The hive was completely knocked off the hive stand and was in pieces on the ground. More info later...
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
10 September, 2011
It was about 83º at the Bee Yard in the country.
Beta Hive
The hive had two honey supers. I removed nine frames from one super and 2 frames from the second honey super. I left the remaining frames in the super and added empty frames to fill it up.
Back Yard Bees
Epsilon Hive
The hive had two honey supers. I removed both honey supers.
Eta Hive
No activity from hive. Will look into it tomorrow.
Zeta Hive
Fair amount of activity, will look into that hive tomorrow.
Extracted the honey and it fills the 5 gallon honey bucket to the top lip. I will let it settle and bottle honey on Monday or so.
The harvest filled 26 pint jars and 8 quart jars.
Eta Hive is no more. The hive failed to flourish for whatever reason. I will keep a closer watch on the remaining hives
Beta Hive
The hive had two honey supers. I removed nine frames from one super and 2 frames from the second honey super. I left the remaining frames in the super and added empty frames to fill it up.
Back Yard Bees
Epsilon Hive
The hive had two honey supers. I removed both honey supers.
Eta Hive
No activity from hive. Will look into it tomorrow.
Zeta Hive
Fair amount of activity, will look into that hive tomorrow.
Extracted the honey and it fills the 5 gallon honey bucket to the top lip. I will let it settle and bottle honey on Monday or so.
The harvest filled 26 pint jars and 8 quart jars.
Eta Hive is no more. The hive failed to flourish for whatever reason. I will keep a closer watch on the remaining hives
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Honey Harvest from June 26, 2011
The harvest from June 26 yielded 25 pint jars and 5 quart jars of honey. Thats about 45 pounds of honey.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
26 June, 1:30 pm - 2011
It was 90º at the Bee Yard, no wind and partly cloudy
Beta Hive
Somehow I overlooked there being three honey supers on this hive. Two were ready for harvest today so I grabbed them. The third honey super has curing honey in about 80% of the frames, and I added another super. So now this hive has two honey supers.
I did not inspect the hive at this time.
BackYard Bees
Replaced feeder jars for the Eta & Zeta Hives and I put deep hive bodies with lids to cover the jars to prevent rain water from entering.
I did not inspect the hives at this time.
Beta Hive
Somehow I overlooked there being three honey supers on this hive. Two were ready for harvest today so I grabbed them. The third honey super has curing honey in about 80% of the frames, and I added another super. So now this hive has two honey supers.
I did not inspect the hive at this time.
BackYard Bees
Replaced feeder jars for the Eta & Zeta Hives and I put deep hive bodies with lids to cover the jars to prevent rain water from entering.
I did not inspect the hives at this time.
Monday, June 13, 2011
13 June - 2011
11 am Back Yard Bees
Zeta Hive
Looks like the queen has settled in, the girls are busy building comb and storing food.
Eta Hive
Replaced the bottom board with a screened bottom board to help with cooling.
Zeta Hive
Looks like the queen has settled in, the girls are busy building comb and storing food.
Eta Hive
Replaced the bottom board with a screened bottom board to help with cooling.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
12 June, 1:30 pm - 2011
It was 97º at the Bee Yard in the country, no wind and partly cloudy.
Alpha Hive - There were about 2-3 frames of bees and brood last week. This week there are no bees or brood. I disassembled the hive and brought it home. I'll freeze the frames that appear to have wax moth or other pests.
Beta Hive - Opened up the hive and checked the top honey super. There are a few hundred bees scattered throughout the frames. The bottom honey super is being heavily worked by the bees. About 85% of the frames are filled and capped. The honey super might be ready for harvest next weekend.
I didn't have a chance to check on the bees in the Back Yard.
Alpha Hive - There were about 2-3 frames of bees and brood last week. This week there are no bees or brood. I disassembled the hive and brought it home. I'll freeze the frames that appear to have wax moth or other pests.
Beta Hive - Opened up the hive and checked the top honey super. There are a few hundred bees scattered throughout the frames. The bottom honey super is being heavily worked by the bees. About 85% of the frames are filled and capped. The honey super might be ready for harvest next weekend.
I didn't have a chance to check on the bees in the Back Yard.
Friday, June 10, 2011
10 June - 2011
The honey harvest from 4 June yielded 36 pint jars which is about 47 pounds.
Back Yard Bees
Replaced the feeder jars for Eta & Zeta Hives.
Back Yard Bees
Replaced the feeder jars for Eta & Zeta Hives.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
4 June, 2 pm am - 2011
It was 96º at the Back Yard Bees.
Epsilon Hive
Harvested 1 honey super!, did not inspect the hive at this time.
Zeta & Eta Hives
did not inspect the hives at this time.
Epsilon Hive
Harvested 1 honey super!, did not inspect the hive at this time.
Zeta & Eta Hives
did not inspect the hives at this time.
4 June, 10:30 am - 2011
It was 90º at the Bee Yard in the country.
Alpha Hive
Looked through the frames and found capped drone cells and very few capped worker cells.
Beta Hive
Harvested 1 honey super. The remaining honey super looks about 50% full. I put an empty honey super on to replace the one I harvested.
Alpha Hive
Looked through the frames and found capped drone cells and very few capped worker cells.
