Conditions: Cloudy, Dark (night) 40F
Present: Just me
Equipment: Adding insulation.
Activities: Removed pail feeders, added insulation at about 7:30pm.
Observations: Observed nothing. I was in and out as fast as I could be so as not to chill the bees. The insulation is roof-top only, between the inner cover and outer cover. It's 1" of green foam board, about R = 5.0. The pail feeders came off empty. With those gone the hives should be able to stay warmer. If I can find some relatively cheap local hay bales I'll build them a windbreak...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
11/7/09: Another feeding (last of season?)
Conditions: Sunny, 61F
Present: Just me
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Refilled sugar syrup with Pro Health and Fumagillin B additives.
Observations: The Italian hive had taken all of the syrup from their feeder, the Russian hive had left about 12 oz. The sugar syrup did not have as much mold or fuzzies growing. It is probably primarily due to the Fumagillin B, though the cooler temperatures probably help, too. This may be the last feeding as it will soon be regularly freezing. It's a beautifully warm and sunny weekend and the girls were flying most of the day. They like their sunny spot.
Present: Just me
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Refilled sugar syrup with Pro Health and Fumagillin B additives.
Observations: The Italian hive had taken all of the syrup from their feeder, the Russian hive had left about 12 oz. The sugar syrup did not have as much mold or fuzzies growing. It is probably primarily due to the Fumagillin B, though the cooler temperatures probably help, too. This may be the last feeding as it will soon be regularly freezing. It's a beautifully warm and sunny weekend and the girls were flying most of the day. They like their sunny spot.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10/25/2009: Hives re-opened for business!
Conditions: Sunny, 65F
Present: Just me
Equipment: Entrance Reducers
Activities: Re-opened the hives after relocating yesterday. Added hive-top feeders with sugar syrup containing Pro-Health (essential oil feeding supplement) and Fumagillin B (for Nosema treatment).
Observations: We lucked out that the weekend turned out to be so nice and warm. Observed happy bees flying!
Next check in will likely be in the spring. Good luck little ladies! Stay warm and healthy all winter and I'll see you in the spring!
Present: Just me
Equipment: Entrance Reducers
Activities: Re-opened the hives after relocating yesterday. Added hive-top feeders with sugar syrup containing Pro-Health (essential oil feeding supplement) and Fumagillin B (for Nosema treatment).
Observations: We lucked out that the weekend turned out to be so nice and warm. Observed happy bees flying!
Next check in will likely be in the spring. Good luck little ladies! Stay warm and healthy all winter and I'll see you in the spring!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
10/24/09: Relocating the Bees!
Conditions: Overcast, ~60F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Entrance blocks (for moving)
Activities: Relocated Hives from Strongsville, OH to Richfield, OH
Friday we sealed up the hives as it got dark. We removed the pail top feeders, blocked the entrances with wood and polyester fiber fill (pillow stuffing), and applied two ratchet straps to each hive. We bound the bottom board, but not the hive stand to keep things tighter. Bud kept the sealed hives in his truck overnight and drove them to the new apiary, my new house, on Saturday morning. Here's a sealed up hive:
Buckled down, loaded and moved. The taped upper entrance is coming undone and a few bees escaped right before unloading, but it was no big deal. Here we are unloading from Bud's truck.
Here we are all settled. We left the hives sealed up another night due to all the jostling.
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Entrance blocks (for moving)
Activities: Relocated Hives from Strongsville, OH to Richfield, OH
Friday we sealed up the hives as it got dark. We removed the pail top feeders, blocked the entrances with wood and polyester fiber fill (pillow stuffing), and applied two ratchet straps to each hive. We bound the bottom board, but not the hive stand to keep things tighter. Bud kept the sealed hives in his truck overnight and drove them to the new apiary, my new house, on Saturday morning. Here's a sealed up hive:
Buckled down, loaded and moved. The taped upper entrance is coming undone and a few bees escaped right before unloading, but it was no big deal. Here we are unloading from Bud's truck.
Here we are unbuckling and removing the scrap wood we used as handles.
Here we are all settled. We left the hives sealed up another night due to all the jostling.
Welcome to your new foraging grounds, bees! This is the view to the new house.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
10/1/09: 11th Inspection and Sugar-Dusting
Conditions: Sunny, 61F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed honey supers (empty). Installed screened bottom board on Russian hive.
Activities: Smoked hives about 4:45pm. Inspected all frames in honey and food supers (directly above the deeps where the brood nests are). Sugar-dusted for varroa control.
Observations: We finally had a break in the cold weather to make some needed equipment changes and check on the bees. It's been cold and wet for many days, and today was a window of 60s and sun, with rain forecast for the next week or so.
The Russian colony had not stored anything or built any comb in the honey super we put on it. It was overly optimistic to get some honey from them in this first year. We removed it and replaced the old plastic bottom board with a screened bottom board for varroa control. We used the bellows to sugar-dust them for the second time (first dusting 8/29/09) to encourage mite-drop through the bottom board. I did spot a live varroa which dropped through the screen bottom board once grooming had started after the dusting. The food super directly above the deep was packed with capped honey, wall to wall. They are taking sugar syrup from the pail top feeder, but not very aggressively. We saw a few drones on the old bottom board when we swapped it out, but much fewer than earlier in the year. They appear to be getting the boot from the ladies, which is typical with the onset of cold weather. Looks like all is well.
The Italian colony had built some small areas of comb in the top honey super on maybe 4 or 5 frames and began to fill it with sugar syrup. Nothing was capped yet. We removed this as another "empty" super and, since it was not cured and not honey from nectar, will allow the bees to clean it up outside the hive and bring it back if they see fit. If they are still flying once the rain stops, that is. This colony also had filled the food super directly above the deep with capped honey. There was some brood up in the center frames of this super, one larvae still being capped, so if the queen has stopped laying, it was within the past week. We thoroughly sugar dusted these gals, too. They previously received a screened bottom board during the first sugar dusting on 8/29/09.
We did not delve into the deeps (brood chambers) of either hive in order to be minimally disruptive on this cool day and therefore not chill any brood. With the food supers filled, we suspect whatever is not currently filled with brood is also capped honey. Both hives are ready to be relocated about 10 miles away to our new home. We have less than 2 weeks to move them, so the next post will be our hive moving adventure. Glad we got in today to take off empty supers and swap out that bottom board!
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed honey supers (empty). Installed screened bottom board on Russian hive.
