Residents of Gold Hill,

Please be cautious when walking past the back of my place at 501 Main St.  Amitan’s beehive was attacked by probably two bears yesterday morning (two very distinctly different poops and a what I consider a BIG paw print on the side of a super) and then a lone small bear in the evening (that definitely didn’t make the paw print.). The queen survived the first attack and a fellow beekeeper helped me get her back into the hive.  The second attack, we lost the queen.  The colony will die without her presence and without food.  The survivors are pissed off and though they are likely to stay close to where the hive was, they may venture to the road and be at increased risk of stinging.  I’m guessing it’ll take a few days to clear.

I did get to spray the second bear, but it’s not the same bear as the first attack.  My guess he’s a 1 year old.  Mum heard him out her bedroom window.  We watched for a couple of minutes to see if there was any sign of another one and to assess breeze direction before I crept out the door to get a bit closer.  He was totally oblivious.  The spray cloud hit him from behind at about 23ft.  He immediately launched forward away from me before stopping after another 20 feet. Still facing away and wiggling his head weird.  Not shaking, more like shuddering. I sprayed again after following, again from behind.  99% sure I got him.  Glad to see the spray really does shoot a long way and puffs out like a 6-8ft cloud at the end of the spray zone.

I spoke at length twice to a consultant on beehive protection yesterday.  Though I hadn’t hooked up the electric horse and cattle fence we bought, turns out I was misinformed about the voltage.  What deters a horse or cow isn’t enough for a voracious insectivore that eats bees.  I have let other beekeepers in the area know.

So the hive is abandoned, the bees will dissipate. We won’t be replacing the hive without adequate protection until next year if at all.

Kindly,

Michelle Bar-Evan  kiwilassy@nullgmail.com