At the bee yard it was 88º, light breeze and partly cloudy.
Alpha Hive
At the entrance there was a lot of bees coming and going and a lot flying around in front of the hive, it was very busy.
Opened up the honey super and found that the girls are not doing anything in it! Removed it and started looking through the top hive body frames.
Found a lot of capped brood, some eggs and larva. So the queen is there somewhere...
Noticed that there were a lot of bees packed in the top hive body and the bottom hive body. Wish they would get busy in the honey super.
While looking through the frames for signs of the queen I found three frames( top hive body, outer two frames one side and two frames other side) full of honey / capped honey.
Put all the frames back in order.
Since the girls seem reluctant to go into the honey super, I removed the queen excluder.
Beta Hive
Activity at the entrance and front of hive was minimal. The were only a few bees coming and going and just four-six at most at the entrance area.
Opened up the honey super and there were no signs of activity. Removed the honey super to look through the top hive body frames.
There were significantly less bees in this top super than I have seen in the past. While looking through the frames I found some capped brood cells but not many like I was seeing from about a month ago. I didn't see any eggs, but I did see larva maturing.
In this top hive body four frames were filled with honey. Again its the outer frames that have the honey. Two frames have been completely filled and capped, the other two are filled with honey but only partially capped.
So I removed the top hive body and put it aside since I couldn't find signs of the queen or the queen.
I found some capped brood much like the top brood box. I couldn't see any eggs. The number of bees were also alot less than what I have seen in the past. I did find the queen but she looked alot smaller than a month ago.
For the last three weeks there was a massive buildup of bees, a decline in egg laying and now a significant decrease in the bee population. The beta hive appears to have swarmed.
I am hoping this new queen will get things going again and maybe I'll have some honey this year.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
2 May, 2009 - 1 pm
It was 86º, light wind, partly cloudy at the bee yard.
Alpha Hive
Outside and at the entrance there was a lot of activity, much more than the beta hive. I opened the honey super and found that the girls are not doing anything in it!
I removed the honey super and began inspecting the frames of the top hive body. I looked through 7 of the ten frames. I found eggs so the queen is there and busy. I noticed that the top hive body has a couple of frames that are filled with honey and pollen. I am hoping they will have a surplus.
Three slo-mo Movies of the entrance area of the Alpha Hive
Beta Hive
It didn't seem as busy as it usually is outside at the entrance, but there were some bees coming and going.
Opened up the top honey super to see what the girls were doing. There were a lot of bees in the north side of the honey super on two frames but I could not tell if there was any comb being drawn. The rest of the honey super frames didn't have the bees on them.
I removed the honey super to look through the frames of the top hive body.
I looked through 8 out of ten frames. I didn't bother looking through the last two frames.
The eight frames had a lot of eggs and larva at different stages of maturation.
There seemed to be plenty of capped brood among the frames. I noticed that of the 8 frames 3 frames had only honey and some of the honey was capped. Hopefully the girls will move up into the honey super.
Beta Hive Photos
This is the tenth frame in the top hive super. The girls have begun drawing comb!!! Hopefully they will begin this process in the honey super
This is frame 9 or 8, either way this is what they look like right now! That frame is loaded with uncapped honey...
In these next 2 photos, couple of hatchlings can be seen chewing through the wax cell caps getting ready to climb out into the hive.
This is a closer shot of the previous image...
These three photos are of the same frame. Eggs can be seen, as well as several bees climbing out of their cells...
This is a slo-mo movie of the activity happening under the Beta Hive today
Alpha Hive
Outside and at the entrance there was a lot of activity, much more than the beta hive. I opened the honey super and found that the girls are not doing anything in it!
I removed the honey super and began inspecting the frames of the top hive body. I looked through 7 of the ten frames. I found eggs so the queen is there and busy. I noticed that the top hive body has a couple of frames that are filled with honey and pollen. I am hoping they will have a surplus.
Three slo-mo Movies of the entrance area of the Alpha Hive
Beta Hive
It didn't seem as busy as it usually is outside at the entrance, but there were some bees coming and going.
