Spring has almost sprung! In preparation, Santa Barbara Hives beekeeper Pat Carroll gave a Beekeeping 101 talk this past weekend at Windmill Nursery in Buelton to folks interested in beekeeping or having bees on their property which we can tend to for them.
Because of our temperate, mediterranean, climate our bees are active much sooner than almost all other parts of the continental United States. This means they begin building their hives again, because of new blooms, right around the New Year. Before long, the Queen lays unfertilized eggs to boost the male bee (drones) population so new Queens can mate, new hives are created and flourish anew. Our nucs (a nucleus of bees) consist of 5 frames, 3 frames of brood/bees, 1 frame of pollen and 1 frame of honey. First delivery begins in late April. There is a first come, first serve waiting list. Significant innovations in hive technology are rare but HiveIQ offers beautifully designed hives from pressed styrofoam which are 30% more efficient as the bees spend far less time keeping the hive at 95 degrees (year round). This gives the bees more time to do all the other chores in and out of the beehive. We are an authorized seller of HiveIQ beehives. HiveIQ hives are much less expensive than Flow Hives. Flow Hives do allow you to harvest honey directly fro the hive and they have built in viewing windows making your hive an observation hive where the bees can be observed in the hive.
Please reach out if you are interested in bees or our beekeeping services.
Pat Carroll pat@santabarbarahives.com
Our store is located at 516 Palm Ave Carpinteria, CA 93013
805.318.9049
