Oh well, I've done it again. As of Jan 28th I'm officially bee-less. Only 2 living bees and one isn't a queen. Taking them to the basement only prolonged the inevitable I guess. I'm thinking that they died of thirst, but who knows. They had been dwindling since the fall but I could not pinpoint the reason, but now I think the queen was a failure from the beginning as the buildup of the hive never really happened. Afternoons would only see 50-60 new bees out for their test flights. Oh well, ordered new stock from upstate, will be here in May. Going to try a very hygenic cross this time. I'm also going to set out a bee trap this spring, if that works I'll have a couple of hives going. They say that with two hives you might save one good one, lets hope. I have 2 extra empty hives just waiting, one being a traditional top bar.
From the hive I gathered about 25 Lbs of honey, very rich and dark. Plan on making some strawberry mead with it. have made wine in the past, but mead will be the first. I tasted some from a friend in Minnesota last fall and it was supperb.
Heading up to Olive for a bee seminar on the 11th of Feb, should be fun to see how everyone else is making out.
Last blog now till the spring. Later
From the hive I gathered about 25 Lbs of honey, very rich and dark. Plan on making some strawberry mead with it. have made wine in the past, but mead will be the first. I tasted some from a friend in Minnesota last fall and it was supperb.
Heading up to Olive for a bee seminar on the 11th of Feb, should be fun to see how everyone else is making out.
Last blog now till the spring. Later