Opened up the top honey super to see what the girls were doing. There were a lot of bees in the north side of the honey super on two frames but I could not tell if there was any comb being drawn. The rest of the honey super frames didn't have the bees on them.
I removed the honey super to look through the frames of the top hive body.
I looked through 8 out of ten frames. I didn't bother looking through the last two frames.
The eight frames had a lot of eggs and larva at different stages of maturation.
There seemed to be plenty of capped brood among the frames. I noticed that of the 8 frames 3 frames had only honey and some of the honey was capped. Hopefully the girls will move up into the honey super.
Beta Hive Photos
This is the tenth frame in the top hive super. The girls have begun drawing comb!!! Hopefully they will begin this process in the honey super
This is frame 9 or 8, either way this is what they look like right now! That frame is loaded with uncapped honey...
In these next 2 photos, couple of hatchlings can be seen chewing through the wax cell caps getting ready to climb out into the hive.
This is a closer shot of the previous image...
These three photos are of the same frame. Eggs can be seen, as well as several bees climbing out of their cells...
This is a slo-mo movie of the activity happening under the Beta Hive today
Saturday, April 25, 2009
April 25, 2009 - 3 pm
Out at the Bee yard it was 88º , light wind and clear skies.
Alpha Hive
I did not open the hive or honey super.
Beta Hive
I removed the honey super to look through the top hive body. I was looking for the queen or signs of her on each frame. I found plenty of fresh eggs but I did not see the queen in the top hive body. I removed burr comb and stuff like that while examining each frame. I noticed that on each frame a lot of honey storage was happening. I found one frame that was all honey storage with half already capped. I didn't see signs of hive beetles or other pests.
SIDENOTE:
The buildup of bees underneath Beta hive may have been due to a feral swarm taking up temporary residence!!!!
Alpha Hive
I did not open the hive or honey super.
Beta Hive
I removed the honey super to look through the top hive body. I was looking for the queen or signs of her on each frame. I found plenty of fresh eggs but I did not see the queen in the top hive body. I removed burr comb and stuff like that while examining each frame. I noticed that on each frame a lot of honey storage was happening. I found one frame that was all honey storage with half already capped. I didn't see signs of hive beetles or other pests.
SIDENOTE:
The buildup of bees underneath Beta hive may have been due to a feral swarm taking up temporary residence!!!!
Friday, April 24, 2009
April 24, 2009 - 4 pm
Went out to the Bee Yard, it was 85º, clear skies, very little wind.
Alpha Hive
Looked busy, a lot of bees coming and going. Since it has a honey super I removed the top cover to see what was being done in it. So far nothing is being stored in the honey super!
I removed the honey super to take a look inside the top hive body. The cluster is about 7 frames wide in the top hive body. Where ever there is drawn comb, there is honey/pollen being stored. I found the queen after pulling the third frame! So I put that frame in and pulled a couple of frames out that were no where near her. There were young larva and capped brood on those frames. Didn't see any hive beetles or other pests. Put all the frames back and put the excluder and honey super back on top.
Beta Hive
Didn't seem as busy as it usually does...
It has a honey super so I removed the top cover to peek inside. The girls are not doing anything in the honey super. I removed the honey super and excluder to look inside the hive but I didn't move any frames. There seemed to be so many bees packed in the frames. I left them as is and put all the stuff back in order. Tomorrow I think I will take a closer look and inspect frames in the hive.
Last week there were a lot of busy gathering outside and underneath the hive. This week there were only 20 or so gathered under the bottom board. I did find that there was two inch diameter chunk of comb that the bees had drawn out on the bottom outside of the bottom board where so many had gathered last week. I scraped it off and found that it was loaded with curing nectar! I am hoping that all those bees were not part of a swarm and that they went inside to start working.
Alpha Hive
Looked busy, a lot of bees coming and going. Since it has a honey super I removed the top cover to see what was being done in it. So far nothing is being stored in the honey super!
