Excellent News Today - My Bee Hive Colony Survived!

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(Edited)

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Bees coming in and out of our hive!

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
~ Quite Often Attributed to Albert Einstien

Trying to do my part...

Being someone who attempts to be as aware as I possibly can of what is going on in the world, I have been acutely aware of the growing death rate of bee colonies worldwide for quite some time. Even when I was homeless and strung out on drugs, it was something I have always found very concerning, and I thought it would be cool to help by raising honeybees in an apiary if I ever was able to do so. It was just something that I always thought would be an enjoyable hobby, while at the same time doing something to help the earth be a better place. Last year, I was actually able to make that happen.

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My wife's cleaning business logo, named after our honey bees...

First Year...

When my wife and I moved into our home, I told her about my desire to tend an apiary and she was very supportive of the idea. After researching, I was surprised to discover that honey made in the city is actually considered some of the best. We decided to look into it, and it was not long before I was ready to install a colony. I purchased the necessary equipment, tools, and housing and was left with the task of finding a package of bees. Unfortunately, this was not an easy thing to do, and I got a late start doing it. Finally, in late June of last year, I drove across the state of Michigan to pick up about five thousand honey bees and drove home with them in a "nuc" box.

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Our backyard chickens...

Bad News...

After getting my bee colony home and situated, there was not a lot to do except inspect the colony periodically. Later in the year, when Covid began, my wife and I decided to start a cleaning business, which we named "Queen Bee Cleaning," after the bee colony. Unfortunately, my colony had an infestation of Verona mites, which I had to treat several times. I also found out it is extremely unlikely that a single colony will survive the first year if they get infested with mites. Through the winter I would look, and I did not see any activity. When spring came, there was still nothing. I had been sure that I had lost the colony, and had been putting off going out to clean the dead bees out, until today!

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Our beehive behind our garage...

Awesome News!

Earlier today I was getting our garden cleaned from rocks and twigs in readiness for the second tilling so we can plant. While I was walking it, I also was examining our chicken coop area as my wife and I have been considering moving it. When I looked over the back of the coop, I noticed what looked like bees around my hive. My first thought was that it was more bad news and a wasp swarm had moved into the hive, so I walked around the garage to see. Imagine my surprise when I saw those beautiful little fuzzy bodies going in and out of the hive entrance! Sure enough, the colony made it through the winter, and hopefully, this year, I will be able to harvest honey from them!

Coming Soon - Hive Inspection Video!



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2 comments
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I'm glad your bees made it through the winter!

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Yeah me too! I didn't know how hard it was to get a single hive through the first year. I am hoping to split it into two this year...

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