Hive Progress
The first five hives have been in place in Canberra for three weeks now. We’ve been checking them on a weekly basis, and can say the first hives for Canberra Urban Honey have settled in well. They are all very happy in their new homes. They are collecting nectar and getting on with bee business of pollinating Canberra gardens.
When we check on the hives, we start assessing how well the bees are doing as we approach the hives. We look to see how many bees are flying and wether any bees are sitting outside the hive. We like to see lots of bees flying in and out of the hive. As we get closer we look at the bees returning to the hive, and look to see if they are laden with pollen. We like to see lots of pollen being bought into the hive because pollen is a food for bees.
You can see from these photos the first hives relocated into Canberra are doing well. The bees are flying, and also have some bees sitting outside the entrances.
Bees flying in and departing from a hive
Bees sitting outside the hive
When we opened the hives they were collected and storing honey in the bottom box and in the spare frames.
Bees collecting and storing honey
Our hives hosts are delighted with their hives, as these photos show, the bees are quiet and are not bothering their hosts.
Barry with a frame of honey and bees from a Canberra Urban Honey hive
Adele with a Canberra Urban Honey Hive
If the weather stays favourable we hope to have our first harvest in late January. Then, we will be sharing the harvest with the hive hosts and sending some to our pozible campaign supporters.
Canberra Urban Honey
We look forward to sharing the first harvest from our “round one” hives with you.
The next step in our project is selecting more hives from our country apiaries to relocate to Canberra for round 2 of our project.
We have confirmed another 5 hive hosts, and have more on our waiting list as we also prepare for round 3.
No rest for the “buzzy” !!
Warm regards
Carmen and the Honey Delight family
