April 20th 2024
The new year is upon us! The bad news first, the bees did not make it through the winter, which we'll dive into later. The good news, we have two new hives! This year we got nucs instead of a package. Last year our bees came in a small wood and mesh box and Mason had to shake the bees into the hive. This year they came in a tub with five frames that the bees had already filled with eggs.
Mason drove down to Rochester, WA to Hive 5 Bees to get the new girls. This year we got Carniolan honey bees which are a different sub-species than the Italian honey bees that are most commonly kept in the US. These bees are regarded as being hardier in the cold and wet that we get in the PNW. They are also typically gentler. When Mason installed the bees in their hives he did not get stung or even have any irritated bees in his face! They were champs! The queen was not delivered in a cage this year but rather came pre-established with the hive. This gave them a few days’ head start on laying new eggs. For now the bees are being fed with 1:1 sugar syrup with some Honey-B-Healthy mixed in. This will continue while they build up the hive over the next couple of months. We're looking forward to getting going with the bees again and doing our best to get these hives through the winter.
