By Dudley Beck July was pretty quiet, just checking hives to see if new boxes were needed for honey production. Two of Wes Shook's hives had no brood but plenty of bees. Our hope was that they had both recently swarmed and the colony was waiting for the new queen to mate and begin laying … Continue reading Bluff Beekeepers Calendar (July-August 2019)

By Dudley Beck Swarms in June? Nope. Nary a one. Let's move on. Our seven managed bee colonies in Bluff are doing well, all bringing in lots of honey now and appearing healthy. Looking to the south, do you remember the Mexican Water Chapter House? June 21 was our Mexican Water Chapter House caper. I … Continue reading Bluff Beekeepers Calendar: June

By Dudley Beck Monday, April 14, checking my email. I notice one from Bill Lincoln from yesterday. Ring... Ring... Ring. "Hello, this is Bill." “Bill, this is Dudley. I just now noticed your email from yesterday about bees. Where were they?" "I was out at the Mission. There were a lot of bees up in … Continue reading Bluff Beekeepers Calendar: April

Wes, KB, and I have spent the rest of March cleaning old frames, checking for wax moths, and getting our sites ready (wind break, some shade) for new colonies.

The swarm can be the size of an orange up to size of a beach ball. It may contain 10,000-20,000 bees. It is usually attached to a bush or tree limb and will stay there up to two days while the scout bees search for a new home.