01/09/2021
It is the first day of spring and despite the rain today, Spring is such a beautiful time of the year as the blossoms bloom, and the bees buzz. Spring is finally here!
A warm welcome to all the new Host A Hive clients who have joined our Host A Hive service over the past few months. Also, a big thank you again to all of our existing clients who have renewed again this spring! If your Host a Hive package is up for renewal you will have received an invoice last week, please contact me ASAP if you are unable to continue with our service.
To see more about what we offer at Kiwi Bees head to our website to learn more. Happy Spring!
Even though the weather has created a poor start to spring, the bee activity will soon start to build nicely as fresh nectar and pollen enter the hive. If I haven't already visited your property then your beehive is due to be serviced again sometime over the next week or two. We are currently in the process of performing our Spring disease checks, treating for varroa and cleaning up the beehives.
It is a very exciting time of the year as the bee activity starts to increase again, and the process of pollination takes place. Many of your fruit and vegetables may have already been pollinated, and I’m sure the remaining pollination isn’t too far away.
Over the next month or two the hives transitions into another phase of their annual life cycle. The winter bees are replaced with a new generation of bees, and the life span of each bee shortens as the number of bees inside the hive increases.
We will be opening up the hives with additional boxes during one of our visits over the next few months. However, typically this time of year it is common to see hives swarm. We do our best to prevent hives from swarming, but as this is a natural process that takes place each year, it is hard to guarantee that your hive won’t swarm at some point over the next few months.
You will only be able to tell if your hive has swarmed once an additional Queen has hatched and taken some of the bees from the hive. Swarms normally land on a branch within close proximity to the hive, however, please do not be alarmed as the bees are non-aggressive while in this state.
If on the odd chance, your hive does swarm, please contact me on 02040269358 and I will come out and collect the swarm. Nevertheless, swarms may only stay in one place from anywhere between 20 minutes to one week and it’s not always possible for us to collect the swarm, in which case the swarm will often take off to a new location.
Weather permitting, we are still on track to harvest some honey from your hives in December (this may be earlier depending on the season) and provide you with your year’s supply of yummy honey and for those clients who want to purchase some additional new season’s honey from our December harvest! For others interested, I will provide details closer to the harvest time in regards to purchasing fresh new season’s honey from hives all across Hawke's Bay.
I look forward to this exciting time of year that is soon upon us and I hope that you continue to enjoy all the benefits of increased pollination as well as the excitement of having nature at your doorstep!
Please feel free to contact me anytime if you ever have questions about the bees, they are very intricate creatures that are truly fascinating. Also, if you haven't yet done so, jump online to our website which is packed with loads of interesting information:
Kiwi Bees specialise in the annual beehive rental of fully managed beehives through our simple and innovative Host a Hive Service
