So this past weekend I was able to harvest my first batch of honey. My better hive filled a full honey super for me, and I quickly got it back on the hive for them to fill again. I'm told that hopefully I'll get two more of the same. This is super exciting!
Here's a few snaps of the process:
And here is a bumblebee that was also busy pollinating.
So I've been pretty excited about my bees, and today is their first day flying! They are doing a lot of orientation flights, getting to know where their new home is located. Check out a couple of the shots I took of the bees this morning:
My bees are here! Thursday night I went out with my friend Scott and helped him deliver and hive 30 packages of bees. To give you an idea of what that looks like, we had 90,000 bees in tow behind our vehicle. Our night went really well, and like Scott said, it was a lot of experience packed into a short amount of time. Along with Scott and myself, we also had Scott's father in law along for the experience. We had everything all packed up and ready to go at around 7:30pm, and we got back at around 1:30am, completing 23 hives in six locations. Check out some of the images below from our night.
Our first stop was to pick up the ladies. All 90,000 of them.
After that we headed over to Barbara's and set up her two hives.
Next stop was Lee's farm where he's also starting two new hives.
After that we headed over to Marty's place.
Here's what the bees come in. The metal can is sugar water (feed.)
Then we headed over to Scott's lot.
After that we started 11 more hives at another location for Scott.
Then it was my turn! The end of our night! I didn't take any photos setting up the bees at my place, but here's a photo of them before I left.
It was a very exciting night and I truly enjoyed the experience. I can't wait to start seeing progress with my two hives!
Well, that's not exactly true. What would be, is that bees absolutely love me. It seems I am always the one to get eaten alive if there are any mosquitoes around us during the humid summer months. But do you know what I hate more than mosquitoes? Ironically, it's the trucks that come spraying to kill them multiple times a week.
I have been taking strides towards becoming a beekeeping this year. Just yesterday my Langstroth hives were delivered, along with all the beekeeping supplies I need to get started. All with much thanks to my beekeeping resource and friend, Scott Shold. Scott is a local beekeeper who is getting me and a few other people started with beekeeping this year. My situation is a little different than Scott, as they spray insecticides multiple times a week during the summer around my house, where I was planning on keeping the bees.
I have asked Scott, and the jury is still out. But it looks like I am going to have to find another place to put my hives. The Illinois Department of Public Health said a few things about this that caught my attention. Particularly the lethal ingredients sprayed right out front of my house,
The most commonly used products are synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (such as Scourge® and Anvil®), pyrethrins and malathion. All insecticides used for mosquito control in Illinois must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA). You can find fact sheets about some insecticides commonly used to kill mosquitoes on the USEPA web site.As well as,
During the pesticide registration process, USEPA considers the effect of insecticides on wildlife. If the insecticide is applied according to label directions, wildlife should not be killed or injured with the exception of insects similar in size to mosquitoes. If you have any concerns about this issue after they have sprayed in your area, contact IDA.
So in my excitement of it all, I might need to relocate my plans to another location. We shall soon see, as my bees will be coming in the next few weeks!
If you have any information about honey bees and adult mosquito insecticides, or petitioning the mosquito trucks to leave town, please give me a holla.
