Updates from the hives through the seasons: what the bees are up to, what the beekeeper is learning (usually the hard way), and when the next honey is ready.
In spring, when the colony is growing and flowers are plentiful, a honey bee colony reproduces by swarming. The old queen and more than half the workers leave the hive together and settle nearby in a temporary cluster called a bivouac, like the one in this video. From there, scout bees fan out to search for a suitable cavity to become their new home.
Video · Behavior
Poppies are copious producers of pollen and honey bees do not miss the opportunity to collect it. Scrabbling is the behavior a honey bee exhibits when rapidly passing over the anthers of a flower to collect pollen — a vital protein resource for a colony’s developing bees.
Video · Behavior