Activities: Smoked hives about 4:45pm. Inspected all frames in honey and food supers (directly above the deeps where the brood nests are). Sugar-dusted for varroa control.
Observations: We finally had a break in the cold weather to make some needed equipment changes and check on the bees. It's been cold and wet for many days, and today was a window of 60s and sun, with rain forecast for the next week or so.
The Russian colony had not stored anything or built any comb in the honey super we put on it. It was overly optimistic to get some honey from them in this first year. We removed it and replaced the old plastic bottom board with a screened bottom board for varroa control. We used the bellows to sugar-dust them for the second time (first dusting 8/29/09) to encourage mite-drop through the bottom board. I did spot a live varroa which dropped through the screen bottom board once grooming had started after the dusting. The food super directly above the deep was packed with capped honey, wall to wall. They are taking sugar syrup from the pail top feeder, but not very aggressively. We saw a few drones on the old bottom board when we swapped it out, but much fewer than earlier in the year. They appear to be getting the boot from the ladies, which is typical with the onset of cold weather. Looks like all is well.
The Italian colony had built some small areas of comb in the top honey super on maybe 4 or 5 frames and began to fill it with sugar syrup. Nothing was capped yet. We removed this as another "empty" super and, since it was not cured and not honey from nectar, will allow the bees to clean it up outside the hive and bring it back if they see fit. If they are still flying once the rain stops, that is. This colony also had filled the food super directly above the deep with capped honey. There was some brood up in the center frames of this super, one larvae still being capped, so if the queen has stopped laying, it was within the past week. We thoroughly sugar dusted these gals, too. They previously received a screened bottom board during the first sugar dusting on 8/29/09.
We did not delve into the deeps (brood chambers) of either hive in order to be minimally disruptive on this cool day and therefore not chill any brood. With the food supers filled, we suspect whatever is not currently filled with brood is also capped honey. Both hives are ready to be relocated about 10 miles away to our new home. We have less than 2 weeks to move them, so the next post will be our hive moving adventure. Glad we got in today to take off empty supers and swap out that bottom board!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
9/23/09: Resumed feeding for remaining hive
Just a note to say I resumed feeding the other hive on 9/23/09.
Also made a stop at the beekeeper shop on 9/29/09 to pick up:
1) Fumagillin B (for Nosema treatment)
2) Pro-Health (similar to Honey Bee Healthy, recommended by many experienced beekeepers and touted as "vitamins for your bees")
3) another screened-bottom board
4) more foundation pins
5) a replacement veil for Bud
Hoping to do at least one more thorough inspection on a warm fall day where we:
1) Replace the existing solid bottom board
2) Remove any empty frames and reduce hive size for overwintering and relocation
3) Powdered sugar dust for varroa control?
4) Feed sugar with Pro-Health and Fumagillin B
Also made a stop at the beekeeper shop on 9/29/09 to pick up:
1) Fumagillin B (for Nosema treatment)
2) Pro-Health (similar to Honey Bee Healthy, recommended by many experienced beekeepers and touted as "vitamins for your bees")
3) another screened-bottom board
4) more foundation pins
5) a replacement veil for Bud
Hoping to do at least one more thorough inspection on a warm fall day where we:
1) Replace the existing solid bottom board
2) Remove any empty frames and reduce hive size for overwintering and relocation
3) Powdered sugar dust for varroa control?
4) Feed sugar with Pro-Health and Fumagillin B
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
9/16/09: County Bee Inspection!
Conditions: Sunny, 76F
Present: Cuyahoga County Bee Inspector
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 11am? Inspected all frames.
Background: So I get a call at work from Annie, my wife, saying someone is here and they are opening up the beehives. Someone official. They said they could not call ahead as I did not provide a phone number. I have heard some horror stories about county bee inspectors transmitting all kinds of diseases from other apiaries due to infected hive tools and protective equipment. My poor wife, I freaked out on her and told her to tell the inspector not to inspect my hives until I was able to speak to them. Except when Annie called me, the inspector was already in the Russian hive inspecting... Annie was upset because I had never told her not to allow an inspector to inspect without my permission, and reasonably so. It all worked out. I got to speak to Lisa Wright, the Geauga and Cuyahoga county bee inspector, and she was able to reassure me that she is just as concerned about the biosecurity of my bees as I am. When I spoke to her she had completed the first inspection and was about to move on to the next hive. We're planning on moving in October and she issued me a Transfer Permit and wished me luck. When I got home, I had report #49 waiting for me.
Present: Cuyahoga County Bee Inspector
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 11am? Inspected all frames.
Background: So I get a call at work from Annie, my wife, saying someone is here and they are opening up the beehives. Someone official. They said they could not call ahead as I did not provide a phone number. I have heard some horror stories about county bee inspectors transmitting all kinds of diseases from other apiaries due to infected hive tools and protective equipment. My poor wife, I freaked out on her and told her to tell the inspector not to inspect my hives until I was able to speak to them. Except when Annie called me, the inspector was already in the Russian hive inspecting... Annie was upset because I had never told her not to allow an inspector to inspect without my permission, and reasonably so. It all worked out. I got to speak to Lisa Wright, the Geauga and Cuyahoga county bee inspector, and she was able to reassure me that she is just as concerned about the biosecurity of my bees as I am. When I spoke to her she had completed the first inspection and was about to move on to the next hive. We're planning on moving in October and she issued me a Transfer Permit and wished me luck. When I got home, I had report #49 waiting for me.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
9/5/09: Fall feeding update
Decided to resume feeding the Italian colony. Gave them a little over a quart of sugar syrup on Monday 8/31/09 and it was gone by Wednesday 9/2/09. Gave them 2.5 quarts this morning before the sun was up and we'll see how long it takes them to take it all.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
8/29/09: 10th Inspection and Sugar-Dusting
Conditions: Sunny, 68F
Present: Bud, Mohammad, and I
Equipment: Added screened bottom board to the Italian hive only. (Just had one)
Activities: Smoked hives about 1:45pm. Inspected assorted frames. Sugar-dusted both hives for the first time ever with a sugar-dusting bellows.
Observations: In the Italian hive there was not a lot of honey stored up. This could be due to a population interruption as the queen had stopped laying for a few weeks. The brood was up higher in the frames of the deep and the queen had been laying the the first super. The honey supers we had added almost a month ago had no additional comb built in them. Just bare foundation. I don't think there's been enough nectar available in August to support making that much more wax, and "they aren't going to build it if they don't have anything to store in it" (Bud). We decided to resume feeding the Italians due to the lack of nectar available. We'll check again in three or four weeks to see what's what. A fall flow may allow them to build out something in those honey supers.
