Lena’s hive two weeks ago.

Lena Rocks – Discovers Missing Queen and Replaces

Yep folks, it is true.  A brand new set of bees and when Lena inspected her hive this past Saturday she New there was a problem….she had listened closely, read her book, and knew what to look for.  Her inspection showed less bees, no eggs or larva, and just a bit of capped brood.  When she reported this to me I was in the mountains and asked Erin, (now in her third year of beekeeping with me) to have a look and she confirmed what I suspected.  Sheknew what had to be done and who to contact (she had accompanied me to pick up our bees this year) and helped Lena locate a new queen before they even contacted me.

Yesterday I observed as Lena properly inserted her new queen.  She will be going back this Saturday to see if her girls have released her.  All this to remind you all that the number one cause of hive failure with new bee keepers is not completing inspections and knowing how to determine if their Queen was healthy and present.  Lena has done her homework.  How about you?  We all need to be doing inspections every two weeks to determine the health of our hives and making sure we have a queen who is producing.  I suggest we all go back and read in our Backyard Beekeeper text, especially the sections on hive inspections and how to determine if our queens are present and doing their job.  Hats off to Erin Denison for her help and guidance.  I am now back in town and if anyone needs me to help with a hive inspection, please do not hesitate to call.

With all the rain we definitely need to consider putting feeders back on new bees as the nectar will be quite diluted.  My new bees are really taking in the sugar water and so are The Blacks and Lena’s girls!

Bee the best Beekeeper you can Bee!

When something needs to be done for your bees, do it right away.  Lena did and she will succeed because she has already proven herself a very serious student of beekeeping!

Erin Denison celebrates the replenishment of bees in the Smith Educational Apiary with her instructor Mr. G!