Weekend hive checks in Kailua.

For about eight years, my friend John and I have kept bees together in Kailua. We usually run between 18 and 22 hives, and every weekend we open them up to see how each colony is doing. We look for healthy brood, an active queen, any sign of invasive pests, and whether the bees have room to expand. Some weeks it’s routine. Other weeks a hive tells you something is off, and you learn to read it.

We harvest once or twice a year, depending on the weather and whether the bees made more honey than they need. What we pull, we sell to whoever asks.

These photos come from those weekend checks.

Interested in honey? Reach out through the contact page.