It is June 17th and the bush is covered with pink wild roses. We take a walk into the thick undergrowth only to retreat quickly from the onslaught of blood thirsty mozzies.

The bee yard is full of grass and we are concerned that the electric fence will short out.  A quick whip around with the weed wacker does the trick and the bees don’t seem to notice.

We discover ants are attacking the hive.  Usually a strong hive will take care of the ants, but our hive is not strong so we are concerned.  Since our hives are new, the bees have not had a chance to create much of a propolis seal around the newly created combs. And at this stage, I am not sure how vigilant the guard bees at the entrance will be.  At a mentoring session, we learned that ant traps can be quite effective. Unfortunately there are no ant traps in Vilna, so it is off to St. Paul, a thirty minute drive to protect our hives.

Ants… honey thieves!