When changing out the solid bottom board and installing the screen bottom board we had ample opportunity to inspect Italian workers and drones for varroa. None were noted. Still, with only one screened bottom board, it went to the weaker colony of Italians (since the Russian are supposedly more resistant to varroa).
In the Russian hive we observed more capped honey and nectar than in the Italian. This colony did not have a population interruption. They had build some brace comb between the deep and the first super and laid drone in it, so taking out frames and removing the first super to inspect the deep was a gooey larval-paste mess. We did not have the opportunity to inspect workers closely for mites as they were not very happy. Overall they seem healthy and we are not planning to resume feeding them yet.
Sugar-dusting was interesting. Bud had purchased a bellows at a local beekeeper shop. Dusting the bees with powdered sugar increases grooming activity which results in mite drop, right through the screen bottom board. The bees are not treated with harmful chemicals and they end up with a bonus food source. We figured out how to use the bellows properly at the very end, so the Russians and the Italians did not get a thorough dusting. We'll know the trick for next time. You have to pump it violently and erratically to get enough sugar to drop into the airway path to be blown out the tip. We'll likely pick up another screen bottom board for the Russians and do one more dusting before the winter sets in. "Take care of the bees that will be taking care of the bees that will overwinter." Those future nurse bees are emerging now.
No honey harvest this year, as expected (though we hoped for a really productive year and a little honey for ourselves). Hopefully they will have stored up enough to keep them over the winter.
The apiary may be relocating as I may be moving to a house 15 minutes away. If we sell our house, there will be a future post regarding our adventures in moving bees.
Present: Bud, Mohammad, and I
Equipment: Added screened bottom board to the Italian hive only. (Just had one)
Activities: Smoked hives about 1:45pm. Inspected assorted frames. Sugar-dusted both hives for the first time ever with a sugar-dusting bellows.
Observations: In the Italian hive there was not a lot of honey stored up. This could be due to a population interruption as the queen had stopped laying for a few weeks. The brood was up higher in the frames of the deep and the queen had been laying the the first super. The honey supers we had added almost a month ago had no additional comb built in them. Just bare foundation. I don't think there's been enough nectar available in August to support making that much more wax, and "they aren't going to build it if they don't have anything to store in it" (Bud). We decided to resume feeding the Italians due to the lack of nectar available. We'll check again in three or four weeks to see what's what. A fall flow may allow them to build out something in those honey supers.
When changing out the solid bottom board and installing the screen bottom board we had ample opportunity to inspect Italian workers and drones for varroa. None were noted. Still, with only one screened bottom board, it went to the weaker colony of Italians (since the Russian are supposedly more resistant to varroa).
In the Russian hive we observed more capped honey and nectar than in the Italian. This colony did not have a population interruption. They had build some brace comb between the deep and the first super and laid drone in it, so taking out frames and removing the first super to inspect the deep was a gooey larval-paste mess. We did not have the opportunity to inspect workers closely for mites as they were not very happy. Overall they seem healthy and we are not planning to resume feeding them yet.Sugar-dusting was interesting. Bud had purchased a bellows at a local beekeeper shop. Dusting the bees with powdered sugar increases grooming activity which results in mite drop, right through the screen bottom board. The bees are not treated with harmful chemicals and they end up with a bonus food source. We figured out how to use the bellows properly at the very end, so the Russians and the Italians did not get a thorough dusting. We'll know the trick for next time. You have to pump it violently and erratically to get enough sugar to drop into the airway path to be blown out the tip. We'll likely pick up another screen bottom board for the Russians and do one more dusting before the winter sets in. "Take care of the bees that will be taking care of the bees that will overwinter." Those future nurse bees are emerging now.
No honey harvest this year, as expected (though we hoped for a really productive year and a little honey for ourselves). Hopefully they will have stored up enough to keep them over the winter.
The apiary may be relocating as I may be moving to a house 15 minutes away. If we sell our house, there will be a future post regarding our adventures in moving bees.
Monday, August 3, 2009
8/2/09: Ninth Inspection and Honey Supers Added
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, 72F (unseasonably cool for August!)
Present: Just me
Equipment: Added first honey super to each hive
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected one or two frames in the lower super of each colony. Inspected deep frames in the "Italian" hive.
Observations: Still plenty of bees in the "Italian" hive. If there will be a big population decline it has not occurred yet. Spent some extra time inspecting the brood frames. Lots of brood present on probably 6 frames. I was satisfied that whichever queen is in there laying (either new Russian or old Italian) she is doing very well. Wall frames still are not built out, but the lower super was pretty heavy with capped and uncapped honey. I added the first honey super.
The russian hive I did not disturb much. Checked the weight of the lower super, which was heavy with capped and uncapped honey. Added the first honey super here, too.
We'll see what progress is made in building out comb in the new honey supers throughout August. We may have a dearth affecting both colonies and population decline in the "Italian" colony before the fall nectar flow starts. Whatever honey is capped in the new supers will be for us!
Have seen lots of honey bees in the garden on squash, raspberries, buckwheat and cut-flowers.
Present: Just me
Equipment: Added first honey super to each hive
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected one or two frames in the lower super of each colony. Inspected deep frames in the "Italian" hive.
Observations: Still plenty of bees in the "Italian" hive. If there will be a big population decline it has not occurred yet. Spent some extra time inspecting the brood frames. Lots of brood present on probably 6 frames. I was satisfied that whichever queen is in there laying (either new Russian or old Italian) she is doing very well. Wall frames still are not built out, but the lower super was pretty heavy with capped and uncapped honey. I added the first honey super.
The russian hive I did not disturb much. Checked the weight of the lower super, which was heavy with capped and uncapped honey. Added the first honey super here, too.
We'll see what progress is made in building out comb in the new honey supers throughout August. We may have a dearth affecting both colonies and population decline in the "Italian" colony before the fall nectar flow starts. Whatever honey is capped in the new supers will be for us!
Have seen lots of honey bees in the garden on squash, raspberries, buckwheat and cut-flowers.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
7/25/09: Eighth Inspection
Conditions: Don't know, wasn't there
Present: Just Bud
Equipment: Removed bucket feeders from both hives. Removed new queen cage from the re-queened (formerly Italian) hive
Activities: Smoked hives at unknown time (I wasn't there and forgot to ask). Inspected all deep frames.
