What began as a spark of intellectual curiosity with beekeeping has ignited not only new passions but also an entrepreneurial spirit within our family that we were not aware existed.

At Little Bee of Connecticut, we harvest our honey twice a year. Once in mid-June and again in mid-September. We just completed our last harvest of the year this past weekend. I thought it would be the perfect time to show everyone how we get that golden goodness direct from the hives and straight to you. Nectar gathering and ripening (Warning: Science content) Producing honey starts with the forager bees collecting nectar from different floral sources. During this process, the bees generate the enzyme invertase which is then mixed with the nectar. Upon returning to the hive the foragers transfer the nectar to the house bees. They add more enzymes and place it in the honeycomb. The enzymes break down the sucrose in the nectar to glucose and fructose, a process known as “ripening” the honey. While this is occurring, the bees fan the nectar with their wings to reduce the moisture content. Once the bees detect that the nectar is fully ripened and the water content is low enough, they will cap the honey cells with beeswax. This protects the honey until the bees are ready to consume it by preventing it from reabsorbing moisture. Ready to harvest Inspecting frames & a fully capped frame When it is harvest time, we begin by inspecting the honey frames looking for them to be completely capped. This is a critical step. Harvesting uncapped frames with too high of a water content can cause it to ferment. When we find a fully capped frame, now we must get hundreds of bees off each one. We could use smoke to move them into the lower boxes. Personally, I don’t like this as it can result in ash from the smoker fuel staying on the honeycomb, which could give the honey a smoke taste. We simply shake the frame over the hive to remove most of them and brush the rest off. Prepare to extract To extract the honey from the frames we could just scrape all the honey and comb off the frame and let it drain out. If we did that, then next year the bees would need to rebuild all that comb before having a place to store the nectar. Honeybees produce wax by consuming the nectar and excreting it from their wax gland. This would result in a smaller harvest due to all the repurposed nectar for producing wax. Uncapping the frame  We use the uncapping method. Scraping the frame with a “fork” to remove only surface wax covering the honey. This preserves the honeycomb on the frames which can then be used again for future honey harvests. Spinning Frames As each frame is uncapped, we load it into our extractor. When we first started beekeeping there were only a couple of hives, so we purchased a small 3 frame hand crank extractor. It suited its purpose at the time but as we continued to grow the number of hives, this became very laborious and sometimes hilarious process. Taking an entire day to extract 50 or more frames only 3 at a time, plus having to flip them over to do the other side. A few years ago, it was decided that an upgrade was needed. Now an 18 frame motorized extractor that does both sides at once makes quick work of the job. The high-speed spinning generates centrifugal force that flings the honey from the frame to the wall of the extractor (See video below).  It then flows down and collects underneath. The uncapping process does leave flakes of beeswax in the honey. When the honey is drained, we pass it through a strainer to remove the wax pieces and THAT’S IT! (See video below) We do not filter our honey as this could remove the pollens that are contained with the honey. It is never heated either as that can deteriorate the natural enzymes and nutrients within.   Ready to go!!! When all the honey is extracted and drained it remains in a sealed container overnight to allow entrapped air bubbles to rise out. The following day we jar and label so it’s ready for sale via our website or at craft shows (When they still happened. Thanks 2020). The question we are most often asked about honey is if we see a difference between the spring and fall honey. Check out the picture below to see if you notice a difference. On the left is honey from our Fall 2020 harvest and on the right is our Spring 2020 Harvest. Clearly a night and day difference. Right?! Why? Here in Connecticut it’s all due to the different nectar sources available each season. In the spring the bees forage on things like clover, dandelion, and flowering trees to name a few. This results in a lighter more floral tasting honey. During the late summer you have goldenrod, buckwheat, knotweed, and others. This produces a much darker and richer honey for our fall harvest. I think it has a slight taste of molasses to it. Our fall honey is now available on our website. Be sure to pick up a jar before it’s all gone. Thanks for reading our blog! I hope you found it informative and insightful.

