2012 Hive #6

Hive status:  New nuc in 2012
Hive origin:  Swarm caught by Alan 2012, combined with 2012 Nuc 2.
Queen type:  Swarmed 2012

Significant events/observations:

5/28/12: Originally given this colony by Alan.  I got to keep the colony and return the nuc box to him.  I cleared out the nuc in two stages over the weekend:

1. On 5/27/12 I transferred the 4 frames that were in there into a 10 frame deep, inspected for the queen (did not see her, though eggs were present), and left near the entrance the nuc with one frame-sized comb attached to the wall.  I added a "trap" frame that the queen could move to next to that comb in the nuc in case the queen was still in there and hopefully she'd move to the new frame for easy transfer to the new hive.  I was just scared to crush the queen when trying to cut out that comb!
2.  On 5/28/12 I inspected the deep and found the first new eggs on a frame that wasn't in the nuc, then spotted the queen.  She's a fat one!  Now that I knew the queen was safe in the new hive I smoked all the bees out of the nuc and cut out that comb.  It was half honey, half eggs or early larvae.  I cut up the honey to eat as fresh cut comb honey and am sharing it today with coworkers. 

Now I just need to inspect my other hives and see if a combine is in order or if they have laying queens to let them all lay in separate hives and get populations up higher before combining over the winter.

6/2/12:  Combined with 2012 Nuc 2 which had no laying queen and was in a single deep.  Used a single sheet of newspaper with tiny holes punch in it between the separate colonies each in their own single deep.  Hive #6 was left in place and Nuc 2 placed on top.

6/5/12:  Hives had combined by chewing a hole in the newspaper, I removed the excess paper and saw the live queen.

6/22/12:  Excellent brood pattern noted and nearly honeybound.  Saw eggs so the queen is there.  This hive needs a super!

6/28/12:  Supered with 6 frames with foundation and 4 frames of capped honey from Hive #4 (to give that hive a bit of space).  Added queen exluder beneath lone super.

7/8/12:  Getting honey bound, queen only laying on 1 center frame of upper deep and in the lower deep.  No new comb built on frames of wax foundation in the lone super.  Swapped two deeps of honey with Hive #5 to allow more space for laying.

7/30/12:   Queen cups noted in the upper deep, no eggs present.  Queen is ok based on eggs/young larvae and brood pattern.  Workers are bringing in nectar and building comb in the lone super.  Some sunken caps noted - possible small amount of foulbrood?

8/13/12:  Pulled 3 frames to a new nuc 7.  Added a super of wax foundation.  No sunken caps noted.

8/25/12:  No eggs, no queen spotted.  Capped queen cells present on two frames.  One moved to Nuc #6, other frame with two capped queen cells left to requeen this hive.  No new comb on foundation in super.  With requeen, probably just need to pull that off and move it to a hive that needs it.    

9/29/12:  Brood spotty and chalky or foul brood.  Poor queen, hive health suffering.  Workers are bringing in nectar.  

2012 Hive #5 (formerly Nuc #1)

Hive status:  New nuc in 2012, Upgraded to single deep 5/20/12
Hive origin:  Split from H4 2012, Combined with 2012 Hive 2
Queen type:  2012 Italian (from eggs from H4)

3/14/12:  During an attempted laying worker fix for Hive #3 I found the year old queen who had stopped laying.  I pulled her out and 2 frames of bees (frames with laying worker eggs)  to start nuc N1, just in case she should resume laying (longshot!).  I added some candy and pollen substitute.

4/15/12: Found the queen and no eggs/brood.  She had failed and the bees failed to supercede her.  I dispatched her and replaced two empty frames with two frames of brood containing eggs from hive #1.

4/29/12:  Found a new queen, which was good news.  The bad news was there was a varroa mite on her!  I bothered the mite until it left.  Hopefully she doesn't get a virus or bacterial infection from some mite bite.  No eggs, probably not mated yet.  There are tons of drones out now.

5/13/12:  The new queen is laying!  Brood on two frames, from eggs to larvae to recently capped.  I must have missed seeing eggs that were there on 5/8/12.   Soon I'll move them to a deep hive.

