Busy bees

The end of the year was as it always is - a hectic and joyful scurrying filled with love, tears, gifts, goodbyes and many late nights. The beginning of the year was likewise, with fresh starts, changes, and choices.

It's now the first day of March and I finally feel that I've caught my breath and my words will not just fall to the ground.

During a family trip to Queensland in December, I collected my bees. After waiting months, there was finally a strong hive with my name on it!

I tend to be intimidated by cities, and imagine them to be places devoid of natural life. What a delight to pick up my hive from right in Brisbane, surrounded by multi-lane highways and towering buildings. Of course there was enough plant life to sustain the hive, but I found it strangely encouraging to think of them navigating the streets and finding it as awkward as I do... but succeeding nonetheless.
 
They MUST be happier at my place though, right?! The bees were keen to get exploring the morning after they arrived in their new home, with a few early morning adventurers popping out of the entry before I left for work. They darted about for a while, flying backwards with their faces toward the hive to get their bearings.

By the time I got home at 6pm, they were busily coming and going, with saddlebags full of pollen. I grow a wide variety of flowers, herbs, vegetables and natives, but I am yet to spot one of the bees foraging on flowers in my own yard! The European honeybees seem to dominate the fennel flowers that I left especially for my little Tetragonula, so I have just planted some of the rocket that first brought them to my attention, just to make sure they don't have to travel too far (and also because it's delicious!).

I had a small panic on a hot day when I noticed a smell coming from the hive, and saw a bee wrestle out a small maggot from the entry. There are a few nasty pests to look out for, and a couple are flies whose larvae infiltrate the hive and can cause a lot of damage. Other bee nerds have reassured me that my 'sweet, tangy and slightly composty' smell is normal, and as I've seen no other maggots being ejected from the hive since, that's actually a  sign that the security guard bees are doing their job.

Guard bees surrounding the hive entry

Today it's 37 degrees, so I've soaked a towel in water and draped it over the box to keep it cooler. On hot days, it's so nice to sit by the pool next the hive and hear the faint hum as their wings work to cool the hive. It's almost like a contented purr.