Beta Hive
Harvested 1 honey super. The remaining honey super looks about 50% full. I put an empty honey super on to replace the one I harvested.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
29 May, 12 pm - 2011
It was about 88º, clear skies and no breeze at the Bee Yard.
Alpha Hive
Opened it up and inspected all frames. Found eggs and larva on frames 8 and 7. The cells that have eggs have 1 to 2 eggs! The larva are in cells that are being drawn out as drone cells. I did not find the queen. Looks like there is a laying worker.
Beta Hive
The top super was ready for harvest so I removed it. The bottom super is about 70% done, hopefully it will be ready next week. Now the top super is the one that is almost complete and the bottom super is the new one to replace what I removed.
It was 95º at the Back Yard Bees
Epsilon Hive
Bottom honey super is about 90% capped on all frames!. I will harvest this one next week when I harvest one super from the Beta Hive, weather permitting.
Top honey super has some curing nectar spread throughout the ten frames but not enough to harvest for some time.
I did not inspect the hive bodies today.
Zeta Hive
Looks like there is a queen in there! I found eggs throughout frames 2,3,4! I did not find any cells with multiple eggs. The hive cluster covers frames 1 through 5.
Eta Hive
The queen has been busy laying eggs. Frame four has eggs all over southern side. Frame three has capped brood, larva and eggs. The hive cluster covers frames one through four.
==========================
Honey Harvest from Beta Hive
10 quarts.
After extracting the honey from the frames I put the frames near the Back Yard bees in hopes of them cleaning it up.
Alpha Hive
Opened it up and inspected all frames. Found eggs and larva on frames 8 and 7. The cells that have eggs have 1 to 2 eggs! The larva are in cells that are being drawn out as drone cells. I did not find the queen. Looks like there is a laying worker.
Beta Hive
The top super was ready for harvest so I removed it. The bottom super is about 70% done, hopefully it will be ready next week. Now the top super is the one that is almost complete and the bottom super is the new one to replace what I removed.
It was 95º at the Back Yard Bees
Epsilon Hive
Bottom honey super is about 90% capped on all frames!. I will harvest this one next week when I harvest one super from the Beta Hive, weather permitting.
Top honey super has some curing nectar spread throughout the ten frames but not enough to harvest for some time.
I did not inspect the hive bodies today.
Zeta Hive
Looks like there is a queen in there! I found eggs throughout frames 2,3,4! I did not find any cells with multiple eggs. The hive cluster covers frames 1 through 5.
Eta Hive
The queen has been busy laying eggs. Frame four has eggs all over southern side. Frame three has capped brood, larva and eggs. The hive cluster covers frames one through four.
==========================
Honey Harvest from Beta Hive
10 quarts.
After extracting the honey from the frames I put the frames near the Back Yard bees in hopes of them cleaning it up.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
24 May, 11 am - 2011
It was 86º at the Back Yard Bees, partly cloudy and no wind.
Zeta Hive
Opened up the hive to check on the release of the queen. There were bees all around the queen cage and the two frames that the cage was in between. The queen was not released. I removed the cage and removed the cork from the other end of the queen cage and put the cage at the entrance of the hive. After about 15 seconds the queen was somewhere in the hive. Hopefully she will be okay and begin egg laying. I'll check on this hive again in 7 days.
Bee Yard in the country
Alpha Hive
It was time to check the hive for the release of the queen. This hive also did not release the queen. But there were bees all around the two frames where the queen cage was centered. I released the queen the same way I did for the Zeta Hive. I will also check again in 7 days.
After looking at the two queen cages, the queen candy still had wax paper on the screen side of the cage. That is probably why the bees had difficulty releasing the queen.
Zeta Hive
Opened up the hive to check on the release of the queen. There were bees all around the queen cage and the two frames that the cage was in between. The queen was not released. I removed the cage and removed the cork from the other end of the queen cage and put the cage at the entrance of the hive. After about 15 seconds the queen was somewhere in the hive. Hopefully she will be okay and begin egg laying. I'll check on this hive again in 7 days.
Bee Yard in the country
Alpha Hive
It was time to check the hive for the release of the queen. This hive also did not release the queen. But there were bees all around the two frames where the queen cage was centered. I released the queen the same way I did for the Zeta Hive. I will also check again in 7 days.
After looking at the two queen cages, the queen candy still had wax paper on the screen side of the cage. That is probably why the bees had difficulty releasing the queen.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
21 May, 3 pm - 2011
It was about 90º at the Bee Yard, clear skies, no wind.
Beta Hive
Checked on the top honey super to see if its ready for harvest. Four frames are completely capped and the rest are 50% capped! Hopefully it will be ready in a week.
Alpha Hive
This hive was requeened 19 May. I did not disturb this hive.
Checked for ants around hive stand and so far no sign.
Beta Hive
Checked on the top honey super to see if its ready for harvest. Four frames are completely capped and the rest are 50% capped! Hopefully it will be ready in a week.
Alpha Hive
This hive was requeened 19 May. I did not disturb this hive.
