The wonderful thing about keeping honeybees is the fact that beehives can be located almost anywhere...in the city, in the suburbs, in the countryside, in a small garden, in a field, on a balcony and even on a rooftop! Of course, as beekeepers, we have to follow all rules, regulations and/or ordinances pertaining to the site chosen to keep our bees.
Bees can travel many miles to forage for pollen and nectar or to drink. Therefore we should not concern ourselves too much about that. However, it is best when colonies are easily accessible to us, because I will be the one (with my husband and son's help ) to haul equipment and hives full of honey eventually. Being close to a clean water source, with a little bit of afternoon shade would be ideal. A little shade is always welcomed, even for us wearing our white thick overalls...Everyone will be a little cooler in very hot temperature. Honeybees have to work tremendously hard to keep cool otherwise, and that's time away from their other tasks. Having good drainage, and good air circulation are important factors to the bee as she does not like dampness...Well, who does? really? A good windbreak, blocking harsh winter winds blowing from the Northwest in Minnesota decreases stress on honeybees. Otherwise, during winter, honeybees will work harder to keep warm, eating more honey than necessary and jeopardizing their chance of survival. I also think that placing beehives away from the public, and especially children is a good idea as well.
Finally, I also learned that facing the hive to the east helps the bees start their day early. The sun will shine bright into the escape hole and will warm and go deep into the hive..."waking up" the bees for the new day. If we think about all those elements; they do make sense, and are not so difficult to implement, and the bees will be happy
No comments:
Post a Comment