Strong Winter Hive

I caught these bees on their “first flight” out of one of our strongest hives at Deadman Creek. This hive remained consistently strong through the drought and now through the winter, albeit a warmer than usual winter so far. All hives continue to collect pollen (the first real protein they’ve had since July) and they are all finally starting to grow a bit. The rain and the state of the hives makes me optimistic for our bees and their honey production this spring. The queen from this hive came from Wilbanks Apiary in Georgia and it is one of only three Wilbanks queens that I have. I’m certainly thinking about buying more Wilbanks queens when it comes time to re-queen this year.