When it comes to being self-sufficient, what’s more important than having a steady source of sugar? With a bee colony in place, we’re excited to work towards that goal of homesteading self-sufficiency with our own supply of honey. Now that our bee hive has been setup for a week now, I will be performing my first “real” hive inspection later today to check on them. Today, let’s talk more about what that entails.
Feed Me! – The Feeding Needs of Bees
I performed a simple and brief Queen check last Saturday and filled up their sugar water. I use a simple 1:1 ratio for them. Having access to food ensures they establish brood to get the bee colony growing and helps prevent swarming. While there are many reasons bees may swarm, we’re working to take any opportunity we can to ensure they are happy and healthy.
Checking on the Queen Bee
A few days after setting up our new bee colony, I intended to check they frames for the Queen bee. However, I had some technical difficulties with my smoker and wanted to keep my first visit short and sweet. I was mesmerized by watching the bees at work. The particular bees I ordered are known to be extremally gentle and so far they are living up to that reputation. I didn’t really need to use the smoker. I probably do not need a full suit either, but I still intend to wear it during my visits.
During this first visit, I was able to pry out the queen cage. The expectation was that the other bees would have already helped her escape -and I was delighted to see they had. I then closed up the hive and called it a job well done. This week, I need to spend a bit more time to inspect each frame and ensure they are properly establishing their colony.
What’s Next for Bee Colony?
I would like to start a regular series of blog posts digging deep into bees. Simple to share what I am learning and to organize that information for my own use and hopefully to help any aspiring and fellow beginner bee keepers! If you want to stay updated on these posts, make sure to subscribe for email reminders.
Stay sweet,
Victoria