Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Laying Worker Bees


We have laying workers in our Blue Moon Hive. Ugh. So, once again we are queenless. I consulted the experts on the Western Washington Beekeeping Forum and they pretty much agreed that, based on the time of year, the hive is a lost cause. 

Damn it. 

So, what do we do now? How do you intentionally kill a [doomed] hive? Better to tear it open on a cold day [freeze] or slowly let them die out [starve]? Not a fun choice.

I can't imagine that anyone, anyone, would want to tackle a laying worker hive, right? There's no way I can give it away to some crafty [experienced] beekeeper? It seems like such a shame to lose such a large colony.