Did you know that although bees are not colorblind they see color in a completely different way than humans? Bees use UV light to locate their food sources and will zero in on flowering plants that bloom in their favorite colors (meaning those most visible to them), which are yellow, purple, blue, white, violet and mauve. Flowers in these color ranges get the most attention from bees! Look at this amazing photo of a flower under normal view, and then under UV light. What a way to direct bee traffic right to the pollen source! (Photo Credit: Zachary Huang, MSU) To attract bees to your yard, it would make sense to plan your garden to accommodate flowering plants and bushes that will bloom in these beautiful colors. And, to keep the fun going all year long, planting a garden with a variety of seasonal blooms, from spring to fall, will keep bees and other pollinators returning to your garden for for their meals time and time again.   Planting for an early spring show! One of our favorite plants that blooms from spring to fall but which makes an especially pretty early spring showing, is Sedum. Sedum can be purchased in pots and easily transplanted into your garden. The best time to plant sedum is in the spring—after the threat of frost but before it gets too warm. This is a very hardy plant resistant to drought, deer resistant (a big issue for us, being out in the “woods”) and naturally the honeybees love it! With so many varieties of Sedum to choose from, you’ll have to do your homework, but just know that these leafy plants with their colorful blooms are a favorite of all species of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. And, best of all, they are a perennial, so you will enjoy these blooms year after year. Other early spring blooms to consider for your pollinator-friendly garden (but which differ slightly depending on your area) are: Gold Heart Bleeding Heart, Lilac, Clematis and Royal Star Magnolia…just to name a few. And, don’t forget to leave those dandelions and clover alone…they are a very important first source of food for bees in early spring. Thinking ahead, if you’re planning to participate in #NoMowMay this year, where you leave a portion of your yard (or the whole thing!) unmowed, you could designate an area in early spring that you will let go wild, including the dandelions. We know that some people prefer a perfectly-manicured lawn, and this is a happy compromise and one that will benefit the pollinators!   Late spring through summer… this is the prime-time show! As the weather warms up, so does the pollinator activity! Honey bees are collecting from the flowers in their own neighborhoods, and filling their hives with uniquely-flavored honey. Again, varieties of sedum will continue to bloom throughout the summer months adding colorful beauty and a plethora of visiting pollinators to your garden. In more northern areas, you can still plant sedum successfully at this time, as long as the weather is still on the cooler side, which aids in the sedum’s ability to quickly fill in an area of your garden. Have fun with your color selection! Planting with intention is great for the pollinators, but you also want something that is beautiful and balanced for your own pleasure. There are many online resources for planning guides in your area, and a little homework will go a long way in your planning process. Other colorful favorites you should consider planting to keep a variety of pollinators visiting your yard throughout the warmer months are Thistle, which is an annual but a big favorite of pollinators due to the abundant nectar and pollen, and Coneflowers, which are perennials that are also heat and drought resistant, and very easy to grow! Coneflowers are easily one of our favorite flowers because they bloom for months, are beautiful to look at and attract so many species of bird and pollinator. They make gorgeous cut flowers as well, when you want to bring some of that luscious color inside. Blue Globe Allium is another plant that beckons the bees from far and wide with its stunning blue color because it really stands out under UV light! And we can’t forget Bee balm, which is aptly named because it really does attract the bees! It blooms mid-summer to early fall and makes a beautiful transitional plant for pollinator gardens.   The late show! Autumn is what we call the late show, which includes flowers that bloom late summer through early fall. Fall flowers give bees their last big hurrah of nectar and pollen for the year and make our gardens pop with color until the cold winter creeps in. Autumn Joy Sedum takes the stage during this time of year. It kicks off with beautiful displays of pinks and rose colors, which slowly fade to lovely russet and mauve shades. By pruning Autumn Joy Sedum, you can cause the plant to bloom later, thereby lengthening the flower show in your garden. There really is no way to go wrong with these pretty plants as they grow well in almost all types of soil, except those that are very mucky, or clay-like. Other fall flowers that will feed the bees and which get a thumbs-up from us are New England Asters, which start blooming in August but continue to bloom right through October, and the stately sunflower which does the same.   Gorgeous and contrasting colors work well in a pollinator garden so have fun and start planting. We would love to see what you come up with! Share garden pics with us at info@littlebeeofct.com. We just might promote your photo on Instagram or Facebook. Follow us at @littlebeeofct where we post daily on our favorite honeybee-related topics including pollinator gardens! To shop our all-natural, made-from-beeswax selection of products, visit our website. Thank you again for supporting Little Bee of CT and the busy beekeepers around the world!

