Bees I

On April 21 I picked up a 'package' of honeybees from Beekind; a popular local merchant of supplies and hive products. My new son -in-law had extra 'hive furniture', so my up-front costs were minimized. I've always wanted to do this...

What really made it possible was taking my daughter and my partner to "Queen of the Sun" last year. Most folks are a bit worried about harboring such dangerous reptiles, but that charming film put the responsibility of saving the bees--and, by extention, our entire freedom-loving way of life--squarely on the shoulders of right-thinking citizens like us. And apart from that alarming message, it's visits to an array of dear eccentric beekeepers did a lot to soften the fear that only the strictest measures allowed us honey without mortal risks. Everyone was thus tolerant of my plan.

I've no background to even think about the problems bees are having. Certainly it seemed that we had a nearly beeless spring two years ago. Our old Redbud is a huge nectar source early in the season; and it usually hums like a dynamo in late March. That year it was nearly silent. Things are better now. In fact the Carpenter Bees we have locally have seemed unusually abundant.

But as to the honeybees, its clear to me that there are a lot of urbanites with hives the last few years. When we first lived here('80s), we had swarms from time to time; but if anyone downtown kept
bees I failed to notice. Hence, there may be a somewhat contrived and artificial quality to the recent abundance of bees.

Certainly the beestore folks were selling product: hundreds of boxed bees were going out; usually just one or two to a customer. I've read that you best take three to be sure of having one good hive: pretty depressing. But I'd hope this all works out. The scariest fact declared in QOTS was that a large majority of US commercial colonies are shipped each year for the flowering of our state's huge almond plantation. Such an amazing concentration of these social insects from an entire continent must be a great amplifier of any bee epidemic that comes along.

So far, the girls are doing well as far as I can see. They consume a quart of sugar solution each 36 hours and have filled 1/2 of the first 8 medium frames with comb, brood and some nectar. A steady stream of foragers goes out despite the artificial feeding; and every few seconds one bombs through the entrance with pollen-laden legs. With the blessing, they'll be on their own next month and self sustaining.

Posted on May 10, 2012 09:49 PM by icosahedron