Selena Jane Wilson: April 2015

It was two years ago while I was on Spring break when I got a wild hair. I called my friend Bob (who is a third generation bee keeper and former farmer) to ask if he knew where I could get my own bee hive. "You're in luck!" he said. Apparently, just the week before his neighbor complained to code enforcement about Bob's backyard bees. They had claimed nuisance before. So Bob, who just acquired his newest swarm the week before that when they landed (as they do every year) on a tree in his yard, was already wondering what to do with his beloved bees.

He stuffed a paper towel into the hive box opening that night when they were all inside, and drove them in the cab of his truck just before sunrise the next morning 25 miles to my house. I had the spot all set up for him to plop the box (gently!) onto. He pulled the towel out and we ran!

I watched them as they slowly acclimated and then began flying off to do their thing. This hive colony has been strong and healthy since then. I absolutely love my bees! I have learned a lot, and continue to learn each time I mess with them.

I sit and watch their beehavior.

My little honeybee on the lavender.

Honeycomb:

Although I learned from my bee mentors that I should put wires in the frames (to help them build the comb) and to buy wax foundation (factory made wax sheets for the bees to build off of), I naturally have forged my own path. I figured, "the bees probably know how to build their comb , who am I to enforce some factory made design upon their instincts". Plus, I am not too big on doing all this organic honey thing only to begin the whole process with something made in a factory with who knows what inside of it. Therefore, my bees make their own wax that miraculously seems to stay in place without wires. Sometimes the comb is stuck together between frames, but I'm not complaining. Neither are my bees. I think its healthier to trust in their instincts for building how they need to build. When you give them a wax pre-fab, the size and shape of all of their cells becomes dictated. They copy it like a template. So I let them do the designing.

For the love of honaaaaaaay

I have my O.G. deep hive, my regular super, and a mini-super on top of that. I just take honey from the top super, figure they make babies in the bottom one and store honey in the middle one. This is what you call "bearding". They do this for a number of reasons: overcrowding, temperature control, preparing to swarm.