First Graft

It's finally hot here in Michigan. Sometimes we go through a whole summer without it getting hot like this. The weather demands much of us here in the north mid west. We were asked to endure long spells of zero and below temperatures, snowstorms on top of snowstorms, weeks of cloudy skies. And then when the summer comes, she asks our blood to forget those lessons and adapt to humid 90's temps.

The nectar is flowing and the sun is shining. I am happy. So far the screened bottom boards I put the bees on this year seem to bee keeping the girls cool in this weather.

Tomorrow I'll be checking all my hives. It's decision making time. Who stays where. I have 3 colonies, plus a community colony entrusted to me for now, here in Fairgrove. One of them is charging right along with beautiful brood and plenty of pollen and nectar stores. (Pele) The other two seem a bit slower. One is especially behind. (Luna) Luna and the middle hive, Bella, I split last Sunday by creating a physical barrier between the bottom box with the queen in it and the top box. I gave Bella and Luna queen cells I had grafted the friday and sunday before. Beekeeping is so scheduled, so precise. I really want to tell my employers that, sorry, I won't be in on tuesday, that's when the queen cells will need to be installed. As of right now though, that's not acceptable. This is my first grafting-on-my-own experiment, and I'll soon discover whether squeezing them around a doctor's office schedule is a viable option.

I also have 3 colonies on an organic farm in Fostoria,MI. One of those hives is so weak, I'm not sure there is hope for her. The other two are average.

I have a nuc hive in Fairgrove that currently has a couple queen cells. If all goes well, I'll be using that nuc to give the weak hive a chance at survival.

Another of the colonies I am attempting a 2 queen system with. Best case scenario, they keep both queens and have a ginat colony and bring in a couple hundred pounds of honey. Worst case, they get pheromonally confused and kill both queens and I have nothing.