Little Fife

One of the original hives in our bee yard was the Westend Hive, once ruled by Queen Aliyah and later her daughter, Queen Angelina, both named after exceptional Russian gymnasts. This hive was strong and reliable for years, but sadly, it succumbed to illness over the winter of 2023–24.

Before the hive’s decline, I had taken frames of bees from both the Westend Hive and the Sunnyside Hive. This process, which helps reduce hive populations, is essential to prevent swarming. During a honey flow, it's crucial to maintain a balance—having enough bees to collect nectar while ensuring the hive doesn't become overcrowded, which can prompt the bees to divide, with half the population leaving with the old queen to establish a new colony.

With the frames from Westend and Sunnyside, I created a new hive and introduced a locally sourced queen. This hive, named Little Fife, is an homage to our Scottish ancestry and was gifted to my grandson. All the honey produced by Little Fife will be sold under his own special edition label, with the profits going to him, making him an entrepreneur at just two years old!

Since he cannot speak yet, he hasn’t named his queen, so for now, she is affectionately called Queen No-naw-meh (No-Name). We look forward to the day when he can choose a name for her himself.