Here We Go Again

After a promising start, then a build up, the swarm began to noticeably dwindle in size. We all noticed less activity on the hive. I opened it on Sept. 11, 2024. I can't show a picture because in the process of grabbing the camera to take a shot, I dropped it and broke it! But, it had dwindled to covering only about three frames. There was a small amount of capped brood and no excess honey. The bees were valiantly bringing in pollen, but the traffic was noticeably reduced from a month earlier.

There are lots of honeybees in my yard foraging on goldenrod. There is no smell of goldenrod in the hive, which is unusual for this time of year. This tells me that all the bees in my yard are not from that little, tiny hive. My experience, whether one likes to accept it or not, is that the queen will recognize that there is way too much competition for the amount of forage available and will reduce laying. The fact that there is no honey at all, even after six weeks in the hive or more, shows that despite their best efforts they can't get ahead. If I were to feed them, they would just get robbed. It is a no-win situation.

I saw a bee truck from the commercial beekeeper that has been my problem for years at an intersection near my house. It had tanks of sugar water and some bee equipment on it. It was clearly marked from the company, so I have no doubt who it was. The direction from which it came indicated it was coming from another gravel pit well within my hives' flight zone, but not the one on my road. Deep sigh. I will not order bees for spring because they would start out fine until late June or early July when the commercial beekeeper arrives with his gazillion hives, then gradually dwindle or get outright robbed out like they did this year. That would be a waste of money, time and mental health. So, last week I bought the first jar of honey I have bought in almost 20 years. I called the beekeeper to see how he kept the bees, and to make sure he actually produced the honey himself since many just re-pack honey purchased from larger beekeepers. He was a crusty old beekeeper of the old school, who admitted when I told my story that the only option was to move my hives. He drives hundreds of miles to keep bees in various beeyards. I can't do that because of the other responsibilities I have on my farm. I have tried over the past eight or nine years to move my hives, and it never works because I can't keep track of them. So, it appears I have no choice but to take a beekeeping siesta. I hope it is short. I do not wish ill to the commercial beekeeper. I just wish he would find someplace else to keep his hives in the summer. He can move his hives anywhere he likes. I am tied to a piece of my own property.

So I sadly end this post with the likelihood that I will not have anything to post about bees for quite some time. I love beekeeping. I love honey. I don't want to buy someone else's honey. I want to be able to produce my own, but apparently for now, all my options have disappeared and I must wait for circumstances to change.