HIVE LAUNCH August 2026: The Hive Is Under New Management
Presented by Buzzwell, Chief Science Bee and Occasional Spokesbee
Not responsible for unsolicited bee puns. Or responsible readers.
A Buzz Bros™ production straight from the hive.
Greetings, fellow pollinators, wildlife negotiators, invasive-plant combatants, and people who have recently discovered that bees apparently have a management structure.
Buzzwell reporting from Hive Headquarters.
August has been busy.
Four hives have merged. New management teams have been established. Every hive received a two-week mite treatment. Jade Christensen made two trips to Putney to help with inspections. The pollinators are thriving. Two white-faced hornet nests attempted to establish competing operations. And somewhere along the way, Putney Ridge Raw Honey declared an all-out war on European buckthorn.
Frankly, I haven't had this much paperwork since Buzzloaf filed a complaint about having to work.
The colony status?
Strong.
The humans?
Under review.
THE GREAT HIVE CONSOLIDATION
This month required some serious hive management.
Four colonies were merged to give them the best possible chance of thriving.
Hive Buzzbee welcomed Hive Buzzwell, whose colony did not have a healthy queen.
Hive - Buzzload took in Hive - Bumble Bee Dundee, which was showing very little capped brood.
Hive - Queen Beetrice adopted Hive - Captain Nectar, where we discovered a laying worker.
And Hive - Waggle Works adopted Hive - Hive Five, which had a small population but did have a laying queen. Waggle Works itself did not have a queen.
A laying worker is exactly as strange as it sounds. When a colony has been without a functioning queen for too long, some worker bees can begin laying eggs. The problem? Worker bees can't mate, so those eggs develop into drones (boy bees) rather than worker bees. We don’t want too many boy bees.
Imagine trying to rebuild a workforce and accidentally hiring an entire department that can't actually do the job (the boy bees).
Fortunately, all four merged colonies are now operating at top-notch efficiency.
A huge thank you goes to Jade Christensen, Chief Beekeeping Officer, who came up twice this month to help inspect the hives and guide these decisions.
Her official report?
"These bees are fine."
Buzzwell's expanded report:
"Yes."
Buzzloaf's report:
"Are we done yet?"
🌻🍯 Every Jar Helps Keep the Hive Buzzing
When you buy a jar of Putney Ridge Raw Honey, you're doing more than taking home something delicious. You're helping fund the work that happens behind every jar.
Honey sales help support hive inspections, mite treatments, new queens, hive splits, equipment, beeswax projects, habitat restoration, and the ongoing work of creating better forage for honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
That means your jar helps make projects like Operation Thicket Breach possible, clearing invasive plants and preparing new areas for wildflowers and pollinator habitat.
So while the bees make the honey, your purchase helps us put the money back into the bees and the land they depend on.
Buzzloaf would like everyone to know that honey sales also help maintain his professional honey-sampling position.
We have not approved that expense.
Yet.
🦠 OPERATION MITE FIGHT
All of our hives received a two-week Formic Pro treatment.
Formic Pro uses formic acid to control Varroa mites, one of the most serious threats to honey bee colonies. Varroa mites feed on developing and adult bees and can transmit viruses, making mite control an important part of keeping colonies healthy. August is especially important because Varroa populations can surge as colonies transition toward winter.
Think of it as pest control for a pest that has absolutely no respect for personal space.
The goal is simple:
Healthy bees going into fall. Healthy bees going into winter.
Putney Ridge Apiary has officially decided that wildflower habitat deserves some serious attention.
Enter: OPERATION THICKET BREACH
A beachhead on the other side of the apiary has been cleared in preparation for 2027 spring planting and habitat restoration.
Unfortunately, several invasive plants have been identified as occupying territory that we would prefer to give back to native plants and pollinators.
The list of suspects includes:
European buckthorn
Invasive bittersweet
Burning bush
Multiflora rose
Barberry
An all-out botanical war has been declared.
Videos documenting the operation are now appearing under the Operation Thicket Breach series on HiveMind, which can be viewed at putneyridgerawhoney.com, Youtube,.Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The objective isn't simply to clear land.
It's to create better habitat.
More native flowers means more forage for honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and the many other pollinators that call Putney Ridge home.
And speaking of pollinators...
🦋 THE POLLINATORS ARE HAVING A PARTY
The butterfly population around Putney Ridge Apiary is booming.
Bumblebees are everywhere.
Honey bees are working.
And the entire place seems to have become a rather impressive pollinator restaurant.
This is exactly what we're hoping to encourage with our habitat work.
The honey bees may get most of the attention, but they're sharing the flowers with an entire community of pollinators.
Buzzwell approves.
Buzzloaf would also like to know whether butterflies pay rent.
🌳 THE APPLE-CHERRY DIPLOMATIC MISSION
The apple tree intertwined with our cherry tree has officially entered Year One of a three-year pruning plan.
Both trees are staying.
Yes, both.
We're carefully separating the two over time while preserving the beautiful cherry blossoms and keeping the apple tree productive.
It's basically botanical couples therapy.
Nobody is getting cut down
🐝 THE HORNET WARS
Two white-faced hornet nests also decided Putney Ridge looked like prime real estate.
They were mistaken.
One nest was treated using PT Wasp-Freeze, an aerosol designed to rapidly knock down wasps and hornets on contact. Despite the friendly-sounding name, it is still a pesticide and must be used according to its label, especially around bees and flowering plants. The second nest was clipped from its branch on the apple/cherry tree and gently placed into the fire pit with friendly fire.