Two weeks are left in this glorious spring month and we want to talk a little more about how not mowing your lawn, for just one month, can really allow the wildflowers to bloom, which in turn will support the bee, and other pollinator, population. Here in CT, the buzz of lawnmowers is a weekly thing! Whether you mow it yourself or hire a service, the lawns in our state are generally well maintained and have the appearance of a freshly groomed golf course. But, what happens to the first spring flowers such as dandelion, red clover, violets, grape hyacinth, to name a few? Well, they get mowed over, that’s what! By holding off on mowing, even for these last two weeks in May, you’d save some time and some money, as well as the amazing natural resources that pollinators depend on. In the UK, The original Plantlife No Mow May campaign (Every Flower Counts) discovered that 80% of lawns left wild supported approximately 400 bees a day. 20% of the un-mown lawns were supporting 10 times that number of bees! We’re still blown away by those numbers.   Now on to the Big 4!   First great reason for postponing mowing until June: A pause from mowing will give the wildflowers a chance to bloom and in turn nourish the bee population with a wider selection of nectar. The more wild flowers you have blooming on your lawn, the more types of pollen and nectar they will produce. It’s a win-win situation.   Second reason to let the lawn grow wild: Reports show that the highest number of wildflowers, and production of nectar sugar, was found on lawns that were mowed just once a month, or every four weeks. That’s great news and a very easy way to diversify your lawns. Once you see what pops up in the unmoved areas of your lawn, you might want to permanently designate an area as a no mow zone and nurture it as a wildflower garden.   The third reason to put the biggest lawn chore on hold for just a little longer: Allowing your lawn to rest, and thrive naturally, even for a few scant weeks, actually drives up local bee populations and bee diversity! Makes sense right? More abundant pollen-rich sources means more bees coming to the party. (And they’ll bring some friends!)   And the fourth and last reason to give yourself and the bees a break this May: Okay, this is two reasons combined into one. You will either save the actual time of mowing (and we all know what a CHORE that is, OR you will save the cost of one or two weeks of hiring a lawn service. Spend that time and money on yourself and your family. A surprise treat for everyone involved right?   Bonus reason: A reduction in noise pollution! Many neighborhoods are buzzing so loudly with lawn mowers that you can hardly hear the birds chirping and the bees buzzing. A quiet weekend would be so welcomed!   Finding it very hard to end this blog post because… we have one more bonus BONUS reason for letting those wildflowers thrive: You can make some amazing recipes from dandelions. Check out this blog post and get creative with this very heart-healthy plant. We’ve also consistently sectioned off a portion of our yard and designated it as a No Mow Zone! We think our little bees are thanking us. :)    Check back here or visit us on Instagram or Facebook for updates.   As we mentioned in our prior #NoMowMay blog post from May 2020, bees are the livelihood of Little Bee of CT and so many other loyal beekeepers around the world. Without these busy, magnificent creatures, approximately one-third of our food supply would be jeopardized due to lack of cross-pollination. Don’t forget…not only do bees pollinate the food we eat directly, they also pollinate the wild plants, flowers, and clover used to feed the livestock our country depends on for meat. The pollination cycle is vast and has long-reaching implications if it’s interrupted.   Please share your results with us by mentioning us in your Instagram posts, or by sending us a message on Facebook. We’d love to see your photos and will choose our favorite to share on our social channels in June!  Thanks for supporting the bees and for supporting Little Bee of CT. Visit our site to learn more about our company and our products.

