Bee bits...

The 'bee lady' came the other day for the first time. Lee - or Leigh?  Such a nice person. She wanted to check the hive for possible disease, introduce a new Queen and remove some of the honey built up at the hive's previous location.


I know nothing about bee keeping so it was an opportunity to ask beginners' questions like "what does the smoke do?" (answer, subdues the bees) and "what do I do if I get stung?" (as I was, twice, in the head - answer, wait and see if you get an allergic reaction. I didn't, but it felt like one of those 'yeah, right' moments!). Apparently women make good bee keepers. They are gentle.


The new Queen came in a little, plastic container. I missed the removal of the old Queen and am not sure what happened to her. An ousting. Lee pointed out the bees arriving back at the hive, their little legs heavy with pollen - some yellow, some cream. I wondered if the cream pollen came from the Tree Lucerne or Tagasaste, currently in full flower and a favourite of the kereru.


There is much about the honey-making process that I don't yet understand. What intrigues me is that 40,000+ creatures can interact within such a small space, act beneficially in the environment and produce a desirable, natural product. Much we humans could learn from that! I wonder what it must be like when all 40,000 are in residence - at night or during the snow. Snug and warm no doubt.


A week or so after Lee's visit I spent the evening trying to remove a bee sting from Tabby's nose! I think it was a sting. The proximity of the bees is going to cause some problems - especially in summer when doors and windows are open and the house is added to the fly-zone! 

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

I have a beehive! Well not really 'mine' as such. I suppose I am renting it. The man who sells honey at the Opawa Farmers' Market will put a hive on your property for an annual fee. He and his partner service the hive and extract the honey (guaranteed 10 kilos) which comes to the 'renter'. I have always been interested in bees and honey; always loved to buy different sorts of local honey when travelling around New Zealand. I saw getting a hive as a way to learn more about the process and to benefit the local gardens - as well as to harvest the honey. The bee keepers will supply protective gear if their customers want to be involved in the honey extraction - I definitely do.


My hive arrived on the Friday evening preceding the weekend of the first big snow. I couldn't understand why the bee man would bring the hive in the dark to an unknown and steeply-sloping property. Lesson #1 - bees are better resettled in the dark. Then it snowed - and snowed. On the Monday morning there were all these little dead bee-bodies lying in the snow! I felt responsible and negligent. Lesson #2. There are 40,000 bees, give or take, in this hive and they have short lifespans. This is the way of the bee world. In the absence of snow I wouldn't get to see the dead bees.

Since then the bees seem to have settled in well. They are most active when the sun is on the hive - then there are dozens of bees exiting, entering and circling. I'm enjoying their busy presence. I'm not so sure how summer guests will find this. I had imagined the hive located well down the garden, out of harm's way (harm to visitors that is). But the bee man wanted it to be accessible - and so it is in the turning bay, very close to the front deck with its outdoor table and chairs. We'll see.


At my request, family and close friends gave me a contribution towards the beehive in lieu of a birthday gift. I guess they are like 'shareholders' in the hive and I will look forward to sharing the honey with them in late summer.