The majority of this morning was spent inspecting the six rooftop hives of The Fairmont Royal York. Our last inspection had revealed that one of the six hives did not make it into spring. They fared much better this year over last, when we lost two hives. Today was going to be the autopsy day: cause of death unknown; time of death was before Christmas. It had been a weak hive going into fall and I’m thinking it was just nature’s way of taking a break. As I held the dead bees in my hand I could tell from their dryness they had buzzed their last buzz well before the first city snow fell on December 26.

RIP fall 2012 bees

It was one of our milder days and the bees were taking full advantage of it.  They buzzed about as we also checked the weight of the hives to determine the health of the colony and the need to offer extra feed to boost their energy.

In the end, we determined that only one hive would receive the pollen patty we prepared for them using ground pollen and 2:1 parts organic sugar. Here is what it looked like.  Its mustard hue resembled something entirely different.

Bee Pollen Patty

Next week we’ll do an equipment check in preparation for brood and honey to come.