Observations: In the "Italian" hive, the queen cage was empty. Observed in the brood chamber were eggs and young larvae (5 days old?) as well as CAPPED BROOD. Really? This means the Italian queen we were concerned about must have started laying before we moved the new Russian queen in! So, essentially we re-queened even though we didn't need to. See if you can follow the timeline here: There must have been eggs present during the 7/18/09 inspection (where we found none and decided to re-queen). We know the new Russian queen was not released until 7/21/09 when I "popped" the cork on the queen cage, and this inspection was only 4 days after that. Worker brood are capped on day 9, so those eggs (which became capped brood for this inspection) were there on 7/16/09 or earlier, 5 days before the Russian queen was ever released!
So we put a second queen into a hive with another fertile, laying queen. The question is, what happened? The hive is not big enough to support two brood chambers, so we are likely down to one queen again. Either the hive rejected the new Russian queen, killed her, and disposed of the body OR the two queens had a duel. Is the reigning queen Italian or Russian? We won't know until we spot her again. So the experiment with one Italian hive and one Russian may exist yet.
I'm convinced now that bees will always keep me guessing. It's what makes this an interesting hobby. Hopefully I get better at spotting eggs, though, and don't repeat this particular mistake!
But that is good news, that there are baby bees in that hive once again. There will soon be a dip in population, but they'll rebound for a fall nectar flow and have a shot at making it through the winter. The colony will be ok.
In the other hive (the original Russian) the first super (above the bottom deep) was pretty full and even had a small brood area surrounded by honey. So the queen had taken a brief trip up there to lay, <100 eggs or so, and then returned to her deep. They are going like gangbusters.
Time to add the first honey supers. I need to nail together 20 frames and insert the wax-with-wire foundation we bought (before we knew plastic fits just fine in split-bottom frames) and Bud is picking up the retaining clips. Should super before the weekend. If they build out the comb and fill it fast enough, we'll get a small honey harvest this year.
Present: Just Bud
Equipment: Removed bucket feeders from both hives. Removed new queen cage from the re-queened (formerly Italian) hive
Activities: Smoked hives at unknown time (I wasn't there and forgot to ask). Inspected all deep frames.
Observations: In the "Italian" hive, the queen cage was empty. Observed in the brood chamber were eggs and young larvae (5 days old?) as well as CAPPED BROOD. Really? This means the Italian queen we were concerned about must have started laying before we moved the new Russian queen in! So, essentially we re-queened even though we didn't need to. See if you can follow the timeline here: There must have been eggs present during the 7/18/09 inspection (where we found none and decided to re-queen). We know the new Russian queen was not released until 7/21/09 when I "popped" the cork on the queen cage, and this inspection was only 4 days after that. Worker brood are capped on day 9, so those eggs (which became capped brood for this inspection) were there on 7/16/09 or earlier, 5 days before the Russian queen was ever released!
So we put a second queen into a hive with another fertile, laying queen. The question is, what happened? The hive is not big enough to support two brood chambers, so we are likely down to one queen again. Either the hive rejected the new Russian queen, killed her, and disposed of the body OR the two queens had a duel. Is the reigning queen Italian or Russian? We won't know until we spot her again. So the experiment with one Italian hive and one Russian may exist yet.
I'm convinced now that bees will always keep me guessing. It's what makes this an interesting hobby. Hopefully I get better at spotting eggs, though, and don't repeat this particular mistake!
But that is good news, that there are baby bees in that hive once again. There will soon be a dip in population, but they'll rebound for a fall nectar flow and have a shot at making it through the winter. The colony will be ok.
In the other hive (the original Russian) the first super (above the bottom deep) was pretty full and even had a small brood area surrounded by honey. So the queen had taken a brief trip up there to lay, <100 eggs or so, and then returned to her deep. They are going like gangbusters.
Time to add the first honey supers. I need to nail together 20 frames and insert the wax-with-wire foundation we bought (before we knew plastic fits just fine in split-bottom frames) and Bud is picking up the retaining clips. Should super before the weekend. If they build out the comb and fill it fast enough, we'll get a small honey harvest this year.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7/21/09: Re-queen step 2 - popping the cork
Conditions: Overcast, Thunder, 80F and falling fast
Present: Just me
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked the hive with the new queen about 5:00pm. Tried to pop the cork on the queen cage.
Observations: Tried to remove two frames simultaneously to check on the queen, to make sure she was still alive. It was very awkward by myself and I gave up. The queen cage started to slip between the frames and I didn't want it to drop. I decided just to pop the cork and get out. While trying to pop the cork, it collapsed INTO the queen cage. If she survives all this, it will be a small miracle. I can't imagine it would crush her or obstruct her exit, but I still feel like I botched it. We'll check back, probably this weekend to remove the queen cage and hopefully spot some eggs.
Also noticed the Russians are out of sugar syrup again. We might be ready to put the first honey super on them soon. Time to get some shallow frames assembled for that.
Present: Just me
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked the hive with the new queen about 5:00pm. Tried to pop the cork on the queen cage.
Observations: Tried to remove two frames simultaneously to check on the queen, to make sure she was still alive. It was very awkward by myself and I gave up. The queen cage started to slip between the frames and I didn't want it to drop. I decided just to pop the cork and get out. While trying to pop the cork, it collapsed INTO the queen cage. If she survives all this, it will be a small miracle. I can't imagine it would crush her or obstruct her exit, but I still feel like I botched it. We'll check back, probably this weekend to remove the queen cage and hopefully spot some eggs.
Also noticed the Russians are out of sugar syrup again. We might be ready to put the first honey super on them soon. Time to get some shallow frames assembled for that.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
7/18/09: Re-queening the Italians
So based on inspections six and seven, we decided to re-queen the Italian hive. Immediately after finding no eggs or larvae, I put in a call to the closest bee guy. He's the one who sold me the packages and he had one queen available. A Russian he's had for a week. I guess the experiment of one Italian and one Russian hive is over before the first winter. Look out, Europe. The Russians are coming!
We don't even know what happened to the Italian. She was a strong layer who just stopped after we prevented a swarm.
Meet the new Queen and her lone attendant:
We don't even know what happened to the Italian. She was a strong layer who just stopped after we prevented a swarm.
Meet the new Queen and her lone attendant:
We experimented with a queen installation that does not involve removing a frame and installing the cage in it's place. This SHOULD allow for easy release of the queen without building lots of brace comb or the hassel of having to take out a frame that covered in bees and not put it back. Here's what we did:
We removed a bit of wax from two locations at the top of two adjacent frames.
