We are very excited to be part of an outreach effort of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association (MCBA) at the Bethesda Central Farm Market.
Every few weeks, several MCBA beekeepers will be at the Farm Market to talk about honey bees, native pollinators, honey, etc. … anything that we know about really. There will also be an observation hive, filled with live honey bees, for kids (of all ages) to observe as they do their work. We are hoping to educate the public, share our love and excitement for honey bees and pollinators, and have fun searching for the queen bee in the observation hive!
Two of the beekeepers will also be selling their raw local honey.
Bee Daddies Apiaries will be one of the vendors selling honey, on an alternating rotation with other honey vendors.
We will also be providing the observation hive, featuring a colony that we have named “Ripley.” The observation hive is a fully-functioning colony that lives in the lower box of the observation hive in the apiary, without the plexiglass tower. On days that Ripley will be on display, one frame is selected for the visible section, and is replaced below with a feeder of water. The hive is closed up while it is still dark so that all the bees are inside. The colony continues to function in a normal way, with the exception that the queen is restricted to working the frame that is in the visible section. This allows for the observation of the colony, relatively undisturbed from their working function.