Checked for ants around hive stand and so far no sign.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
19 May - 2011
It was 80º at the Back Yard Bees
10:15 am
Zeta Hive
Put a purchased queen in the hive today. The queen came from Gardener's Apiaries. I will check on the hive in a week. I put a fresh feeder jar on the hive today.
Bee Yard in the country
10:45 am
Alpha Hive
Also put a purchased queen in this hive today, and it came from Gardener's Apiaries. I will check on this hive in a week.
I did not inspect any of the other hives today.
10:15 am
Zeta Hive
Put a purchased queen in the hive today. The queen came from Gardener's Apiaries. I will check on the hive in a week. I put a fresh feeder jar on the hive today.
Bee Yard in the country
10:45 am
Alpha Hive
Also put a purchased queen in this hive today, and it came from Gardener's Apiaries. I will check on this hive in a week.
I did not inspect any of the other hives today.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
14 May , 1:30 pm - 2011
It was about 85º at the Bee Yard.
Beta Hive
Checked on two honey supers and found that the bees are beginning the capping process!!!!
Didn't do anything else to this hive.
Alpha Hive
Opened up the hive and inspected every frame. Did not find any eggs/larva or brood!!! And I did not find a Queen???!!! I did not find any wax moth or hive beetle.
Frames 7,8,9,10 have capped honey, pollen and curing nectar. Frames 6,5, pollen and some curing honey. The remaining frames are empty and there are bees roaming around on them.
I will order a queen for this hive Monday from Gardener's Apiaries out of GA.
Beta Hive
Checked on two honey supers and found that the bees are beginning the capping process!!!!
Didn't do anything else to this hive.
Alpha Hive
Opened up the hive and inspected every frame. Did not find any eggs/larva or brood!!! And I did not find a Queen???!!! I did not find any wax moth or hive beetle.
Frames 7,8,9,10 have capped honey, pollen and curing nectar. Frames 6,5, pollen and some curing honey. The remaining frames are empty and there are bees roaming around on them.
I will order a queen for this hive Monday from Gardener's Apiaries out of GA.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
11 May, 11:10 am - 2011
It was 85º at the Back Yard Bees.
Eta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar with a full jar.
Didn't do anything with the other hives.
The honey super is still near the hives so the bees can clean it up.
Eta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar with a full jar.
Didn't do anything with the other hives.
The honey super is still near the hives so the bees can clean it up.
Friday, May 6, 2011
6 May, 3 pm - 2011
It was 80º at the Bee Yard.
Beta Hive
Harvested one honey super. The one that is now in the top position, the frames are starting to be capped at the top. The middle honey super is a new one put on today and its empty. The bottom super is being worked by the bees. There is curing nectar scattered throughout the ten frames, looks like it will be some time before its ready. Buttoned everything up.
Alpha Hive
Opened up the hive and found that 5 frames have bees and there are bees on frames 6 scattered and alot scattered on the remaining frames
Put down insecticide...
Cleaned up weeds/grass around hive stand.
Beta Hive
Harvested one honey super. The one that is now in the top position, the frames are starting to be capped at the top. The middle honey super is a new one put on today and its empty. The bottom super is being worked by the bees. There is curing nectar scattered throughout the ten frames, looks like it will be some time before its ready. Buttoned everything up.
Alpha Hive
Opened up the hive and found that 5 frames have bees and there are bees on frames 6 scattered and alot scattered on the remaining frames
Put down insecticide...
Cleaned up weeds/grass around hive stand.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
5 May, 4:14pm - 2011
It was 78º at the Back Yard Bees. Clear skies and no wind. The bees are busy cleaning up a honey super I extracted honey from last week. Soon it should be cleaned up and then I can store it.
Epsilon Hive
This hive has two honey supers. Top honey super is not being used by the bees. Bottom honey super has 6 frames of drawn capped honey and four that are in various stages of drawn comb with curing nectar. I did not do a hive inspection today.
Zeta Hive
The bees are busy drawing comb on frames 3,4 and 5. Frame 4 was the frame that had all of the queen cells. Now there is only one left and its still capped. This could be good or bad. I'll give it a week and see what I find. I may end up combing this hive with Eta Hive. I replaced the feeder jar today.
Eta Hive
The bees are comb building on frames 3,4 and 5. I found eggs/larva and capped brood on frames 1,2 and 3. I expected to see more drawn comb by now. I replaced the feeder jar.
Epsilon Hive
This hive has two honey supers. Top honey super is not being used by the bees. Bottom honey super has 6 frames of drawn capped honey and four that are in various stages of drawn comb with curing nectar. I did not do a hive inspection today.
Zeta Hive
The bees are busy drawing comb on frames 3,4 and 5. Frame 4 was the frame that had all of the queen cells. Now there is only one left and its still capped. This could be good or bad. I'll give it a week and see what I find. I may end up combing this hive with Eta Hive. I replaced the feeder jar today.
Eta Hive
The bees are comb building on frames 3,4 and 5. I found eggs/larva and capped brood on frames 1,2 and 3. I expected to see more drawn comb by now. I replaced the feeder jar.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
30 APR, 4:15 pm - 2011
At the Bee Yard it was about 84º, clear skies with light winds.
