Just a quick post today to share what’s happening at the hive. I stopped briefly at the hive on my way home from teaching and was delighted by what I saw…
Varroa Count
Virtually all honeybees have varroa mites. These little parasites attach themselves to bees and bee larvae – kind of like leeches or tics. When in sufficiently low numbers, they don’t present a threat to the hive, but when there are too many… they can be deadly.
Spring and late summer are crucial times to check on mite loads and so my stop today was mainly to do a mite count. There were virtually none visible – a very good thing… and an answer to prayer. That was my first delight.
Asian Hornets
In case you’re wondering why the chicken-mesh contraption in front of the hive, it’s called a muselière and it reduces pressure on the bees from another deadly predator… the Asian hornet (which arrived in France in 2004).
They hover in front of the hive trying to capture bees as the bees come and go… then feed the bees to their own larvae.
Yuck! … mean, nasty things!
The guard lets the bees zoom inside and only slow down once protected (it’s as they slow down for landing that they are most vulnerable). Today, there was not too much hornet predation happening.
Lots of Activity
My other delight was the level of activity on the landing board. Here are two views… one from each side of the hive. Lots of guard bees are protecting the entrance, and lots of foragers are coming and going, bringing back pollen (yellow/orange balls on their back legs) and nectar.
Take a look…
Just a little something different from my day.
The bees remind me of this scripture…
“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.
Night is coming, when no one can work.”
John 9:4
Gotta keep working!
AIM Long 