Something strange is happening at our beehive.
Opa warned us after we defaced the front of our beehive, that the colony might go looking for a new home.
Here is a small section of the hive that shows what is happening. Seems they are de-juicing the honey from the hive:
Are they moving the honey? Are they transferring the eggs? Or is exposure to air turning sections of it white?
The bees are working furiously. They certainly don't believe in crying over spilled honey.
Fascinating! Maybe they are eating it in preparation for a move? This is really cool!I hope you give frequent updates because you have got me curious!
Posted by: Theresa | June 26, 2007 at 01:28 PM
They could be recycling it into the new home. I do know the best way to clean bee keeping equipment is to leave it out by the bee hives. They will do a better job of cleaning up that honey than any human can!
Posted by: Jennifer | June 26, 2007 at 04:23 PM
"They will do a better job of cleaning up that honey than any human can!"
****
I can believe that! They're working their way around the comb and leaving patches of it bleach white.
Posted by: Cay in La. | June 26, 2007 at 05:02 PM
Perhaps they're preparing the comb for another re-fill of honey...you'll have your own honey-making machine in your backyard:)
Posted by: Oma | June 26, 2007 at 05:17 PM
Extremely interesting!
Posted by: Alice Gunther | June 26, 2007 at 05:42 PM
This is so great, keep us updated!
Posted by: molly mcgovern | June 27, 2007 at 12:29 PM
If the bees that keep the honey cool are no longer there the honey will melt.
Posted by: Kay | June 27, 2007 at 07:38 PM
This is really interesting. It's so neat to watch this from afar.
Posted by: KC | June 27, 2007 at 10:50 PM
That's an interesting bee story! Is the comb empty? It looks like it. If so, they may have gorged themselves on honey, preparing to swarm. I asked my beekeeping mentor what his thoughts were -- I am interested to see what he says!
Posted by: FlyinC | July 08, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Beekeeping mentor says:
All comb is bleach white when it is first formed. It darkens and yellows as the bees walk on it and it ages. The color of the honey is dependent on the flowers that the nectar came from.
Posted by: FlyinC | July 08, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Thank you for educating us further, FlyinC.
That is fascinating. Perhaps we didn't see it at first as it was a piece in back of the piece we broke off.
Fascinating...
Posted by: Cay in La. | July 08, 2007 at 11:40 PM