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Published June 25, 2010, 12:00 AM

PHOTO GALLERY: Beekeepers


Don Rodewald checks a new hive, created from a swarmball, at his and dad Jerry's town of River Falls apiary.

  • Don Rodewald checks a new hive, created from a swarmball, at his and dad Jerry's town of River Falls apiary.
  • Father-son beekeeping team Don (right) and Jerry Rodewald belong to the St. Croix County Beekeepers Association.
  • For the first time this year, the St. Croix Valley Beekeepers Association offers to remove for area residents any swarmballs of honeybees that come to rest on their property. The bees leave the hive and form a ball that looks like this while a scout seeks out a new home. The swarmball usually stays in place for a day or two.
  • Don (left) and Jerry Rodewald say the bee society is amazing and has instinctively done its job for about 120 million years
  • The bees access the hive from a hole in the bottom that measures about one inch by one-half inch. The beekeepers elevate the hives off the ground with pallets and make sure the grass doesn't grow over the small. entrance.
  • The bees make their nest on these rectangular-shaped pieces, called frames, that fit down into the hive.
  • The finger points to the queen bee, distinguishable by her body, which is bigger around, longer and darker than the others.