When our customers learn that Little Bee of Connecticut has their own honey bee hives, they become curious and want to know what’s involved.  One of the most frequently asked questions is: How do you start a new hive? We posted a small series of videos a few weeks back which highlighted the steps we’re about to explain in more detail. If you’re more of a visual person, you can check out those videos on Instagram or Facebook. Read on for more detail on this exciting process! When we want to add more honeybee colonies to our apiary, there are a few different ways we can obtain bees for a new hive. We can try to catch a swarm in the wild, however, that is like fishing, you never know if you’ll catch anything. If you have existing hives, you can also split a large hive into two hives. Doing this can help prevent swarming, which can happen when larger hives get overcrowded. However, one of the simplest and most common methods is to purchase a package of bees. A 3-lb. package of bees = 10,000 bees!   A package of bees is just what it sounds like. A box filled with bees. Approximately 10,000 bees and one queen, to be specific. These are available each spring from many commercial beekeepers or beekeeping supply companies. They will even ship them through the mail just like any other package. (Hopefully your mail carrier isn’t allergic.!) Once the bees arrive, they need to be placed in the hive as soon as possible. Being stuck in a small room for a couple days with 10,000 of your brothers and sisters and no bathroom would make you cranky too. The first thing we have to do is remove the “feeder can” and locate the “queen cage”. A feeder can contains sugar syrup to feed the bees while they are being shipped to their final destination. The queen cage separates the queen from the rest of the bees. This queen is not the mother of this package of 10,000 bees. She was raised separately and the cage protects her from the bees for a couple days until they become familiar with her pheromone and accept her as their queen. Removing the feeder can The Queen Cage To get the bees into the new hive, we start by suspending the queen cage between two frames. This ensures ample space for the bees to cluster and allows the queen’s pheromones to fill the hive.  Next, we pour the bees from the package directly into the hive. This is an amazing visual, so head over to our Instagram or Facebook pages to see the process. Scroll back a few weeks to find the series. With the bees now in the hive, they will be attracted to the queen’s scent. Over the next couple days, the bees will chew through the sugar plug on the end of the small queen cage to allow the queen to be released. She will then start her only job, which is laying approximately 1,500 eggs per day. A mother’s work is never done, right?? It’s now time to close up the hive, but before we do, we want to leave some food sources with them to provide extra nourishment until they can venture out and visit the many pollinator gardens and pathways in our town. A sugar syrup with essential oils is provided as a nectar substitute. Pollen patties, which look like a protein bar for a bee provide a healthy protein substitute. The bees will feed on this along with nectar and pollen sources found in the open for the next few weeks as they get settled in. The last step is to return to the hive about a week later to perform our first inspection. During this inspection we want to look for several things. First and foremost, we’ll inspect and remove the cage to make sure that the queen has been released. We don’t necessarily need to see the queen, we just want to know she’s out of the cage. Second, we want to make sure that the worker bees are building honeycomb, which is what the queen will use to store her eggs as she lays then and will also be used for honey storage. If the sugar syrup is depleted, we’ll add more to the feeder at this time. Finally, we want to look for eggs and small larvae in the comb. Finding the queen in a hive is like playing “Where’s Waldo”, so trying to find her every time can be frustrating. You could injure her if you don’t know where she is on a frame. If we see eggs and larvae during an inspection, we know the queen is there and that’s a good sign that she is healthy and active. The new hive is now up and running! Young honeybee larvae   We check back every few weeks to see how the hive is doing and to check again on all the things we outlined above. We had some very chilly weather right after we installed our new hives and the bees were a bit slower than typical in building up their stores of honey. However, we’re hopeful that we’ll have a sweet honey harvest in early summer at some point. Maybe a few weeks later than usual, but we’ll keep you posted on our social media accounts, so be sure to follow us there! If you have any questions on this blog post or simply want to share a story of your own, feel free to reach out to us at info@littlebeeofct.com. We’d BEE very excited to chat! Also, to see all of the products we create with all-natural beeswax and honey, visit our site. Thank you for supporting Little Bee of CT and the beekeepers around the world!

