I posted about the bees that moved into the flicker nest box a few times.
Well, I was wrong last June, they did not swarm. At least not that we noticed. But this hive of honeybees has prospered over the summer.
They have found plenty to forage on, apparently, and they are still finding plenty. They seem to like colchicums.
They are also quite fond of sedums.
Tangible evidence that they are doing so well that they are outgrowing the space that the flicker box provides showed up recently.
I think we will have to invest in some actual hive boxes and supers this winter, because I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts they will be swarming next spring.
We are so excited that we have such happy pollinators on the place. And they were volunteers.
Advertisements
That’s so awesome that you have bees! Its good to know that they’re right there, so they can thoroughly pollinate everything in you little ecosystem. 🙂
Yes, and they get no stress from extraneous chemicals in their environment here, as well. So far, they have been here for three years. I love having them all over my place!
That honeycomb is amazing and rather beautiful, I think. Living in a tiny room in a boarding house in a city, I love coming here. I wish I could be there in person.
I wish you could be too, I have a feeling we would enjoy each other very much. And Jim could cook for you…
I’m glad to know that my gardens are providing pleasure on the other side of the world. It makes me happy.
Thank you. x
HONEY!!!!
Yes. Yummy honey. Unfortunately, this hive’s available space means that all the honey is for the bees. We haven’t gotten them established somewhere where we can harvest any. Right now I view them as essential workmen in the vineyard and garden, and a workman is always worthy of his hire: in this case, honey. Plus we augment their diet in the early spring to help them get through the cold months.
Wow – honeycomb! and your sedums are lovely too
I know! We were very excited to see that, as we were wondering how the colony was doing. The fact that they felt the need to move the honeycomb production outside the box showed how healthy the group is.
Sedums are one of my favorite autumn flowers. In addition to the bees, they also have about 8 species of butterfly visiting them.
Delighted to see some happy honeybees! Hoping they’re making a comeback in the region! i saw lots more this summer than last… and managed to avoid stepping on any!
Honeybees are very opinioniated about being stepped on, I can testify to that!
I think that the bees that are resistant to the mites and the viruses are starting to propagate. The colony die off seems to be closely associated to Monsanto’s activities with GMO organisms that contain poisons in their tissues, the rampant use of herbicides and pesticides encouraged by their advertising and marketing, plus the other environmental toxins the bees encounter, which make them more susceptible to diseases they used to be able to shake off.
This colony was a swarm from a wild hive in the area. I have always had plenty of bees and other pollinators here at the Havens. Very fortunate indeed.