• Home
  • Furrow Archives (2009-2010)
  • Farmbedded Archives (2008)
  • Photos
THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm

Swarm

5/9/2013

0 Comments

 
An old saying goes, "A swarm in May is worth a load of hay."

On Saturday, a swarm of honeybees left one of Howell Farm's hives and settled on a nearby tree branch overhanging the creek. (Bees swarm when their colonies are doing well and they've run out of room for honey and new workers.) Fortunately, swarms are very docile, as the bees gorge themselves on honey before leaving home. Farmer Gary placed an empty hive beneath the swarm -- halfway in the creek -- climbed a ladder, and sawed off the tree branch until the swarm settled into the new hive. After giving the swarm some time to settle, he moved the hive a few miles down the road to the location of Howell Farm's workshop. The idea behind moving the swarm away from the old hive is that the bees will get used to their new home--they can become confused if their new hive is too close to their old hive. After a few days, once the swarm is acclimated, the hive will be moved back to Howell Farm.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About

    The Furrow is the online newsletter of The Friends of Howell Living History Farm. We will be updating this site about once a week with crop reports and other insights into life on a horse-drawn living history farm.

    Howell Farm is owned by Mercer County and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission.

    Funding for the Howell Living History Farm Furrow is made possible in part by an operating grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. 

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.