The county bee inspector, Lisza, came to call yesterday while it was hot and sunny. I learned a lot from her, some of which I hope to remember when needed.
One thing she kept saying was how pretty my bees are. It made me feel so proud, just like a mother! Of course, their looks came from their real mother, the Queen (whom I haven't named, but that's another story!).
There were a lot of drone larvae, but Lisza scraped most of them off. The thing about drones is their comb are breeding ground for varroa mites (bad), they don't really do anything (lazy), and eat up lots of honey (hmmm). Plus, the Queen has already been inseminated with enough bee sperm to lay hundreds of thousands of eggs. So why are drones necessary?
Just in case. Plus the workers like having them around. At least until the end of the summer, then out they go.
On another subject (still bee-related, of course!): we tasted a bit of honey that got scraped off. OMG! What flavor! It was fruity, like cherries and apricots! Not only are my girls beautiful, but they can cook, too!
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Although I've opened the hive all by myself a few times, Bill has been around to peer inside a couple times, too. He is braver than I am and doesn't wear a bee bonnet (with a name like that for a hat, who would blame him?). Monday, May 25, 2009 |