Double Duty

March 2017

Mr. Ellis came Friday and we checked the bees.  We did see the Queen in the bottom brood box and lots and lots of bees.  No drones yet but they should be coming soon. 

There was not much honey in the hive so Mr. Ellis and I agreed I needed to start feeding before they starved which can happen so quickly.  Since there were so many bees in the hive I have put two jars of sugar syrup on the front of the hive. It looks crazy but works. 

I'm planning to get a Queen in about three weeks and then do a split unless I have a swarm before then. 

Rusty Patched Bumblebee - Endangered Species

 

The Rusty Patched Bumblebee on Tuesday became the first officially endangered bee species in the continental U.S. overcoming objections from some business interests and a last-minute delay ordered by the Trump administration. The bees have an enormous range of 13 states including Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.  Rusty patched bumblebees nest in underground colonies, sometimes in fields, causing worry for farmers.   

Over the past two decades, the bee has declined in nearly 90 percent of its range.  The list of suspected causes for the disappearance, according to the agency, reads like an environmental most-wanted list: farm pesticides, household herbicides, human development over bee habitat, disease and climate change.

So now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will devise a plan for returning the Rusty Patched Bumblebee to a "healthy and secure condition". 

A couple of years ago, I happened upon a nest in the ground in my garden - I didn't know what type of bumblebee it was but probably the Rusty Patched Bumblebee. 

Spring - Hallelujah!

Hopefully we're past the freezing weather we've been having - whatever you do, don't cut your shrubs back - they will be okay.  Well, that's my tip for the day.

Planted onions today and moved some Bachelor Buttons to a little bed in the garden.  They are such sweet flowers.  The Triplets were a big help in the garden as usual - thank goodness they are laying eggs now.  And I checked the bees too.  My one and only hive is doing well.
Sunday I went to Isabelle Bowen Henderson's House and Gardens on Oberlin Road in Raleigh. It's always interesting to see other gardens and inside the house too.  Then I went to a couple of Open Houses - one on St. Mary's St ($899,000) and the other in Cameron Park (only $800,000).  This is just for fun - definitely not in my price range - maybe in my next life!