Emma Wonders

We have a 4-year-old godchild named Emma who loves to read and play and is very inquisitive. She and her mom, Gina, were reading this blog the other day, and looking at the pictures of the bees. Via email, her mom typed, "Emma wonders: How will you get the honey out? How do you keep the bees healthy and not be sick? Do vets take care of bees?" All very excellent questions!

The easiest question to answer might be the last one. No, vets do not take care of bees unless they are specially trained to do so--which would really be a fun combination of talents! If we need help caring for the bees, we look to specialists in the field, those who are learning the science and art of keeping bees. They are called "apiarists" or "apiculture extension specialists." Hopefully soon, we will have an apiarist, an expert in our state, come out to look in the hives and make sure that all is well, give us suggestions on how we could better care for our bees, etc.

How we keep the bees healthy is a fun area because it encompasses so much and we are still learning! For now, I believe we are doing our best trying to learn the basics, and I imagine as we progress, we will pick up on more of the subtleties of keeping bees healthy. The basics include things like feeding them protein patties and sugar syrup until they can find enough food for themselves...giving them the right amount of space so they don't feel crowded and swarm, or spread themselves too thin and can't keep up with caring for their young....ventillating the hives in hot temperatures or insulating them in cold weather....and even giving them medicines in the spring and fall--which is kind of like how 4-year-old girls get shots to prevent diseases and make sure they stay healthy! Right? We give bees medicines in their sugar syrup so every bee receives a dose, it tastes a little better this way, and is very easy for beekeepers to do. (Thank goodness)

How will we get the honey out? That's such a good question, we don't entirely know the answer yet! Right now, the bees are making as much honey as they can, and storing it so they'll be able to survive the next winter. Did you know that bees eat honey? They do! They are also doing their best to increase their numbers and become a strong and stable colony. So Erin and I will be very lucky if they have enough time and energy to make extra honey for us too, this first season. But if they do, we will be reading our books and asking our mentor questions about extracting the honey! And we'll be giving Emma a taste!

Thank you for the questions!!