Paper short abstract:

This paper will analyse the politics of ‘opening up’ and ‘sealing in’; seemingly opposite techniques of caring for and maintaining the health of honeybees.

Paper long abstract:

The rational beehive is a container that has been designed to be opened up, dismantled and inspected for, amongst other things, disease. Designed by the Reverend L.L. Langstroth in 1852, it is a unit for bee hygiene. The rational hive separates the site of the bees' reproductive cycle from their productive labour, and via removable frames it makes it possible for beekeepers, and government Bee Inspectors, to examine the bees and the cells of wax comb containing eggs and brood for signs of disease. Not all beekeepers agree that the opening out of a beehive for inspection is good for bee health. Some 'natural' beekeepers instead argue that opening up a beehive is comparable to opening up the body of an organism, and that to do so damages the honeybee colony and increases the risk of introducing disease. Some of these beekeepers use a Warré beehive (Abbé Warré 1948) and permit honeybees to seal up and create a closed unit with a antimicrobial resin called propolis. This paper will therefore analyse the politics of 'opening up' and 'sealing in'; seemingly opposite techniques of caring for and maintaining the health of honeybees.