Gene Gatten’s Honey Farm
Ernie went to Gatten’s Honey Farm out in Maricopa, AZ. Gene was doing hive inspections and requeening for the day, so Ernie the Bee Man went out to help.
Gene has a great working area with tons of Bee Hive/Keeping supplies everywhere.
Frames filled with old comb, waiting for a new home.
Meet Gene, he and Ernie were talking Bees and anything Bee related.
WOW!!! Look at how many hives they have. Do you see the blocks on top of the hives? Gene has a complex system to tell him what is going on with each hive.
Each hive also has a colored rock, either or a green or a red rock.
These girls are amazing! Do you see the different colors of the bees. The lighter ones are so fuzzy!
Here is Gene getting the smoker.
First hive smoked and cracking it open. Ready, set, INSPECT….
Wow!! That frame is full of healthy bees!
Here is some of the brood comb. Brood comb is where the queen lays the eggs. If you look closely at the next couple pictures you can see some of the cells have a white looking substance, that is the larva. 
It is usually very difficult to see,but you can see the single egg in the cells on the upper right side of the photo.
Here is a frame that has been built up by the girls and they are filling it with nectar.
Here Gene is taking out some of the burr comb.
More pictures coming soon. Check out Part II of Gene Gatten’s Honey Farm
