A Bee-u-tiful Day!

The Bee Keeper came back on Friday and we were ready to get some serious bee action! He was very nice and took the time to explain the process to the kids and I. It was very educational. I have to say, I know a whole lot about honey bees now. He trimmed the limbs away and I really got to see our hive. He said it was 12 layers thick! Holy BeesWax, Batman!

Extracting bees from a tree is a very tedious process that took him about two to three hours. First, he added smoke telling me that it calms the bees. They were pretty calm before, tending to their bee business but when the smoke was brought in they really started to fly. I didn't really get that part but he is the professional and I am merely the bystander. I just got to thinkin' that if I was in my house minding my own business and I smelled smoke I would not be calmed, maybe bees are the same way. Call me crazy.

Next, he, very carefully, cut away sections of the hive. This was just cool. As he cut he was actually hoping to spy the Queen but told me that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She is longer and her wings are positioned differently than the rest of the bees. He never did find her and only hoped she was with the group. It is important to get the Queen because they follow her. So, if you capture her, then the others will go too.

Each section of hive must be placed in a frame and the frames are then stacked a box where the bees will continue to work on their hive. These bees will be working very hard on their honey but will not make a significant amount until next year. A hive like this can produce anywhere from 50-100lbs of honey!

If he successfully captured the Queen then the bees will all get in the box with her. If not the bees will go right back to the tree and begin making a hive in my tree again. As fascinating as this has been, Queenie better be in the box! It is time for nature to move on.
He left the box here after extracting the hive so that any stray bees will get inside. He will return tonight (Sunday) at dark because they are bedding down at that time and he will take them to their new home if Queenie is inside. He did come back and check on them yesterday and they have all gotten in the box except for a few rebels! This is good news! Guess where Queenie is? In the box. Yeah!The beekeeper gave us each some honey and comb to try. Andrew tried first: Thumbs Up! He sucked all the honey out and then chewed up the comb. He liked it so much the beekeeper brought him more on Saturday.

Alora went next: Thumbs Down! Miss "Sweet Snack" said it was way too sweet for her liking and she spit it out.

I was next: Thumbs Middle! It was really sweet but tasty. Very fun to try but I wouldn't be craving it. All in all, this has been a great educational experience. We made a new friend, gained a honey supplier, and learned a lot about the habits of bees. For example, watch them carefully, they have flight patterns and you can get really close to them as long as you don't step into their pattern. Good to know! We all know the consequences of crossing a bee's flight path. Bee-lieve me, it has been a great week but the most Bee-U-Tiful sight will be them leaving on the back of the truck!