Fall in the Bee Yard

As we go into late October, winter is bearing down on us from the bees perspective.  We had heavy frost this week and will experience a hard freeze this weekend.  That should put an end to the nectar plants.  At the point, I have done all I can to prepare my colonies.  Time will tell how they fair as the winter goes forward.  Starvation is a big risk for local beekeepers.  Our mild winters often result in the colony staying somewhat active and consuming large quantities of food.  I will check them periodically on warm winter days.  Good Luck Bees.

Honey Angel

Gift giving is just around the corner.  Give your angel a honey angel this year !http://www.shop.carolinahoneybees.com/Wildflower-Honey-Angel-003.htm

Mind your own beeswax...

Really beeswax is wonderful stuff.  Beeswax is stable over time, it does rot or degrade easily.  It has been used as dental fillings thousands of years ago and as a water proofing agent also.  Beeswax is made from glands on the underside of the honeybee.  After the bee engorges on nectar, these glands extrude the clear soft wax scales which harden as the bees manipulative them into comb.  Beeswax is a potentially sustainable product if we can manage to keep our honeybees alive.

Fun teaching about bees.

We had a great time at our beekeeping booth at the Hagood Mill Folklife Center this weekend.  I created a photo board featuring the contributions of honeybees to our lifestyle.  All ages enjoyed having their picture made !

Yellow Jacket Scavenger

I spied this Yellow Jacket Wasp enjoying a piece of honeybee.  The yellow jacket likes sweet treats but they are meat eaters.  These wasps can be a plague to beekeepers and often harass hives.  They are usually not a real threat to the colony unless it is weak and doesn't contain enough worker guards to keep them out of the hive.

Fall Flowers signal summer's end

These beautiful flowers signal the end of the bloom season.  My hives are full of honey, pollen and propolis harvested by the bees throughout the season.  Propolis is also called, bee glue.  It is a sticky plant resin that is collected by bees and mixed with salvia to use to cleanse and polish surfaces and this time of year to seal cracks in the hive to prevent rain and cold wind from entering !

Defending the hive from other bees.

Honeybees work to protect their home and colony welfare is top priority.  In this video, you will see a worker honeybee near the middle of the front, she is repelling another worker who most likely does not belong to her family.  Protecting the colony from robbers is very important this time of year.

Fall rush

Busy flight afternoons like this one will soon end as frost will kill most of the nectar producing plants. The bees seem to know this and rush to harvest.

Fall pests

Yellow jackets and other wasps, as well as, spiders can become bothersome pests for our hives during the fall.  Strong hives will fight them off.