Beta Hive
Removed 1 full honey super for harvest. Installed 1 empty honey super. The hive has three honey supers. Top honey super is the one that looks like it will be ready for harvest in a week. Middle honey super is the one installed today. Bottom honey super look like it will be ready in two weeks.
Alpha Hive
Did not inspect the hive at this time. When time and opportunity allow I will do a better inspection.
============================
Extracted the honey and it filled the 5 gallon bucket to the half way mark. Letting it settle for a day or two before bottling/canning it.
Beta Hive
Removed 1 full honey super for harvest. Installed 1 empty honey super. The hive has three honey supers. Top honey super is the one that looks like it will be ready for harvest in a week. Middle honey super is the one installed today. Bottom honey super look like it will be ready in two weeks.
Alpha Hive
Did not inspect the hive at this time. When time and opportunity allow I will do a better inspection.
============================
Extracted the honey and it filled the 5 gallon bucket to the half way mark. Letting it settle for a day or two before bottling/canning it.
Friday, April 29, 2011
29 APR, 12:30 pm - 2011
It was 75º at the Back Yard Bees. It was partly sunny with light winds.
Epsilon Hive
Did not bother the hive today
Zeta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar. The girls were very upset when I replaced the jar! That could mean no queen or hot bees! When I have time I will investigate.
Eta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar. The girls were very settled and easy going, not one bee flew out of the hole!
Put down some insecticide to deal with the ants around the Eta Hive.
Epsilon Hive
Did not bother the hive today
Zeta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar. The girls were very upset when I replaced the jar! That could mean no queen or hot bees! When I have time I will investigate.
Eta Hive
Replaced the feeder jar. The girls were very settled and easy going, not one bee flew out of the hole!
Put down some insecticide to deal with the ants around the Eta Hive.
Monday, April 25, 2011
25 APR, 11:15 am - 2011
It was 80º, partly cloudy and breezy.
Back Yard Bees
Eta Hive
The hive has a queen! I opened up the hive today and looked at frames three and four. Frame three had eggs on both sides. Frame four was being drawn out and they are storing nectar/sugar-water/pollen.
The hive has drawn comb on frames one, two and three and is working on frames four and five
I buttoned everything up and replaced the feeder jar.
I didn't do anything with other two hives at this time.
Back Yard Bees
Eta Hive
The hive has a queen! I opened up the hive today and looked at frames three and four. Frame three had eggs on both sides. Frame four was being drawn out and they are storing nectar/sugar-water/pollen.
The hive has drawn comb on frames one, two and three and is working on frames four and five
I buttoned everything up and replaced the feeder jar.
I didn't do anything with other two hives at this time.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
23 APR, 2:30 pm - 2011
It was about 85º at the Bee Yard.
Beta Hive
I removed two full medium honey supers today. I replaced them with two empty medium honey supers. The third honey super that was on the hive has honey in all frames and the bees are busy capping it!
Today's harvest filled a 5 gallon bucket to the top. And that was from twenty frames of medium super frames. I'll let the honey settle for a day or two and bottle it.
Alpha Hive
The hive is collapsing. The frames I added last week did not seem to help. The hive has been overrun with ants.
Beta Hive
I removed two full medium honey supers today. I replaced them with two empty medium honey supers. The third honey super that was on the hive has honey in all frames and the bees are busy capping it!
Today's harvest filled a 5 gallon bucket to the top. And that was from twenty frames of medium super frames. I'll let the honey settle for a day or two and bottle it.
Alpha Hive
The hive is collapsing. The frames I added last week did not seem to help. The hive has been overrun with ants.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
21 APR, 10:30 am - 2011
It was about 83º at the Backyard bees.
Epsilon Hive
Removed four deep frames from the top hive body and replaced with four frames with empty drawn comb.
The four frames that were removed were filled with capped honey so I harvested the honey. Since there wasn't that much honey the yield was about one quart and one cup. I put those frames out on a table near the hives so the bees can do what they do.
Epsilon Hive
Removed four deep frames from the top hive body and replaced with four frames with empty drawn comb.
The four frames that were removed were filled with capped honey so I harvested the honey. Since there wasn't that much honey the yield was about one quart and one cup. I put those frames out on a table near the hives so the bees can do what they do.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
20 APR - 2011
Naming the hives...
The bees at the bee yard (in the country) already have the names Alpha and Beta.
The names for the bees in the backyard are;
The first hive I put back there - Epsilon hive, the first swarm hive - Zeta hive, and the second swarm hive - Eta Hive.
Now I'll see about remembering those names.
1:30 pm
Backyard Bees
Epsilon Hive -
There are about 50 to 100 bees hanging out on the porch, cleaning and milling around at this time of the day! Looks like a swarm is soon to happen with these girls...
The bees at the bee yard (in the country) already have the names Alpha and Beta.
The names for the bees in the backyard are;
The first hive I put back there - Epsilon hive, the first swarm hive - Zeta hive, and the second swarm hive - Eta Hive.
Now I'll see about remembering those names.
1:30 pm
Backyard Bees
Epsilon Hive -
There are about 50 to 100 bees hanging out on the porch, cleaning and milling around at this time of the day! Looks like a swarm is soon to happen with these girls...
Sunday, April 17, 2011
17 APR, 1:50 pm - 2011
It was 70º and breezy at the backyard bees.
