We’ve had somewhere around 10″ of rain here in the last week and I’ve only seen one bee flying. I don’t blame them, I’ve been inside keeping warm, too! I sure hope Mama is warm in the one live hive I have left.
Archive for January, 2010
Tons of rain, bees hunkered down
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Holiday time: Mid-winter hive check
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Here’s my Santa Bee. She was supposed to be my Christmas card, but I never finished the art. This version ended up looking like a fly! Anyway, the idea still might work … maybe next year!
We’re in a period of rain and cold weather, so its been hard to open the bees and see what’s up. Looks like the hive in the lower yard is still doing well and there’s a lot of activity down at Patti’s remaining hive, but it’s probably robbing. I opened it a couple days ago and the was a cluster of bees on the honey frames, but it was probably robbers. I’ll take a better look when the weather warms up and I have a suit on.
Good news! Randy Oliver … an expert beekeeper I met at the WAS (Western Apiculturists Something) Conference in Napa last summer has agreed to sell me package bees in April from his bee yard in Grass Valley. He’s doing a lot of selective breeding for mite resistance, and I hope genetics will help bees survive better here next summer.