5/20/12:  Moved to a single deep to give them more room.  3 and a half frames were brood, one was food, and only half of frame was empty.

6/2/12:  Combined with 2012 Hive 2 which had no laying queen and was in a single deep.  Used a single sheet of newspaper with tiny holes punch in it between the separate colonies each in their own single deep.  Hive #2 was left in place and Hive #5 placed on top.

6/5/12:  Hives had combined by chewing a hole in the newspaper, I removed the excess paper and saw the live queen in the upper deep.  As the lower deep (formerly Hive #2) had more honey and little room for brood, I reversed the deeps.

6/22/12:  Solid brood pattern, saw eggs so the queen is there.  Could use a super in another week or so.

7/8/12:  Good brood, eggs, very little honey - watch for starvation

7/30/12:  Bringing in nectar - no longer a risk for starving.  Did not inspect deeps.

8/25/12:  Queen and eggs spotted.  Frame of eggs moved to Nuc #7.

9/29/12:  Room in single super.  Nectar and honey in upper deep, did not inspect lower deep.  Bees were mad, took 2 stings through gloves in 5 minutes.  Did not see brood, but gave up due to aggression.

2012 Hive #4

Hive status:  Overwintered from 2011
Hive origin:  Package in 2011
Queen type:  Italian (from CA via Queen Right Colonies)

Significant events/observations:

3/11/12:  The hive had a relatively large brood nest with eggs observed.  This colony has sufficient bees and the most remaining honey and pollen after winter.  It is a candidate for an early split to prevent swarming.

3/14/12:  I removed two frames containing bees, brood, and eggs and placed them in Hive #3 to encourage that hive to raise a new queen during an attempted laying worker fix.  I found the queen on another frame so I am sure she remained in H4.

3/21/12: Reversed deeps and removed entrance reducer.  Added first honey super of the season and removed feeder.

4/15/12: Bees, bees, bees!  This hive looks great, drawing comb, surplus honey and pollen, and no signs of swarming.  Spotted the queen in the upper deep, so I added a queen excluder between the upper deep and the existing super, which she had been laying in.  Once those bees emerge there will only be honey in the supers.  I removed a shallow frame of capped drone comb and placed it in the freezer, which will hopefully help with mite control.  I also added an empty honey super on top of that. Two frames of brood and eggs were moved into H3 just in case the new queen there is AWOL.

5/6/12:  Lots of bees, starting to get crowded.  Added a third honey super.  One uncapped queen cell noted with royal jelly and larvae in it, at risk of swarming.  I did not have time to go through both deeps so I'll have to followup soon and maybe split off some nucs if there are capped queen cells to try to prevent swarming.

5/8/12:  Removed approx 8 queen cups from lower portion of deep frames in the upper deep, 2 of which contained eggs.  The hive is trying to prepare to swarm, but the queen is still laying.  Split off 3 frames of brood/eggs and 1 frame of food to create nuc N2 2012 to provide more space to reduce the urge to swarm.

5/21/12:  Added a fourth honey super as there was no room left in the top (3rd) super.  Went through entire hive and found one queen cell uncapped, maybe 5 or 6 days old.  Removed it to Hive #3 along with a frame of food.

6/5/12:  Spotted queen in upper deep.  No signs of swarming.  Added a 5th honey super and moved the lower super up into the middle of the supers as it had some brood.  One frame of eggs was removed to 2012 Hive #3 which is queenless.

6/28/12:  Replaced four frames of capped honey in one super with frames of wax foundation to give them a bit more space.  Frames of honey went into a super on Hive #6.  Added queen excluder.

7/1/12:  Extracted 3 frames of capped honey.  Returned two supers of drawn comb to the hive after extraction.

7/8/12:  Bringing in honey, not drawing comb.

7/30/12:  3.5 supers of honey, drawing comb - doing great!  Did not inspect deeps.

8/13/12:  Filling lower deep with bee bread, restricting laying space.  Removed 6 deep frames to start Nuc 5 and Nuc 6.  Hopefully new queens will be good and I can requeen hives 1 and 3.

