I’m getting better and better at distinguishing between the bees and identifying the queen. This simple task was not easy for me in the beginning. I couldn’t even tell the difference between a male, female, or queen bee. It always just looked like a bunch of bees to me. LOL! I’m glad that’s behind me. I’ve really gained so much knowledge and experience in practicing beekeeping. My mentor wants me to sit for the beekeeper certification exam this Spring because he’s confident I’ll pass. While I appreciate his faith in me, I’ve just got too much going on right now to add anything else to my plate. Respectfully, I’m going to stick with my plan of getting certified in the Fall.

I setup beehive #2 on the farm! From the outside, it looks like a standard Langstroth hive, but this is my 9-frame, Italian hive. Once hive #1 is established and strong enough, I’ll split that hive into a new colony to start our second hive. They should be ready to split before Summer. I’m really interested to see how the girls take to working the Italian hive.

I got my lemongrass essential oil + honeycomb baits! I’m counting on catching at least one swarm this season to make my wild beekeeper dreams a reality. Beehive #1 should be occupied and bustling by next month’s bee school update!