Busy as a Bee in Spring!

Jen came back for another visit to our hives! It was so nice that the grass was so much greener this time around.

One of the hives that had been fine a few weeks ago had died so we went on an investigation:

We were concerned as we pulled it apart that we didn't see many dead bees. It meant that they didn't starve to death, which is a common problem and would have easily explained what happened:

As we took more supers off we found a small cluster of bees, probably those who were trying to protect the queen:

We finished scraping up dead bees and were cleaning the very bottom when we found the culprit: a mouse nest. Mice pressure is a huge problem for bee keepers (along with mites and disease and starvation). Next winter we'll add something over the entrance to the hive to discourage mice but still allow the bees to come and go.

After that, we took apart a hive that was still going strong. It was pretty neat to see the queen in action and a hive waking up from winter. We need to add nectar and honey to our hives plus get ready for the four new hives to arrive in May.