9/29/12: Hive was nearly robbed to death, not sure if it was week first.  All four supers empty.  So sorry I removed so many deeps to other nucs, which all failed.  Lots of dead bees and yellow jackets seen in and around the hive.  Witnessed robbing ongoing.  Queen and tiny amount of brood found on two frames and relocated to Nuc #7 for combining with Nuc 5.  Sealed off hive to protect comb from wax moths.

2012 Hive #3

Hive status:  Overwintered from 2011
Hive origin:  Package in 2011
Queen type: Raised in 2012 from eggs from overwintered Hive #4 (Italian from CA package)


Significant events/observations:

3/11/12:  Laying workers:  The hive had a no brood and 1-3 day old eggs on a single frame.  They were from laying workers as eggs were not at the bottom of the frame and were sometimes present in pairs.  The hive is obviously not queen-right and was irritated during inspection with many more bees flying compared queen-right hives.

3/14/12: Attempted laying worker fix.  On a sunny, dry, warm (68 F) afternoon I dumped every last bee out of the hive 25 yards from it's original location.  The laying workers are young nurse bees oriented to the hive, so they should not be able to find their way back while the adult foragers just fly home to an empty hive.  I added two frames of eggs from Hive #4 so they can hopefully raise up a new queen, which is tricky this early as there are not yet drones for her to mate with.  Maybe in 16-20 days there will be?  I cannot get a mated queen until mid-april and that might be too late.  During the process I was surprised to find the old queen.  I pulled her out and 2 frames of bees (frames with laying worker eggs)  to start nuc N1, just in case she should resume laying (longshot!).

3/21/12: Added a second deep hive body on top with drawn comb and removed entrance reducer.  It was too dark to inspect for queen cells on the two frames of eggs added.

4/1/12:  Found a new queen, some remaining capped brood and no eggs.  Hopefully she will find some drones and mate.  The hive was much more tame and well behaved as it is now queen right.

4/15/12:  No eggs yet, did not spot the queen.  Hopefully she has mated and will begin laying soon.  Still lots of bees in both deeps with plenty of room for the queen to lay.  The bees are well-behaved, probably still queen-right.  Just in case I swapped two empty frames for two frames with eggs and brood from hive #4.

4/29/12:  The early queen must have failed, perhaps not enough drones to get mated.  I found 3 queen cells nearly capped on one frame, one on another.  Moved the frame with 1 queen cell into H2 which was newly queenless.  Astounding quantity of bees for being queenless again.

5/6/12:  The saga continues.  Spotted 4 capped queen cells.  Could they be new or the ones from 4/29 have not hatched out?

5/22/12:  The hive is dying.  No queen spotted, though 3 early stage supercedure cells were observed.  Did a new queen lay 3 eggs each on a different frame and disappear?  I combined the deeps into a single deep and added a frame with an almost capped queen cell plus one frame of food from Hive #4.   Perhaps now they'll get a decent queen?  This will be a candidate for further boosts/combines.

6/5/12:  Still not queen right, no queen or eggs spotted.  Moved ANOTHER frame of eggs from H4 over to try to get a queen in place.

6/14/12:  About 4 queen cells present on the brood frame, all capped or nearly capped.

6/22/12:  One capped queen cell present, others torn down.  I'm surprised the queen has not emerged yet.  If this one does not work out and Nuc #3 gets a laying queen, I'll combine them.

7/8/12: Tiny brood patch and queen removed to N4, combined with N3

7/30/12:  After combining with N3 the upper deep is all honey.  The queen is not doing well with spotty brood limited to only 4 or 5 frames in the lower deep.  Need to re-queen.

8/25/12:  Found this hive queen right and the queen laying fine, which was a surprise.  Actually moved 2 frames of eggs to Nuc #5 and loosened the entrance reducer.  Lots of bees in the two deeps, may actually finally get a super on this for the fall flow.

9/29/12: No comb drawn in single super.  Queen laying well in upper deep, did not inspect lower deep.

2012 Hive #1

Hive status:  Overwintered from 2011
Hive origin:  Package in 2011
Queen type:  Italian (from CA via Queen Right Colonies)

Significant events/observations:

3/11/12:  The hive had a small brood nest with eggs and queen observed.

