My mentor received a new apiary management contract for a downtown ATL restaurant with a rooftop apiary whose bees had all died. To restart their apiary, the restaurant purchased three established bee colonies from my mentor (at $200 each). My task was to identify the strong beehives (primarily based on bee population), find the queen bee in each hive (the colony’s continued success is dependent on her presence), and relocate the bees into transport boxes.

I didn’t read a bee book this month, but I did attend the Georgia Beekeepers Association (GBA) Spring Conference in Macon where I learned a TON. And, guess who was a keynote speaker – Keith Delaplane – professor of entomology at UGA and author of my bee book of choice last month. Dr. Delaplane’s intriguing presentation was titled : “The Geographic Natural History of Honey Bees: How We Got The Races We Use In Beekeeping”. Keynote speaker, Dr. Jamie Ellis from The University of Florida, presented on the science of bee nutrition and what beekeepers can do to improve colony survival rates. Megan Mahoney is a commercial beekeeper operating in Texas and North Dakota and specialized in instrumental insemination, breeder queens, and cell production. Her presentation will forever be remembered for the moment I learned the value of a microliter vial of male bee sperm…$1,200. Wow. I attended breakout sessions on the business of beekeeping and planting for pollinators. The conference presenters generously shared their wealth of knowledge as I feverishly scribbled notes and snapped pics for future reference.

I’d previously arranged with event organizers to take leftover boxed lunches to share with our neighbors in-need via the Macon Community Fridge. The conference had a record number of attendants (260 people), so there were fewer leftovers than anticipated (I rescued a car FULL of leftovers at last year’s Fall conference for the ATL Free Fridge). I pushed down feelings of “it’s never enough”, wiped out the fridge, and left it better than I’d found it. I expect that the fridge was empty again before I reached the interstate, but am certain there were a few more happy bellies in Macon.

This month, I was also able to put a lot of the things I’ve been learning about bees and the environments in which they thrive to setup our first beehive on the farm. SO EXCITING! I can’t wait for the girls to move-in next month. Yep, they’re likely all girls. Naturally, the boys are kicked out of the hives before Winter to conserve colony resources. The queen will start producing more boys in the Spring when males are needed for mating.

I hope our bees love their new home and plan to stay awhile!