Honey Bees #4: Surviving Winter, Split Hives, and Hive Growth

Through the winter season, no bees were lost; cheers for a huge win! Our beekeeper had to take extra steps to ensure the bees would survive the harsh winter temperatures. She did this by providing them with fondant as an additional food source, checking on them often, planning so they didn’t have to lift the lid on the hives too often, and so much more!

Back in April, our beekeeper split the older hives to make new hives. She transferred half of our bees into new boxes to make a new colony. Since then, our beekeeper has closely monitored the hives to make sure they were doing well. These hives are showing potential and although they won’t produce honey this year, they are healthy. One of our original hives produced roughly 5 gallons of honey last season.

When Hon’s Honey began its apiary, we started with just four hives. Now we have 10! Of our new hives, two are captured swarms and four are hives we split from our other hives.

Since beginning this journey in the spring of 2020, our beekeeper has learned so much about beekeeping. It is such a transformative experience and our beekeeper continues to learn more every day! Beekeeping is very gratifying to work! The future looks bright, as we grow more hives, and add a second location. We have several Hon’s Honey women assisting the beekeeper now and plan to send another woman survivor to beekeeping class in the Spring of 2022.

One of our original hives produced roughly 5 gallons of honey last season. Our beekeeper is excited to see how many of our hives will produce honey and aims to harvest in the mid-late summer. Be sure to check back for honey harvest news!

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