Hive Check 4-4-12 This is the online version of my hive inspection notes. More descriptive posts about this hive can be found on the Crocus Hive page. It has been cold over the last week or so. I put the insulation back in the outer cover. The bees have been […]
Beekeeping
Crocus Hive Check 3-22-12
Hive Check 3-22-12 This is the online version of my hive inspection notes. More descriptive posts about this hive can be found on the Crocus Hive page. The temperature has been unseasonable warm this winter and the last few weeks have felt like summer. It was about 70 when I […]
Three New Packages of Bees And Crocus Hive
New Bees And A New Name This is an exciting week for me in the apiary. Yesterday, I added three more hives to our bee family. They arrived from Georgia on a truck, with hundreds of other packages of bees late Friday night. This is what they looked like when […]
Neonicotinoids Harm Native Bees + Techniques In Queen Rearing – Mass Bee Spring Meeting 2012
Massachusetts Beekeepers spring meeting included talks on Queen Rearing and How Neonicotinoids Harm Native Bees A few weeks ago, I attended the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association spring meeting, hosted by Essex County Beekeepers Association. The highlights for me at these meetings are chatting with other beekeepers, learning tricks of the trade […]
Blue Pollen, Honeybees and Siberian Squill
My honeybees are now gathering beautiful blue pollen from Siberian Squill flowers. I first noticed this stunning steel-blue colored pollen during my hive inspection on March 22, 2012. Honeybee after foraging honeybee was carrying full baskets of bright blue pollen and it was magnificent. The blue pollen comes from an […]
First Spring Hive Inspection Of An Overwintered Colony – March 12, 2012
The above average March temperatures allowed me to perform an early spring hive inspection of my overwintered colony. With temperatures above average all winter, and 10-20 degrees above average for the past week, the flowers in the area have started blooming early and the bees have been very active. The […]