in some language, was a third generation beekeeper. An Oregon
native, Ormond was a devout Christian
and served in the U.S. Army during World War II
. In 1950 the Aebis moved to Santa Cruz, California
and lived in the Live Oak neighborhood, where they raised bees, sold honey
from their front yard and built wooden beehives from the local redwood
.
He was know to have enjoyed beekeeping all his life. In 1981, Mr. Aebi told the Santa Cruz Sentinel
he knew his bees so well that, when out driving, his father would say, " "Ormond, isn’t that one of our bees?," and I’ll say, "No, I don’t think so," or "Yep, sure is."
Ormond told me a curious story that day though, which I'll retell just as he told it to me. Ormond was a character with very strong beliefs, beliefs that I don't happen to share, but he was earnest and sincere and his beliefs do make for a good story. So here it is.
He said that Jesus came to him in a dream one night and told him that if he wanted to increase the productivity of his hives that he should attach a wire to the queen excluders of his hives. Jesus was very specific about the length of the wire and Ormond carefully complied with Jesus' instructions.
For those who don't know, the queen excluder is a series of parallel wires placed closely together in a bee hive. It sits between the lowest stage of the hive where the exit is and the upper stages where the honey is stored. It functions to keep the queen from exiting the hive which would cause all the other bees to swarm and follow her. She's too big to fit between the wires, but the worker bees can still come and go unimpeded.
So Ormond attaches the precisely measured wires to the queen excluders and waits. Sure enough, just as Jesus promised in the dream, the productivity of the hives increases significantly.
Ormond is a religious man, and so he doesn't think it is too surprising that Jesus' advice worked. He mentions his experience to his beekeeping friends, and word eventually reaches the biology department of Stanford University.
Stanford University finds it surprising, very surprising.
They come to his home in Santa Cruz to investigate.
What the scientists eventually conclude is that somehow the wires that Ormond attached to his hives were acting as antennae, turning the hives into natural radios and piping in the local classical music radio station to the hives. The bees loved it. (KSCO AM 1080, if you're curious, it is now a right-wing talk radio station. I wonder what effect Rush Limbaugh would have on honey production.)
In his later years he was diagnosed with Diabetes, which did not seem to affect his health, but did contribute to his decision not to continue beekeeping when his swarms were destroyed by varroa
mites. He worked as a part-time handyman at a daycare next door to his home for the last several years of his life, and continued to write to friends he made worldwide due to his books.
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...
who was reported to have set the world's record for honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
obtained from a single hive in one year, 1974, when 404 pounds of honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
were harvested, breaking an unofficial 80 year-old record of 303 pounds held by A. I. Root. Together with his father Harry, the Aebi's wrote two books on beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
: The Art and Adventure of Beekeeping (1975) and Mastering the Art of Beekeeping (1979) (both currently out-of-print).
World record in honey production
Aebi held a Guiness World Record in quantity of honey produced from a hive of bees, but many others have surpassed that record. Single colonies of bees occasionally produce some spectacular crops. This is sometimes a combination a multiple queens in a hive (see two-queen beekeeping managementBeekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
), excellent weather conditions, or extraordinary good luck.
In 1979, Earl Emde of Big River
Big River, Saskatchewan
-External links:...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, had several colonies produce over six hundred pounds each, though Guinness was never employed to substantiate the production. Many other beekeeper
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...
s in Canada, Australia, North Dakota, Florida, and the mid-west have seen similar results on rare occasions. However, a Mr. Rob Smith of Australia surely holds the world’s most astounding result for an apiary. According to Bill Winner, Beekeeper Services Manager, Capilano Honey Company, “We can confirm the average production of 346 kilograms (762 lbs) per hive from 460 hives. (This is almost twice the Aebi claim to fame, and it is an average from hundreds of colonies, not just one hive's unique production.) The beekeeper’s name was Bob Smith from Manjimup, Western Australia. The honey was Karri. The year was 1954.” Mr. Winner adds: “This figure is confirmed by R. Manning with a reference to a journal highlighting a box titled World Record in Honey in 1954."
In comb honey
Comb honey
Comb honey is honey, intended for consumption, which still contains pieces of the hexagonal-shaped beeswax cells of the honeycomb.Before the invention of the honey extractor almost all honey produced was in the form of comb honey...
production, during 1959, Karl Killion was reported to have produced 344 sections, an equivalent of approximately 600 pounds of extracted honey production.
Personal life
Ormond wrote a book on his own That Sheep Big Minnie (2003) reminiscing about his time watching his family flock in the '60s. Ormond Aebi, whose last name meant 'beeBee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
' in some language, was a third generation beekeeper. An Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
native, Ormond was a devout Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and served in the U.S. Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1950 the Aebis moved to Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
and lived in the Live Oak neighborhood, where they raised bees, sold honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
from their front yard and built wooden beehives from the local redwood
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
.
He was know to have enjoyed beekeeping all his life. In 1981, Mr. Aebi told the Santa Cruz Sentinel
Santa Cruz Sentinel
The Santa Cruz Sentinel is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by MediaNews Group Inc....
he knew his bees so well that, when out driving, his father would say, " "Ormond, isn’t that one of our bees?," and I’ll say, "No, I don’t think so," or "Yep, sure is."
Ormond told me a curious story that day though, which I'll retell just as he told it to me. Ormond was a character with very strong beliefs, beliefs that I don't happen to share, but he was earnest and sincere and his beliefs do make for a good story. So here it is.
He said that Jesus came to him in a dream one night and told him that if he wanted to increase the productivity of his hives that he should attach a wire to the queen excluders of his hives. Jesus was very specific about the length of the wire and Ormond carefully complied with Jesus' instructions.
For those who don't know, the queen excluder is a series of parallel wires placed closely together in a bee hive. It sits between the lowest stage of the hive where the exit is and the upper stages where the honey is stored. It functions to keep the queen from exiting the hive which would cause all the other bees to swarm and follow her. She's too big to fit between the wires, but the worker bees can still come and go unimpeded.
So Ormond attaches the precisely measured wires to the queen excluders and waits. Sure enough, just as Jesus promised in the dream, the productivity of the hives increases significantly.
Ormond is a religious man, and so he doesn't think it is too surprising that Jesus' advice worked. He mentions his experience to his beekeeping friends, and word eventually reaches the biology department of Stanford University.
Stanford University finds it surprising, very surprising.
They come to his home in Santa Cruz to investigate.
What the scientists eventually conclude is that somehow the wires that Ormond attached to his hives were acting as antennae, turning the hives into natural radios and piping in the local classical music radio station to the hives. The bees loved it. (KSCO AM 1080, if you're curious, it is now a right-wing talk radio station. I wonder what effect Rush Limbaugh would have on honey production.)
In his later years he was diagnosed with Diabetes, which did not seem to affect his health, but did contribute to his decision not to continue beekeeping when his swarms were destroyed by varroa
Varroa
Varroa is a genus of parasitic mites associated with honey bees, placed in its own family, Varroidae. The genus was named for Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar who was also a beekeeper.-History and behavior:...
mites. He worked as a part-time handyman at a daycare next door to his home for the last several years of his life, and continued to write to friends he made worldwide due to his books.