The first swarm hive
The girls have created 6 queen cells and they are capped! The cells are on frame 4 in the middle of the frame. It looks like this hive had eggs I didn't find during the last inspection. After finding that I put everything back together and will leave it alone till next week some time.
I also gave the hive a fresh jar of 1:1 sugar/water.
The backyard bees(the first hive I put in the back yard)
I found eggs!!! and I found the queen. I found her on frame 5 and eggs on frames 4 and 6. I also found a frame that had a swarm cell with an egg in it!!!!
So I put everything back together and will wait and see what happens, because I don't have any more hive equipement ready to make a split!!!!
The second swarm
I will not inspect this hive till next weekend but I looked around the hive for ants and pests - so far none found. Also there is alot of activity going on at the entrance. I hope they stick around. I put a full jar of sugar/water on today.
2:30 pm
Country Bees
Alpha Hive
I opened up the hive and found that the queen's laying pattern is very sporadic. I found very few eggs. All the bees in the hive at the time I checked only covered 3 frames. I took three frames from the Beta hive that had eggs/larva/brood and some nurse bees and added them to this hive. Hope this will help. Buttoned up the hive after the additions.
Beta Hive
This hive has three deeps and two honey supers.
This hive has a lot of entrance activity. When I first arrived at the hive I thought the bees were in the process of swarming. Seems like its just their normal activity. This hive does have three deeps, so thats probably the reason.
I opened up the top honey super and found that all frames have curing honey and 3/4 of the frames are capped! Maybe in a week they will finish it up.
I put that top honey super aside and looked through the second honey super. That super is also like the first one. I put this one aside and started looking through the top hive body. On the second frame I removed(frame 8) I found the queen. I was as carefull as I could be and put it back. Frame 10 was all capped honey, frame 9 was all covered in capped brood and 8 had one side all capped brood with the other partially open cells and eggs/larva and capped brood.
I took frames 2,3,4 from this hive and put it in the Alpha Hive, I put in empty drawn comb, then put everything back together.
I also added a third honey super to this hive.
The first swarm hive
The girls have created 6 queen cells and they are capped! The cells are on frame 4 in the middle of the frame. It looks like this hive had eggs I didn't find during the last inspection. After finding that I put everything back together and will leave it alone till next week some time.
I also gave the hive a fresh jar of 1:1 sugar/water.
The backyard bees(the first hive I put in the back yard)
I found eggs!!! and I found the queen. I found her on frame 5 and eggs on frames 4 and 6. I also found a frame that had a swarm cell with an egg in it!!!!
So I put everything back together and will wait and see what happens, because I don't have any more hive equipement ready to make a split!!!!
The second swarm
I will not inspect this hive till next weekend but I looked around the hive for ants and pests - so far none found. Also there is alot of activity going on at the entrance. I hope they stick around. I put a full jar of sugar/water on today.
2:30 pm
Country Bees
Alpha Hive
I opened up the hive and found that the queen's laying pattern is very sporadic. I found very few eggs. All the bees in the hive at the time I checked only covered 3 frames. I took three frames from the Beta hive that had eggs/larva/brood and some nurse bees and added them to this hive. Hope this will help. Buttoned up the hive after the additions.
Beta Hive
This hive has three deeps and two honey supers.
This hive has a lot of entrance activity. When I first arrived at the hive I thought the bees were in the process of swarming. Seems like its just their normal activity. This hive does have three deeps, so thats probably the reason.
I opened up the top honey super and found that all frames have curing honey and 3/4 of the frames are capped! Maybe in a week they will finish it up.
I put that top honey super aside and looked through the second honey super. That super is also like the first one. I put this one aside and started looking through the top hive body. On the second frame I removed(frame 8) I found the queen. I was as carefull as I could be and put it back. Frame 10 was all capped honey, frame 9 was all covered in capped brood and 8 had one side all capped brood with the other partially open cells and eggs/larva and capped brood.
I took frames 2,3,4 from this hive and put it in the Alpha Hive, I put in empty drawn comb, then put everything back together.
I also added a third honey super to this hive.
Friday, April 15, 2011
15 APR, 10:45 am - 2011
I received a phone call yesterday evening and was informed that a swarm had settled on some equipment at a Munical Airport where I live. I stopped by today at about 10:45 am today and found a swarm hanging from the equipment about two feet from the ground. I used 5 gallon bucket that was well ventilated and scooped most of the bees into it. I dumped that into a hive body and waited for the bees to settle down. I did that one more time and captured most of the bees. I brought the bees home to a spot in my backyard. I put a 1:1 sugar/water feeder jar on the hive and then secured the hive so the wind and weather would not disturb it.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
9 APR 10 am - 2011
Backyard Bees
I have yet to name the hives, still working on a naming scheme.
The hive that swarmed last weekend...
I was inspecting the top hive body and found a queen! Its likely she is a new born, hopefully she will stick around. The bees attitude was pretty good considering they recently swarmed and I had honey supers and a hive body in pieces doing an inspection. After finding the queen I searched through a few more frames and found one frame with a queen cell that was capped! I removed the frame and put it aside. I buttoned up the hive and will check on them in a week.
