Well it has been quite the summer of heat and sunshine. Throughout it all the bees from our two hives have been quietly buzzing away doing their thing. It has been a tonne of fun chatting with our “Good Earth Beekeepers” Dennis and Leslie of D’s Bees. I check the hives every time I walk by with the puppies on my way to visit my mother. It’s amazing how different the “traffic” is at the hives. One hive has clearly been a true hub of activity while the other seems just a tad lazier.In his summer report, Dennis explained it to me this way:
“Who is the greatest Queen? Like the royal family every bee colony has its own personality based on the DNA of its queen. Her Majesty imprints her DNA on all her daughters (the worker bees) and sons (drones). The two Good Earth hives have different queens born from the same lineage but exhibit very different personalities. While both are gentle bees, the hive on the right (south) is less active, less populous and a so-so honey producer. The hive on the left (north) has lots of bees and has already filled at least one box and a half of honey (as of July 4, 2012). Like the royal family, both queens come from the same family – as Queen Elizabeth II is a great great granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Both of our hives’ lineage can be traced directly to Ontario queen breeder Tibor Szabo.”
This past Labour Day, Dennis and Leslie arrived with their daughter Anna to remove the supers (boxes) from each hive for honey processing. Now we will find out which queen indeed was our most productive queen.
We hope to have our honey on the shelves by the end of the month alongside Dennis’ honey from his home property. It will be fun to compare the honey – same beekeeper, etc but different “terroirs”. Now that’s going to be a sweet time!
We’re excited and very grateful to our “Good Beekeepers”. I have enjoyed every minute of this journey. I completely understand how people get the beekeeping bug. They are such gentle, complex and hardworking creatures of nature. I can’t wait to have you taste our honey! Stay tuned.