#beeksofinstagram

She’s not ours but she is still a beauty!! Blue is an amazing color on her! #mentoring #queenbee #beekeepersofinstagram #beeksofinstagram #washingtonbeekeeper #washingtonstatebeekeepers #beekeeping #pnwbeek #beekeepinginthecascades #bee #honeybee #honey #beehive #apiary #apiarylife #apiculture #beelove #ibeek #savethebees #beelife #beekeeperlife #naturalbeekeeping #pollinators https://www.instagram.com/p/CDAdUIpg0FO/?igshid=unsgnybros2s

One of the coolest things about being a beekeeper is mentoring new beekeepers. It’s so much fun seeing their excitement when they see their queen bee for the first time or taste honey from their hive for the first time. This is our first time mentoring and I was so nervous. Would they like us? Did we really know enough? So much self doubt. It has been an amazing experience! What a blessing it is to us, to get to share our love of bees with others. #mentoring #beekeepersofinstagram #beeksofinstagram #washingtonbeekeeper #washingtonstatebeekeepers #beekeeping #pnwbeek #beekeepinginthecascades #bee #honeybee #honey #beehive #apiary #apiarylife #apiculture #beelove #ibeek #savethebees #beelife #beekeeperlife #naturalbeekeeping #pollinators https://www.instagram.com/p/CDAdCndgK_q/?igshid=1b7tkaw0gjk56

Have you mastered the art of not flailing your arms when a bee lands on you? Do you fight the urge to curtesy or bow when you finally see the Queen? Do smell of propolis and honey? Then, you are probably a “Beek”!! • Join our “The Beeks of Instagram” follow loop and meet other bee lovers like yourself. • RULES: 1. Follow Host @MistyMeadowsDesigns 2. Tap on #MMBeeksofIG. 3. Follow everyone who has shared this image and script AND comment 🐝 under their image. 4. Repost with this image and script IF you too are a Crazy About Bees. • Archive or delete post on Wednesday 6/13 at 9pm pst. • Follow those who follow you. Allow 24 hours for a follow back. Unfollow those who unfollow you (because they are rude and waspy) • Stay up to date about future loops by following @MistyMeadowsDesigns. Click the link in bio to join the fun. • #beeksofinstagram #bees #honeybees #homesteadlife #beesofinstagram #beekeepers #apiary #apismellifera #alwayslearning

When you’re a beekeeper, sometimes (especially this time of year) you get the amazing opportunity to deal with swarms. This colony swarmed FIRST to our Rhody Bush and THEN to a fir tree on the OTHER side of the house after we had hived them by the Rhody bush. It was so annoying - but bees are going to do what the are going to do...and it’s simply fascinating!! If you ever see a swarm of bees, they are pretty docile. They have filled their bellies with honey and are only interested in finding a new home. Please don’t spray them with chemicals, just call your loccal Beekeeper who will be willing to help you! @glorybeefoods @bmbeefarm @shastina_bee_girls #beeksofinstagram #beekeeping #beeswarm #savethebees #apiarylife #mistymeadowscares

Mr. Misty was adding honey supers and had to do a little cleanup before he could add them. The cleanup resulted in quite a bit of honeycomb and honey. This spring’s honey is darker than the honey we extracted last summer. And, it has a slightly different taste - it tastes kind of citrusy. It’s definitely different. Not better. Not worse. Just different and that’s really fascinating! Taste and color is based on what the bees have to forage on. Last summer, it was fireweed they predominately feasted on. This spring, there is all manner of things in bloom right now. If you look closely, near Mr. Misty’s face, you can see a little bee that is chasing him and the honey down. #Honeybees #BeeksOfInstagram #ApiaryLife #AlwaysLearning #Honeycomb #Honey #HomesteadLife #BeKeeping #MistymeadowSweetness

Did you know that bees, unlike wasps, really don’t want to sting you? When a bee stings something or someone, it actually eviscerates them and they die, so stinging is just a method of protection. If you look closely, you can see this little gals stinger. I was being a little careless during one of our hive inspections and she felt threatened. RIP little lady. #mmworldbeeday18 #worldbeeday #beekeeping #BeeksofInstagram #beesofinstagram #honeybees #savethebees

It took several days for Mr. Misty to place a second bee box on each of the 60 hives we recently brought home. He finished, today - and just in time!! After spending several weeks pollinating Almond groves down in California, the bees have become “Honey bound” meaning their hive is so full of honey they have run out of room to raise new bees. Had we not added the second box, they would surely swarm and gone looking for roomier accommodations. Now they have room to spread out and raise fresh brood and store more food. #alwayslearning #honeybee #apiarylife #localhoney #broodandfood save the bees #pollinators #beeksofinstagram #beekeeper #pleasedontswarm

My job... place 10 frames in each of the 60 new bee boxes. Mr. Misty’s job - He got to put the boxes on each hive, which means he had to take the tops off each hive, scrape off any extra beeswax, called burr comb, move the feeders up and place the new box on. He got to were his fancy new bee jacket. I got wear my regular attire; thought bees were flying around my work area, they were more curious than aggressive. I find talking sweetly to them helps... us both. #BeeksofInstagram #beekeepersofinstagram #savethebees #alwayslearning #apiarylife #washingtonhomesteader #upperleftusa