This week, we have been working to restore and establish new honeybee colonies in Carmel Valley. This is an annual event. Some years are smaller, some bigger. This year we have introduced over 100,000 new honeybees to the valley which will grow to around 1,000,000 this year.

In the photos above, you find old hives that have been completely refurbished. This is very labor intensive and involves removing all the old comb, sterilizing the wood by scorching, and installing new foundation. Then the exterior is given a fresh coat of paint to welcome our fuzzy new arrivals.

Here the completely restored hives are installed in an apiary, and their new inhabitants wait patiently in the wooden cages to the left and top right of the photo.

The photo above shows hives with several frames removed in preparation for installing the new bees.

Here my assistant Cait shows off royalty, a new queen bee in her protective cage.

Some new residents rest on my car window as I prepare to leave the apiary. The weather since has been cloudy with an occasional sprinkle. This is excellent weather, as it encourages the bees to stay home and get accustomed to their new home.

In addition to expanding Carmel Lavender apiaries, this year we helped three other new beekeepees establish hives in the valley, spreading the joy of bees. We lol forward to following the progress as these new colonies grow.