First Pollen!

It was the second week of March when we noticed the first pollen coming in to the hives. Hazel alder bushes in the swamp had opened the tiny blooms in their catkins. It's a wonderful early pollen source for the bees, who need pollen to begin the yearly "spring buildup," the population explosion that moves the hive from a small, dormant winter cluster to a bustling, tireless city of bees. When the queen begins to lay, pollen is needed to feed the coming brood. It's exciting and reassuring for the beekeeper to see the pollen coming in. The hive has survived the winter, and there is a strong promise of a healthy colony growing through the Spring.

Within days the henbit (right above) and purple false nettle (left above) were blooming, and the bees were bringing in my favorite pollen.

Favorite pollen? Yes! The photo left doesn't quite do it justice, but it is a lovely vermillion, and quite unique among the more common pollen colors which run the gamut of yellow to green.

In the picture to the right one of our ladies buries her head deep in a purple false nettle blossom. She'll emerge with a red smudge on her forehead, and groom the pollen from her body back in to her "corbiculae," or "pollen baskets."

Sometimes the loads the bees are able to ferry back to the hive are so large that we wonder how they can fly with them. But fly they do, tirelessly harvesting the new Spring bounty. Happy Spring!

2010 Bluegrass Beekeeping School

On March 13, 2010, over 400 beekeepers met in Frankfort, KY for the 2010 Bluegrass Beekeeping School. Ruth, Isaac and I were of their number. Dr. Dave Tarpy, Associate Professor of Entomolgy from NC State was the keynote speaker, and started the day with a fascinating presentation of the dance language of the honeybee. He shared a wonderful on-line tutorial on the bees' communication through dance which you can access at http://entomology.ncsu.edu/apiculture/Dance_tutorial

After several more classes and lunch, it was our turn to teach "Beekeeping with Children." We had a great class, many more than I expected, and I was sorry to run out of handouts. If you were in the class and didn't get a handout, please just contact me through this blog and I will get one to you. The photo above shows as many of the wonderful group of people that made up our class as I could fit in the viewer of the camera.

The class provided Ruthie with her first public teaching opportunity. She gave a presentation

on why she felt that Warré hives with windows are the best hives for beekeeping with children and did a great job. Everyone from class members to school organizers were very encouraging. Ruthie is excited about preparing and teaching again next year.

Of course our Warré hive was unique at the bee school. Except for one other speaker, Tiffany Gillespie, who gave an introduction to Kenyan top-bar hives, everything was geared toward beekeeping with Langstroth hives. In spite of that, we learned a great deal that will enhance our beekeeping and make us better beekeepers. I'd highly recommend going to a bee school near you no matter what your level of experience or what beekeeping methods you use.