We placed the queen cage in between the adjacent frames and nested them down in the lower hive body. Since there was not enough candy to sufficiently delay the removal of the new queen until the hive had accepted her, I left the cork in. In two or three days I'll sneak back in and remove it with tweezers. The next inspection will be in a week, looking for eggs from the new queen.
7/18/09: Seventh Inspection - Italian Hive only
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, 68F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hive about 3:15pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed no eggs, larvae, or capped brood. On a recommendation from an experienced beekeeper, we did this inspection after seeing the same thing about a week ago. We had hoped she was just a bit delayed in resuming laying after preparing to swarm. The workers had actually started back-filling the empty brood nest with nectar and pollen. We did not see the Italian queen this time, though she was present last time. This was judgement day for the Italian queen and she had not performed. Time to re-queen. The good thing is there were still a lot of bees left in the hive, so the population hasn't significantly declined yet. Even if we get a strong laying new queen, the population will drop. Hopefully it won't drop too much or during a nectar flow.
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hive about 3:15pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed no eggs, larvae, or capped brood. On a recommendation from an experienced beekeeper, we did this inspection after seeing the same thing about a week ago. We had hoped she was just a bit delayed in resuming laying after preparing to swarm. The workers had actually started back-filling the empty brood nest with nectar and pollen. We did not see the Italian queen this time, though she was present last time. This was judgement day for the Italian queen and she had not performed. Time to re-queen. The good thing is there were still a lot of bees left in the hive, so the population hasn't significantly declined yet. Even if we get a strong laying new queen, the population will drop. Hopefully it won't drop too much or during a nectar flow.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
7/14/09: Refilled feeders
Refilled bucket feeders after confirming the newer supers were far from full. They'll take all of this feeding before needing to put on any honey supers, and by then we may be in a dearth. I am hoping the bees will gather enough to get them through the winter. We'll be lucky if we even get a small taste of honey from the hives this year.
Monday, July 13, 2009
7/13/09: Sixth Inspection
Conditions: Partly Sunny, 75F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations:
Italian hive: NO capped brood or larvae. At all. This was a complete shock. The beautiful crescents of capped honey over what had been the brood nest were still there, the hive population density was fine (lots of bees), but NO capped brood or larvae. We did see the queen and she was alive and well. 99% sure it's the same fertile queen we started the season with as the inspection was not 17 days or more from when we eliminated the swarm cells, so they could not have raised up a virgin queen in that amount of time. Otherwise things looked normal. Specifically looked for varroa and did not see any.
Russian hive: TONS of capped brood in this hive, more than I've ever seen in either hive. This is consistent with what I've heard about the Russians, that they start late and the population explodes in the summer. Population density of bees in the hive was approximately equal to the Italians, though this will likely change due to contrast in the brood nests.
Both hives have had empty feeders for days. I had not refilled in case they had already filled the supers recently added and we would be adding honey supers for us to harvest. (If that were the case, I'd suspend feeding as I honey from nectar, not sugar-water). Those supers were far from full, so I'll resume feeding.
Update 7/15/09: I spoke with an experienced beekeeper who suggested a hypothesis related to the swarm threat. Apparently the workers put the queen on a diet when they are going to swarm so she can fly. The "old" queen will fly with the swarm while the "new" queen takes up residence in the hive. Since we interrupted their swarm plans relatively late in the game, they may have already put her on a diet and she therefore had stopped laying. The verdict: decide whether or not to re-queen after another inspection in 4-5 days where we specifically look for eggs. If eggs or larvae are present, let it be, all will return to normal with just a slight population decline due to the brood interruption. If no eggs are present, requeen right away and hope the workers live long enough to help raise the new young. So Saturday 7/18/09 will be judgement day for our Italian queen. Time to put out or get out, little lady.
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations:
Italian hive: NO capped brood or larvae. At all. This was a complete shock. The beautiful crescents of capped honey over what had been the brood nest were still there, the hive population density was fine (lots of bees), but NO capped brood or larvae. We did see the queen and she was alive and well. 99% sure it's the same fertile queen we started the season with as the inspection was not 17 days or more from when we eliminated the swarm cells, so they could not have raised up a virgin queen in that amount of time. Otherwise things looked normal. Specifically looked for varroa and did not see any.
Russian hive: TONS of capped brood in this hive, more than I've ever seen in either hive. This is consistent with what I've heard about the Russians, that they start late and the population explodes in the summer. Population density of bees in the hive was approximately equal to the Italians, though this will likely change due to contrast in the brood nests.
Both hives have had empty feeders for days. I had not refilled in case they had already filled the supers recently added and we would be adding honey supers for us to harvest. (If that were the case, I'd suspend feeding as I honey from nectar, not sugar-water). Those supers were far from full, so I'll resume feeding.
Update 7/15/09: I spoke with an experienced beekeeper who suggested a hypothesis related to the swarm threat. Apparently the workers put the queen on a diet when they are going to swarm so she can fly. The "old" queen will fly with the swarm while the "new" queen takes up residence in the hive. Since we interrupted their swarm plans relatively late in the game, they may have already put her on a diet and she therefore had stopped laying. The verdict: decide whether or not to re-queen after another inspection in 4-5 days where we specifically look for eggs. If eggs or larvae are present, let it be, all will return to normal with just a slight population decline due to the brood interruption. If no eggs are present, requeen right away and hope the workers live long enough to help raise the new young. So Saturday 7/18/09 will be judgement day for our Italian queen. Time to put out or get out, little lady.
Monday, July 6, 2009
7/5/09: Special Feeding
Special feeding of the bees. Took the deep frame that was previously removed from the Russian hive due to the number of drones, uncapped the honey cells above the now dead brood, got a few bees on it at the hive entrance, and stashed it 40 yards away in a cardboard box previously used for bannas (plenty of holes for bee traffic). In 15 minutes there was some light traffic. When I checked back 3 hours later, hundreds of bees were flying and in out. It looked like the entrance to a hive. They were still working it when I checked at 8pm, but traffic was dying down. Last night it was in the 50s. There was no activity at 6:15am and the sweets were not discovered by a skunk or coon in the night. I will check again when I get home at 5:00pm. I expect they will finish cleaning the honey out today, but will leave it for another night and day just in case.
Also took another pic of the varroa, this one under magnification. The drone had been removed from his capped cell two days prior, so he's a bit dessicated. The varroa was finally dead, though she did make it almost two days without a host. She had previously nestled in the ridge of skin alongside and on top of one of my fingernails, looking for a new cozy spot I presume. I did not oblige.