The important part?
The honey bees remain the priority.
The hornets were simply informed that their application for permanent residency had been denied.
🎵 THE BEES HAVE A SOUNDTRACK
Putney Ridge Raw Honey has officially produced its own music video.
Yes.
We have apparently reached the point where the apiary has a soundtrack.
The video is available through our website, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok along with the rest of the HiveMind adventures.
Somewhere, Buzzloaf is demanding royalties.
We have offered him honey.
Negotiations continue.
🔬 BUZZWELL'S AUGUST SCIENCE REPORT
August is a transition month for honey bees.
The summer nectar flow begins tapering in many areas, colony populations start shifting, and the bees begin preparing for winter. Late summer and early fall are also critical for producing the long-lived winter bees that will carry the colony through the cold months. Varroa monitoring and control are particularly important during this period.
So while the bees may look like they're simply flying around doing bee things...
They're actually planning several months ahead.
Unlike Buzzloaf.
🌎 THE BIGGER BEE PICTURE
Honey bees around the world continue facing serious challenges from Varroa mites, viruses, nutrition and habitat loss, pesticides, weather extremes, and other stresses.
The latest 2026 survey from Wageningen University & Research found that 24% of Dutch honey bee colonies were lost during the 2025–26 winter, marking the fourth consecutive year above 20% winter mortality there. The researchers also identified Varroa mites and the viruses they spread among the major threats to colony health.
That doesn't mean honey bees are disappearing tomorrow.
It does mean healthy colonies, responsible beekeeping, good forage, habitat restoration, and pollinator-friendly landscapes matter.
Which brings us right back to...
Operation Thicket Breach.
🎬 AUGUST AT THE HIVEMIND
Apparently we couldn't just make a few videos.
We made 28.
Among them:
🐝 Bee TSA Security Is OUT OF CONTROL!
🎵 A Bee Landed on My Hand... So I Sang to Her
🌧️ Rain Delay
🥾 Apiary Boot Camp
🍯 Open Buffet – The Bees Found the Honey!
🚦 Rush Hour
🐝 Hive Five – Inspection Day with Our Chief Beekeeping Officer
🔍 The Hive Inspector
🤘 Metallicomb – The Honey Strainer Mosh Pit
🌼 The Bees Are Inspecting Us – Pollen Express
🎨 Painting With Bees – Bob Ross Wasn't Ready for This
👑 Captain Nectar: Under Review – A Hive With a Laying Worker
🚗 Bee Rush – And You Thought Your Commute Was Bad
😴 Buzzloaf Has Questions: What Do You Do All Day?
🍎 Apple Break – Apparently It's Delicious
🌳 The Human & the Lawn Mower | Buzzloaf's Field Notes
🐝 Bee Problems – When the Bees Fight Back
🍌 Banana Diplomacy – Why Do Bees Like Bananas?
😎 Meet Buzzloaf – The Buzz Bros' Most Questionable Member
🏗️ The Bees Fired the Architect
🚀 HIVE LAUNCH July 2026: To Boldly Pollinate
🌿 OPERATION THICKET BREACH – Know Your Enemy
🧹 Hive Sanitation Department – Somebee Has to Do It
🔊 The Sound of the Hive
🎶 Buzzloaf Buzzloaf Buzzloaf – The Buzzloaf Song
🏋️ Bee Preseason – The Work Has Already Begun
👀 The Bee Who Watched Me – Human Study
🔐 HIVE SECURITY — ACCESS DENIED
They're all waiting for you at the HiveMind.
🍯 FALL HONEY?
The good news is that we're looking at what appears to be a decent fall honey harvest.
The bees still have work to do, and Mother Nature gets the final vote, but things are looking promising.
Fresh Putney Ridge Raw Honey remains available online and at our local retail partners.
🐝 A COMPLETELY UNBIASED MESSAGE FROM BUZZLOAF
Now listen up...
If you've made it this far, congratulations. Your attention span is officially longer than mine.
Could you do this humble little drone a favor?
Please share this newsletter with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, even that one relative who insists bees are just spicy flies.
We can fix them.
The more humans who join our hive, the more people learn why honey bees matter, why local beekeepers matter, and why flowers are basically nature's drive-thru.
While you're at it, follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Every new follower helps our little colony grow, and apparently that's "good for the algorithm."
I don't know who Algorithm is, but everyone seems desperate to impress him.
If you're craving fresh local honey, visit PutneyRidgeRawHoney.com or stop by one of our retail partners.
Now if you'll excuse me...
All this recruiting has exhausted me.
I need a six-hour nectar break.
— Buzzloaf
Director of Quality Control, Professional Honey Sampler, and Full-Time Avoider of Actual Work
🔭 LOOKING AHEAD
Summer is winding down, but the bees aren't finished.
There are still more inspections, more fall forage, more habitat work, more honey possibilities, and the increasingly important job of preparing our colonies for winter.
Operation Thicket Breach continues.
The bees continue working.
The humans continue trying to keep up.
And Buzzloaf continues to investigate absolutely everything except actual work.
Thank you for following along with us and supporting Putney Ridge Raw Honey, local beekeeping, and the pollinators that make all of this possible.
Until next month...
🐝 Bee kind to others.
A Buzz Bros™ Production*
Straight from the hive.
(Not responsible for unsolicited bee puns... or responsible readers.)
