The Bees

Humans have depended on bees for thousands of years for food production. In our current civilization, 1 in 3 bites of the food we eat requires bees to get to our plates. However, bee populations are in trouble. Mite infestations lead to 50-100% death of bee populations when left untreated, and the mites carry viruses to other hives. Communities - including veterinarians - are being called to help with hive management so bee populations can thrive and continue the work they do for our plant species and food chain.

We've taken on bees to help increase populations and manage honey bee diseases. Unlike our other sanctuary animals, this will be an animal we breed and purchase to help them survive and reproduce.

Buttercup Hive

Buttercup Hive came to us as a swarm caught be a local beekeeper. Swarms split from successful hives, and fly off to find a new home. Swarms have a 15% chance of survival if left alone, so with the local beekeeper's help, we took them in to give them a better chance at survival.

Blackberry Hive

Blackberry was our 5th hive that we split from Clover in July 2024. We realized Clover was doing really well, making a lot of honey, but also making new queens to split off and swarm. We try to prevent swarming in our bees, so we split the incubating queens into Blackberry.

Clover Hive

Clover is one of our most productive hives with a lot of honey and good foraging.

Thistle Hive

Thistle hive lost their queen in July 2024; we're unsure if we killed her accidentally during a hive inspection, or if the queen left with other bees in a swarm. They made a new queen in July 2024.

Yarrow Hive