Busy Bees

The little empty colony in Shakopee, awaiting new bees from California.

April 1st. 2011:  We visited our honeybees. To our astonishment they did not touch the pollen patties that Ben and Sophie had placed 10 days or so ago. This can only  mean that our bees have enough food (honey and stored pollen) and that most importantly they can reach their bounty.

Pollen patties left untouched by the bees.

Since temperatures are increasing slowly, the honeybees can move around better, and investigate other part of their hive where they had deposited their summer and fall harvest.

It was very comforting to see them buzzing around us, they did not feel frightened...maybe they remembered us. Ben had the smoker ready and we used it to remind them that we were going to look into their hive.

Ben is removing the protective cardboard.

Now that we believe Spring is here to stay, we removed the black cardboard from each hive. This protection is now unnecessary as the temperatures oscillate between 25F to 50F (-3C & 10C). The honeybees can regulate the warmth of  their colony better.

We also cleaned up the dead bees, those are the one that expired because of old  age. Since most entrances are closed (except the top one) for the winter and bees have to stay in a cluster during the harsh months to stay alive and protect the queen, no cleaning from them is done. In doing so ourselves, we are helping them. Otherwise the honeybees would have to carry each body away from their colony, a long and strenuous job. They can enjoy Spring too!

Dead honeybees at the bottom of a colony.

Scraping unwanted combs.

Many buds on trees are ready to explode and the honeybees are ready to visit them and collect the nectar, pollen and propolis. It won't be long before you see the little one buzzing around in your garden and saying hello. Like us they are happy to be out, and like us they are waiting for nature to show itself.