Our “anarchy apiary” in New York appeared to lose about half of the hives wintered there. Some died recently of starvation, others had more squatter field mice who scampered out of the hive suckling babies stuck to their bellies. Eviction. No mysteries behind the losses. Several hives survived as well, from bees bred from local queens.

These pics were take last week, April 20th or so.

This is an UN-identified insect that I’d like comment on from an expert. What is it? Dragonfly nymph? (see comments for answer!)

Read a great New York Times column by Leon Kreitzman about the circadian rhythms of honeybees and Carl Linnaeus’ floral clock idea. -DNR

I checked my hive in New York and discovered some furry squatters, to my deep dismay. Check out the galleries to see the  story. The bees were installed in mid-June and may have run out of food stores throughout winter. Comment if you’d like. Now I’m swarm hunting soon … (The other top bar hives that Anarchy Apiaries has nearby are looking lively, though it’s been chilly.)

With bad news, there’s always good news… despite my loss, I’ve gained hope from the White House’s Organic Garden and news of their choice of using varroa-resistant Russians in their beehive!

I love it when other people express for me what I want to share, especially on video. I wish my blog was more of a daily-life-of-a-beekeeper story, but it’s not. Mr. “Kirkobeeo” in Los Angeles, CA, however, is doing just that with a well-tooled web log of his natural, “organic” beekeeping practices. Unbashfully declaring that “we’re going to change the world,” his blog includes fantastic, well-edited videos of his adventures catching swarms in L.A. of all places, promoting urban beekeeping. He even posts these beautiful short audio reports, it’s like listening to messages from him on your telephone voicemail. You’ll learn a lot quick by reading http://beehuman.blogspot.com. Kirk is a beautful soul, who deserves well-paid tenure at Earth University. May he be rewarded for his tireless efforts! It is written. -DNR