I’m blissful to report that my valuable beehive survived not one, however TWO hurricanes in lower than three weeks!
First got here hurricane Helene, which introduced tropical storm pressure winds and a number of other inches of rain to my space because it handed by Tampa Bay within the Gulf of Mexico en path to landfall close to Cedar Key FL.
Subsequent got here hurricane Milton which struck Tampa Bay instantly. Our neighborhood (about 50 miles away from the place the attention got here ashore) acquired 90 mph winds with gusts at round 110 mph. We additionally acquired about 10 inches of rain, which triggered fairly a little bit of localized flooding.
For sure, I needed to dial up my beehive storm preparations to have any hope in any way of my colony surviving the ordeal.
Not solely did I safe it with bungy cords and a sturdy windbreak board (to stop damaging wind tunnels contained in the hive), I added two extra concrete blocks on the highest to weigh it down additional.
Regardless of my preparations, gusts of 110 mph might have simply toppled the hive and destroyed it.
In a stroke of fine fortune, Mom Nature intervened.
Throughout the peak of the storm, a tree fell on high of the hive, however amazingly, didn’t knock it over. 🤯
As a substitute, the branches created a cage across the hive that appeared to guard it. Above is an image of how I discovered the hive 100% intact the subsequent morning after the storm abated and it was secure to go exterior.
I used to be so thrilled at how properly the colony tailored to the hostile situations and even appeared to thrive despite them.
Beneath is a brief video of how the hive taken care of hurricane Helene. Little did I do know on the time that a good worse storm (Milton) was little greater than every week away!
I carried out an intensive examine of the hive once more yesterday (one week after hurricane Milton), and I’m blissful to report that there’s even MORE honey within the honey field, aka “tremendous”.
Our household will likely be having fun with this honey surplus within the coming weeks with, after all, lots extra left within the hive for the colony to eat all through the winter.