3/21/12: Reversed deeps and removed entrance reducer.  Bees crowded and queen cups for swarm cells present.  Added first honey super of the season and removed feeder.

4/15/12:  Pulled two frames of brood with eggs for nuc #1 and replaced with empty drawn comb.  A healthy hive, spring drones have arrived.  Saw some varroa on bees.

5/6/12:  Some queen cups removed, but no queen cells spotted.  Brood on 4 center frames of the super.  Added a second super.  I don't have a spare queen excluder to add below the supers.

5/21/12:  Went through 15 of 20 deep frames and both supers, not enough daylight to check the last 5 deeps.  No sign of swarming, although the queen was laying in the first super, even in two foundationless wall frames, so tons of drones were emerging.  I removed two frames of drone comb and replaced them with frames of plastic foundation.  Added queen excluder between first super and upper deep, hopefully she is down below.  The brood patterns on the deep frames were wall to wall!  A very good laying queen.  I'll need more supers soon.

5/22/12:  Supered with partially full super from H2, which had more than enough space in their 2 deeps.

6/2/12: Verified queen is in lower deeps below queen excluder.  Supers are filling nicely.

6/22/12:  I had supered with 10 frames that had no foundation to give them more room.  I checked that super for any comb for the second time (checked about a week ago) and there is still no comb drawn.  I have ordered was foundation to fill several supers.

6/28/12:  Replaced foundationless frames in top super with frames that have wax foundation.  They would not draw out the foundationless frames.

7/1/12:  Removed and extracted two supers of capped honey.  Returned a single super of drawn comb to the hive post-extraction.

7/8/12: Not drawing new comb, filing empty supers of drawn comb nicely.  Swapped a super of wax foundation with drawn comb.

7/30/12:  New comb being drawn, 2 supers full of honey, some capped.  Did not inspect deeps.

8/13/12:  This hive is declining.  I did not spot the queen or any eggs, the population is decreasing as the bees no longer seem crowded.  Will need a new queen.

8/25/12:  Queen spotted and laying a tiny bit, spotty brood pattern.  Decision to requeen stands.  Hopefully nucs 5-7 take so a combine can be done in Sept.

9/29/12:  1.5 of 3 supers are full of honey.  Bees angry, still some room in the deeps.  Spotted 6-7 day old larvae.  Hopefully queen is ok.  Did not requeen yet.  Possibility for combining over the winter.

2012 Nuc #4

7/8/12:  Removed Queen from Hive 3 with a handful of bees and placed into this new nuc.   She was failing and this was done to facilitate a combine of Hive 3 with N3.

7/30/12:  The queen did fail and was not in the hive.  No eggs, no brood, maybe 30-50 bees.  Dead.

2012 Nuc #3

6/5/12: Started a new Nuc #3 with a frame of eggs from Hive #4 and two frames of bees from recently combined hive 3.  Originally it had the old queen from hive #3 in it but she was not laying and was not found after relocating to the nuc, so I moved the eggs over.

6/14/12:  I combined this Nuc with some "found" bees into a single deep, still calling this Nuc #3.  (A note about the "found" bees:  I found what was supposed to be an empty single deep hive actually had 2-3 frames of bees in it!  I tried to seal up this empty hive from any returning foragers after a combine by closing the entrance, but they found a small gap due to a knot-hole in the entrance reducer.  Returning foragers found no queen, but plenty of comb and space and never sought out the relocated hive with their queen.)  There were about 5 capped queen cells on the frame of brood.

6/22/12:  Queen cells uncapped and torn down, no eggs.  I did not spot the queen, who is hopefully mating. Will look for eggs in July.

7/8/12:  Combined with Hive #3.

7/1/12: Spring Extraction

On 6/30/12 pulled 5 supers to extract, leaving a full super on each of the two hives that I pulled from.  3 supers came from Hive #4 and 2 from Hive #1.

On 7/1/12 I extracted with Drew, Garrett, and Ed, a local farmer and first year beekeeper.  We got over 100 lbs of honey, I'll have a better idea once I bottle.  It is beautiful to behold.  And now I have empty supers of drawn comb for the ladies to refill.