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| Beekeeping | |
I’m the type of person who likes to lift the lid. Look inside. Peek underneath. This makes winter tough for me as a beekeeper. Winter’s a risky season for the bees. There’s no forage. The weather’s mostly too cold or windy for flying. (Bees fastidiously avoid defecating in the hive and will literally “hold it” until the weather warms up enough for them to leave on cleansing flights.) They’re more vulnerable to varroa mites, intestinal distress and other diseases in the winter than at any other time of the year. Of course, I’m curious to see how they’re doing. (Aren’t you?) But lifting the lid is verboten! Opening a hive in winter can profoundly disrupt the bees’ winter cluster putting the queen and the entire colony at risk of dying from the cold. So it’s my job to do what I can to support their health from spring through fall and then just leave them alone. It’s been a fierce winter here in Boulder. Record breaking amounts of snow. Deep cold. The bees have been quiet for weeks. I’ve felt anxious and curious about how they’re doing. So it was great see them flying yesterday! It was a warm day. Low to mid sixties. Perfect for cleansing flights. I took a break from my computer to watch them circling over the snow. The windshield of my car is covered with bee poo (healthy amber splotches about the size of a nail head). When I drove downtown to do errands yesterday it made me smile. Although it’s too early to predict who’ll make it through the winter and who won’t. We’ve still got two months of snow before the dandelions bloom. | |
