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.