The bees have been storing plenty of honey all summer long. Some is for us but they need about 100 pounds to get them through the cold months. Worker bees will cluster together and move throughout the hive eating what they've saved and keep each other (and the queen) warm with their wiggles.
We've had a chance to taste the first honey of the year. It's buttery with a floral finish, lovely. We haven't tried any from the Foshay Apiary in Minneapolis yet but expect to soon!
This swarm was found on a fence in a St. Paul neighborhood. The video of the collection is on our Facebook page. This is what approximately 10,000 bees looks like! They were very agreeable, really. We put the bees in a new rooftop apiary in Lowertown and named the queen "Coco Oddette".
