Bees Are No More

     My second package of bees this year didn’t make it either. *sigh* (again).  They gave it a good try.  I thought that maybe putting the packages into the hive on two of the coldest, rainiest (that’s a word is according to spell check stretches of weather (two different times!), was the problem.  According to an experienced beekeeper here in Northeast Wisconsin, probably not.  He thinks it is more likely that the bees came from California before the queen was bred.   When there is no brood being layed right away we are already behind.  It was either that, or my queen died soon after I put them in.  I never could find the queen when I would check on them,  but I have an inexperienced eye.
     This second package at least started to get some comb made, but then I noticed there was no brood,  and very few bees.  Thinking all was already lost, I didn’t check them for two weeks.  When I did check there was a queen cell!  A spark of hope….and then two days later there were about 2 bees.  I’m not the only one that lost bees.  Lots of beekeepers around the area did.




      So, I will be taking everything I learned this year, soaking up all the reading on bees that I can this winter, and trying again next year.   I think I’ll try a regular hive and this top bar hive again next year, just to compare.

…..dr momi

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