We are passionate about many things, and as you know, many of those things involve honey bees! The little honey bee, along with all the other pollinators we promote on our social channels and on our blog, are so very important to our food sources and the ecosystems that support life, that we want to share what we’ve been reading* on the subject of pollinator preservation and the use of harmful chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. First the scary stuff.   These Losses are Not Sustainable What do we fear? Total loss of our pollinators. Such loss is not sustainable and we won’t be able to reverse the devastation. Some facts…U.S beekeepers have reported that in the past year, they have lost over 43% of their honeybee colonies… and this is the 2nd highest percentage of loss ever recorded! Things are getting scary for the little honeybees. Monarch butterflies are also continuing to decline in numbers and have been reduced by 26% in the last year. The loss of honeybee colonies and monarch butterflies can be directly linked to the use of toxic chemicals which reduce their food sources, pollute the ground and water supplies and also directly kill the bees and butterflies. Toxic chemicals are not the only factor in the declining number of pollinators we’re seeing each year. Habitat loss and climate change play big roles in the lower counts of our favorite creatures. That being said, toxic chemical use is something that we can prevent or at the very least control and begin to minimize.   The Science is Clear Two major chemicals are at the forefront of the pollinator destruction: neonic (an insecticide) and glyphosate (a weed killer), and they are both “virtually unchecked”. As the purchase and use of these chemicals rises, the pollinator population declines. The facts show how closely tied together the two events are. Glyphosate, sadly, is almost solely responsible for wiping out the habitat for Monarchs, by eliminating the milkweed plant which is crucial for the Monarchs’ survival.   The NRDC Have you heard of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Pollinator Initiative? This is a major campaign designed to defend bees, butterflies and other pollinators from harsh chemicals released from many large companies and approved for use without restriction. Right now they are fighting a court battle against the EPA’s reauthorization of the weedkiller “glyphosate”, stating that the EPA has completely ignored warnings from medical experts and scientists about the serious risks to our environment and health. Hundreds of thousands of NRDC members and activists are contacting the EPA now in protest of these dangerous chemicals and calling on restrictions. It’s timely because the EPA is scheduled to perform a hazard review, which includes these chemicals, that should be completed by the end of 2022. However, once they reach their conclusions, they will not need to have another review until 2037! 15 years later! If the ruling does not reverse the use of these chemicals, more of our pollinators will be lost, or soon enough, completely wiped out. “We have a limited window, and in that time we have to make sure we’re weighing in at every stage of the process and making the strongest possible evidence-based case against these bee-toxic pesticides,” says Dan Raichel, Pollinator Initiative acting Director. “The science is on our side, but we’re up against a powerful industry that has billions a year in profits…” Their tireless work is invaluable and we hope they get the results they are looking for in court. The fate of our pollinators depends on it   Food Sources Will Also Decline “A study published by Rutgers University in July 2020 found that foods such as apples, cherries, and blueberries are already ‘pollinator limited,’ meaning a lack of pollinators is leading to lower crop yields. One in every three bites of food we take as humans relies on bees and other pollinators. Think about that at your next meal. What will be missing from your plate as we destroy the pollinators and our own health at risk by allowing these toxic chemicals to be used freely and without restriction.   But there is HOPE! Take Action by Contacting the EPA! We must join the fight and act now so we can affect change and insist that the EPA follows the science to restrict the use of these pollinator-destroying chemicals. TAKE ACTION NOW BY VISITING: nrdc.org/savebees to fill out the form petition. Your message will be sent to: Michael Regan, EPA Administrator with the subject line: Save our pollinators – and our food supply – from toxic pesticides!  Add your personal info and you will have joined the fight against big corporations and the manufacturing and use of these toxic chemicals.   In Closing “For far too long the EPA has refused to stand up to the agrochemical industry,” says Raichel. “We’re counting on NRDC members (and YOU) to join us in demanding the EPA stop putting Big Ag’s profits ahead of pollinator survival and people’s health.” The Biden-Harris administration has promised to restore science as central to protecting the environment and public health. We hope they deliver. *Our source is the NRDC “Natures’ Voice” Summer 2021 Publication. Please share your pollinator garden pics with us by mentioning us in your Instagram posts, or by sending us a message directly on Instagram or on Facebook. We’d love to see your photos and will choose our favorite to share on our social channels this month!   Thanks for supporting the bees and for supporting Little Bee of Connecticut! Visit our site to learn more about our company and our products.

