January 6, 2024
Happy New Year- and finally some snow in MI! Only 1-2 inches but, such a welcome sight. It’s been a long string of gray skies and drippy, dreary, uninspiring days around here so when I got that text at 5 a.m. informing us of the school closure for the day I knew we were in for a treat! And, since I fell back asleep, I actually kind of forgot about that call and was pleasantly surprised when I got up and saw that nice white blanket of snow, so it was like getting the news all over again! Getting old and forgetful is fun!
Checking in on the bees, I saw the ironic reassurance of life: dead bees. When you see them scattered in the snow or piled up outside the entrance , you can rest assured that there are bees inside. The undertaker bees are hauling out the dead from the bottom entrance and the unfortunate few who stepped out for a cleansing flight but didn’t quite make it back in should immediately put your mind at ease. There will be bees in your colony dying off all the time, even some of the “fat winter bees” which live from 4 to 6 months. There is no need to knock on the hive to hear the angry buzz of the cluster for reassurance and you don’t want to be a nuisance hanging around until one or more of the guard bees feels obligated to come out and investigate your presence and end of freezing to death too. There is still a lot of winter to go, and you don’t need to kill off any of the cluster if you can help it. Clear off any snow or dead bees that may be blocking the entrance and be on your way.
