Beekeeping Help Bounty
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Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from a beekeeping student's garden.
Beekeeping Help Bounty
One of the unexpected bonuses of lending beekeeping students a hand is how they show their appreciation.
In this case, the student was a Mom with a newborn, a 20-month old and an 11-year old at home, a full time job giving her time off to deliver her son, and a first year hive getting over-run by small hive beetles. Small hive beetles are an invasive species from sub-Sahara Africa that can take over even strong hives with their fast-growing larvae sliming honey frames. They look like little black ladybugs.
After texting Lisa recommendations on what to do about the frames with small hive beetle larvae, I headed out to her apiary today to determine if the Italian colony was going to make it.
Turns out she did a good job of removing small hive beetle larvae in her frames, they are now in her freezer. If she can find a queen to add, she may be able to have a bee colony to take into winter.
As I was leaving, she showed me where she would like to add a second hive next to her garden spot. Good location, I said, as I noticed the cucumber and tomato plants nestled in small islands of other greens.
When I was ready to leave, she handed me a bag with three freshly-picked cucumbers and a small bag of cherry tomatoes.
That's a delicious way to say thank you.
After checking Lisa Powell Story's hive to make sure all small hive beetles were under control.
Thank YOU, Lisa!
Charlotte
