One of the fascinations that drew me to bees is the role of each member. While not a democracy, it is kind of like the early kibbutz in Israel. Everyone understood there was a job to do to keep their community growing and thriving.
In a hive, there can be only one queen and while she may appear to be revered, she also must be accepted by the colony. A queen is necessary for a hive to survive and thrive.When a colony decides a new queen is needed, they build queen cells. If a couple of queens emerge, they will fight to the death. The queen’s only role is to lay eggs, as many as 2,000 eggs a day!
Last week, my bee mentor came by to help me check the hives. Two hives are clearly thriving with bees flying in and out all day bringing pollen. It is remarkable observing the workers standing guard outside and those tasked with building the perfectly hexagon cells in the combs which are then capped after the queen lays her egg.
Two hives are working busily but are not nearly as crowded. I noticed an occasional worker bee or two flying in and out and heard the now familiar buzzing inside. But there are no guards and I really had to look carefully to find frames with bees and combs. My mentor suggested putting a feeder in to help them along.
When the feeders I ordered arrived, I put them into the hives hoping this would help. I checked them yesterday and one was full of ants! Despite efforts to keep them out, those little monsters still found a way. I cleaned them out, refilled the feeders with fresh sugar water, and sprinkled cinnamon around the frames and base of the hives in hopes they would be deterred by the smell. I also read that ants hate mint so I think I will buy some mint seeds for around the hives.
Some of the hives also had hive beetles, another challenge for struggling hives. I got traps that I filled with oil in hopes that the bees will catch the beetles and carry them up and into the traps to drown. There are so many things to worry about. So far, there are no signs of mites which can quickly be the downfall of any hive.
One hive was discovered to be queenless. My mentor said there were no drones, the bees tasked with mating with the queen. After a number of phone calls, I finally found a beekeeper with a queen that I could purchase.
When I placed her in the hive, several bees took to her right away. Last night, I let her out and am hoping for the best. I will check in a few days to see if the queen has gotten settled and begun laying. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
While I am thrilled to have two hives thriving, I feel anxious about the weaker hives. I realize that new endeavors are a series of highs and lows, but I worry that all the money and effort that I have put in to this and my other homestead activities will be for naught.
Maybe a taste of Webb Acres Homestead honey one day will be the elixir for my fears of failure.
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