Raising Honeybees in the Suburbs

After taking a few entomology classes at the University of Minnesota. I discovered with fascination the world of insects, especially honey bees. It will be my seventh year as a beekeeper and I am sure a new adventure as well.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Better "BEE" Safe than Sorry


August 11, 2010. Ben and I did a quick inspection at the Chanhassen apiary. We decided to look into the original colony with the new queen, to make sure nothing was brewing.

This colony has a tendency to swarm for no apparent reason, therefore checking a little bit more often, and removing supersedure cells ( peanut-like cells located in the upper third of a frame) which are build by workers if they feel that their queen is not performing well. It is an indication that the colony is ready to replace the queen.



We were also looking for swarm cells, also peanut shaped cells but they are located along the bottom third of a frame. Workers create this type of cells to raise a new queen in preparation for the act of swarming.


We are happy to report that we saw nothing of the sort! They seem content were they are and so do we! Better be safe than sorry!

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