Don't bee mean bro!

*To anyone reading this blog - I am not a professional beekeeper. I don't even play one on t.v. If you opt to take advise from me, do so at your own risk. 

 Yesterday was our weekly bee feeding. If read my last blog, I mentioned a "super." The easy definition of a "super" is an extra box on top of your beehive use to "gather" honey. Beekeepers will add a queen excluder on top of the bee box before adding the super. The honeybees are small enough to pass through the super and start making honey in the super. The queen can't squeeze her fat bottom past the excluder. I am not body shaming the queen - after all she has to manage the hive, make new baby bees and generally deal with any issues with the hive. So, she is entitled to her crown and to quote the Queen, "fat bottom girls make the rocking world go round!" 

 After falling into the rabbit hole of beekeeping, I learned that with our Texas heat, you don't want to add a super after the end of June. Once your hive has 7/10 frames filled and the bees are swarming (acting a damn fool!), you want to add the super to give the hive room to grow and work. Bees provide their own air conditioning so imagine being in a room full of people. And since the bees are mostly girl bees - let's just say it. You are in a crowded room full of bee-otches. And!!! The only way to stay cool is to flap your arms. This room is full of bee-otches and the heater is on full blast. Did I mention that y'alls are wearing sweaters? That is life in a hive. Hot, crowded, overdressed bee-othces flapping their arms to stay cool. So, when they come at me with their attitude, I try to be understanding. Afterall, I too would likely be a bit crazy if I had to live like that. 

 So back to Hive #12 - they were swarmy and loud and coming at me with full on attitude problems. A quick hive inspection told me they are a strong hive and pass the 7/10 frames test.  We decided it was time to let them launch and add a super. Once a super is added, you also stop feeding the hive. So, fingers crossed that #12 launches! 

 We have previously added a super to Hive #1. They don't even seem to care. This hive was pretty chill but did pass the 7/10 frame tests. There seems to be more activity in the super, so I am hoping they do want to launch, but it is a matter of getting all the girls to agree. 

 We also previously added a super to Hive #13. Boy - these kids just completely failed to launch. After a few months, we decided to remove their super and add back their feeder. They are still not as strong as they used to be, but I am hoping when they see the super on their neighbor (Hive #12), they will catch up. 

 In my next blog, I will talk about smoking and why I don't smoke.





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