Today is the Bee’s Big Day

Written 4/23

This will be a moment of truth. The bees were brought home 3 weeks ago on Saturday. It is time to open and inspect the hive. Michael and Winter opened their hive on Saturday. I deemed it too cold to open mine. Their hive is doing really well. There was some burr comb that had to be removed. It had uncapped honey in it.

Today the temperature is supposed to go to 72. It is time for the grand opening. It is hoped that there will be lots of brood and a little honey. Michael and Winter’s hive had that. The bees have been coming to the hive with loads of pollen in their pollen sacs. They have been doing a little dance on the front porch. One day it was a back and forth dance. Another day it was a waggle dance.

There are some varroa mites in the present hive. A foundation for drone brood will be inserted into the hive when the inspection is done. The idea is for the varroa mites to lay some of their eggs in the drone brood. The drones are pretty unnecessary so the comb can be put in the freezer and killed along with the mite larvae. When it is replaced in the hive the bees will clean it up and refill it. In theory this reduces the mite population by 10% each time it is done.

Incidentally, the first little tomato has appeared.


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David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/