Replaced the feeder jar today. The girls had consumed all of it. This is the jar that was put on when the hive was setup on Thursday.
The jar I put on today has a higher sugar to water mixture. I will keep checking on the hive's food supply daily.
The hive names are still undecided, but Alpha for the first hive and Beta for the second hive is a lot easier to type and say so thats what I'll use for now.
Alpha only consumed half of the jar, so I left it in place.
Even though its stormy, windy weather the bees are more active than I anticipated. Both hives were busy.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Feb 26, 2009 - 8:35am
Received a phone call this morning from a friend of mine, that the nucs we ordered arrived!
I ordered one nuc and Gene ordered two nucs.
The nucs were ordered from K & M Bees out of Lake Placid Florida.
They were shipped Monday of this week via USPS. They were shipped with just enough water/food for the three day trip.
Once we finished putting Gene's "nuc" packages in standard hives we drove out to where I keep my bees and put my "nuc" bees in a standard hive.
Surprisingly there were not many dead bees in the nucs, maybe 20-40 per box.
I started feeding the "nuc" bees a 2:1 sugar water mix to get them going. I will feed them that ratio for a few days then feed them a 1:1 mix.
I also put a 1:1 mix of sugar water on the old hive, since they seem to be consuming the mix for now.
After a week I will open the hive and check on the new bees and see how well they are doing.
This weekend, weather permitting, I would like to "fog" the old hive to start dealing with the varroa and trachial mite situation.
I'm still thinking of a naming convention for the hives since I have two hives. For now though, the old hive is the georgia hive and the new hive is the florida hive, since thats where each supplier resides.
I'll post pics later...
I ordered one nuc and Gene ordered two nucs.
The nucs were ordered from K & M Bees out of Lake Placid Florida.
They were shipped Monday of this week via USPS. They were shipped with just enough water/food for the three day trip.
Once we finished putting Gene's "nuc" packages in standard hives we drove out to where I keep my bees and put my "nuc" bees in a standard hive.
Surprisingly there were not many dead bees in the nucs, maybe 20-40 per box.
I started feeding the "nuc" bees a 2:1 sugar water mix to get them going. I will feed them that ratio for a few days then feed them a 1:1 mix.
I also put a 1:1 mix of sugar water on the old hive, since they seem to be consuming the mix for now.
After a week I will open the hive and check on the new bees and see how well they are doing.
This weekend, weather permitting, I would like to "fog" the old hive to start dealing with the varroa and trachial mite situation.
I'm still thinking of a naming convention for the hives since I have two hives. For now though, the old hive is the georgia hive and the new hive is the florida hive, since thats where each supplier resides.
I'll post pics later...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Feb 21, 2009 - 10pm
The weather this weekend is too cool for a hive split, so it has been postponed. Hopefully the bees don't swarm.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Feb 20, 2009 - 8 pm
Made preparations today for a hive split this weekend. I have a deep brood box with ten frames and wire/waxed foundation to be used for the new hive.
I to find some things to use to secure the new hive for transport.
A fellow beekeeper will be doing a hive split to aid against swarming. I have never done a split before so this will be interesting.
I to find some things to use to secure the new hive for transport.
A fellow beekeeper will be doing a hive split to aid against swarming. I have never done a split before so this will be interesting.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Feb 16, 2009 - 1:30 pm
The temperature today was around 60º and clear. Even though it was windy there were a lot of bees in front of the hive and some bringing in pollen.
I replaced the feeder jar with a fresh jar, it has the last batch of fumigilin-B.
Since it was so cool today I was unable to open the hive for a quick inspection. I am hoping I can have a look sometime this week, weather permitting.
Feb 23 a nucleus hive will be shipped from K & M bees. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad for the trip.
I replaced the feeder jar with a fresh jar, it has the last batch of fumigilin-B.
Since it was so cool today I was unable to open the hive for a quick inspection. I am hoping I can have a look sometime this week, weather permitting.
Feb 23 a nucleus hive will be shipped from K & M bees. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad for the trip.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Feb 8, 2009 - 11 am - 2pm
The weather was warm today, around 70º. I decided to open the hive and see what was going on in there.
Outside and in the front of the hive there were hundreds of bees flying around this morning when I walked over to begin the inspection.
The top hive box had about 95% of the bees. The rest of the bees were scattered among three frames in the bottom hive box.
In the top hive box I removed each frame and quickly looked over them trying to find the queen. I could not find the queen. But I did see larva from about 3 days old and older. So shes probably there somewhere. The top hive box has bees on both sides of six frames. I found plenty of pollen and honey throughout the frames. Three of the six frames had capped brood and there drone cells and capped drone cells.
I only found one larva that resembled a catapillar that disappeared as soon as it was exposed to the bright sunlight. I tried to find it but could not. I hope it wasn't a wax moth.
