During the fall and winter, our main focus is on monitoring our bee’s health and food supply. We do this by tracking weather patterns, testing for pests and inspecting the apiary. We have stopped weekly hive inspections and have replace them with limited observations when weather permits. The unusually warm and dry fall has set… Read more

Fall is in full swing with ragweed, fall aster and goldenrod in bloom.  October 25 is the average date of first frost.  The bees are raising the last brood they will until after the winter solstice in late December.  The bees being born now have special larger fat reserves and will live 4 – 6… Read more

For the past three weeks we have been treating our hives for Varroa Mites with Oxalic Acid vaporization.  We have also been using “Swiffer” sheets to entrap and remove small hive beetles that have exploded on population.  For our efforts so far, we have managed to stabilize and make small gains against the Varroa and… Read more

During this week’s inspection we discovered an upturn in the number of Pests in our hives. After enjoying very low numbers of Varroa mites all year, we saw that we have reached about a 1% infection rate in two of our hives (our threshold for beginning treatment). We will apply oxallic acid vapor to the… Read more

For the past month, the bees have been experiencing a “dearth” of nectar because of a seasonal lack of flowers that accompanies the heat of summer.  All bees during this time become more aggressive and will steal resources from weaker colonies.  To ward off these attacks, bees also become more defensive.  This combination makes the… Read more

This week we continue preparing our bees for Fall. Activities include reconfiguring our hives into their winter configuration. We do this by reducing the size of the hives, moving bees and resources from one hive to another to balence their size, feeding the bees sugar syrup and pollen if needed, and treating for pests if… Read more