Have a Little Faith In the Bees...
trex raptor
To all,
As we approach the two largest shopping days of the season, black Friday and cyber Monday, I am positive that without a doubt you have or will shortly be approached to place your order for packages or nucs for 2021 by every retailer under the sun. This is where I implore you to have a little faith. If your colony(s) is alive, hold off on placing an order. Folks don’t sell out of bees this early. You have until April typically and even then most years folks will still be taking orders in May. Don’t be pressured into making a decision yet.
If your colony(s) has perished, partner up with another friendly beekeeper that has more colonies than they desire and make a plan to split their overwintered stock and replace your loss. To those with surviving colonies: wouldn’t you rather help another beekeeper than let that great overwintered colony swarm repeatedly come late May? I’m not saying you have to do it do free either, this is a great opportunity to make a little money to help pay for new bee gear, queens, books or classes on the subject. On the note of splits, if you are looking to increase your apiary size then contemplate the idea of making splits instead of purchasing new colonies. A great book on this subject is “Increase Essentials by Lawrence Connor”. This is a lovely book on the subject of making splits that is easy to understand. Here is a link to the book.
Believe it or not, we are only three months away till the beginning of the bee season. By March we will finally be able to observe overwintered colony strength, re-stock them with resources if needed and observe the first foraging flights. Until then, continue to monitor your colonies using your ears and say thank you to your bees for their tireless work last season.
Thank you,
Trevor