Lost Hive

I keep bees, and am sad to report that one hive didn't make it through the winter. They didn't have enough honey put by to keep them alive. It's sad to bear witness to their last moments, frozen in time. The poor girls are deep in the cells, trying to scrape out the last bits of honey so that they will have enough energy to keep themselves warm. Bees are a hive organism, and no individual honeybee can survive long on its own. They need each other. And, it appears, they sometimes need beekeepers. Our other hive is also struggling, but my beekeeping partner has rigged up a temporary feeding station inside an unused box. We set up two feeders of sugar water, and the bees are certainly using them. We also ordered pollen packets and queen rearing supplies so that we can attempt to strengthen this remaining hive and perhaps breed more queens and hives off of it.