Bee Season is Up and Running in Full Force

Reader Contribution by Tia Douglass
Published on May 20, 2014

Hey, all! Sorry it’s been so long since I last blogged. It is, after all, bee season, and things are firing off to the left and to the right of me!  I’ll do my best to catch you up to where things stand at present.

The weather’s made a drastic change from the last time I wrote — it’s been hot and muggy: in the 80’s and 90’s with high humidity.  We’re getting a bit of a respite right now…a storm came through and dropped only about an inch of rain, but the humidity has dried up and we’re having beautiful 70-80-degree days! On the downside, the mosquitoes are out in force and it’s biting fly season! I find at this time of year I’m wearing my veil more often to fend off the darn flies than for working the bees! Actually, this time of year, the girls are at their sweetest (no pun intended). The nectar flow is strong — quite evident when you look in a hive and see all that beautiful new, sparkling white wax and smell the sweet nectar being dried and processed by the girls.  Such good fortune leads to good humor and as a result, it’s been a stingless spring so far.

Bee School and Ensuing Adventures in Working Bees

Bee school is over for the time being, I’m thrilled that we have lots of brand new, young beekeepers (Trivia:  the average beekeeper is over 60 and is female!) They’ve taken the written portion of the Certified Test through the N.C. State Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeping Program, and have only to take and pass the practical test (where they work a hive and tell me the names of items and what they see and what it means) to become state-certified.

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