Notes From the Bee Yard:

First of all-it is H O T ! June was the start of temps being almost unbearable. There was a great honey harvest but to be honest I haven’t pulled honey from all of my hives because I have been distracted by both work (summer school) and removals. My time off was spent recooperating on the couch in the AC. Silver lining is there is a sliver of time really early in the morning if you get up and out early enough when the temps are manageable. I did travel to my friend Joe’s apiary last month and got to experience grafting for the first time and guess what?! One of my queens took and I named her Queen Noireen…unfortunately she r u n n o f t (but actually she flew) and she never came back to the mating nuc!

I have continued to do markets but those will be slowing down for me during these blazing hot temperatures. I had a couple swarm calls this month and even had one in my home apiary, but they left just about as soon as they arrived so I didn’t have time to collect them! The Creekside Apiary is growing with some cut-outs and other bees that end up finding me. I also had the experience of collecting a colony of bees from a tree that fell across the street in a neighborhood this month. I am constantly surprised by the amount of feral bees in Chattanooga!

I did a couple removals this month and one was reeaaalllly freakin’ high up! This colony was in a neighborhood that was right across the street from where I got the column bees from two years ago. There are definately some feral hives in this particular area. I wonder if the column bees were a swarm from this homes bees or vice versa. When I was first introduced to this colony it was from the inside of the home in the attic. They were literally chewing the spray foam and it was falling all over the attic floor. The only reason they were working their way into the attic is they had run out of space in the soffits.

I was proud and excited to be invited to speak about swarms this month at the Lafayette Honeybee Festival. The only photo I got was one with Bob Binnie (bottom middle photo), whom I was very excited to meet! He asked if I had a phsyical store in Chattanooga and I said no because if I did I wouldn’t be able to be out in the field and he said yeah they you’ll be married to too many things. If you don not know who Bob Binnie is he’s is pretty popular guy in our region. He and his wife own Blue Ridge Honey Co. in Lakemont, Georgia, operating 2000 colonies along with a honey packing operation and has a large following on YouTube.

The bees really started bearding this month. One colony was bearding so much it looked like a swarm on the front and back of their hive! #badbeekeeperstuff They were very happy when I added another super. I am starting to see more hive beetles this month so it’s a reminder to start placing your unscented Swiffer sheets in the corners of each hive box. Make sure to check them every few days and replace them if you need to!

My friend JesSay came up to visit from Jacksonville this month and he helped me process some wax. It was neat to see him interact with the bees a different way than last time he was here. I think he’s getting more comfortable and everytime he visits he becomes more interested in learning more about them. It’s so much fun introducing my friends to beekeeping! Just about everyone that has come to visit me has left with a difference perspective and a new sort of reverance for them.