My bees have not done well the last couple of years...wax moth, robbing, ANTS...I'm down to 2 strong MEAN hives. I'm not happy these girls are so ornery, but they are very strong and healthy...I put up with them. I have them in the fenced raised garden and get stung almost every time I go out...up until these new ladies, in all of my years of beekeeping I'd only been stung twice and both times were my fault. I thought at first they weren't' getting enough to eat and it was making them bitchy, so I opened each hive and gave them light syrup...hasn't stopped the stinging. For whatever reason, they seem to be focused on the back of my neck...they've stung my husband, too...only in the face!! Now I'm forced to wear a hat with netting when I go out to check the garden: what a pain in the patootie! I'll be moving them out of the garden and into a yard away from human traffic and tonight's the night. I have lots of work to do in the garden to prepare for my Fall planting and cannot afford to be chased by a bunch of nasty bees. They'll be happy in their new site...no activity and they can just do what they do best, collecting nectar, making honey and raising brood, if they continue being a problem I will have to replace the Queens. I'm planting all of my orchards in bee/butterfly loving wildflowers and clovers this Fall in an effort to reduce hive feeding. I have several 100's of pounds of honey saved from the good years and don't need any for awhile (I have a few egg customers that also buy honey) for the coming year I would like to build up my bee colonies. My apiary is set-up for 100 hives...that's 2 deeps and 3 shallows for each hive set-up. I like the idea of 100 hives because that's how many we use on our almond orchard...at $150 a hive, that's a big savings when pollination time rolls around...I can handle 100 hives with a part-time helper. When I retire in 4 years, I would like my bees and my poultry to supplement my income and now is the time to get that plan in motion.
3 comments:
Very interesting. I do want to try bees but I am still afraid of them and still don't know how to take care of them....someday...maybe.
Sorry you ended up with Cranky bees! The ones we have here are so gentle--I can work in any of my flowers--face right in there, and have never been stung.
I joke with my "bee guy" that he must treat his girls pretty good--they are definately happy bees.
It's funny you should post this---my bee guy takes his hives to California every winter. Hubby and I were curious how much he gets doing that. Question asnswered!
Hope the new location helps. Best of luck!
Becky: Bees have been the best investment I've made in livestock. My garden/orchard production doubled the first year and has just gotten better every year...even these few years of drought...thank goodness...even a bad year with the bees is so much better than having no bees.
Sue: Almond pollination is $150 a hive...our seed pollination runs about 1/2 of that....same hives...don't ask me why the different charges...when it's time to pollinate the bee guys are in charge!
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