Also took another pic of the varroa, this one under magnification. The drone had been removed from his capped cell two days prior, so he's a bit dessicated. The varroa was finally dead, though she did make it almost two days without a host. She had previously nestled in the ridge of skin alongside and on top of one of my fingernails, looking for a new cozy spot I presume. I did not oblige.
Update as of 7/6/09: The bees made short work of the honey in the extra frame from the special feeding. At 5pm there were maybe a dozen bees still on and around the frame, but it was already empty. That means about 24 hours of activity cleaned it out.
And just as I was watching the Russians come and go from their hive, trying to look for pollen load (very low) and varroa (none seen).... POW! One of the girls must not have seen me when she turned the corner quickly and smacked into my nose, which she promptly stung. That was painful. Quick stinger removal, Benedryl and ice kept the swelling down to a reasonable level. Mohammad, now I know how you felt. Next time I'll be wearing a veil. I'm learning I need to be more careful as the population builds, they more aggressively forage and are more protective of their honey.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Varroa!
As I was examing drone larvae and pupae from the frame we removed from the Russian hive, I found the first varroa seen in either hive. 1 of 25 drone cells I uncapped had the mite. Inevitable, but still hate to see it.
6/30/09: More sugar syrup
Decided to resume feeding based on recommendation from the local bee club. They instruct new beekeepers to keep feeding until honey harvest supers are added. It is only discontinued then to prevent you eventually harvesting sugar from the feeders instead of honey dried from nectar. It will also prevent them from consuming so much honey during a dearth.
The bucket feeders are working well and only require refilling every week or so, though frequency will increase with bee population and depending on nectar flow.
The bucket feeders are working well and only require refilling every week or so, though frequency will increase with bee population and depending on nectar flow.
Monday, June 29, 2009
6/29/09: Fifth Inspection
Three weeks since we were last in the hives.
Conditions: Cloudy, threatening rain, 78F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Added first supers on top of the lower deeps for both hives. Removed tape from additional entrance holes in the deeps. Removed one frame of "old comb" that had lots of drone larvae from the Russian colony.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Both hives were doing very well.
Italian: Observed lots of comb in the Italian colony, all frames built out except the wall side of one of the wall frames. These bees had built a lot of comb since the last inspection and were running out of room! One supercedure queen cell and 7-8 swarm queen cells noted. These were removed to prevent swarming and the supers were added. Glad we did not delay inspection any further as they could have swarmed, and a swarm this late in the year would be bad news. Hopefully the increased space and loss of the existing queen cells will prevent an Italian swarm. My one concern is that we did not see the queen. If the queen is dead or gone and we destroyed the queen cells designed to replace her, that would be bad. This seems unlikely, though. As the inspection went on, the colony got more and more agitated. A small amount of royal jelly was collected from the torn down queen cups. It tastes sour and buttery. Not all that yummy, really.
Russian: Comparitively less comb than the Italian colony, but still only approximately 1 frame to fill and obviouly still building comb. Lots of textbook brood pattern seen on many of the center frames. Looks like a good queen who had a little bit of a late start, maybe due to her being Russian. The colony was quite docile throughout the inspection. Quite a few drones in this colony, probably due to the old comb, some of which had damage and was previously chewed out and replaced with the larger drone comb cells. One frame had an excessive amount of drone larvae and was removed and replaced with a frame with empty plastic foundation. This will help with mite control if varroa are now present, but mostly it's to keep the drone population down as the queen would just lay more drones in this frame in the future. We'll get a small amount of honey from this, enough for just a taste, before allowing the bees to clean it up a few hundred feet from the hive. Setting it at a distance will allow the bees to remove the honey and nectar via foraging and hopefully prevent any robbing.
Conditions: Cloudy, threatening rain, 78F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Added first supers on top of the lower deeps for both hives. Removed tape from additional entrance holes in the deeps. Removed one frame of "old comb" that had lots of drone larvae from the Russian colony.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Both hives were doing very well.
Italian: Observed lots of comb in the Italian colony, all frames built out except the wall side of one of the wall frames. These bees had built a lot of comb since the last inspection and were running out of room! One supercedure queen cell and 7-8 swarm queen cells noted. These were removed to prevent swarming and the supers were added. Glad we did not delay inspection any further as they could have swarmed, and a swarm this late in the year would be bad news. Hopefully the increased space and loss of the existing queen cells will prevent an Italian swarm. My one concern is that we did not see the queen. If the queen is dead or gone and we destroyed the queen cells designed to replace her, that would be bad. This seems unlikely, though. As the inspection went on, the colony got more and more agitated. A small amount of royal jelly was collected from the torn down queen cups. It tastes sour and buttery. Not all that yummy, really.
Russian: Comparitively less comb than the Italian colony, but still only approximately 1 frame to fill and obviouly still building comb. Lots of textbook brood pattern seen on many of the center frames. Looks like a good queen who had a little bit of a late start, maybe due to her being Russian. The colony was quite docile throughout the inspection. Quite a few drones in this colony, probably due to the old comb, some of which had damage and was previously chewed out and replaced with the larger drone comb cells. One frame had an excessive amount of drone larvae and was removed and replaced with a frame with empty plastic foundation. This will help with mite control if varroa are now present, but mostly it's to keep the drone population down as the queen would just lay more drones in this frame in the future. We'll get a small amount of honey from this, enough for just a taste, before allowing the bees to clean it up a few hundred feet from the hive. Setting it at a distance will allow the bees to remove the honey and nectar via foraging and hopefully prevent any robbing.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
6/6/09: Fourth Inspection
Conditions: Sunny, 74F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers on the Russian hive (removed from the Italian hive last week).
Activities: Smoked hives about 3:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed additional drawn comb. Not much has changed since the last inspection. Did not spot the queens, though lots of capped brood was evident. We should be to the point where all the bees in the colonies are the offspring of the reigning queen and were born in the hive where they now live, not back at the bee farm. In order to let them work and not slow them down, the next inspection will be 2-3 weeks from now.
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers on the Russian hive (removed from the Italian hive last week).
