This is my favorite part of the beekeping calendar. The Autumn Olive and Sour Cherry are blooming, the whiporwills have returned, and the bees are starting to swarm.
I don't think any of my hives have thrown off a swarm yet, but I've heard that people are starting to see swarms.
This is my favorite mother colony for swarms. There have been bees overwintering in this hollow ash tree for at least the last six years, at least that is how long I've been watching. The neighbors say that it had bees in it back in the 1970s when they were kids and their grandfather kept bees.
I'm not sure how much longer the tree will be with us. The emerald ash borer has been killing every ash in the area. I dont know of any way to save a tree once the borers get in it. As if that wasn't enough, the tree is at the edge of a pond that is about to dry up.
One of the massive rain storms that taxed my septic system to the breaking point also overflowed this earthen dam.
There is a 15 foot drop where the water eroded the soil right in the middle of the dam. It won't take long for the water to finish cutting the rest of the way through and leave the pond totally dry.
The bee tree is thriving for now, so I'm trying my best to capture as many swarms from it as I can. You can't beat the hardiness of this survivor stock. They have been through some hard times and have made it without any chemical treatments at all. Those are my kind of bees.
Check out @Homesteaderscoop for all kinds of sustainable handmade goods. I should have some whole comb pressed honey up there in June or July.
