20 March 2010

Where did they go?

We have a loss at our house. This bee hive (photo from last year)which was active a month or so ago is now empty. Who knows what happened. The queen might have died and the bees flew away to die. So now we are down to one hive. I had told hubby the other day I saw no action from that hive, just a few stragglers. So, yesterday being a beautiful day we opened it up, no bees, but something very beneficial....lots of honey! We never robbed them last fall as we had too much going on, and it helped them to survive this past crazy winter. Hubby got on the phone and ordered two more 60 pound bees, they should be along in the next week or so.


A sad loss for us, but on a brighter note....Happy Spring!!!
Now I need to get back outside to
1. burn the garden
2. plant some more roses
3. work in the greenhouse
4. buy more plants
5 -101 and the list goes on!!!
Looks like a busy weekend here!!!

12 comments:

Anke said...

How sad that you lost the hive, but at least you still got a bunch of honey out of it. Do you guys keep all the honey or do you sell it as well? It's supposed to be a nice day here today, and there's lots of stuff we want to do outside. Hope it all gets done... :-)

Southern Lady said...

Sorry about your bees, but the honey sounds yummy. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and get a lot of things crossed off of your list. Carla

Anonymous said...

I had understood that around the northeast at least there was some problem with Honey Bees going away. Some say there is a fungus that attacks the hive.... I am not real sure if the science community even really knows for sure.
We had a small hive 2 years ago & about as fast as they set up house keeping they just vanished. We were so disappointed!
Good Luck!
Have a Wonderful Weekend!
Love,
Marilyn
xxoo

Julie Marie said...

Hello Ulrike... so sorry you lost your bees, but they left you a wonderful gift inside... wishing you a lovely first day of Spring... xoxo Julie Marie

Dianna said...

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of this hive, Ulrike. The honey will be so yummy...but I understand the loss of your bees. I'm hoping if we don't get to start our hive this year that it will definitely be something we do next year. I so miss having the fresh honey!

Your weekend sounds super busy...I've been busy this morning also...just about finished all I am going to do outside for the day.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Doris Sturm said...

Yeah, nobody knows exactly where they go - scientists call it a phenomenon called CCD and I'm sure you've heard of it. If it were mites you'd find a whole bunch of dead bees lying around...if you see mostly young, immature bees left in the hives with food, it's probably CCD because the bees do something so totally untraditional for them, which is to abandon their young - research suggests it's a combination of a lot of factors, such as a virus (similar to a human aids virus) where they possibly could forget things and/or pesticides they ingest from treated plants/crops and also GMO's ... there's much research to be done. I support and donate to honey bee research because the thought of no bees frightens me.

This is a good movie to watch, providing you've not seen it yet.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/full-episode/251/

Good luck with the rest of your bees. God Bless!
doris

Anonymous said...

Oh, sad news, but enjoy that wonderful honey. How are bees shipped?!? Maybe when you get them, you could share a little more?
Your list actually sounds lovely! It's still snowing here, but the first sign of Spring did arrive - I saw three little mountain bluebirds in a meadow!
Happy Spring, Ulrike!!!

Monica said...

Hello Ulrike,
sorry to hear that you lost your bees :((
I mowed the lawn this morning, there's ALOT to do over here too!! Can't wait for daffodils to bloom!
Enjoy the weekend,
Monica.

Linda said...

I've always wanted to try having a bee hive. I guess it's common to lose a hive. I sure do love honey.

PeJott said...

Das hört sich nach einem sehr arbeitssamen Wochenende an. Schade um eure Bienen. Eignener Honig muss sehr lecker schmecken.
Hab noch einen schönen Sonntag und sei ganz lieb gegrüßt von Petra

Silke Powers said...

Oh, I'm sorry you lost your bee hive! I bet the honey is delicious though and hopefully the new bees will love their new home...

Loved your photos of Bremen in your earlier post. I was there on a class trip once and still remember it well.

Hope your sniffles goes away before getting to be a cold like I had...

Hugs, Silke

Unknown said...

MY uncle used to do this for a living. It does intrigue me a lot, love the honey too! I do hope there will be more bees again for you soon!

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