THE WORLD'S CUTEST BEE BOX

In case you missed it... I totally have the world's cutest bee box. I guess fashion may not be important to the world's beekeepers, but I just can't properly show the girls love them without making them feel fancy. So out came the outdoor paint and some stencils & with some effort - a fabulous purple bee box.

THE GIRLS HAVE ADDED ON

Well those busy busy bees. Every time we check on them, they are building comb up into their feeder. Well, that means time for an expansion. Now they have 2 deeps to fill out & a bigger space (using an empty super) to get to the feed. The last bit of feed should be gone in a week, & maybe those ladies will stop building honey comb up the feeder.

So after a month of getting them cozy & fed in their new homes, it's time to start weening them off the feed for some spring/summer flowers. All that extra honey comb and honey just tastes like sugar water for now, but we have rain in the forecast & there should be flowers out soon, so we are going to force them to leave the hive & forage more for food.

Even though they are still growing and multiplying, & the hives are 1/2 empty... they totally look like professional bee hives

ORGANIC BEEKEEPING TIPS

via texashighways.com May 2014 article:

Biodynamic beekeepers use:

• smoke to calm the bees
• cinnamon to discourage ants
• olive oil traps to kill beetles
• coat bees with powdered sugar, prompting them to clean each other & reduce mites