Activities: Smoked hives about 3:30pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed additional drawn comb. Not much has changed since the last inspection. Did not spot the queens, though lots of capped brood was evident. We should be to the point where all the bees in the colonies are the offspring of the reigning queen and were born in the hive where they now live, not back at the bee farm. In order to let them work and not slow them down, the next inspection will be 2-3 weeks from now.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
6/6/09: More syrup
I replaced the sugar syrup in the pail feeders on top of the hives today. The one on top of the Russian queen colony was near empty. The one on top the Italian queen colony had quite a bit left in it. Neither colony has been taking nearly as much since there have been some nectar flows, most recently honey locust. I may discontinue feeding soon as they seem to be doing very well foraging.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
5/30/09: LBCA Field Day and 3rd inspection
LBCA Field Day at Queen Right Colonies in Spencer, OH:
Conditions: Sunny, 70F
Present: About 80 experienced and novice beekeepers from the Lorain County Beekeepers Association and I
Equipment: QRC apiary
Activities: I showed up at around 1:15 pm.
1) Inspected lower deep (brood chamber) or a mature colony (not started, split, or swarmed this year).
2) Observed equipment from a colony that had collapsed from American Foul Brood (AFB).
3) Observed hives from an experiment to determine comb-building affinity for different types of foundation.
Observations:
1) The mature hive was interesting. All frames were completely built out. The wall frames were all capped honey with brood located in inner frames. We observed a good brood pattern and discussed signs of weak brood patterns that would require re-queening. Saw some supercedure cells that indicated the workers have some ideas regarding replacing their queen.
2) The AFB colony was supposed to be a live colony kept for educational purposes so new beekeepers could see (and smell) a diseased colony. Experienced beekeepers present questioned the wisdom of keeping this hive and equipment present in a working apiary with dozens of uninfected colonies. The owner has dealt with infected colonies and felt he had an adequate understanding of the disease and could prevent infection of other colonies. All the bees were dead and there was a musty, mildewy smell to the hive. A very spotty brood pattern was evident with sunken caps. The bacterial disease kills and multiplies in the larvae, producing spores which transfer by contact (especially on gloves and hive tools) and are very difficult to kill. Equipment from infected colonies must be burned or dipped in hot parafin (~350F).
3) The foundation comparison study was very interesting. Newly established colonies of packaged bees were set up this season (~5 weeks prior) with different foundations to determine if bees will build out comb faster on some foundations than others. Wired wax, yellow plastic, and black plastic in wooden frames were compared, as well as one-piece plastic frames and foundation. The preliminary results were the bees, all Italians, showed no preference and built all out to about the same extent! Each hive had about 6 full frames built out on both sides after 5 weeks. The LBCA members involved intend to publish a paper with the formal results.Based on this, I'm not sad I went with plastic foundation, but I would have preferred black to yellow to make the eggs easier to spot.
3rd Home Apiary Inspection:
Conditions: Sunny, 70F
Present: Mohammad D. and I
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers on the Italian hive.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:00pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed the Italian queen. The Italian hive was docile, lots of bees and new comb. Removed the entrance reducer at the recommendation of a local beekeeper due to warm temperatures and current honey flow. Will probably add the first super during the next inspection. Running out of smoke when we got to the Russians. At one point they came boiling out of the hive and were aggressively bumping me and followed me while I backed off. My fault, next time I'll bring more smoker fuel with me. Mohammad declined the use of a spare veil and got a worker bee up his nose. He was stung on the underside of his nose when the she discovered she was not welcome to probe his left nostril. When I looked over, she was about halfway in and Mohammad was obviously dismayed. Next time he will be wearing a veil.
Conditions: Sunny, 70F
Present: About 80 experienced and novice beekeepers from the Lorain County Beekeepers Association and I
Equipment: QRC apiary
Activities: I showed up at around 1:15 pm.
1) Inspected lower deep (brood chamber) or a mature colony (not started, split, or swarmed this year).
2) Observed equipment from a colony that had collapsed from American Foul Brood (AFB).
3) Observed hives from an experiment to determine comb-building affinity for different types of foundation.
Observations:
1) The mature hive was interesting. All frames were completely built out. The wall frames were all capped honey with brood located in inner frames. We observed a good brood pattern and discussed signs of weak brood patterns that would require re-queening. Saw some supercedure cells that indicated the workers have some ideas regarding replacing their queen.
2) The AFB colony was supposed to be a live colony kept for educational purposes so new beekeepers could see (and smell) a diseased colony. Experienced beekeepers present questioned the wisdom of keeping this hive and equipment present in a working apiary with dozens of uninfected colonies. The owner has dealt with infected colonies and felt he had an adequate understanding of the disease and could prevent infection of other colonies. All the bees were dead and there was a musty, mildewy smell to the hive. A very spotty brood pattern was evident with sunken caps. The bacterial disease kills and multiplies in the larvae, producing spores which transfer by contact (especially on gloves and hive tools) and are very difficult to kill. Equipment from infected colonies must be burned or dipped in hot parafin (~350F).
3) The foundation comparison study was very interesting. Newly established colonies of packaged bees were set up this season (~5 weeks prior) with different foundations to determine if bees will build out comb faster on some foundations than others. Wired wax, yellow plastic, and black plastic in wooden frames were compared, as well as one-piece plastic frames and foundation. The preliminary results were the bees, all Italians, showed no preference and built all out to about the same extent! Each hive had about 6 full frames built out on both sides after 5 weeks. The LBCA members involved intend to publish a paper with the formal results.Based on this, I'm not sad I went with plastic foundation, but I would have preferred black to yellow to make the eggs easier to spot.
3rd Home Apiary Inspection:
Conditions: Sunny, 70F
Present: Mohammad D. and I
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers on the Italian hive.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:00pm. Inspected all frames.
Observations: Observed the Italian queen. The Italian hive was docile, lots of bees and new comb. Removed the entrance reducer at the recommendation of a local beekeeper due to warm temperatures and current honey flow. Will probably add the first super during the next inspection. Running out of smoke when we got to the Russians. At one point they came boiling out of the hive and were aggressively bumping me and followed me while I backed off. My fault, next time I'll bring more smoker fuel with me. Mohammad declined the use of a spare veil and got a worker bee up his nose. He was stung on the underside of his nose when the she discovered she was not welcome to probe his left nostril. When I looked over, she was about halfway in and Mohammad was obviously dismayed. Next time he will be wearing a veil.
Monday, May 25, 2009
5/25/09: More Syrup
Replenished syrup in both hives. Russians were nearly empty on last inspection and the feeder was totally empty at time of replacement.
Friday, May 22, 2009
5/22/09: Second checkup
Conditions: Sunny, 72F
Present: Mohammad and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Took a good look at each hive to see what they’ve done.
