What’s it like to work with bees?

Have you ever wondered what it's truly like to be at the heart of a bustling honeybee hive, surrounded by 60,000 tiny, industrious lives? For me, a typical day in the apiary is a journey into an unpredictable, fascinating world.

Early Mornings and Honeybee Trails

My beekeeping adventures often begin on an early Saturday morning, sometimes a Sunday, or even a quiet weekday evening. I find immense joy in rising with the sun on a cool Saturday, the air still crisp, and heading out to one of my apiaries. No matter which apiary I'm visiting, the path almost always involves navigating a winding, often bumpy trail in my Jeep – a tradition that gave rise to the affectionate name, "Honeybee Trail."

As I pull onto the farm, I guide the Jeep past the barn and down a stone road, flanked by dense woods on one side and an expansive, open yard on the other. Sometimes, I'll pause the engine, taking a moment to simply observe the ballet unfolding before me: thousands of bees, like miniature streaks of gold, zipping from their hives and across the yard, embarking on their vital quest for pollen and nectar. It's a serene, almost meditative start to the day.

The Unpredictable World Within the Hive

Once in the bee yard, I turn my attention to the list of projects gleaned from my last hive check. In the summer, these checks are typically spaced two to three weeks apart. Yet, despite my meticulous planning, I can almost always count on one of the hives to present an unexpected surprise, a challenge or a marvel I hadn't anticipated.

One particular day, I was monitoring a hive that was in the process of requeening. This fascinating natural phenomenon occurs when a hive loses its queen. The worker bees, with remarkable precision, select a three-day-old egg and nourish it with an abundance of royal jelly, transforming it into a new queen. They'll often create several "queen cells" as a contingency, ensuring a successful emergence. In this scenario, I knew we were close to an emergence – queens typically hatch after 16 days – but what I didn't realize was just how many queen cells were present.

A Royal Surprise: Three Queens in One Day!

With a gentle puff of smoke to keep the "girls" calm, I carefully lifted the cover of the hive. I began my inspection, working my way down to the bottom box where I usually find the brood – the cluster of baby bees, eggs, larvae, and capped brood. And there she was: a brand new queen, still a bit wobbly, not yet fully roaming her frame. I gently nudged her back, allowing her to settle into her new reign.

As I continued inspecting the other frames, my eyes widened in surprise. Another queen! This one was already actively exploring her frame. Knowing that a hive can only sustain one queen, I carefully removed the extra queen and safely placed her in a small cage, ready to start her own colony.

But the surprises weren't over. As I meticulously inspected further, I came across yet another queen cell. And at that very moment, right before my eyes, a third queen began to emerge! I was genuinely shocked, my luck almost unbelievable – two extra queens, both viable, from a single hive! I carefully transferred each of these bonus queens into separate boxes, providing them with some bees, eggs, and larvae from the original hive, setting them up to establish their own thriving colonies.

And that's the essence of beekeeping: you truly never know what wonders you'll encounter. Each visit to the apiary is a lesson in nature's resilience, its intricate design, and the boundless surprises that lie within a buzzing hive.

~Honeybee Trail~ wherever life takes you, take a little sweetness with you.