I lost another beehive yesterday. I checked it last week and while it wasn't robust, I felt it would endure.
The weather this spring has not been bee weather. It's been cold and rainy WAY more than normal. While cooler weather is good for walking and the garden's love rain, honeybees love warm weather with everything blooming.
The hive I lost swarmed in March. That means that the queen bee along with 30,000 of her strongest girlfriends left the hive in search of a new home. Left behind was an unborn queen and 20,000 worker bees wondering why they weren't in the "swarm crowd".
Then the weather got cold and rainy again.
The bottom line, either the unborn queen had a problem, or it did hatch out and died tragically looking for love. There are other options, but let's just say, the hive got weaker.
When a hive gets weak, it's susceptible to a wide range of maladies. This one succumbed to wax moths. These flighty creatures get into a hive and lay eggs in the honeycomb. When their offsprings hatch they feast on the honeycomb, the pollen, and the unborn honeybees. What's left is not pretty.
Since we got our first hives, I've learned volumes. But the more I learn, the more I realize that I don't even fathom what I don't know.
Few things in life come easy and things that are worthwhile can be even more difficult. I said that to say this – I will double my efforts to become a better steward for the honeybees who depend on me.
The weather this spring has not been bee weather. It's been cold and rainy WAY more than normal. While cooler weather is good for walking and the garden's love rain, honeybees love warm weather with everything blooming.
The hive I lost swarmed in March. That means that the queen bee along with 30,000 of her strongest girlfriends left the hive in search of a new home. Left behind was an unborn queen and 20,000 worker bees wondering why they weren't in the "swarm crowd".
Then the weather got cold and rainy again.
The bottom line, either the unborn queen had a problem, or it did hatch out and died tragically looking for love. There are other options, but let's just say, the hive got weaker.
When a hive gets weak, it's susceptible to a wide range of maladies. This one succumbed to wax moths. These flighty creatures get into a hive and lay eggs in the honeycomb. When their offsprings hatch they feast on the honeycomb, the pollen, and the unborn honeybees. What's left is not pretty.
Since we got our first hives, I've learned volumes. But the more I learn, the more I realize that I don't even fathom what I don't know.
Few things in life come easy and things that are worthwhile can be even more difficult. I said that to say this – I will double my efforts to become a better steward for the honeybees who depend on me.
