25% off Thriae and Winter Bee Pictures

I was out taking pictures of our wonderful bees the other day and realized there's nothing better for a dry, itchy winter scalp than Thriae Scalp Scrub!  In honor of our little bees being bundled up for the winter, we're offering 25% off on Thriae until Jan 20th, or while supplies last.  This applies to all three sizes, the 1/2 ounce sample, the 2 ounce full size, and the 8 ounce big size.

Keep in mind that in winter the scrub tends to contract a bit during shipping, so you'll need to warm it up once it arrives and give it a little fluff with a spoon!

Winter Bees

As you might recall, we keep Minnesota Hygienic honey bees in top bar hives. They're amazing little creatures and a total joy to have around.  We only harvest their honey in the spring because, well, honey is what nature designed bees to eat over the winter!  The thick honey combs are also key to insulating the hive in the winter as they gather warmth at the height of the day and then slowly release it overnight to help keep the bees warm.  Come spring, when the flowers open and the nectar flow begins, the bees will ignore the stored honey in favor of fresh nectar.  Only then will we take whatever they don't use over the winter and are no longer interested in eating.

We also have insulation panels on the hives and that nice thick layer of snow on the top of the hives will add additional insulation.

A quick peek through the windows on the side shows that both the pine hive and cedar hive bees are doing great!

In the winter, honey bees clump up into a ball and rotate bees in and out of it to keep warm. (Honey bees are also the only insects that actually produce warmth.)  It's actually much the same way that penguins survive the bitter cold, by sharing time on the outer circle in the cold, then moving inward to warm up while others take their turn sheltering the inner core from the cold.

The temperatures dropped here, but tomorrow is supposed to be above freezing at the height of the day, so hopefully the bees enjoy their break!