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Takayuki Ono |
This is a very important period for the beekeepers. That's because we must make preparations for the coming spring so that the bees can work comfortably. The queen bees start to lay eggs when the plum blossoms start to bloom, after having been idle in winter. They lay many more eggs as various flowers start to bloom. We open the cover of the beehives and inspect each of the honeycomb plates by lifting it to examine the approximate number of bees and whether the queen bee is alive. We feel relieved to know that the bees have passed the winter safely only after making sure that the queen bees have started to lay eggs right on schedule for this year.
As the proverb goes "The heat or cold lasts only until the equinox," we do not have to worry about the cold weather any more after the day of the Vernal Equinox. We normally remove the "winterization" materials that covered the beehives about this time. Soon, yellow rape blossoms will bloom and buds of cherry will start to swell. Beekeepers count the number of bees based on the number of honeycomb plates. For example, we may have a one-plate swarm or a two-plate swarm. When a beehive becomes full of bees, their number increases to tens of thousands of bees that may comprise a nine-plate swarm. By the time when milk vetch flowers bloom in April, we stack the nine-plate swarm beehives in two tiers and, together with the bees, await the blooming of the milk vetch flowers. |
Yamada Bee Farm (Kagaminocho Pref. Okayama)
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