This hive, as it was in the summer of 2010 was lovingly named The Bee & Bee Suite. It is one of six that make up our rooftop apiary.
The Queen of this hive had a rough winter and consequently so did her colony. No, it was not the much talked about and often misunderstood colony collapse disorder.
It is my guess that they all perished as a result of basic human error. We got their winter feed recipe wrong. Too much water and not enough sugar was the culprit.
It seems that their little bee tummies could not process and they got a bad case of dysentery.
Let the recipe mix up be no reflection on the fine skills of the chefs of The Fairmont Royal York. They were not responsible for preparing their winter soup.
On Monday, June 20, 2011 the beekeeping team of The Fairmont Royal York will present a new Queen and her colony to reign from the rooftop of this downtown landmark hotel. It will have been 10 days since setting-up-hive and we will be clear to have a peak at how the Queen is laying.
Her brood box is an olive green and clashes with the current pale mint green of the others. I am anxious to get her and the brood moving and rotated out into a new matching deep with a tower of honey supers above her.
Stay tuned for an update next week.
– Beegrrl