The Mill Brook Honey Company

Worst fall harvest ever. The ground is so dry the plants are producing very little nectar. Many didn’t even bloom. Each of these boxes should have 20-30 lbs of honey in it. This year they have maybe a pound each. It’s not worth our time to harvest so we are feeding it back to the bees. Caution! Don’t do this within 100 yards of your hives or you will trigger robbing behavior and your hives will attack each other.

We made mead using some of our spring honey and it is absolutely terrific! We’re shocked at how good it turned out to be. We started a new batch using some darker, richer, fall honey. We need to research the laws a bit to figure out if there is a way we can sell it because we’d like to share this with everyone.

Nearly finished harvests the spring honey. Wet supers can attract wax moths, ants, and other pests so we let the bees clean them up. If you do this, make sure the supers are at least 100 yards from your hives to prevent robbing behavior. This should be bone dry and ready for storage in a day or two. We will put them back on the hives when the fall flow starts.

Found a wild bee colony in one of the linden trees along the road to Hora Rip

The linden trees were in full bloom this week on Hora Gib in the Czech Republic. Nectar was literally dripping from the trees and the air was thick with the sweet fragrance of the blooms. There were so many bees on each tree that the hum sounded like a swarm.

She’s a bit smaller than we’d like but she seems to be doing a nice job as we found a large brood nest with several frames of eggs.

Finally a nice spring day! The bees are bringing in a lot of maple pollen today.

This is the time of year that he hives kick out the drones. The drones’ only job is to mate with queens from other hives. Since it’s not mating season and resources are getting scarce, the bees evict the drones which will lead to their death by starvation. This hive will produce more drones in the spring when they are needed for mating.

Join us on Saturday, August 14th from 10-2 at @gilbertieswestport 7 Sylvan Lane in Westport to try our Spring Honey, Creamed Honey, and Honey Butter! Enjoy a special discount with your purchase!

One of the things we look for on each inspection is the queen or evidence of a queen. When we find eggs, it means she is likely in the hive.

Loads of pollen coming in. Bees need this high protein food source during brood raising season. Nurse bees eat a fermented mixture of pollen and honey called bee bread. They secrete a substance from glands on their head to feed to developing bee brood thus ensuring the survival of the next generation of bees!

I see at least three different types of pollen being brought in. It’s said that if bees still bring in pollen after midday that there is plenty of food available for them. This video was shot around 2 PM, so if the lore is true, it’s good news for these bees! #shoplocal #localhoney #growninconnecticut #ctbees #honey #savethebees #varroamite #pestcontrol #healthyhive #bees #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping #beekeeperslife #beekeepers #ctbees #connecticutbeekeepers #ctgrown #ctbeekeeping #honeybees #honeybee #bee #beesofinstagram #beestagram #pollenators #pollenseason #pollen #buzz #beehive #beepollen

Dead on the outside means alive on the inside!!

Bringing in the last of the fall pollen. I think it’s aster. We may get some witch hazel if the weather stays warm for a few more weeks.

Broccoli rabe is the last thing to bloom in our garden and this girl is going to get every drop of nectar the flowers produce.

Pollen is very important for raising new bees. The adult bees eat pollen mixed with honey and secrete a substance called Royal Jelly which is fed to developing larva. #apiary

After we remove honey from a harvest bucket, we let the bees help us clean up.

This queen is a little shy. She’s marked with a dot to make her easier to spot and the color blue means she was born in 2020. #savethebees #localhoney #shoplocal #ctgrown #ctbees #shopstamford #queenbee

Yellow jackets will try to get inside a hive to steal the honey and eat the bee larva. This bee is defending the hive against the invader. #savethebees #ctbees #localhoney #pollinators #shopstamford #shoplocal

Hydrangea is not a great food source for bees, but this time of year the bees are desperate for food and will eat whatever they can to store as much as possible before winter. #savethebees #pollinators #pollinatorgarden #ctgrown #localhoney #ctbees #shopstamford