Monarch's Glen Apiary, Ellicott City

10/08/2022

This is a really great session!

Are you thinking about keeping honey bees and want more information? This one-day informational seminar will give you an overview of the considerations you need to help you decide if beekeeping is for you.

08/14/2018

August Swarm
We had a bit of excitement at the Glen this past Sunday. One of the colonies decided to swarm, so we had to act fast to catch them and get them settled before a rainstorm.

08/14/2018

August Swarm
We had a bit of excitement at the Glen this past Sunday. One of the colonies decided to swarm, so we had to act fast to catch them and get them settled before a rainstorm.

07/14/2018

Summer Glen Greetings - Help us name our colony Queens!

In late spring, we reported that the Boudicca and Mavia colonies were so strong that they started showing signs that they wanted to swarm, so we took quick action to split each and make two more colonies. As you can imagine, we've been keeping a close eye on all the colonies to make sure all is well.

Today, we're happy to report that all are thriving with their respective Queens in residence. Now that we are pretty certain that all will be able to stand on their own, it's time to name the two newest colonies - and we need your help!

Keeping with our theme from the spring, we want to name the Queens after Warrior Queens because we hope that the name will inspire fierceness in brood and honey production while maintaining a gentler nature to their servants (us!).

We've created a short list of names of history's greatest Warrior Queens:

Zenobia
Artemisia
Nzinga
Aethelflaed

You can find a brief biography of each Queen here:
https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-warrior-queens-in-history/carly-silver

So, what shall the new colony Queen names be? Cast your vote for two in the comments. We'll announce the names that are selected soon!

Despite millennia of male oppression, women have always managed to emerge in leadership roles, from queens who ruled without a king to women who made their way into military positions. In fact, some of the rad-est warriors in history have been women – who sometimes had to disgu...

06/09/2018

A short video of the girls settling into their new digs.

06/09/2018

We had a bit of excitement at the Glen this week... We'll let the pictures tell the story for you - enjoy!

(Photos are credited with thanks to Martin!)

05/24/2018

Exciting Royal Update from the Glen!

We were ready to share the great news that our two new Queens, Boudicca and Mavia, have settled in, are doing well, and are both steadily building their colonies. We now have three brood boxes in place on each colony. An excellent start to the season!

That would have been the end of our update, but... we did a check on each colony this week only to discover that both HRHs have decided to expand their kingdoms and have put swarm cells in place.. and all the swarm cells have larvae in them.

This is how honeybees create new colonies, The current Queen lays eggs intended to be made into new Queens. Just prior to the new Queens emerging, the 'old' Queen departs the hive with about half the worker population to find a new 'castle'.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to have two additional hives,,.we quickly gathered up the equipment and took the actions needed to avert the swarming and get two new fledgling colonies established.

We are now on 'Queen watch' and will start the planning for the coronations.

Makes one want to sing, doesn't it?

God save our honeybee Queens, long live our noble Queens, God save our Queens!
Make them victorious, fertile and mite them not; long to reign o'er the hive, God save our Queens!

04/26/2018

Spring Greetings, Glen Followers!

As you know, we lost the last of our colonies late in the winter and needed to start this season with all new girls. We are so very happy to share that we have recently installed two packages of honeybees at our apiary to begin the rebuild!

We decided to name these new colonies after two 'warrior' Queens: Boudicca and Mavia. Our thought is that the names might instill the colonies with fierceness in brood and honey production while maintaining a gentler, calmer side for their caretakers (that would be us!).

We've done a few checks on both colonies, and so far, the Queens are in residence and are busy building up the population.

We'll keep you posted on the progress of the new colonies, so stay tuned!

04/12/2018

Dandelions are in bloom! If you think dandelions are weeds, please think again... they are a critical early food source for honeybees and other pollinators. The girls need them, so please consider letting dandelions bloom in your yard!

03/18/2018

Greetings, Glen followers - sorry that we've been 'offline' for a while. It's been a challenging fall and winter for us, and we're hoping for a much better spring and 2018. Sadly, we have lost all of our colonies and will be starting new ones in the upcoming weeks. We'll post pictures as we get things going this spring.

09/28/2017

Interested in learning about beekeeping? Then come to the Howard County Beekeepers one-day Introduction to Beekeeping Seminar!
When: Saturday, October 21, 2017, 10 AM - 4 PM
Location: Robinson Nature Center,
6692 Ceder Lane, Columbia, MD, 21044
Cost: Advanced registration and purchase prior to October
19: $20 for individuals and $35 for a family. At-the-
door price is $25 for an individual and $40 for a
family.
Space is limited, so go to: https://hocoba.com/?p=144 for more information and to register!

Howard County Beekeepers hold two courses on an annual basis: Beginning Beekeeping for those serious about keeping bees and a Beekeeping Seminar for those who want to learn more about beekeeping. …

06/27/2017

It's almost time to get the sweetness flowing!