The Swarm that I captured last weekend...
This is the first time that I opened the hive since bringing the bees on site. While inspecting the frames I found that the bees are very busy building comb on three frames. Many bees left with the queen sometime between last weekend and today but there were 4 frames of bees left. I did not see any eggs/larva or anything from the previous queen. That frame with the queen cell from from other hive...that is now in this hive. I am hoping that the queen is alive and was not killed by any other other queens. Hopefully this queen will hatch and take over this hive. I will monitor and add brood from the other hive to keep their numbers up.
I have yet to name the hives, still working on a naming scheme.
The hive that swarmed last weekend...
I was inspecting the top hive body and found a queen! Its likely she is a new born, hopefully she will stick around. The bees attitude was pretty good considering they recently swarmed and I had honey supers and a hive body in pieces doing an inspection. After finding the queen I searched through a few more frames and found one frame with a queen cell that was capped! I removed the frame and put it aside. I buttoned up the hive and will check on them in a week.
The Swarm that I captured last weekend...
This is the first time that I opened the hive since bringing the bees on site. While inspecting the frames I found that the bees are very busy building comb on three frames. Many bees left with the queen sometime between last weekend and today but there were 4 frames of bees left. I did not see any eggs/larva or anything from the previous queen. That frame with the queen cell from from other hive...that is now in this hive. I am hoping that the queen is alive and was not killed by any other other queens. Hopefully this queen will hatch and take over this hive. I will monitor and add brood from the other hive to keep their numbers up.
Monday, April 4, 2011
4 April, 7:30am - 2011
Back Yard Bees
Swarm Hive
Replaced the feeder jar with a full one. The bees consumed one and a half cups since 4pm yesterday. I also opened up the entrance reducer. I read on a beek forum that its better to do that than to keep them sealed.
Swarm Hive
Replaced the feeder jar with a full one. The bees consumed one and a half cups since 4pm yesterday. I also opened up the entrance reducer. I read on a beek forum that its better to do that than to keep them sealed.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
3 April, 1:30pm - 2011
I received a phone call to go get a swarm of bees. The bees settled on the establishment's gazebo. It was easy to access fortunately. I gathered up as many bees as possible and took them home. Currently they are in the back yard sealed up and I'm feeding them 1:1 sugar/water. I really appreciate that organization for the call.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
2 April, 11 am -2011
It was 70º, clear skies and no wind at the Back Yard bee hive.
At around 11 am the hive swarmed! I was unable to get to the swarm. Hopefully the bees remaining in the hive will be able to stick around and make some honey.
At around 11 am the hive swarmed! I was unable to get to the swarm. Hopefully the bees remaining in the hive will be able to stick around and make some honey.
Friday, March 25, 2011
25 March, 11:30 am - 2011
It was 68º, no wind, clear skies.
Back Yard Bees
Looked into the top honey super and found a few bees scattered throughout frames. Removed it and started looking through second honey super. Removed and inspected frames 9, 8, and 7. Frame seven was covered in bees, busy storing nectar. I only looked at the remaining frames and found that frames 4 through 6 were completely covered in bees and they were storing nectar. At this time I did not inspect the second honey super or either hive body.
Back Yard Bees
Looked into the top honey super and found a few bees scattered throughout frames. Removed it and started looking through second honey super. Removed and inspected frames 9, 8, and 7. Frame seven was covered in bees, busy storing nectar. I only looked at the remaining frames and found that frames 4 through 6 were completely covered in bees and they were storing nectar. At this time I did not inspect the second honey super or either hive body.
Friday, March 18, 2011
18 March, Noon - 2011
It was 75º, clear skies, no wind at the Back Yard Bees.
Opened up the hive and found bees covering 3/4 of the inner cover. I installed a honey super, see what that does for now. Didn't get down into any of the hive bodies today.
1:30 pm
It was 83º at the Bee Yard and clear skies.
No signs of ants around the hives
Beta hive
The hive had 1 honey super and 2 deep hive bodies. There were bees covering all ten frames of the honey super. I removed frames 1,2,3 and found eggs! So I put them and pulled the honey super to gain access to the hive bodies. The top hive body had bees covering all ten frames. I did not remove any to inspect. I removed the top hive body to look at the bottom hive body. The bees covered all ten frames. This hive seems to be very strong. So I added a third deep hive body but installed it with the honey super at the top. I am hoping that the bees will build up this new hive body and then I can do a walk away split.
Alpha Hive
The cluster moved to the center of the hive body. The bees cover about 5 frames. I found the queen on frame 6! I did find eggs too. Next visit if I will see about taking frames from the Beta Hive to strengthen this hive.
Opened up the hive and found bees covering 3/4 of the inner cover. I installed a honey super, see what that does for now. Didn't get down into any of the hive bodies today.
1:30 pm
It was 83º at the Bee Yard and clear skies.
No signs of ants around the hives
Beta hive
The hive had 1 honey super and 2 deep hive bodies. There were bees covering all ten frames of the honey super. I removed frames 1,2,3 and found eggs! So I put them and pulled the honey super to gain access to the hive bodies. The top hive body had bees covering all ten frames. I did not remove any to inspect. I removed the top hive body to look at the bottom hive body. The bees covered all ten frames. This hive seems to be very strong. So I added a third deep hive body but installed it with the honey super at the top. I am hoping that the bees will build up this new hive body and then I can do a walk away split.
