Yesterday Elizabeth and I took a wild swarm that was camped out in a nearby family’s garage. Wild bees are better adapted to the environmental conditions where they are captured, says Leo Sharashkin and they are more likely to survive the winter. Beekeepers often buy their bees from far away places, but local bees seem to do best. We’ll see how it goes! They are settling into their new home nicely, and meeting the neighbors. We won’t collect honey from them until 2026. This year they’ll focus on growing in number, and filling out their frames. We’ve name this hive after their queen mother, Sarah.
We have four other hives. Her majesties Chiva and Esther were from a split we bought from a really sweet lady in Atlanta. We should get honey from them this year. Queen Barakah’s hive came from a nuc I got from Quick Bee Farm. Queen D’vora is from a package bee box obtained from Mountain Sweet Honey. That one is the most fragile because they arrived on our farm with only the nectar in their bellies. They are building their home from scratch. But they seem to be doing well!
If you’re interested in beekeeping and you’re local, come see us! If you’re far away and you’ve stumbled on our page, look online at your local extension office for beekeeper classes. I highly recommend those! Also, most communities have local bee associations, where you can find a mentor and also learn what is normal, and how to troubleshoot problems.
Bees can have lots of pest pressure, like varroa mites and small hive beetles. We choose to use natural methods to help ours fight off predation. For more information on natural beekeeping check out the the book, Keeping Bees With a Smile, by Fred Lazutin. The deeper you research beekeeping, the more you’ll find the old saying is true: “opinions are like bellybuttons, everybody has one.” There are TONS of different ways to manage your apiary, and I’m too new to say mine is the right way. Let’s learn together!
“My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” -Proverbs 24:13
Shiloh Farmstead 
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