Helping the Newbees

Buzz Lightyear ain't got nothin' on honeybees.

 

At least, that is what I think now that I've witnessed extreme co-operation from a swarm of wild honeybees that went from homeless status to adapting to condo living in less than a single day.

 

Here's the scoop:

 

Last week, Jim captured a swarm of bees at our cider orchard (located on our other property). He was prepared because of our earlier trip to Bebee's Bees for supplies. When Jim found the swarm, he came home to get one of the supers he has ready and went back to see if the bees would rather have a nice, comfy, wax-lined home or if they would prefer to toil and make one of their own in a tree somewhere.

 

 

They chose the ready-to-move-into condo.

 

Smart move!

 

 

Jim moved the super to the place where he is making a new beeyard; step 1 accomplished. He has several supers ready and as we get more bees, the apiarin neighborhood will expand.

 

 

The survival of the new bees hit a snag when the super-duper cold front moved in last week. We saw Bill Beebe at Bucyrus' Lil' Farmers Market on Saturday and explained the situation to him. Jim felt that the bees might die because they did not have time to start making honey and wondered if he should feed them. Bill informed Jim that his hunches were right on the money, and gave Jim instructions on an easy way to feed the bees.

 

 

When we got back home, I made a simple syrup of half sugar and half water and put in a zip-type plastic bag. I put the bag on a plastic deli tray for support.

 

 

At the super, with our cat D.C. assisting, Jim went to work.

Jim cut slits in the bag of sugar water and laid it on the top of the bottom part of the super.

 

 

Within seconds, the insects made a bee-line to the sugar water buffet.

 

 

 

Then Jim put the top of the super back in place.

 

 

 

 

 

Through communication that we humans haven't mastered yet, the bees inside the super summoned home the bees that had gone foraging, letting them know what the buzz was about and to come in from the cold to fill their hungry little selves with the newly found windfall.

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the bees take care of themselves AND their fellow honey makers is one reason that I love nature and the natural world. Can you imagine our world if humans worked so closely together to help each other, as bees do?

 

Marcheta *to infinity and beyond!