plantladylin said:Tori, you are very welcome!
So sad that your bees have absconded the hive; did it happen over the winter or just recently? If the Queen left as well as all other bees, they've probably found another place to live. Do you know if anyone in the area might have used insecticides that could have caused them to abandon the hive?
A couple of articles, regarding the issue of bees absconding:
https://honeybeesuite.com/absc...
https://www.theguardian.com/en...
https://www.keepingbackyardbee...
Some friends helped me collect honey in mid-September and I think the queen got killed in the process. I don't believe they died because they absconded with all the honey that was still left - a deep box full!! Plus there were only a few dead bees left in the hive, like less than 10. This was about a month later. My neighbor down the road has about 8 or 9 hives so they can come and pollinate my plants and trees. I only got the bees because I felt like I had no pollinators. Ha! I've since learned that wasps pollinate as well and we have no shortage of them!
It was a valuable learning experience but since hubby has zero interest in beekeeping, and the bees didn't care too much for him either (lol), it was too challenging to inspect the hives by myself or get anything done ... like the ground leveled underneath the hives, a secure hive stand build and put up. Hubby built a hive stand but it laid in the grass near the hive that was sitting on concrete blocks. He wouldn't go anywhere near the hives. I could walk right up to the hives in shorts and a tank top with no problems, but they would go looking for hubby and sting him!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!! I hated to disturb my friends for help as they have their hands full already with their own menagerie. Plus, we've since added an RV to our "hobbies" and haven't been spending as much time at home these days, so I guess it all worked out. ;-) I have several gallons of honey in my cabinet so it's all good. Most expensive honey I ever acquired.