Alpha Hive
The cluster moved to the center of the hive body. The bees cover about 5 frames. I found the queen on frame 6! I did find eggs too. Next visit if I will see about taking frames from the Beta Hive to strengthen this hive.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
21 February, 1:00pm - 2011
It was 75º at the Bee Yard. Partly cloudy and windy.
Alpha Hive
This hive has two deeps. Opened up the top hive body and found very few bees. Most of the frames had curing honey and pollen and some capped honey. Did not see any eggs in any of the top hive body frames!
I did not look through the bottom hive body since the wind started to get worse. Buttoned everything up and will check on them some time this week.
Beta Hive
Did not inspect the hive, too windy.
Alpha Hive
This hive has two deeps. Opened up the top hive body and found very few bees. Most of the frames had curing honey and pollen and some capped honey. Did not see any eggs in any of the top hive body frames!
I did not look through the bottom hive body since the wind started to get worse. Buttoned everything up and will check on them some time this week.
Beta Hive
Did not inspect the hive, too windy.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
21 February, 12:30pm - 2011
It was 75º at the Back Yard Hive, clear skies and no wind.
Back Yard Bees
Since the weather has been warming up into the 70's lately I did a quick inspection. I have been feeding the bees a 1:1 sugar/water mix. This hive has two deeps.
The feeder jar was empty so I removed it and started a quick inspection. The top hive body was filled with bees on all frames. Frames 10,8,1,2 were full of capped honey and some pollen. Frames 3-7 had capped honey, pollen,brood,eggs,larva. There was more capped honey and pollen then brood. The top box weighed a lot! So I swapped the top and bottom deeps. The bottom box was much lighter than the top one, I did not go through those frames. The bees did not like this. It looks like there are a lot of bees and not much of a nectar flow. They were agitated but they were not landing and stinging, they were just flying all around me. I put things back together as quickly and carefully as I could. The bees have a lot of honey, so I stopped feeding the 1:1 sugar/water mix at this time.
Back Yard Bees
Since the weather has been warming up into the 70's lately I did a quick inspection. I have been feeding the bees a 1:1 sugar/water mix. This hive has two deeps.
The feeder jar was empty so I removed it and started a quick inspection. The top hive body was filled with bees on all frames. Frames 10,8,1,2 were full of capped honey and some pollen. Frames 3-7 had capped honey, pollen,brood,eggs,larva. There was more capped honey and pollen then brood. The top box weighed a lot! So I swapped the top and bottom deeps. The bottom box was much lighter than the top one, I did not go through those frames. The bees did not like this. It looks like there are a lot of bees and not much of a nectar flow. They were agitated but they were not landing and stinging, they were just flying all around me. I put things back together as quickly and carefully as I could. The bees have a lot of honey, so I stopped feeding the 1:1 sugar/water mix at this time.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
13 February - 2011
Harvested about 20 pounds of honey from 8 deep frames that were stored since june of this year. The plan was to put the frames back in the hives at a later date for food for the bees. Since this honey was in the frames and frozen for so long hopefully it will be okay. It has been bottled and put on the shelf. The yield was 7 and a half quarts of honey.
Cleaned up the frames a little and put them out near the Back Yard Hive. The bees cleaned up all of the frames.
Cleaned up the frames a little and put them out near the Back Yard Hive. The bees cleaned up all of the frames.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
12 February, 2:30pm - 2011
It was 55º at the Bee yard, clear skies no wind.
Alpha Hive
Many bees at the entrance, quite a few were flying up and down and sideways in front of hive. There also many bees bringing in pollen. Decided to go ahead and feed this hive again. Gave them 1:1 sugar/water mixture.
Beta Hive
This hive also has a lot of entrance activity. Bees are flying up and around the hive entrance, and there is also quite a few bees bringing in pollen.
At the Back Yard hive...
Feeder jar was empty, replaced with a full 1:1 sugar/water mixture. A lot of entrance activity today. Looks like about two thirds of the foragers are bringing in pollen.
Alpha Hive
Many bees at the entrance, quite a few were flying up and down and sideways in front of hive. There also many bees bringing in pollen. Decided to go ahead and feed this hive again. Gave them 1:1 sugar/water mixture.
Beta Hive
This hive also has a lot of entrance activity. Bees are flying up and around the hive entrance, and there is also quite a few bees bringing in pollen.
At the Back Yard hive...
Feeder jar was empty, replaced with a full 1:1 sugar/water mixture. A lot of entrance activity today. Looks like about two thirds of the foragers are bringing in pollen.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
6 February, 2:30 pm - 2011
It was 58º at the Back Yard Hive. Clear skies, no wind.
Replaced the empty feeder jar.
There is a lot of entrance activity today. Even when it was 45º this morning the bees were busy flying around the hive entrance and doing what they do. I need to look into swapping hive boxes.
I was unable to make it out to the Bee yard today, hopefully tomorrow I will make it there to replace feeder jars.
Replaced the empty feeder jar.
