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.
Showing posts with label feeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feeding. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
2012 Hive #2 (ended 6/2/12 with combine to Hive 5)
Hive status: Overwintered from 2011
Hive origin: Nucleus in 2011, combined with 2012 Hive 5
Queen type: 2012 Italian from H#4 eggs.
Significant events/observations:
2/24/12: Installed a candy board with pollen patty embedded in it (experiment). Overwintered with a deep and shallow super only.
3/11/12: The hive had a small brood nest with eggs observed.
3/21/12: Reversed hive bodies (shallow on bottom, deep on top) and removed entrance reducer. Added a new deep hive body with drawn comb on top and replaced candy board on top of that. It is probably 80% consumed.
4/15/12: Smallish brood nest for this time of year with slower population build, but eggs spotted. Spring drones present. This hive overwintered with a shallow and a deep which were reversed in March. The queen has not started laying in the upper deep yet, which is largely empty. Will keep an eye on this hive as a potential need for population boost from a thriving hive.
4/29/12: Newly queenless on this inspection, no eggs and very little capped brood. Moved one frame with a nearly capped queen cell from H3. As a backup I also moved 2 frames from H4 in that had some eggs in case the one queen cell is not viable as it was moved at a sensitive time in the queen larvae's development. This is a setback.
5/6/12: No new queen spotted. 2 capped queen cells noted, generated from eggs moved over on 4/29/12.
5/22/12: New queen spotted! She's laying just a little on one frame so far, oldest larvae are about 5 days old. One supercedure (threat?) cell was noted and left. They'll likely tear it down if she proves to be a good layer. Moved extra super to H1 so they can focus on filling their 2 deeps.
6/2/12: Queen present but not laying. She was removed to a new nuc, 2012 Nuc 4 with one frame of bees and the rest combined with 2012 Hive 5. Refer to that post for additional info.
Hive origin: Nucleus in 2011, combined with 2012 Hive 5
Queen type: 2012 Italian from H#4 eggs.
Significant events/observations:
2/24/12: Installed a candy board with pollen patty embedded in it (experiment). Overwintered with a deep and shallow super only.
3/11/12: The hive had a small brood nest with eggs observed.
3/21/12: Reversed hive bodies (shallow on bottom, deep on top) and removed entrance reducer. Added a new deep hive body with drawn comb on top and replaced candy board on top of that. It is probably 80% consumed.
4/15/12: Smallish brood nest for this time of year with slower population build, but eggs spotted. Spring drones present. This hive overwintered with a shallow and a deep which were reversed in March. The queen has not started laying in the upper deep yet, which is largely empty. Will keep an eye on this hive as a potential need for population boost from a thriving hive.
4/29/12: Newly queenless on this inspection, no eggs and very little capped brood. Moved one frame with a nearly capped queen cell from H3. As a backup I also moved 2 frames from H4 in that had some eggs in case the one queen cell is not viable as it was moved at a sensitive time in the queen larvae's development. This is a setback.
5/6/12: No new queen spotted. 2 capped queen cells noted, generated from eggs moved over on 4/29/12.
5/22/12: New queen spotted! She's laying just a little on one frame so far, oldest larvae are about 5 days old. One supercedure (threat?) cell was noted and left. They'll likely tear it down if she proves to be a good layer. Moved extra super to H1 so they can focus on filling their 2 deeps.
6/2/12: Queen present but not laying. She was removed to a new nuc, 2012 Nuc 4 with one frame of bees and the rest combined with 2012 Hive 5. Refer to that post for additional info.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Overwintering: Early spring 2012 Update
Of the 5 hives going into the winter, 1 starved out by late December. I inspected on a day above 55 at the end of December and that hive was dead, the one that had so many bees and had produced so much honey in 2011. I suppose I pulled off too much honey in the fall, even though I left a full super on top of the two deeps. It's too bad as that queen laid like crazy. Despite moving some bees from this hive to boost others there were too many bees going into the winter. They might have lived if I harvested NO honey.
The winter was unusually warm. I think I shoveled the driveway only 3 times. Seemed like everytime it snowed it was followed with weather warm enough to melt it. The bees fared well. The remaining 4 colonies have decent sized clusters and did not starve. 3 of 4 overwintered in two deeps and I began feeding pollen patties on Feb 24, 2012 and sugar syrup on March 7,2012. 1 of 4 overwintered with a deep and a shallow (started 2011 as a nuc) and I began feeding on Feb24 with pollen patty embedded in candy board.
