They're alive

[wayfaringwordhack]

My bees that is.  After a bout of coldish weather--but nothing that should have bothered my European dark bees--I went out to check the hive and could hear nothing. No buzz or hum when I tapped on the side.  And several dead bees littered the landing board.

Then, we had a couple of warm days, so I planned to open the hive, fully expecting to find it pillaged, my bees dead or gone. My beekeeping neighbor had told me that two of his colonies had perished due to wasps robbing all their honey.  Before I even opened the hive, though, I saw bees going in and out!  Hooray. :D  

J and I did weigh the hive and found that it is not really heavy enough. So I need to feed them according to popular beekeeping wisdom.  Which I do not want to do.  I really, really, really want them to make it without treatment or being fed syrup.  Nevertheless, it is heart-wrenching to think of them starving.  I would like to feed them honey (something that makes NO commercial sense, seeing as how expensive honey is compared to sugar) but I only have 1.5 kg from my beekeeping friend. It is a no-no to feed store-bought honey which can contain pathogens. 

I did not harvest any honey from my bees this year, letting them keep everything they gathered, so their lack is due to the split being made a bit late in the season and not because of my mismanagement.  So now I must decide:  fully trust them and their nature to get them through or feed them what I have and hope it is enough.

Being a steward is not easy.

As I also testify as two more of our hens were killed by a bird of prey and two others barely escaped. 

Comments

[asakiyume]

Wow, that is a *hard* decision

(((hugs)))

I could conceive of making either. It really depends on where you are, emotionally and ideologically, I think.

[wayfaringwordhack]

Let's consider me emotionally wobbly right now, shall we? :P

Ideologically, the vote is still out.

[asakiyume]

Okay--I offer this up in case this is what you want to hear, but let me say right away that I TOTALLY do respect the other decision:

You can feed those babies! They are like your pets now; you have a relationship with them! It's okay to nurse them along! Nature red in tooth and claw doesn't apply to things you have a relationship with--or doesn't need to. Plus, if you save them this once, you can make a different decision another year.

You may just want the pleasure of them alive this year, you know?

All that being said, if you decide to wait and see, maybe you will be rewarded by them surviving on their own, which you'll never know if you do step in. But I would probably break down and feed them.

[wayfaringwordhack]

I would happily and willingly give them the honey, and indeed intended to, but then I read a study that said honey* was consistently, against logic, a poor choice, resulting in a higher mortality. It is such an awful toss up. :(

* Bees were fed frames of capped honey whereas I would pour liquid honey into the feeder.

[asakiyume]

Wow, MAKE IT HARD, WHY DON'T YOU, LIFE??

Well, what I understand *really* well is that yo are trying your best to do the right thing, taking everything into consideration. That's all you can do.

[wayfaringwordhack]

*hugs*

[hyba]

I didn't know you keep bees! That's pretty awesome. I hope the little guys pull through no matter what choice you make!