Last Thursday our beloved resident bee colony, which can be found on the Northern Terrace, underwent a minor (but important!) check in. The UTS beehive has been admired by many since early 2020 when the bees joined us as part of the B&B Highway.
Francisco, our bee guru, came by to check out our colony (of just under 10,000 bees – yay!) and let us know the good news that our bees are still happy and healthy in their home. In the meantime, UTS is planting some more flowering plants in the area to make sure the bees are keeping strong and healthy by filling up on all the nutrients they need. The native rosemary bush surrounding our hive has some flowers that are great for attracting bees so we’re already on the right track.
For now, we plan to check on the bees again in a few months at the end of summer, and the hive will either be increased with donor bees, or we will undertake the splitting of the hive if our colony has reached over 10,000 bees. Until then we will continue monitoring the number of bees going in and out of the hive and we will make sure they’re having a fun summer (just like the rest of us!) with some new flowers to ensure they’re getting enough food.
Out of all the 600 native species of bees, the bees in our hive are unique in creating a spiral pattern. Most stingless bees populate warmer areas, which is why the experts think the spiral pattern is occurring in our hive where the weather is cooler. Lucky us!
Check B&B highway website for details on native bees and this particular hive.
