04-04-12 Survival

Empty cells on the right, brood in the middle (the little "C" shaped larvae) and capped cells on the left. Larvae are capped in with enough food to grow into an adult, at which state they emerge

In the honeybees' world, the last few months have been rough.

   Last summer the "honey run" ended up earlier than normal leaving hive with less food than needed for winter. In my case, one of my two hives lost its queen (the only bee laying all the eggs) around that time. The hive did raise another one but, due to timing and circumstances, they never recovered and the hive shrunk to nothing before winter.

The other one went into winter with sufficient numbers and food supply(I do not collect any honey, I leave it for those that produced the hard work: the bees themselves. I keep bees for the pleasure of watching them and to pollinate my and my neighbors' gardens, not to exploit them. I started when I heard about the high death rates caused by Colony Collapse Disorder just to see if being more isolated in the suburbs would give bees a better chance to survive this horrible epidemic. How I fit the philosophy of non-exploitation into a Capitalistic society requires some serious gymnastics and some below the radar flying. I expect Homeland security to show up any time and arrest me for being a socialist,: I mean I also eat broccoli after all! Double whammer!)

Uncapped honey and, the darker/dryer looking ones: pollen. When the cell is full of honey, bees will vent it with their wings to remove excess moisture and then seal it with wax for future use.

What pleased all of us this winter: the amazingly warm weather cost my last hive. In winter, bees stay inside to keep warm and survive. They live on the stored honey and survive on communal heat, staying balled up together around the queen for warmth. This winter being warmer, they did like us, they flew out every time the air felt a little warmer, putting out a lot of wear and tear on their little bodies, some getting caught in cold air pockets and not making it back at a time when the queen does not lay eggs and, therefore, does not replace the missing.
The hive did survive but with between 1/4 and 1/3 of its normal population. The bee world is like the old agrarian society, it depends on high numbers for survival.

Capping honey cells.

So, what now? I opened it for a thorough inspection last Thursday and found the following: very few bees but the workers are storing new honey and pollen and the queen is laying eggs.

What it means: with a little luck, if nothing else impacts this colony in a negative fashion, it should make it.

Reality? We'll know in the next few weeks if enough adults are left in working state to nurture the new baby boom. If not...