Spring means three things for the bees:
1. Pollen & nectar soon to come
2. The Queen will begin laying eggs
3. The hive is upside down
Bees only work up. During last spring they worked to create wax cells where the Queen could lay, over the summer they worked to fill honey in the higher supers {boxes}.
Through the winter they start in the bottom box and eat all the honey available, then move to the next box up and so on. By spring they’re a little upside down…living in the top with no where to go. The beekeepers {i.e. us} have to basically tear the hive apart to get them right side up again.
The first task is to find the Queen. Once we find her we place her in the bottom box so she can get to work laying eggs. {finding the Queen is so fun to me, makes me feel like all those 'Where's Waldo' puzzles really paid off.} Most of the comb was drawn out but empty from where the girls had eaten and cleaned over the winter. We removed the bottom boxes and then put the top boxes on the bottom.
Five hives and four stings later, everyone was in good shape {including me since Robert's the one who got stung; notice his lack of gloves}.
Can you find the queen? {apologies for the level of difficulty; navigating an iphone with a veil on is not recommended}
1. Pollen & nectar soon to come
2. The Queen will begin laying eggs
3. The hive is upside down
Bees only work up. During last spring they worked to create wax cells where the Queen could lay, over the summer they worked to fill honey in the higher supers {boxes}.
Through the winter they start in the bottom box and eat all the honey available, then move to the next box up and so on. By spring they’re a little upside down…living in the top with no where to go. The beekeepers {i.e. us} have to basically tear the hive apart to get them right side up again.
The first task is to find the Queen. Once we find her we place her in the bottom box so she can get to work laying eggs. {finding the Queen is so fun to me, makes me feel like all those 'Where's Waldo' puzzles really paid off.} Most of the comb was drawn out but empty from where the girls had eaten and cleaned over the winter. We removed the bottom boxes and then put the top boxes on the bottom.
Five hives and four stings later, everyone was in good shape {including me since Robert's the one who got stung; notice his lack of gloves}.
Can you find the queen? {apologies for the level of difficulty; navigating an iphone with a veil on is not recommended}
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