'Course they were kinda light last year too. Not a good sign I think.

Late last summer a wild swarm took over a VW camper stove I had tarped in my back yard. This afternoon I was checking out the entrance and there is more activity then I've ever seen. The girls are very busy, and very numerous.

In the last couple of weeks I've been building a Langstroth hive which will be the girls new home. Also I am hoping to go on my first "cutout" tomorrow to learn how to properly capture a wild hive.

Bees in the Los Angeles area are booming. In suburbia there are fewer pesticides used, and tons of flowers everywhere. Both the honey and wax from suburban hives are more natural and chemical free then what you get from most commercial beekeeping outfits.

Recently my wife and I joined a retro beekeeping organization called the Backwards Beekeepers. The group uses natural approaches to hosting the bees, mostly giving them a place to live, and occasionally checking the health and conditions in the hives.

http://www.backwardsbeekeepers.com/

Of course we do share the honey with the bees if they can spare it.

I don't have a smoker, but if I can jury-rig one I'll pull back the tarp and see just how much comb is in there. Either case tomorrow I will post a picture or video of the hive entrance.

We're getting three more next month.

Alley and I took a look at the enterance of the hive. There are hundreds of bees entering and leaving every minute. I'm guessing that the population of the hive is 60k+. I am preparing their new home, and moving day from my VW van stove into a Langsroth hive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langstroth_hive) is going to be in the next couple of weeks.

In the video I pointed out a drone to my wife, but by running the video in full screen you can see the workers hauling in loads of pollen on their hind legs.