We are making the leap into the world of migratory beekeeping this winter.  On Wednesday we loaded up the girls to spend the winter in northern California to prepare them for the almond pollination that arrives in February.  They should arrive at their destination today, and then they will be able to fly in temperatures in the fifties!  Back here in Iowa the temperature range is falling a bit, with temps hitting the teens and twenties overnight.  We hope the warmth helps them cruise through winter!

A large part of the pressure to ship them was tied to the extremely wet fall and all of the effort we put into boosting them up for the winter.  They didn't really have much flying time since early September.  That could make for a very long winter, so the odds of having old bees that might collapse sometime January-April seemed unacceptably high.  There are risks that go with the long journey too, but we're doing our best to improve their odds.  We will go out in January and see how they're looking for the almond buildup.  More to come soon!