Another swarm Friday Afternoon!!

I ran a few errands Friday afternoon and when I got home I had another swarm on the lantern in the dogwood tree. I was taking photos when a friend, Pearl dropped by to see the bees. She took a few photos as I was getting the new yellow hive ready. While I was getting the things set up the bees started to return to the pumpkin colored hive they had swarmed from. After they settled down I went and checked and found the clipped and marked queen on the ground underneath the hive. I put her in a jar and ran in and called Mr. Charlie (the bee whisperer). He told me to kill the queen. I ask for option two, since she had been a prolific queen and she was only one year old. I was not going to kill her. He told me to take three frames from the hive they swarmed from and put them into the new hive making sure I had no queen cells on any of the frames. I gave them just a little puff of smoke and gingerly took three frames out, checking for queen cells. I replaced the frames for empty ones. The bees were very gentle and I did not get stung. I had the new hive on my wagon and pulled it over to the other end of the new hive stand and it took its place beside the new aqua hive that was set up on Wednesday. I am running out of hive bodies. The girls need to stop swarming for a while and give me time to catch up.

Girls Gone Wild !!

Things are really buzzing along on Sasserfrass Hill.

Yesterday I found a swarm of bees on a lantern in my dogwood tree about three feet off the ground. I balanced a new hive on my wagon and pulled it over to the swarm. I called Mr. Charlie (my mentor) he came over and laid the lantern inside the hive. He covered it with a black plastic bag (to keep it dark) and we waited for the girls to settle down and go down into the hive from the lantern. Rick leveled another hive stand in the garden and late yesterday we gingerly put the hive on the stand. I was really happy I found the swarm and was able to get the bees safely inside a new hive This makes seven hives for Sasserfrass Hill. Last week I lost a large swarm after they settled in the top of a giant oak.

I have been painting and assembling hives so hopefully next time the girls swarm I will be ready.

The Launch of My New Blog

Today my niece helped me create this blog. I am a new beekeeper and blogger.

I am enjoying learning about the bees. It is a wonderful hobby and I hope to turn Sasserfrass Hill in to a full time business. I hope to use this blog to share information about the bees.

I have recently began learning and practicing Bee Venom Therapy along with my mentor Mr. Charles Lynn. We are reading and learning more about Bee Venom Therapy everyday. We met a woman with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) She has helped us delve into a area of the bees we may not have explored on our own. She is experiencing wonderful benefits from the therapy.

We hope to expand and help many more people.

If you would like more information on Bee Venom Therapy email dsasser3@comcast.net