In Japan, spring is undoubtedly a season of goodbyes and new beginnings.
But for our honeybees and their fellow creatures in the natural world, I feel that autumn is, in its own way, a season of farewells.
That is, except for the male bees, the drones, who are driven out of their hives and left to fend for themselves. (It’s genuinely heartbreaking to watch.)
Around this time of year, there are always a few colonies that just don’t seem to gain strength, no matter what we do.
They may have a perfectly good queen, and we may have done everything we can to help them, but still, the colony never really grows.
Unless disease is the cause, our basic approach is to stay with the queen and watch over her until the very end.
And yet, even now, when food is still abundant in autumn, some colonies collapse before winter even arrives.
All we can say to the few worker bees left behind is,
“Thank you. You’ve worked so hard.”
We gently send them on their way, hoping they’ll be accepted into a neighboring colony.
After we clear away the hive, only the stand remains, looking rather lonely.
But it will be here, waiting for the new arrivals who will hopefully come next spring.