Day #145 Bartow County Library System

I can’t just sit around here at home every day, writing my mysteries and planning for the bees. Once in a while I have to drive to a library to meet folks. That’s what I did yesterday. Colleen Knight, from the Bartow County Library System, invited me (and a dozen other area writers) to a “Meet the Authors” afternoon.

NPR’s “Car Talk” kept me laughing on my drive up there. I avoided the wreck on I-75 (and the resulting standstill traffic) by getting off at an earlier exit and winding through some gorgeous countryside.

There were plenty of nice people to talk to at the event. Writers really appreciate readers, and I love hearing the stories people tell of how books have influenced their lives.

I drove home safely, even though there was a pounding rainstorm all the way.

All in all a satisfying jaunt. Maybe by next year I’ll have an observation hive I can take along with me. Did I mention that Biscuit’s husband Bob is going to start beekeeping in my next mystery?

BEEattitude for Day # 145:

       Blessed are the librarians, for they keep the light burning for future generations.

What Fran is grateful for right now:

       The people who stopped to talk, and those who bought books, too.    

http://www.franstewart.com

Day #127 Bee Burglars

We’ve talked about the way killer bees infiltrate a hive, but what I’d like to mention today is hive robbing by regular little worker honey bees.

If a hive is weak—because of an inefficient queen, perhaps, or because the hive simply isn’t well-enough populated—then bees from other hives will do their best to sneak in and rob the honey and pollen stores. If the beekeeper is feeding with sugar water, the intruders will take that as well, leaving the original hive inhabitants to starve. I hope this is something I never have to deal with.

How to avoid a problem? I’m glad you asked.

1.       Monitor the hive to catch problems before they get serious. That’s what the books say, as if I’m supposed to know what to look for.

2.      Feed the bees at the rear of the hive rather than right at the front door, so that robbers would have to negotiate the length of the hive and would probably be stopped before they got to their goal. Langstroth hives are traditionally built to accommodate an entrance feeder. This makes it harder for the guard bees to keep out a mass of intruders. The bee hives I’m buying (and the ones I’ll build) all feed at the rear, however, so I should be okay.

3.      Reduce the size of the entrance. You can buy fancy entrance reducers, but my hives have a small hole as the entrance to begin with. That’s the usual design of top bar hives as well, so when I build mine, I’ll put in three entrance holes and cork the ones that aren’t ready to be used yet. (I’ll explain this in a later blog.)

4.      As a last resort, break up a weak hive by eliminating the queen and placing that hive’s brood comb in a stronger hive. I’ve said it before: I DON’T want to squish a queen, so this last resort will probably never be used at BeesKnees Beekeeping.

And now, while we’re talking about burglars, here’s a fun story from a National Public Radio blog: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/15/133784265/no-not-a-cat-burglar-a-cat-thats-a-burglar

BEEattitude for Day # 127:

       Blessed are those who keep their feet to themselves, for we shall not resort to stinging them.

One thing Fran is grateful for right now:

       Steve Reiman, founder of Therapy Dogs of Vermont, who sent me that blog link    

http://www.franstewart.com