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- Written by: Curse Quick
- Category: News
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As of August 2026, both of our hives are thriving and have grown far beyond what we expected during our first season of beekeeping. The painted hive, which began with purchased bees and a queen, has developed into our strongest colony, filling two deep brood boxes and making impressive progress filling and capping honey in its supers. Our white hive, established from a captured swarm, has also grown remarkably well, drawing out most of its two deep boxes and beginning to build and store honey in its first super. Together, we estimate the two colonies now contain roughly 75,000–105,000 bees, and despite the heat, humidity, and occasional challenges that come with learning beekeeping, both colonies appear strong, active, and well positioned as we begin preparing them for fall and their first winter.
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- Written by: Curse Quick
- Category: News
- Hits: 6
Between our two hives, we estimate that we currently have somewhere between 75,000 and 105,000 honey bees, with roughly 90,000 bees being a reasonable estimate. The painted hive is our larger and more established colony, likely containing around 45,000–60,000 bees, while the white hive—started from a captured swarm—is probably home to another 30,000–45,000. Both colonies have grown tremendously over the summer, filling two deep brood boxes and expanding into honey supers. On warm, humid days, the size of the colonies becomes especially obvious as thousands of bees gather around the entrances to cool the hives, giving us a remarkable glimpse of just how large these little communities have become.