Other than that pest there were no hive beetles or ants or anything else.
The bottom hive box only had a few hundred bees scattered over three frames. I really couldn't tell what they were doing.
I looked over each of those frames and found uncapped honey and pollen on three frames. I didn't see any signs of pests in the bottom hive box.
Since the top hive box had a lot of build up, I swapped brood boxes. I also replaced the bottom board with a screened bottom board.
While taking the hive apart for the inspection I only found two dead bees on the bottom board. The bees seem to be doing well with cleaning out the hive.
I left in the entrance reducer but it is installed with the largest opening in place.
The feeder jar was empty so I replaced it with a full jar that has fumigilin-B mixed in with the sugar water. Thats two quarts of fumigilin-B sugar water that the bees have consumed with the third one in place.
Tuesday or Wednesday of this week I will look at the hive again for signs of the queen and look for pests. I will also check the feeder jar and replace if needed. And Friday I might use the fogger.
I did take photos and movies - I'll post later.
Outside and in the front of the hive there were hundreds of bees flying around this morning when I walked over to begin the inspection.
The top hive box had about 95% of the bees. The rest of the bees were scattered among three frames in the bottom hive box.
In the top hive box I removed each frame and quickly looked over them trying to find the queen. I could not find the queen. But I did see larva from about 3 days old and older. So shes probably there somewhere. The top hive box has bees on both sides of six frames. I found plenty of pollen and honey throughout the frames. Three of the six frames had capped brood and there drone cells and capped drone cells.
I only found one larva that resembled a catapillar that disappeared as soon as it was exposed to the bright sunlight. I tried to find it but could not. I hope it wasn't a wax moth.
Other than that pest there were no hive beetles or ants or anything else.
The bottom hive box only had a few hundred bees scattered over three frames. I really couldn't tell what they were doing.
I looked over each of those frames and found uncapped honey and pollen on three frames. I didn't see any signs of pests in the bottom hive box.
Since the top hive box had a lot of build up, I swapped brood boxes. I also replaced the bottom board with a screened bottom board.
While taking the hive apart for the inspection I only found two dead bees on the bottom board. The bees seem to be doing well with cleaning out the hive.
I left in the entrance reducer but it is installed with the largest opening in place.
The feeder jar was empty so I replaced it with a full jar that has fumigilin-B mixed in with the sugar water. Thats two quarts of fumigilin-B sugar water that the bees have consumed with the third one in place.
Tuesday or Wednesday of this week I will look at the hive again for signs of the queen and look for pests. I will also check the feeder jar and replace if needed. And Friday I might use the fogger.
I did take photos and movies - I'll post later.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Feb 7, 2009 - 7:30 pm
Attended a local Symposium about Bees.
It was very informative. There were discussions about hive beetles, varroa mites, hive management and so many other bee related subjects.
There were several vendors selling their products. I picked up a couple more tools to add to my collection. One is a frame wedge that makes loosening and removing frames much easier. The other tool is a frame puller/holder, it makes it easier to handle frames and pull them from the hive.
If tomorrow is warm enough I plan on opening the hive for an inspection.
I might also swap out the old bottom board with an open bottom board.
I prepared a couple of mason jars of sugar water with fumigilin-B to put in place.
Soon I need to use the fogger to work over the varroa mites. I'll wait a bit for the weather to get warmer.
It was very informative. There were discussions about hive beetles, varroa mites, hive management and so many other bee related subjects.
There were several vendors selling their products. I picked up a couple more tools to add to my collection. One is a frame wedge that makes loosening and removing frames much easier. The other tool is a frame puller/holder, it makes it easier to handle frames and pull them from the hive.
If tomorrow is warm enough I plan on opening the hive for an inspection.
I might also swap out the old bottom board with an open bottom board.
I prepared a couple of mason jars of sugar water with fumigilin-B to put in place.
Soon I need to use the fogger to work over the varroa mites. I'll wait a bit for the weather to get warmer.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Feb 1, 2009 - 12 pm
Friday of this last week the quart jar of sugar water was empty. I wasn't able to replace it until today.
So far that is 1 quart of sugar water with fumigilin-B that has been consumed. I'll have to keep a closer watch on the consumption.
There were many many bees flying around in front of the hive. It looked like the bees were doing orientation flights. There were several hundred doing this when I stopped by to look at the hive at about 11:30 this morning. It kept on like this for a couple of hours!
I took some photos and movies, I'll post later.
So far that is 1 quart of sugar water with fumigilin-B that has been consumed. I'll have to keep a closer watch on the consumption.
There were many many bees flying around in front of the hive. It looked like the bees were doing orientation flights. There were several hundred doing this when I stopped by to look at the hive at about 11:30 this morning. It kept on like this for a couple of hours!
I took some photos and movies, I'll post later.
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