...well, you know... bees!
One of my bee friends, who's way more experienced with bees than I, came out yesterday to see how my bees were faring. After having the hive rolled during the tornado, there was really no telling what we might find. Stella and I donned our protective bee gear while Les fired up the bee smoker and in we went.
Look at all the bees! Both the top and bottom hive bodies were completely full. We nosed around for a few minutes trying to find the queen and looking for any sign of trouble (parasites, disease... all clean) and then he dusted the hive with powdered sugar.
Huh? Aren't there enough sweets in there already? Turns out, if you dust them with powdered sugar, as they clean it off themselves and each other, if there are any mites on them, they'll get picked off with the sugar dust. No chemicals - I like it! So, for the first time in my short beekeeping career, I was able to install a honey super (the small box on the top).
If all goes well, we'll harvest honey this year. Yippee!
Now, for some real fun, visit the bee fields at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/ . We should all do our part to help the bees, and if that means we have to eat a lot of ice cream? Well, so bee it ;-).
One of my bee friends, who's way more experienced with bees than I, came out yesterday to see how my bees were faring. After having the hive rolled during the tornado, there was really no telling what we might find. Stella and I donned our protective bee gear while Les fired up the bee smoker and in we went.
Look at all the bees! Both the top and bottom hive bodies were completely full. We nosed around for a few minutes trying to find the queen and looking for any sign of trouble (parasites, disease... all clean) and then he dusted the hive with powdered sugar.
Huh? Aren't there enough sweets in there already? Turns out, if you dust them with powdered sugar, as they clean it off themselves and each other, if there are any mites on them, they'll get picked off with the sugar dust. No chemicals - I like it! So, for the first time in my short beekeeping career, I was able to install a honey super (the small box on the top).
If all goes well, we'll harvest honey this year. Yippee!
Now, for some real fun, visit the bee fields at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/ . We should all do our part to help the bees, and if that means we have to eat a lot of ice cream? Well, so bee it ;-).
3 comments:
Sara-The bee thing is soooo cute! I've sent it on to my grandsons, who are very serious gardeners. I know they will love it! I've been thinking about getting some bees for a long time. I may need to talk to you about it.
I learn something everyday! That is so cool about the powdered sugar.
What a great idea with the powdered sugar. I am so glad to see that your bees are doing well. It is scary to hear about the bees disapearing.
Post a Comment