Observations: Spotted both queens who are alive and well. The Italian hive is quite vigorous during nice days, lots of flying. The Italians have lots of capped brood, a few honey cells with gleaming white caps and several frames with new comb on both sides. We saw baby bees, and watched one emerge! Bee birth! There are at least 4 frames that are still bare (no comb) and there is plenty of room in the hive for more bees without supering yet. The pollen patty was nearly consumed. The Russian hive is doing fair. The Russians have new comb on the one side of plastic foundation for the two frames facing the old comb, but no more. They seem to be slow to take to drawing out comb on the plastic foundations. They were almost out of sugar syrup. The pollen patty was maybe 25% consumed. There was capped brood, though less so and the pattern was not as consistently centered with food surrounding it. Baby bees were present, though. We did not spot any eggs, but they may have been there in the new comb. It was difficult to see with the light yellow background and the lighter colored new wax. There was a lot of waxy dark crud on the bottom board on the side of the hive with the entrance blocked by the reducer. I’m concerned about this as the Italians are keeping a very clean hive. I’m hoping they’ll clean this out when the entrance reducer is removed and the exit is more convenient. There were bees gathered on this material. It almost looked as though they had produced wax, but instead of fixing it to the foundation, it had sloughed off and fallen into the grit/gunk they cleaned out of the old comb. I’ll ask Bud about this when he gets back in town.
Present: Mohammad and I
Equipment: No changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Took a good look at each hive to see what they’ve done.
Observations: Spotted both queens who are alive and well. The Italian hive is quite vigorous during nice days, lots of flying. The Italians have lots of capped brood, a few honey cells with gleaming white caps and several frames with new comb on both sides. We saw baby bees, and watched one emerge! Bee birth! There are at least 4 frames that are still bare (no comb) and there is plenty of room in the hive for more bees without supering yet. The pollen patty was nearly consumed. The Russian hive is doing fair. The Russians have new comb on the one side of plastic foundation for the two frames facing the old comb, but no more. They seem to be slow to take to drawing out comb on the plastic foundations. They were almost out of sugar syrup. The pollen patty was maybe 25% consumed. There was capped brood, though less so and the pattern was not as consistently centered with food surrounding it. Baby bees were present, though. We did not spot any eggs, but they may have been there in the new comb. It was difficult to see with the light yellow background and the lighter colored new wax. There was a lot of waxy dark crud on the bottom board on the side of the hive with the entrance blocked by the reducer. I’m concerned about this as the Italians are keeping a very clean hive. I’m hoping they’ll clean this out when the entrance reducer is removed and the exit is more convenient. There were bees gathered on this material. It almost looked as though they had produced wax, but instead of fixing it to the foundation, it had sloughed off and fallen into the grit/gunk they cleaned out of the old comb. I’ll ask Bud about this when he gets back in town.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
5/3/09: First checkup after installation
Sugar syrup, pollen, and eggs in brace comb. cell indicated by finger contains twins! Click image to enlarge.Present: Bud and I, Mohammad on the SLR camera (some great shots!)
Equipment: No major changes.
Activities: Smoked hives about 5:30pm. Removed Queen cages and replaced 10th frame in each deep. Brace comb removed from space between frames and queen cage. Added sugar syrup.
Observations: Queens were released and appear to be doing well, though neither was spotted. Saw eggs in brace comb removed from each hive! Small amounts of pollen and sugar syrup in the comb removed. The bees cleaned up the sugar syrup when the comb was left in front of the hive overnight. The Italians seemed to actually chew up a bit of the comb, hopefully taking the wax inside to build up the empty frames. The Italians had started building comb on the plastic foundation, the Russians had not. The Italians also took more sugar syrup and are visibly more actively foraging. Russian colony is definitely less vigorous this early in the season. Hopefully the queen is good and they’ll catch up.
Monday, April 27, 2009
4/27/09: Initial installation (Strongsville, OH)
Conditions: Sunny 65F
Present: Bud F. and I, Annie on the videorecorder
Equipment: 2 plastic hives w/ plastic bottom boards on wooden hive stands, elevated on angle iron and cinderblocks. Bud had the equipment after storing for 12 years and cleaned it up for this season. Each colony got some old comb (2 frames for the Italians, 3 frames for the Russians) and all empty frames were new w/ plastic foundation. We loaded the comb as much as we could with sugar syrup and placed pail feeders on top the inner covers. Each colony got 1 pollen patty. Entrance reducers were used, limiting the entrance to about 4” and half of full height. Got to test my new bee jacket/hood unit, which worked great.
Activities: Picked up bees from T.B. Jeffries at 11am. Installed both queens in cages with candy and all bees at 2:30pm. This went very smoothly. We followed the instructions in “Beekeeping for Dummies” as Bud had never installed packaged bees before.
Observations: The colony with the Italian queen was much more active with many more bees flying and coming and going from the hive entrance. Noticed all the attendants (5 or 6) in the Russian queen cage were dead, but the queen was alive and active. The Russians were much more reserved, which may be due to extra sugar syrup spraying immediately before hiving. Great weather and a great first time handling bees. No stings until I was gathering up equipment and smashed a bee between a bee brush, a hive tool, and my ungloved hand.
Present: Bud F. and I, Annie on the videorecorder
Equipment: 2 plastic hives w/ plastic bottom boards on wooden hive stands, elevated on angle iron and cinderblocks. Bud had the equipment after storing for 12 years and cleaned it up for this season. Each colony got some old comb (2 frames for the Italians, 3 frames for the Russians) and all empty frames were new w/ plastic foundation. We loaded the comb as much as we could with sugar syrup and placed pail feeders on top the inner covers. Each colony got 1 pollen patty. Entrance reducers were used, limiting the entrance to about 4” and half of full height. Got to test my new bee jacket/hood unit, which worked great.
Activities: Picked up bees from T.B. Jeffries at 11am. Installed both queens in cages with candy and all bees at 2:30pm. This went very smoothly. We followed the instructions in “Beekeeping for Dummies” as Bud had never installed packaged bees before.
Observations: The colony with the Italian queen was much more active with many more bees flying and coming and going from the hive entrance. Noticed all the attendants (5 or 6) in the Russian queen cage were dead, but the queen was alive and active. The Russians were much more reserved, which may be due to extra sugar syrup spraying immediately before hiving. Great weather and a great first time handling bees. No stings until I was gathering up equipment and smashed a bee between a bee brush, a hive tool, and my ungloved hand.
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