We are so close to the end of the bee season!
Yesterday, we loaded up a semi with all our hives that are moving to Vancouver Island.
Andrew is already there, waiting to receive them. Then he will complete the final task of moving them to their winter locations.
The last few weeks have been a slog to get the bees ready for this trip.
In my last farm update, I told you we were having problems with varroa mites infesting our hives.
Since then, Andrew and his crew worked VERY hard to kill as many mites as possible.
Every time we move our bees out of province, a provincial inspector will test them for mites and other diseases.
To pass, we have to fall under a very low threshold. This is to prevent these diseases and pests from spreading to other regions.
Most years we aren't worried, but this year was a bit of a nail-biter.
To add a little bit of extra stress, when the inspector arrived he forgot one critical piece of his field testing kit! That meant we couldn't get results on the spot. Instead, he collected samples of our bees to bring back to his lab to finish the testing.
While we waited, we continued with our plans to leave this week, without knowing if we could.
Finally, only two days before our planned departure, we found out we had passed!
It was a huge relief knowing that our numbers had improved and that the bees would get a bit of respite for the winter.
We aren't out of the woods yet. Mites can leave long-lasting damage in the hive even after they're eliminated. We'll have to see how many hives make it in the spring before we know the true results.
But for now, we'll take any win we can. Now we have to put our heads down for a week and a half to wrap things up in BC before we can take a little break!
By the way, if you're wondering how we get our bees from the mainland to Vancouver Island: we take BC Ferries like everyone else! 😆