I removed the honey super to take a look inside the top hive body. The cluster is about 7 frames wide in the top hive body. Where ever there is drawn comb, there is honey/pollen being stored. I found the queen after pulling the third frame! So I put that frame in and pulled a couple of frames out that were no where near her. There were young larva and capped brood on those frames. Didn't see any hive beetles or other pests. Put all the frames back and put the excluder and honey super back on top.
Beta Hive
Didn't seem as busy as it usually does...
It has a honey super so I removed the top cover to peek inside. The girls are not doing anything in the honey super. I removed the honey super and excluder to look inside the hive but I didn't move any frames. There seemed to be so many bees packed in the frames. I left them as is and put all the stuff back in order. Tomorrow I think I will take a closer look and inspect frames in the hive.
Last week there were a lot of busy gathering outside and underneath the hive. This week there were only 20 or so gathered under the bottom board. I did find that there was two inch diameter chunk of comb that the bees had drawn out on the bottom outside of the bottom board where so many had gathered last week. I scraped it off and found that it was loaded with curing nectar! I am hoping that all those bees were not part of a swarm and that they went inside to start working.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
April 18, 2009 - 4pm
At the bee yard it was about 78º, no wind, clear skies.
Alpha Hive
Didn't open it to inspect brood supers, but I did open up the honey super. The bees are not doing anything in the honey super. Outside the hive and at the entrance the bees look as busy as they usually do.
Beta hive
There was a lot of outside activity all around the hive and at the entrance. The outside activity revealed that hundred of bees have gathered underneath the screened bottom board. There are so many bees under the hive!! I peeked under the hive and saw a lot of drones in the bees. I tried to look for a queen but did not find one. She could be there, there are just so many bees its hard to pick her out. I took several photos and I will look through them to see if I can spot a queen. It looks to me that this is the beginning of a swarm!!!
The top brood super has about 7-8 frames of bees. I also checked the bottom brood super and it too has about 7-8 frames of bees. I went ahead and put a honey super on the hive.
These two photos show what it looked like at around 4:30 this evening under the hive!!!
This is what it looked like at around 7 pm this evening, looks like the bees went back into the hive for the night.
Alpha Hive
Didn't open it to inspect brood supers, but I did open up the honey super. The bees are not doing anything in the honey super. Outside the hive and at the entrance the bees look as busy as they usually do.
Beta hive
There was a lot of outside activity all around the hive and at the entrance. The outside activity revealed that hundred of bees have gathered underneath the screened bottom board. There are so many bees under the hive!! I peeked under the hive and saw a lot of drones in the bees. I tried to look for a queen but did not find one. She could be there, there are just so many bees its hard to pick her out. I took several photos and I will look through them to see if I can spot a queen. It looks to me that this is the beginning of a swarm!!!
The top brood super has about 7-8 frames of bees. I also checked the bottom brood super and it too has about 7-8 frames of bees. I went ahead and put a honey super on the hive.
These two photos show what it looked like at around 4:30 this evening under the hive!!!
This is what it looked like at around 7 pm this evening, looks like the bees went back into the hive for the night.
Monday, April 13, 2009
April 12, 2009 - 3pm
This Sunday I thought I would check the progress of the girls.
It was 78º and there was a light breeze, no clouds.
Alpha Hive
The outside activity of the hive looked okay, bees coming and going, very few milling about in front on the landing board. I still have an entrance reducer in place and using the largest opening for access.
Opened up the hive. Since this hive has a honey super I looked through it for signs of honey storage. I didn't find any bees in this super. They just aren't going into the super. They are busy in the top brood super. There are eggs, larva and many more capped cells. I think next week end I will swap the brood supers. I will still keep the honey super on but I will remove the queen excluder and see if that is what is keeping the bees out. I did not see any signs of hive beetles or wax moth or any other pests.
Alpha Hive Photos
This photo has the Queen in it...she is almost in the middle of the photo
Beta Hive
The outside of the hive was very busy. There were so many bees they were "flowing" over each other to get in and out of the entrance. The entrance reducer is still in place with the smallest opening.
