PHOTOS AND VIDEOS – SAVE OUR HONEY BEES

I like to think of the bees as beautiful and graceful in flight…. however, they’re not always as precise as they’d like to think they are

Oops, thought that was the brake! Was the accelerator instead!

Headbutting the hive wall is a great but painful way to stop

Show off, flying backwards! Mid air collision

We are lucky to get Orchid Bees here in Florida! Look how beautiful they are

Don’t forget, our honey bee friends need water too – here they quench their thirst at my birdbath.

Like the mini palm tree? This little theme park is “A day at the Beach”

My motto is “No Bee Left Behind” – with my bee brush, I’m gently transferring the last couple of bees from the nuc to the 10 Frame. Slowly and gently – that’s the way to handle bees – they appreciate it! No banging or thumping, just gentle and quiet.

**Catching a queen isn’t easy! First you have to find her, then you have to gently catch her in the queen clip.**

I use an additional honey super and white honey frames and foundation as a brood chamber, which makes it hard to see eggs and brood. But if you look closely, you’ll see eggs and larvae here, with a few capped brood cells.

Swapping out the bottom board on my four-storey hive (you can see it has cracks in it, and it’s important to swap out older bee equipment from time to time) – the bees were a little frustrated to have their house dismantled (as I’m sure we all would be), and flew around us to find out what was going on. They weren’t defensive or aggressive, but it can be a little overwhelming to be surrounded by thousands of bees, if you’re not used to it. Barbara (who was observing) did a fantastic job with the videos and pics!!!! I am so appreciative of Brian’s help (he’s a fantastic bee removal specialist that I’m lucky enough to call my friend and mentor), he helps me with my bees from time to time, which is invaluable because these boxes can be SO heavy when loaded up with bees and honey, and with my intermittent back problems, I really struggle to do something like this by myself. Thank you Brian!