Candy board was a new thing for me, courtesy of Allan T. For candy I used 10lbs of sugar in 2 cups water with 1 tsp vinegar and 2 tbsp Honey Bee Healthy. Once heated to a uniform slurry, I poured it into a frame that had hardware cloth on the back which I lined with wax paper. I embedded pollen patty in the candy and allowed it to cool and solidfy. The entire board went on top the super and under the inner cover.
Fingers crossed for the best bee and honey year yet.
The winter was unusually warm. I think I shoveled the driveway only 3 times. Seemed like everytime it snowed it was followed with weather warm enough to melt it. The bees fared well. The remaining 4 colonies have decent sized clusters and did not starve. 3 of 4 overwintered in two deeps and I began feeding pollen patties on Feb 24, 2012 and sugar syrup on March 7,2012. 1 of 4 overwintered with a deep and a shallow (started 2011 as a nuc) and I began feeding on Feb24 with pollen patty embedded in candy board.
Candy board was a new thing for me, courtesy of Allan T. For candy I used 10lbs of sugar in 2 cups water with 1 tsp vinegar and 2 tbsp Honey Bee Healthy. Once heated to a uniform slurry, I poured it into a frame that had hardware cloth on the back which I lined with wax paper. I embedded pollen patty in the candy and allowed it to cool and solidfy. The entire board went on top the super and under the inner cover.
Fingers crossed for the best bee and honey year yet.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/10/2010: Fifth Inspection
Conditions: Sunny, 76F
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed 5 frames from shallow super on old hive and replaced with new frames of blank foundation due to excessive drone. Removed pail top feeder from new hive and added a honey super.
Activities: Smoked hives about 2:00pm. Inspected many frames.
Observations:
Old hive:
Notice a bunch of drone cells and little food in the lower (shallow) chamber since reversal. The bees have not been storing food here, and all brood is drone. We removed 5 frames of comb with high numbers of drones or empty drone comb and left 5 frames in that had honey, brood, or nothing, but were of normal cell size (not drone comb). 5 frames of foundation were added to allow drawing of comb and storage of food. This is a minor setback which did not allow for supering this hive with a honey super. I mixed up one more batch of sugar syrup to continue feeding until the new frames are fully drawn out.
In the deep, which was on top, we saw tons of bees, brood, and quite a bit of capped honey. The queen was spotted on a frame with lots of open cells, moving to a part of the hive to keep the laying going. She’s doing great laying in her second year and I don’t know whether or not to requeen in the fall. Some people (certainly queen breeders) recommend re-queening every year. The population was larger here than the new hive, which is to be expected. We reversed the chambers again to have the shallow super on top and encourage the building of comb by having those frames close to the pail top feeder. Hopefully the queen will stay down in the deep chamber now that there is lots of food and brood on the deep frames. Perhaps in a week or two we can super?
With all the reversing and pulling and re-pulling frames to decide whether or not to keep them we had this hive open a long time, maybe 20 minutes. The bees were good, but you could tell they were growing impatient with us the longer we were in there. No stings, but I changed from bare-handing it to wearing gloves as we went. I was pretty sure I would have gotten a sting (or several) if I kept at it without gloves.
New hive:
The upper (shallow) super was full of bees and capped honey. The lower (deep) had plenty of brood in a good pattern. So we removed the feeder and added a honey super! We did not pull every frame just to see the queen, so she went unspotted. Based on the young larvae and capped brood, she’s laying just fine. I hope to see this queen soon, though. Funny that I keep spotting the unmarked queen but haven’t found the marked queen yet. No reversals for this hive this season as they started in just a deep and I added the shallow from the other hive after that. The pollen patty was nearly fully consumed.
I think it’s been a good spring with early warm temperatures, sufficient rain to keep nectar flowing, yet enough dry days to allow for long days of foraging.
Now if I could just keep up with planting the garden…
Present: Bud F. and I
Equipment: Removed 5 frames from shallow super on old hive and replaced with new frames of blank foundation due to excessive drone. Removed pail top feeder from new hive and added a honey super.
Activities: Smoked hives about 2:00pm. Inspected many frames.
Observations:
Old hive:
Notice a bunch of drone cells and little food in the lower (shallow) chamber since reversal. The bees have not been storing food here, and all brood is drone. We removed 5 frames of comb with high numbers of drones or empty drone comb and left 5 frames in that had honey, brood, or nothing, but were of normal cell size (not drone comb). 5 frames of foundation were added to allow drawing of comb and storage of food. This is a minor setback which did not allow for supering this hive with a honey super. I mixed up one more batch of sugar syrup to continue feeding until the new frames are fully drawn out.
