A Buzz In The Air

Delving into the world of Apiculture

**Note: Later this week, I will be dropping “Examining the Founding Fathers Story” Part Two. It will be primarily focused on the First Great Awakening, the Articles of Confederation, and Benjamin Franklin’s push for a federal government.**

My wife & I decided two years ago that we wanted to raise our own honeybees, a hobby known as apiculture. It’s the science and art of raising honey bees, including their hives, with the eventual goal of harvesting “homemade” honey.

As you know, every hobby has its varying levels of difficulty. The thought of handling thousands of honeybees can certainly seem like a daunting task. Through studying hundreds of hours of YouTube videos, online classes, reading books, and watching others handle bees, we finally felt confident enough to pull the trigger.

We got the call two weeks ago that our bees would be ready for pickup this past weekend. Yesterday, we made the one-hour trek to New Castle, Delaware, to pick up our nuc (A bee nuc, short for nucleus colony, is a small, functional hive that contains a queen bee, worker bees, brood (immature bees), and drawn comb with honey and pollen. It's essentially a "starter hive" that's more advanced than a bee package, as it already has a queen, brood, and food supplies, giving it a head start in establishing a colony.)

The gentleman in charge of the apiary literally vacuumed out our bees and put them into a transport case. Here are a few of the pics of the apiary:

After securing our bees in the back of the car (and yes, the box was enclosed by a specialty net), we headed home. When transporting bees, the temperature must remain cool, so we drove the hour back home with the A/C on full blast.

The next task was to transport the bees to their new home. This is the one my wife chose:

Then began the process of moving them to their new home.

Here is a brief video of what it sounded like when we opened the box. God’s handiwork is truly amazing!

If you’ve considered raising bees, I hope this encourages you to take the next step. It is no secret that bee populations, including managed honey bee colonies, are experiencing declines. As the pollinators go, so goes the bloom of life, for without their dance, the world’s gardens would wither in silence.

God bless you all,

George

“The Fact Hunter”