The demand for crops dependent on honeybees and other pollinators, such as almonds, apples and blueberries, has grown over 300% in the past 50 years. This recent study, published by Environmental Science & Technology, also outlines that the areas most dependent on pollinators for crop survival provide the worst conditions to house these same pollinators! Come on! Our nation’s pollinators can’t seem to catch a break… When Bees Have to CommuteBecause California produces just about 80% of the world’s almonds, and the state doesn’t have enough suitable habitat for honeybees to thrive naturally, can you guess what needs to happen? Shuttles for bees! There are many companies that now deliver their bees, sometimes traveling thousands of miles, to these needy crop areas in California. The bees do their work, generally from January to March, pollinating the almond trees, and are then bundled back up for the long ride home again. This all sounds like a nice compromise, right? If the almond trees are taking up all of the land, and therefore the natural habitat for bees and other pollinators, what’s the harm to raising these bees elsewhere and letting them work in CA? There are a Few Things Wrong with this Arrangement…First, the areas growing these high-value crops tend to use chemicals more often and tend to have less diverse species of flowering plants and shrubs. Diversity equates to health. The “corporate” bees, raised in controlled environments, get to head back home to their native beehives after a few months in California. But what about the wild bees and other diverse species of pollinator? They don’t have the luxury and are now suffering. Second, if you throw in a severe drought and the ongoing risk of wildfires, things will only get worse. The local pollinators won’t thrive and will die off. When this happens, it actually causes the bees that are shuttled in to work less efficiently. There is new research coming out of Penn State, by Christina Grozinger, director of the Center for Pollination Research, that shows “…if you have multiple species of bees, you get better pollination. Having a diverse community of pollinators can be crucial for both production and quantity.” Sounds like a MAJOR Catch 22, right?Take over the land to produce high-yield crops DEPENDENT on pollinators. Destroy the natural resources including all diverse plant life, and use pesticides guaranteed to destroy the habitat these pollinators require. Truck in bees from other states and hopefully get them to pick up the slack on the pollination time card. Meanwhile the lack of diversity in local healthy pollinators stresses out the commuter bees making them less efficient than the natural pollinators would have been if the ecosystem could be designed to actually WORK on both sides of the equation! What about Bees with Special Job Requirements? When you remove the “local” pollinators from an area, you’ve essentially removed the working species that know the land, are familiar with the plants in their area and can work efficiently to gather the pollen from these plants. Bees that are shipped in to an area do not know the lay of the land, and may not be entirely familiar with different plant species and the intricate ways they might need to harvest pollen from these plants. Neal Williams, a professor of bee biology at the University of California has said, “…in California, when wild bees emerge in the spring and fly Ito almond and fruit orchards, there’s an increase in nut and fruit yield.” The more diverse the pollinator group working the land, the more marketable the crop. It makes sense then that the current situation is not working and a new design must be found. Another bit of Scary NewsAccording to USDA Surveys on honey colonies in the US, up to 230,000 colonies collapse in California during almond pollination season. “Pollinator fees are now the largest single component of operation costs in almond production in the Sacramento and northern Joaquin Valleys.” Luckily…there are some almond growers out west that are actually starting to experiment with a diverse population of pollinators. While honeybees will generally fly row to row in an almond orchard, these growers are working with a local bee called the “blue orchard bee”, which flies erratically from tree to tree and row to row, scattering the pollen more efficiently than the honey bee. This is the tip of the “almond”, but it’s a step in the right direction and hopefully other growers will follow suit. … If you haven’t read our last blog, which focused on the EPA and the use of toxic chemicals, we want to reiterate some news and facts that might interest you below! Have you heard of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Pollinator Initiative?This is a major campaign designed to defend bees, butterflies and other pollinators from harsh chemicals released from many large companies and approved for use without restriction. Right now they are fighting a court battle against the EPA’s reauthorization of the weedkiller “glyphosate”, stating that the EPA has completely ignored warnings from medical experts and scientists about the serious risks to our environment and health. Hundreds of thousands of NRDC members and activists are contacting the EPA now in protest of these dangerous chemicals and calling on restrictions. It’s timely because the EPA is scheduled to perform a hazard review, which includes these chemicals, that should be completed by the end of 2022. However, once they reach their conclusions, they will not need to have another review until 2037! 15 years later! If the ruling does not reverse the use of these chemicals, more of our pollinators will be lost, or soon enough, completely wiped out. Food Sources Will Also Decline“A study published by Rutgers University in July 2020 found that foods such as apples, cherries, and blueberries are already ‘pollinator limited,’ meaning a lack of pollinators is leading to lower crop yields. But there is HOPE! Take Action by Contacting the EPA!We must join the fight and act now so we can affect change and insist that the EPA follows the science to restrict the use of these pollinator-destroying chemicals. TAKE ACTION NOW BY VISITING: nrdc.org/savebees to fill out the form petition. Your message will be sent to: Michael Regan, EPA Administrator with the subject line:Save our pollinators – and our food supply – from toxic pesticides! Add your personal info and you will have joined the fight against big corporations and the manufacturing and use of these toxic chemicals. *Our source is the NRDC “Natures’ Voice” Summer 2021 Publication. Thanks for supporting the bees and for supporting Little Bee of CT. Visit our site to learn more about our company and our products.