Inside the hive the bees were busy drawing comb. They were clinging together in such numbers. At this time they are working on six frames and five of them are drawn comb. The queen has been laying eggs in these frames. I also found that they are storing pollen and nectar in these frames as well. Next weekend, weather permitting I will add a honey super. I am considering swapping the brood supers. I didn't see any signs of hive beetles or wax moth.
Beta Hive Photos
It was 78º and there was a light breeze, no clouds.
Alpha Hive
The outside activity of the hive looked okay, bees coming and going, very few milling about in front on the landing board. I still have an entrance reducer in place and using the largest opening for access.
Opened up the hive. Since this hive has a honey super I looked through it for signs of honey storage. I didn't find any bees in this super. They just aren't going into the super. They are busy in the top brood super. There are eggs, larva and many more capped cells. I think next week end I will swap the brood supers. I will still keep the honey super on but I will remove the queen excluder and see if that is what is keeping the bees out. I did not see any signs of hive beetles or wax moth or any other pests.
Alpha Hive Photos
This photo has the Queen in it...she is almost in the middle of the photo
Beta Hive
The outside of the hive was very busy. There were so many bees they were "flowing" over each other to get in and out of the entrance. The entrance reducer is still in place with the smallest opening.
Inside the hive the bees were busy drawing comb. They were clinging together in such numbers. At this time they are working on six frames and five of them are drawn comb. The queen has been laying eggs in these frames. I also found that they are storing pollen and nectar in these frames as well. Next weekend, weather permitting I will add a honey super. I am considering swapping the brood supers. I didn't see any signs of hive beetles or wax moth.
Beta Hive Photos
Saturday, April 4, 2009
April 04, 2009 - 4 pm
At the bee yard it was 73º and no breeze.
Alpha Hive
At the entrance the Alpha hive looked busy. I checked on the hive top feeder and found that the bees have not been doing much with it. I removed it. I looked inside the hive and there were bees in there but they were not very active. The main cluster of bees were on the south side of the hive. They covered about five frames. The other five frames had bees milling about but not many. Of those five frames two were being filled with honey. I did not remove any frames where the main cluster was located. I didn't notice any hive beetles or other pests inside. I put the queen excluder back on and a honey super and closed up the hive. I did not see any ants or other pests on the outside of the hive.
Beta Hive
There was alot of activity at the entrance to the hive. Within the 10 minutes or so of watching them, there were so many bees that they appeared to be flowing in and out of the entrance!!! The entrance reducer is still in place and with the smallest opening. I opened up the hive to peek inside and found that the bees have moved up to the top hive body and are busy drawing comb on three frames! I did not do a detailed inspection, I just moved a couple of frames to see what they were doing. I didn't see any signs of hive beetles or other pests. I put things back in place and closed the hive. I didn't see any ants or other pests on the outside of the hive.
Alpha Hive
At the entrance the Alpha hive looked busy. I checked on the hive top feeder and found that the bees have not been doing much with it. I removed it. I looked inside the hive and there were bees in there but they were not very active. The main cluster of bees were on the south side of the hive. They covered about five frames. The other five frames had bees milling about but not many. Of those five frames two were being filled with honey. I did not remove any frames where the main cluster was located. I didn't notice any hive beetles or other pests inside. I put the queen excluder back on and a honey super and closed up the hive. I did not see any ants or other pests on the outside of the hive.
Beta Hive
There was alot of activity at the entrance to the hive. Within the 10 minutes or so of watching them, there were so many bees that they appeared to be flowing in and out of the entrance!!! The entrance reducer is still in place and with the smallest opening. I opened up the hive to peek inside and found that the bees have moved up to the top hive body and are busy drawing comb on three frames! I did not do a detailed inspection, I just moved a couple of frames to see what they were doing. I didn't see any signs of hive beetles or other pests. I put things back in place and closed the hive. I didn't see any ants or other pests on the outside of the hive.
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