Hudsonville bees
Our Initial project in Hudsonville, Mississippi, focused on two activities:
- build hives for bees and nests for birds to be set in trees across the property
- convert the old agricultural lands in native prairies to support a greater diversity of insects and the food chain
We soon realized that the honey bees were in great need of shelter as all our hives were systematically inhabited within two weeks of installation. The success rate was way lower with birds.
As the initial project was getting mature, we extended our perimeter of influence to the neighboring counties first and to the neighboring states the following year.
The mortality of the feral bees living in our tree hives is very low, so we started to collect their swarms in 2016 and brought them to the property for further propagation, either by collecting their subsequent swarms in bait hives or by the division of the mother colony. The video shows examples of some of the tree hives across the state and some propagation hives on the property.
Country
United States
Region
Mississippi
Website
Start Date
2012
Project Owner
Robin Pigot
Naturally Occupied Nests
3
Created Hives
34
Ecosystem
Agricultural
Project Type
rewilding on 800 acres