Ignoring the sweltering temperature one late July morning, Sade Shofidiya wriggled into her protective bee jumpsuit and popped a veil over her head. After a delay to locate a lighter, she lit a smoker filled with pine straw and began inspecting four newly established honeybee hives tucked into a shady spot in Savannah’s Tatemville Neighborhood Center.
As bees buzzed in and out, Shofidiya lifted each lid and pulled out the wooden frame inside to read the hive’s activity.
“See, there’s a queen cell on this honey super,” she said pointing to what looks like a tiny wax teacup on the lowest part of the comb. “Wherever the queen cell is is really important. This is at the bottom. So this is a swarm cell, which means that they’re growing and they’re probably making a new queen to split and swarm.”
This apiary sits across from a community garden and the park’s Golden Age Center. There’s a “No Spray” sign but no “Keep Out.”…