The Bee Keeper
Marc Larin took up bee keeping in May of 2009. I hope to have honey, but I don't yet know when. Bees need a full year in a healthy hive to produce enough honey to last the winter, and give some extra to their human landlord.
Here are my two back yard hives, taken on a hot summer day in 2009. The bees are fanning the hive on the sunny side of the box. Notice how they are hanging off the entrance floor to form what looks like beards. This behavior is called "bearding". You can also spot a couple of them coming in for a landing.
Both my hives fell to the cold last winter.
In May 2010, I broke new ground in bee harvesting. Requested to retrieve a swarm, I found myself in front of a large established nest. A swarm occurs when a hive gets too crowded. The colony splits. Half the colony leaves the hive with their new queen. They sit for a while, usually on a low branch, in a ball around the queen. Then they begin their search for a new hive. Man-made or natural.
My experience was so exiting, that I had to record it! You can read my journal entry by clicking below:
I hope you enjoy it.