For beekeepers across the country, the end of the calendar year is usually the quietest time. The honeybees are in their winter cluster and there’s not much the beekeeper can do for them until spring. Many of us use this time to reflect on what went well, what went wrong, and what to do differently next year. Let’s look back through the Little Bee Beekeepers Calendar and the events of this past season.   January through March: Honeybees are not very active in the winter months. They’re in a cluster in the center of the hive to maintain warmth. Only leaving the hive when the temperature is above 50° F for a cleansing flight to relieve themselves of waste. (Check out a previous blog post How Do Honey Bees Survive Cold Temperatures? to learn more.) For the beekeeper, the new year marks the beginning of the season and time to start planning to ensure a successful year. While the temperatures will still be cold for weeks to come, now is the time to prepare for spring. Inspecting beekeeping equipment so it’s clean and ready when the weather is warm enough to enter the hives. Order and assemble hive components for replacing worn out parts or expanding the number of hives. Purchase bee packages early before they sell out. Start feeding the hives to supplement early season nectar and pollen foraging. Taking these steps helps get the hives off to a good start in the spring.   April through June: Spring is when the hives really come to life. The warmer weather brings the flowers and the bees are eager to get out there to forage. Back in the hive, the queen is already laying almost 2000 eggs a day to boost the hive population. More bees + More nectar = More HONEY!!!! For the beekeeper April is when we get our first chance to look inside the hive to see how well they survived winter. We want to see a great brood pattern with lots of eggs, pollen, and honey. If we don’t and the hive looks weak, then we must assess the issue. If the hive needs to be rescued, we can donate a frame or two of bees from a strong hive to boost the population or we can replace an underperforming queen. As we move into May, strong hives will be filling the hive with lots of nectar to turn into honey while the queen continues to lay eggs. Unfortunately, this battle for space can cause the hive to swarm. To prevent swarming, we add additional boxes called honey supers to the hives. This provides additional space for nectar/honey while not crowding the queen. With ample space for all we wait patiently for June when the supers are full and the nectar flow slows down. Once the honeycomb is capped with wax it’s time for the spring honey harvest. Uncapping, extracting, and bottling all that golden goodness.   July through August: During the early summer the temperatures increase and nectar sources may dry up. The hive will start to look for alternate sources which is why you may see them at your summer picnics. Inside the hive the warmth starts to impact the hive. To help keep it cool, the bees will congregate on the front step and fan their wings to circulate air through. During extreme heat a good portion of the bees will cluster on the outside of the hive in a process called wash boarding or bearding. Check out this quick video to better understand. Bearding Explanation – Instagram. As we get into August and September the summer nectar sources start to return as the bees start preparing for the fall/winter. With reduced natural sources in July we try not to disturb the hive unless necessary. The hive is already under stress and we don’t want to add to it. The bees may start to consume their honey reserves, so we need to keep an eye on them and provide supplemental feed if needed. Once the mid to late summer flowers start blooming the nectar flow is on, we stop feeding and add the honey supers in anticipation of the next honey harvest in September.   October through December: The cooler temperatures of October send a signal to the hive that winter is approaching. Preparations are being made inside to help aid in their survival. The last of the nectar is being ripened into honey to provide nourishment until spring. Gaps in the hive are being filled with propolis to minimize drafts and leaks. The queen stops laying eggs. Drone bees are evicted since they do nothing to help the hive through the cold. Once the temperatures stop going above 50 degrees, the bees will remain inside until it warms up again. October represents the last opportunity for us to do what we can to help the hive make it through winter. After last month’s honey harvest, we begin feeding the hives to allow them to produce as much honey as possible. Here in Connecticut a strong hive will consume 60 to 80 pounds of honey through the winter. The bees are also treated to reduce varroa mites via a natural method. Left untreated, mites can spread disease and kill the hive. Lastly before the warm days are gone, we’ll add a candy board (a block of sugar) under the hive cover as an emergency food source if needed and say goodbye until spring.   That brings us back to December, reflecting on the year at hand, and making plans for next year. For Little Bee it was a mixed year. Our hives started out slow. Taking more time than usual to grow in population which resulted in a poor spring harvest. With a little patience, the queens kicked into gear, and we ended with some of the strongest hives I’ve ever seen this season. There was lots of honey and pollen in the hives when I checked at the end of the season. So fingers crossed, say a prayer, because it’s in Mother Nature’s hands now. Hopefully we’ll see activity on all the hives come spring.   For more information on any of the all-natural products we create at Little Bee of CT, visit our site or email us at info@littlebeeofct.com, Don’t forget to follow @littlebeeofct on Instagram and Facebook where we post daily updates! Thank you for supporting Little Bee of CT and the busy beekeepers around the world!