In the deep, which was on top, we saw tons of bees, brood, and quite a bit of capped honey. The queen was spotted on a frame with lots of open cells, moving to a part of the hive to keep the laying going. She’s doing great laying in her second year and I don’t know whether or not to requeen in the fall. Some people (certainly queen breeders) recommend re-queening every year. The population was larger here than the new hive, which is to be expected. We reversed the chambers again to have the shallow super on top and encourage the building of comb by having those frames close to the pail top feeder. Hopefully the queen will stay down in the deep chamber now that there is lots of food and brood on the deep frames. Perhaps in a week or two we can super?
With all the reversing and pulling and re-pulling frames to decide whether or not to keep them we had this hive open a long time, maybe 20 minutes. The bees were good, but you could tell they were growing impatient with us the longer we were in there. No stings, but I changed from bare-handing it to wearing gloves as we went. I was pretty sure I would have gotten a sting (or several) if I kept at it without gloves.
New hive:
The upper (shallow) super was full of bees and capped honey. The lower (deep) had plenty of brood in a good pattern. So we removed the feeder and added a honey super! We did not pull every frame just to see the queen, so she went unspotted. Based on the young larvae and capped brood, she’s laying just fine. I hope to see this queen soon, though. Funny that I keep spotting the unmarked queen but haven’t found the marked queen yet. No reversals for this hive this season as they started in just a deep and I added the shallow from the other hive after that. The pollen patty was nearly fully consumed.
I think it’s been a good spring with early warm temperatures, sufficient rain to keep nectar flowing, yet enough dry days to allow for long days of foraging.
Now if I could just keep up with planting the garden…
Monday, May 24, 2010
Spring 2010 update summary and third inspection
I'm behind in my bee journal. Moving and family and work and projects have led to less time for updates. To sum up the spring:
Last year's Italian colony overwintered fine, ran low on food. Spring feeding has gone well and the colony seemed to have plenty of bees. No issues.
The Russian colony failed in early spring, sometime in March. I was initially thrilled that both hives survived in when I first got into them sometime in February, but was concerned about the Russian population level. There proved to be too few bees and, while they had lots of food, one cold snap in March led to them starving to death. They formed a tight cluster on an empty section of comb and froze/starved to death. There was evidence of lots of moisture in the hive in the form of mold. There was a bit of a sour smell, though I don't suspect it was foulbrood.
On 4/26/10 I installed a new package of bees with fanfare (Mohammad and Bud were there). The new bees went into the old Russian hive equipment, though the new bees are Italians. I guess this season they will be called the "old" (overwintered colony) and the "new" (package colony) instead of the Russian and Italian. The new package has a headstart over last year's package bees as there is lots of comb and some capped honey left over from the Russians. The installation went fine. The bees got fresh sugar syrup and a pollen patty in each hive.
Also on 4/26/10 we inspected the old Italian colony. The queen was there but had not started laying.
Some weeks after installation we had to move the hives to cut down a large ash tree that was too close to the house. The move lasted a day and a half where the bees were not allowed to venture from their hives. When they were released they were thirsty and happy to be flying, but fine otherwise.
Which brings us to 5/22/10 and the third inspection of the 2010 season:
Conditions: Sunny, 75F
Present: Just me
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers and added super to new colony. Removed queen cage from new colony.
Activities: Smoked hives about 4:30pm. Inspected a few frames.
Observations:
"New" hive:
In the "new" hive there were some new bees present, though I did not observe any emerging. All the bees were concentrated in a single deep as I did not have a super on after installing the package. They seem very happy in there. The queen is laying a lot with a good brood pattern. There is food and brood on both sides of the 3 or 4 frames I inspected. There was also new comb being built on frames that were not completely built out. I didn't spot the queen, but I didn't keep pulling frames just to find her. I was happy with the quantity and quality of laying.
I did damage some of the comb on one side of the frame when removing the queen cage. I forgot to pull the two frames that were sandwiching it at the same time, then split them apart once they were both out. I pulled one of the two frames and dragged the queen cage straight down cutting through comb all the way. The aftermath was a strip of bare foundation on one side the exact width of the queen cage, the empty queen cage at the bottom of the hive, and a mass of wax and smushed brood. Oops. I hope I don't make that mistake again...
