June 7, 2008 - 6 pm

Finally made it on site. Checked the feeder jar - it was down to half full. Since it has been there for a few days I changed the jar with a full, fresh one.

Took the top cover off of the hive body to see what the bees were doing in the second brood chamber. Didn't see much going on, but there were maybe 50 or so bees scattered about the 10 frames.

Seems there are a few more bees hanging out at the entrance. Could be due to the heat or there just may be more bees.

I noticed underneath the bottom board, that there were pollen and wax flakes. I took a couple photos of that, since I have never read about that or seen it before.

I also saw on the landing area a pollen "packet" that a bee dropped. Several bees were consuming it, so I took a photo or two of that.

I looked around the hive for ants and other pests and didn't see any.

Its been one day short of thirty days since the bees were installed. Any day now there should be new bees climbing out of their cells. I think I posted about that before, but here it is again anyways.

Heres some photos and a short clip of the bees.

















Heres a couple of shots of some wax scales and pollen that fell through the bottom board






This is a clip of some activity at the hive entrance

June 6, 2008 - 10 am

I wasn't able to go on site to check the bees.

My Dad told me that the bees are in the upper brood chamber feeding from the syrup jar. But they are not consuming very much syrup. The jar is about half full now. Since its been out there for three days, I will replace it with a fresh jar tomorrow.

There were no signs of ants or other pests.

June 5, 2008 - 10:30am

I didn't make it on site. My Dad called me to tell me that about 1/8 of the syrup was used from yesterday until today. So that puts the contents of the jar to 3/4 full. The jar was left in place.

June 4, 2008 - 11am

Went on site to see how the hive was doing. There were a series of thunderstorms that moved through the area. The hive was okay, no damage.

Although it rained, I still didn't see any ants. I might have to put down more pesticide.

Checked the feeder jar - it was down by 1/8. Left it in place.

Opened up the hive to see how far along the bees were in drawing out comb on the frames.

There was burr comb in a few spots, cleaned it out.

While I was getting a good grip on a frame I accidently pressed too hard on a couple of bees. One of them retaliated. I didn't feel the sting, but I did notice the bee was stumbling away and then I saw the stinger in the tip of my thumb. So that ended the inspection for that frame, I carefully put it back in place. So far it looks like I'm not allergic to the bees.

Put my frame holder to use today. It works quite well, holds three frames without problems.

Found the queen! It looks to me like she is doing a great job

The bees have 5 full frames capped brood , a 6th frame drawn on one side with brood and the other side half drawn out.

A 7th frame has workers all over it, looks like they are beginning to draw out comb on one side.

Installed a second brood chamber. This chamber has 100% beeswax foundation. It will be interesting to see what the bees do.

Heres a couple of photos...

June 3, 2008 - 11 am

Didn't get a chance to make it on site.

Since the bees don't seem to be consuming very much from the syrup jars there is little worry of them not having food.

Tomorrow or the next day I will open the hive to see if I need to add another brood chamber.

Since it rained in the evening I'll check the site tomorrow and see if a reapplication of pesticide is needed. I might try pesticide in the form of granules.

June 2, 2008 - 1:30 pm

Checked the feeder jar- only 1/8 was consumed.

Re-application of the baby powder did seem to cut back on the number of ants on and around the hive.

Mixed up a batch of pesticide and used a watering can to dispense it.

I was looking for signs of other pests but I didn't see any.

June 1, 2008 - 1 pm

Checked the feeder jar - it was just under half - replaced with a full jar. Looks like the bees are consuming more syrup.

Also noticed that the ants are back! And there are alot of them. The bottom board with the water troughs that is now in use isn't slowing down the ants much. They seem to be exploiting some areas in the legs/troughs and they are getting into the hive. Tomorrow I will mix a batch of pesticide and put it down with a watering can. I will probably have to do this once a week.

While I was looking around and under the hive for ants and other bugs, I noticed that there were quite a few wax scales. I guess the bees can get a little sloppy sometimes and drop the wax scales. I should have taken a picture or two.

Well here are some photos of the front of the hive...










Here are a few photos of a frame holder I made last night. Its made out of scraps of aluminum and mild steel.