Queen Introduction

Drones are from Mars, Queen is for Venus

Venus and and the other hives on June 5 amongst the weeds in the bee yard.

Venus and and the other hives on June 5 amongst the bee-friendly weeds in the bee yard.

I have been away from this blog and out of the hives for a couple weeks. A little too much travel and jet lag and other distractions. Trying to catch up this weekend, starting with the status of the new queen for Venus. My prior post on Venus described how Venus appeared to be without a queen, and how a new Russian queen from nearby breeder Chris Hewitt was caged and ready to be released in the hive. Continue reading →

Everybody wants to rule the hive

160528i ApiaryMost parents worry about their kids. When my oldest daughter was four I asked my father when you stop worrying about your children. He replied that you never do. It made me pause.

As well, apparently, with a small bee yard. Although perhaps the possibilities are not quite so dire, you still worry. Is the queen well? Will the hive swarm? Do they have enough food? In recent weeks I have worried that four of my now five hives might not have a viable queen. The bees, to their credit, are teaching me patience. Continue reading →

Long Live the Queen

We’ve been experiencing the joys and challenges of beekeeping. Overall I am reasonably happy with our progress. For our two Langstroth hives, one is booming and one has a new queen. The top bar hive continues to perplex me, though it seems to be doing well. Read on for the recent hive report.

May 23 Hives

The hives on May 23, showing how we added a third box onto one hive (Mars) and reduced the middle hive (Jupiter) down to a single deep.

Continue reading →