"Old" hive:
In the "old" hive I found the queen right away on the first shallow frame I pulled. She was laying only in the upper shallow super and all frames in the lower deep were empty with the exception of a few bees. I didn't know if she was not laying down there since there was no food on many of those frames or because she was preferring to be up high in hive. Because I use a shallow upper super, there is not much room for both brood and food on the small frames and I'm concerned about sufficient population build if she's not laying on the deep frmaes. I decided that either way it might be a good idea to switch the upper and lower. So I have shallows on the bottom, deeps up above that, and then a pail topfeeder. The hope is that the bees working the feeder put some food on the deep frames since they are now adjacent to the feeder, and that the queen starts laying there. I'll be happy to switch the deep back down to the bottom position in a week or two. Hopefully this is more helpful than confusing to the bees. I won't leave it this way for too long as I don't want them to pack all the deep frames with food so there is no room for brood. I might be meddling too much. The bees know what they are doing. I like to think I can help, though I'm not sure I actually do.
There was also a LOT of very large ants and ant larvae between the inner and outer cover. I still had a sheet of foam insulation on this hive and they had started burrowing in it to make a cozy home. I don't think the bees could get to the them to chase them out. I removed the insulation and all the ants I could. I trust the bees will do the rest.
Last year's Italian colony overwintered fine, ran low on food. Spring feeding has gone well and the colony seemed to have plenty of bees. No issues.
The Russian colony failed in early spring, sometime in March. I was initially thrilled that both hives survived in when I first got into them sometime in February, but was concerned about the Russian population level. There proved to be too few bees and, while they had lots of food, one cold snap in March led to them starving to death. They formed a tight cluster on an empty section of comb and froze/starved to death. There was evidence of lots of moisture in the hive in the form of mold. There was a bit of a sour smell, though I don't suspect it was foulbrood.
On 4/26/10 I installed a new package of bees with fanfare (Mohammad and Bud were there). The new bees went into the old Russian hive equipment, though the new bees are Italians. I guess this season they will be called the "old" (overwintered colony) and the "new" (package colony) instead of the Russian and Italian. The new package has a headstart over last year's package bees as there is lots of comb and some capped honey left over from the Russians. The installation went fine. The bees got fresh sugar syrup and a pollen patty in each hive.
Also on 4/26/10 we inspected the old Italian colony. The queen was there but had not started laying.
Some weeks after installation we had to move the hives to cut down a large ash tree that was too close to the house. The move lasted a day and a half where the bees were not allowed to venture from their hives. When they were released they were thirsty and happy to be flying, but fine otherwise.
Which brings us to 5/22/10 and the third inspection of the 2010 season:
Conditions: Sunny, 75F
Present: Just me
Equipment: Removed entrance reducers and added super to new colony. Removed queen cage from new colony.
Activities: Smoked hives about 4:30pm. Inspected a few frames.
Observations:
"New" hive:
In the "new" hive there were some new bees present, though I did not observe any emerging. All the bees were concentrated in a single deep as I did not have a super on after installing the package. They seem very happy in there. The queen is laying a lot with a good brood pattern. There is food and brood on both sides of the 3 or 4 frames I inspected. There was also new comb being built on frames that were not completely built out. I didn't spot the queen, but I didn't keep pulling frames just to find her. I was happy with the quantity and quality of laying.
I did damage some of the comb on one side of the frame when removing the queen cage. I forgot to pull the two frames that were sandwiching it at the same time, then split them apart once they were both out. I pulled one of the two frames and dragged the queen cage straight down cutting through comb all the way. The aftermath was a strip of bare foundation on one side the exact width of the queen cage, the empty queen cage at the bottom of the hive, and a mass of wax and smushed brood. Oops. I hope I don't make that mistake again...
"Old" hive:
In the "old" hive I found the queen right away on the first shallow frame I pulled. She was laying only in the upper shallow super and all frames in the lower deep were empty with the exception of a few bees. I didn't know if she was not laying down there since there was no food on many of those frames or because she was preferring to be up high in hive. Because I use a shallow upper super, there is not much room for both brood and food on the small frames and I'm concerned about sufficient population build if she's not laying on the deep frmaes. I decided that either way it might be a good idea to switch the upper and lower. So I have shallows on the bottom, deeps up above that, and then a pail topfeeder. The hope is that the bees working the feeder put some food on the deep frames since they are now adjacent to the feeder, and that the queen starts laying there. I'll be happy to switch the deep back down to the bottom position in a week or two. Hopefully this is more helpful than confusing to the bees. I won't leave it this way for too long as I don't want them to pack all the deep frames with food so there is no room for brood. I might be meddling too much. The bees know what they are doing. I like to think I can help, though I'm not sure I actually do.
There was also a LOT of very large ants and ant larvae between the inner and outer cover. I still had a sheet of foam insulation on this hive and they had started burrowing in it to make a cozy home. I don't think the bees could get to the them to chase them out. I removed the insulation and all the ants I could. I trust the bees will do the rest.
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.
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
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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