What is a wild place? Have you seen one? Ok, we know some if you have wild places IN your homes but leave the kids and pets out of it because we’re only talking about the great OUTDOORS! :) “A wild place could be a 15-minute drive from home where we can walk among plants in a meadow, or a tree-lined street, or front and back yard, if landscaped with wild creatures in mind”, says University of Delaware ecology professor, Douglas Tallamy, author of Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts with Your Yard. Why do we long for natural spaces, long expanses of blue sky broken only by clouds, mile after mile of evergreens or fields blooming with wildflowers, with no buildings, roadways, nor city noise to speak of?   It’s how we relax, calm our minds, regulate our hormones, and lower our blood pressure. “Getting back to nature.” It is synonymous to taking a break from the rat race, the 9-5, the workweek, and all the responsibilities that come with being a human these days. Spending time in nature can benefit both your body and mind, and that includes relaxing, hiking, gardening, etc. It has been shown to reduce stress, improve confidence and self-esteem, reduce loneliness, and improve your overall mood. Remember, you don’t have to go far if you want to spend quality time out in nature. You just need to find some green space, and let nature do its thing. So, yes, you most likely have seen a few wild spaces, even if you’ve never traveled to Alaska or Montana. Back yards and local parks are small wild spaces that connect the bigger national parks and nature reserves. Many acres are not required, but we must continue to preserve what we have and ultimately try to create more open wild places.  A beautiful wild place can start right outside your door!   How to Create a Wild Space in Your Yard We have always encouraged our followers to create open spaces in their yards where the wild things can grow. Here are a few quick steps to get started, which are also recommended by Douglas Tallamy and landscape designer Rick Darke in their book The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden. – STOP using pesticides and herbicides. – Designate a portion of your green lawn as a native-plant wild space. – Replace plants that are not native, or are invasive, with plants which are native to your area. – Leave the leaves! Leaf litter, rotting logs, and brush all provide shelter and food for many different animal and insets species. – Water features, such as ponds, streams or manmade water areas attract wildlife. We told ourselves we wouldn’t get bossy in this blog post, but we can’t in good faith mention the growing No Mow May movement which helps all creatures to thrive and you don’t have to do a THING to participate. Meaning, YOU JUST STOP MOWING! For one month. Or two. We’re not counting. Here are five great reasons to participate in #NoMowMay, by postponing lawnmowing JUST until June (we know you can do it!): – A pause from mowing will give the wildflowers a chance to bloom and in turn nourish the bee population with a wider selection of nectar. – Reports show that the highest number of wildflowers, and production of nectar sugar, was found on lawns that were mowed just once a month, or every four weeks. -Allowing your lawn to rest, and thrive naturally, even for a few scant weeks, can actually drive up local bee populations and bee diversity! -You will either save the actual time of mowing (and we all know what a CHORE that is, OR you will save the cost of one or two weeks of hiring a lawn service. – A reduction in noise pollution! Spend time listening to nature.   Remember: Saving wild places is critical for human health and well-being, say both scientists and environmentalists. But defining what a wild place is or what the word “wilderness” means can be difficult, says Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places. “If wilderness means a place untouched by humans, then none is left,” he says. Even the set-aside wildernesses where no one may have ever stepped have been altered through climate change, acid rain and other human interventions. What was the last TRULY wild space that you’ve seen or visited? Drop us a line at info@littlebeeofct.com, share your pictures, we’d love to hear about it! Check back here or visit us on Instagram or Facebook for updates. Honeybees are the livelihood of Little Bee of CT and so many other loyal beekeepers around the world. Without these busy, magnificent creatures, approximately one-third of our food supply would be jeopardized due to lack of cross-pollination. Don’t forget…not only do bees pollinate the food we eat directly, they also pollinate the wild plants, flowers, and clover used to feed the livestock our country depends on for meat. The pollination cycle is vast and has long-reaching implications if it’s interrupted. Thank you again for supporting the bees and for supporting Little Bee of CT. Visit our site to learn more about our company and our products!