Rather than visit the bees in early February, I decided to wait until a really warm day in early March.? That day is today.
It’s 70 degrees, no wind.? Perfect for an early spring peek.? I’ll tell you that I hate, absolutely hate, the first peek of the year.
Why?? Because no matter how strong a hive is in November, they can easily be dead or have disappeared via Colony Collapse.? I put off looking in the hives every year then, with a heavy heart, I get dressed, light the smoker and head out to the bee yard.
You probably remember that we started the winter with three hives – two Italians and one Russian.? All hives were packed full of honey and pollen – ready for a long cold Colorado winter.
Today?
- We have one hive that is packed full of bees and honey.? They are ready to go and it’s only March!? I will need to find a queen soon to split them or they will swarm.
- The Russian bees died over the winter.? They look as if they got the new nosema.? This is a disease that causes terrible diarrhea.? They were medicated for nosema but there is a new variety that is part of the spectrum of Colony Collapse Disorder.
- The third hive had about a hundred bees. I saw a big happy queen but no babies.? I fed this hive with frames of honey and pollen that I saved from the hive.
It’s supposed to dump snow tomorrow so I won’t be able to check again for a while.? Let’s hope the small hive grows, the big hive slows down and I can find some excellent queens (I hoping for Zia Queens but they are sold out for most of April and May – we’ll see!) to keep my little apiary going.
Cool! #2 has a friend who raises bees.
I think you guys are very brave, as I’m a wuss about stings.
Glad to know one hive is hanging in there, sorry about the Russians. I”m excited to hear more about the bees. And I’m hopeful for yours this year!
I can’t wait to learn morw about bees. I know absolutely nothing about them.
I hope it works out!! That’s too bad about the one hive.
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Sorry about the Russians. I hope you can rescue the other Italian hive. Still, it could have been worse. Congrats that you have the one healthy hive from which I am sure you can rebuild. Have you ever thought of making mead?
Susan Helen Gottfried – You truly wouldn’t think we were so brave if you saw our suits. There’s no way for a bee to get in. Plus, if you treat your bees right, they will be kind to you. They recognize faces.
Christy – Thanks for the well wishes! We’ll see how the year turns out.
The CEO – I will post more this year as it’s going to be an experimental year all the way around. Crossing fingers help….
Claudia – Me too. Time will tell.
Mimi – Hey thanks! So fun to see my message up there!
Squirrelly – I’m venturing into a no med year. So it shall be interesting to see how it turns out. Luck is necessary. We have contemplated mead. Our neighbor is keen to make it. We’re just not there yet – mead can be delicious, so wonderful and really heinous.
Very interesting…I have never known anyone who raises bees.
I’m sorry about the Russian bees. I clicked your link and it was fascinating.
The part of me that is a staunch egalitarian has always disliked the fact that the queen bee has all the fun while the drones are of a lower caste and merely serve her.
I know. They’re bees. And I do find them really interesting (and love honey.)
I’ll go put in the existential fix for the bees. I’ll keep reading what you write so I learn some more about them. Good luck!
Tommie – Well, now you do!
Heart in SF – I guess it depends on how you look at it. The queen lays 1500 eggs per day during a summer day – every day – that’s quite a bit of work. Drones are males who do absolutely nothing unless they are needed to fertilize a new queen. Some people say that bees are a perfect society – everyone works, there’s little waste, and no fighting within a colony.
The CEO – A tiny piece at a time. This is such a big time in the bee world with Colony Collapse Disorder and the like. We’ll work through it together?
you are so freaking cool. Seriously.