Honeybee adventures

Many people may wonder why you would want to bring bees into your yard when you consider them pests.Or why you would have a hobby that could sting you. Technically, there are plenty of more dangerous hobbies out there. We have had them for 4 weeks now and there were only 2 stings that first day when they were dumped into their hive



Bringing the bees home from a supplier in Salt Lake. Just one of the suppliers here in Utah.



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A calm hive

Usually there about 10 bees or so outside the hive. You can sit and watch them come and go from their work and enter the door on the bottom with bright pollen on their legs. On a rainy or cold day it looks like a vacant box except for the buzzing you hear when you get close.


I understand that they are docile bees but I don't do this:)




First honeycomb. Right now it is basically an intricate piece of wax.




Dad showing them the larvae that the Queen laid.



 I go to my garden each day that is 3 ft away from the hive and there are not bees swarming aorund me ever. Which is crazy when you think that right next to me is a house of 13,000 bees. But honeybees have bettter things to do than go after people. They are docile Italian bees and spend the time in the hive or out gathering pollen and nectar. Ironically, we have had to set out wasp traps because the wasps and yellow jackets continue to torment us on our deck and playset. But nearby, approx 13,000 honeybees live and we rarely see that close to the house. 



You can add these veils to any hat.



I know what you are thinking....Soooo SEXY! You have to tuck in everything so they can't sneak in. I usually don't get geared up sicne they usually don't bother us a few feet away. Rob is touching the inside of their hive and is always in gear. I also keep my hair back after the incident the first day of a bee getting trapped in my hair:)

When the bees numbers grow we have to add another hive box to it so they don't get cramped and take off to find a new hive. Daddy let them paint this one.

Not so easy to get this handprint on there:)

 We get asked a lot, how much honey we get. Rob knows all of the details of it all, but we shouldn expect some honey in the fall, but not much the first year. They need to build up their energy and build up this new hive that they need all of the nectar for themselves.

Rob can look at the tray and see about 5 things that we don't. In this the covered or capped holes, are full of larvae. The empty ones told him that the new eggs have hatched.

How does a person even decide to do this? Rob has a friend that has done it for years and my kids and both of us love creatures and learning experiences like that so we went to look at his hives. I was impressed that we were so close to the tray of bees but they didn't mind us, and the kids didn't mind them. Rob thought it looked to complicated, and thought maybe in the future he would try. I gave him "Beekeeping for Dummies" which is the recommended book from professionals, for Christmas. He has read it about 5 times, along with more visits to the hives, and some online reading as well. We ordered the equipment this spring and it began from there....  If anyone is ever interested to take a look you are always welcome. There is a great Reading Rainbow program at the library on honeybees and beekeeping as well.