Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Sad. Just sad.

I have lost Apollo, my original (and only) hive. Upon opening it this afternoon, I saw only a few handfuls of very sluggish bees. There is a little evidence of wax moth activity, but the hive beetle trap had been doing its job. There are a few queen cells, one of which was partially hatched, but it appears poor Apollo has been queenless for a while.

Now I have to decide if I want to start this venture all over again next spring. I have a few weeks to ponder that question. Package bee orders must be placed in November/early December. Otherwise, I can order a couple of nucs from local sources early in the new year.

I did freeze a couple of frames that had drawn comb and a little honey in them. Maybe that will help a new colony next year.