There is a lot of entrance activity today. Even when it was 45º this morning the bees were busy flying around the hive entrance and doing what they do. I need to look into swapping hive boxes.
I was unable to make it out to the Bee yard today, hopefully tomorrow I will make it there to replace feeder jars.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
29 January 2:30 pm - 2011
It was 67º at the Bee Yard. Clear skies and no wind.
Swarm Hive - Opened it up and found an empty hive. It was pretty clean considering it was a dead hive. The robber bees did a good job of cleaning out most of the honey and food stores. Took the hive apart stored for later use!
Alpha Hive - The bees have not consumed very much of the feed. Went ahead and removed the top cover and the honey super. The honey super had small amounts of capped honey scattered throughout eight frames. But there were not many bees in the super. Removed the honey super until springtime. The frames with honey will be fed to one of the other hives. Looked through the top hive body and found that 7 of the frames have capped honey and uncapped honey. I didn't go through the frames of the bottom hive body. I noticed as soon as I removed the top hive body that the cluster was about the size of 4-5 frames in the bottom hive body. I put the hive body back in place and left the hive with just the two hive bodies and the inner cover and telescoping outer cover. I will not be feeding this hive sugar water since it looks like they have so much food stored in the top hive body.
Beta Hive - The bees consumed all of the feed! And they were pouring out of the feeder hole. This hive still has a honey super on it and the bees may have consumed the stores, I don't know yet. I also did not inspect this hive at all due to the number of bees and their agitation with me.
=========
Back Yard Bees
The honey super that I removed from the Alpha hive is sitting on a table near the hive so they can use it.
Swarm Hive - Opened it up and found an empty hive. It was pretty clean considering it was a dead hive. The robber bees did a good job of cleaning out most of the honey and food stores. Took the hive apart stored for later use!
Alpha Hive - The bees have not consumed very much of the feed. Went ahead and removed the top cover and the honey super. The honey super had small amounts of capped honey scattered throughout eight frames. But there were not many bees in the super. Removed the honey super until springtime. The frames with honey will be fed to one of the other hives. Looked through the top hive body and found that 7 of the frames have capped honey and uncapped honey. I didn't go through the frames of the bottom hive body. I noticed as soon as I removed the top hive body that the cluster was about the size of 4-5 frames in the bottom hive body. I put the hive body back in place and left the hive with just the two hive bodies and the inner cover and telescoping outer cover. I will not be feeding this hive sugar water since it looks like they have so much food stored in the top hive body.
Beta Hive - The bees consumed all of the feed! And they were pouring out of the feeder hole. This hive still has a honey super on it and the bees may have consumed the stores, I don't know yet. I also did not inspect this hive at all due to the number of bees and their agitation with me.
=========
Back Yard Bees
The honey super that I removed from the Alpha hive is sitting on a table near the hive so they can use it.
Friday, January 28, 2011
28 January, 12 pm - 2011
It was 55º at the Back Yard Hive. Clear skies and no wind.
The feeder jar was empty, replaced with a full one of 1:1 sugar/water. Bees were a bit agitated during the change out. Hopefully thats due to being cooped up the last few days.
The feeder jar was empty, replaced with a full one of 1:1 sugar/water. Bees were a bit agitated during the change out. Hopefully thats due to being cooped up the last few days.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
23 January, 1:30 pm - 2011
It was 53º, clear skies and no wind.
Backyard Bees
The feeder jar was empty so I replaced it with a full jar.
At the Bee Yard...
Alpha, Beta & Swarm Hives
Replaced feeder jars. Swarm hive jar was empty, Alpha hive jar was 3/4 full, Beta hive 1/8 left.
Backyard Bees
The feeder jar was empty so I replaced it with a full jar.
At the Bee Yard...
Alpha, Beta & Swarm Hives
Replaced feeder jars. Swarm hive jar was empty, Alpha hive jar was 3/4 full, Beta hive 1/8 left.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
16 January, 1:00 pm - 2011
It was 59º at the Bee Yard, clear skies and no wind.
Replaced the feeder jars of all hives today.
Alpha Hive & Beta Hive
A lot of entrance activity and bees flying all around the hive, could have been cleansing/orientation flights.
Swarm Hive
Noticed that there are no longer any of the light colored carnolians! All of the bees look like the Italians from the Alpha & Beta Hives. Its looking like the swarm hive perished and the other bees are robbing the hive. Although I didn't see any debris and such when bees rob a hive.
==========
At the back yard hive... on 15 January 2011 I replaced the feeder jar. There was a lot of entrance activity and many bees flying all around the hive yesterday and today.
I need to continue studying how to do hive splits!!!
Replaced the feeder jars of all hives today.
Alpha Hive & Beta Hive
A lot of entrance activity and bees flying all around the hive, could have been cleansing/orientation flights.
Swarm Hive
Noticed that there are no longer any of the light colored carnolians! All of the bees look like the Italians from the Alpha & Beta Hives. Its looking like the swarm hive perished and the other bees are robbing the hive. Although I didn't see any debris and such when bees rob a hive.
==========
At the back yard hive... on 15 January 2011 I replaced the feeder jar. There was a lot of entrance activity and many bees flying all around the hive yesterday and today.
I need to continue studying how to do hive splits!!!
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