First Swarm Call

It is hard to believe, but due to this horrible Winter and crazy Spring, today (May 18th) we received our first bee swarm call.  It was on our answering machine when we got home.  I spoke with a gentleman from Neoga who said the swarm came down the street, buzzing their yard sale, and landed on a tree.  Unfortunately, by the time I received the message the swarm had moved on, staying their only a few hours.  But hey, at least we had our first swarm call of the year!

Challenges for 2014

Well, I checked on the bees last weekend, and I didn't like what I saw.  The losses this winter was pretty bad...apparently the long, hard cold took it's toll, and I only have 8 hives out of 23 that survived.  I am starting to removed dead hives from the yard and put them into storage to prevent wax moth infestation.  In addition, I have not received a single swarm call this Spring, and at our bee club meeting only 2 members caught swarms that were not from their own hives.  Apparent, the winter was even worse for the wild hives in the area.

So, 2014 is looking to be a recovery year for my apiary.  I plan to check for swarm cells in my hives tomorrow and hopefully split some hives.  We'll see how this week plays out.