Its been about three weeks since I have visited the bees. It was 83º, breezy with scattered clouds.
Alpha Hive
There was a lot of activity at the hive entrance. The bees were bringing in white/yellow colored pollen.
Inside the hive: at first it didn't seem as though there were many bees, but they were packed in the frames on the top hive body. I removed three frames from the top hive body and peered down into the bottom hive body. There were as many bees in the bottom box as the top. I counted six frames of honey/pollen as of today.
Found eggs, larva of various stages
Beta Hive
This hive has alot more bees in both hive bodies than the Alpha hive. The bees are still storing honey and pollen. I removed a couple of frames from the top body and looked through to the bottom and things seem okay, I didn't really want to disturb the girls too much.
Found eggs, larva of various stages
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
September 13, 2009 - 1:30pm
It was about 85º at the bee yard, very little wind, cloudy skies.
Alpha Hive
Opened up the honey super to see how they girls were doing. They are storing a lot of honey in there, about 6 frames have honey!!!
Alpha Hive
Opened up the honey super to see how they girls were doing. They are storing a lot of honey in there, about 6 frames have honey!!!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
September 5, 2009 - 10:30 AM
It was honey harvest day for the Beta Hive! The girls capped eight and a half frames out of nine!
Extracted about 35 pounds of honey from 9 frames of a medium honey super.
Returned the empty honey super to the hive so the girls can clean it up. I'll check on that in a couple of days or so.
Looked through the honey super frames on the Alpha hive. Didn't see that many hive beetles. There were hundreds more bees up in the honey super. They have repaired damaged comb and have been storing honey!!
So, for this year the total honey harvest has been 130 pounds(95lbs from Alpha, 35 lbs from Beta).
Extracted about 35 pounds of honey from 9 frames of a medium honey super.
Returned the empty honey super to the hive so the girls can clean it up. I'll check on that in a couple of days or so.
Looked through the honey super frames on the Alpha hive. Didn't see that many hive beetles. There were hundreds more bees up in the honey super. They have repaired damaged comb and have been storing honey!!
So, for this year the total honey harvest has been 130 pounds(95lbs from Alpha, 35 lbs from Beta).
Saturday, August 15, 2009
August 15, 2009 - 11 am
Today's entry is in regards to a honeybee swarm.
Thursday of this week a friend of mine who happens to be a beekeeper got a tip about a swarm of bees. We checked it out and discovered the bees had recently taken up residence in what is called an egg cooler. The bees were very mellow, they were not concerned about us in any way. So their temperment seemed good. We setup our gear and began removing the comb and the bees. The bees made about three deeps worth of frames. There were so many bees. I used a dust bin and brush to collect them and then dumped them into the hive body containing their comb. It took some time to collect the bees with the dustbin but it seemed to go well. We took a couple of breaks during that time to let the bees settle and to cool off since it was so hot. We think we got the queen because more bees were flying over to the hive body and settling on it.
Thursday of this week a friend of mine who happens to be a beekeeper got a tip about a swarm of bees. We checked it out and discovered the bees had recently taken up residence in what is called an egg cooler. The bees were very mellow, they were not concerned about us in any way. So their temperment seemed good. We setup our gear and began removing the comb and the bees. The bees made about three deeps worth of frames. There were so many bees. I used a dust bin and brush to collect them and then dumped them into the hive body containing their comb. It took some time to collect the bees with the dustbin but it seemed to go well. We took a couple of breaks during that time to let the bees settle and to cool off since it was so hot. We think we got the queen because more bees were flying over to the hive body and settling on it.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
August 9, 2009 - 1pm
It was in the high 90s, clear skies and lightly breezey at the bee yard.
I used a watering can to put down insecticide to deal with the ants.
I used the weed eater all around the hive stand to clear away weeds and grass.
Next weekend I will attempt a thorough inspection of both hives.
I used a watering can to put down insecticide to deal with the ants.
I used the weed eater all around the hive stand to clear away weeds and grass.
Next weekend I will attempt a thorough inspection of both hives.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
August 8, 2009 - 4:30pm
Temps were in the low 80s. It was overcast with lite rain.
Alpha Hive
The honey super had ants all around the outside.
Opened up the honey super. The girls cleaned it up nicely. Bees covered three of the middle frames. Looked like they were repairing the damaged comb.
On the ground in front of the Alpha hive I found several bees that had deformed wings!!! So I need to start using the fogger to deal with the varroa mites.
An inspection of the lower brood boxes was not done.
Beta Hive
The bees have 2 frames 50% capped and are working from the middle of the super outwards.
I didn't remove the honey super to do an inspection this weekend.
Alpha Hive
The honey super had ants all around the outside.
Opened up the honey super. The girls cleaned it up nicely. Bees covered three of the middle frames. Looked like they were repairing the damaged comb.
On the ground in front of the Alpha hive I found several bees that had deformed wings!!! So I need to start using the fogger to deal with the varroa mites.
An inspection of the lower brood boxes was not done.
Beta Hive
The bees have 2 frames 50% capped and are working from the middle of the super outwards.
I didn't remove the honey super to do an inspection this weekend.
Friday, August 7, 2009
August 6, 2009 - 8 am
It was 88º, clear skies and no breeze at the bee yard.
Alpha Hive
Decided to go ahead and harvest the honey. The frames were not as fully drawn as they were in the spring so there was not as much honey. There was a total of 26 pounds of honey and thats okay with me. Returned the super with the empty frames to the hive to let them clean it up. I'll check on that this weekend.
Beta Hive
Did not disturb this hive. I will check the honey super this weekend.
Alpha Hive
Decided to go ahead and harvest the honey. The frames were not as fully drawn as they were in the spring so there was not as much honey. There was a total of 26 pounds of honey and thats okay with me. Returned the super with the empty frames to the hive to let them clean it up. I'll check on that this weekend.
Beta Hive
Did not disturb this hive. I will check the honey super this weekend.
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