Cleaning house!

There was not a lot happening with the hives in the past few weeks worthy of a post. However, now that the weather's turned cool, there are some interesting activities to report.

For the past week or so, I've noticed a few dead bees and white larvae at the entrance to each hive; mysteriously they vanished within a few hours. Since the numbers weren't large, I wasn't too alarmed (I knew the hives weren't being robbed) — but I did open my beekeeping books to do a little research. I learned that, since bees are very hygienic creatures, they take advantage of mild weather days to do some housekeeping. The girls drag dead bees and larvae out of the hive and then the bodies are carried away for disposal. Mystery solved.

This morning I did a quick inspection. Sweet Beezus has a few frames of honey along with a few frames of brood in the top super! When I harvest the honey in a few weeks, I'll take the frames that are honey-only and leave the brood frames. Way to go, first year bees!

Apollo also has some honey in the top super, but only on the frames in the center of the box. I'm a little surprised the Apollo girls haven't stored more, but then they had better things to do this spring and summer. They were busy, swarming more than once and then defending their hive against would-be robbers and other intruders like bumblebees and yellow jackets.

The Rocky girls were angry this morning when I opened their hive, so I was hopeful that meant they were protecting a supply of honey. No luck, though — bees are in the top super building out comb but nothing has been stored. Haven already given up their honey supply earlier this summer, they're probably holding a grudge against me!

There are small hive beetles present in all three hives, so on harvest day, I'll install some traps. It will also be time to reduce the hive entrances and put in some pollen patties for the girls to eat during the winter. I think the extra protein from the patties, along with installing the beetle traps and reducing the hive entrances to better keep out the cold air, helped keep my girls healthy last winter.

Bee movie

Here's what it looks like when honeybees "beard" during hot weather.

Sweetness!

It was finally time to collect honey from the Rocky hive this week. With the smoker, wheelbarrow and a sheet, I went out early Thursday morning while the day was still cool enough to tolerate.

Unfortunately, the escape screen had not worked as well as expected and there were still quite a few bees in the honey super. I decided the best course of action was to remove one frame at a time, using the smoker and bee brush to gently move the bees off. When each frame was bee-free, I put it in the wheelbarrow and covered it with the sheet. Pretty soon, I had seven honey-filled frames (the eighth and final frame had built-out come but no honey). I hurried them into the garage and shut the door to keep the Rocky bees at bay. Bees will automatically try to retrieve the honey that you rob from their hives, and will follow it wherever it goes!


The two-can filtering system works great for a small beekeeping operation like mine. It's easy to use the cold knife to scrape the wax and honey into the top can. And then the honey runs down through the filters and into the bottom can, which has a gate for filling the jars. Here's a photo of just a small portion of the harvest.


Later I took the empty frames, inserted them back in their box and set it out on a table in the yard. The bees were immediately all over it, cleaning every vestige of honey left behind on those frames. Honeybees are such efficient creatures. Nothing goes to waste.

The waxy element.

For the past couple of days, we've experienced unseasonably cool temperatures for July in Georgia, making it much more appealing to suit up and inspect the hives this morning. I made sure there was plenty of fuel in the smoker and took an escape screen with me.

The Sweet BEEzus girls have moved up into their shallow super on top, but it looks like they are only storing pollen there so far. The Apollo bees are making honey in their top super, but very little of it is capped off.

I saved Rocky for last. Despite the smoke, these girls are feisty and they did not like it one bit when I took the cover off their hive and started poking around in the top super. The buzz was angry!

Their honey super is very heavy, and the middle frames are full of honey and mostly capped. Even though the end frames are not filled in, I decided to go ahead and insert the escape screen today (for more about how the escape screen works to separate the bees from the honey box, see http://beewaxingeloquent-helen.blogspot.com/2010/11/honey-harvest.html). I will be able to harvest this honey in a few days.

My decision was based on the sheer difficulty of being able to work with this hive. The amount of wax and propolis the girls are making have tightly sealed together not only all of the frames in the honey super, but also the inner and outer covers to the hive. It takes some muscle to pry things apart and even more finesse not to break anything!

So, honey harvest and photos coming soon. Once I've un-gummed up the works.

Up close views

FYI to those following this blog: You can see a much larger view of the photos by clicking on them with your mouse.

Now, that's progress.

Just a quick note about today's inspection. The girls of Sweet BEEzus have filled the two main supers with brood and stored sugar-syrup, so it was time to remove the feeder. I added a shallow super on top and hope that they'll make some honey by fall.

Apollo has made more progress in the top super and I'm optimistic that I'll be able to harvest some honey there later this summer. The Rocky girls were angry when I took off the inner cover today, a sure sign that they're guarding some major honey stores. Sure enough, most of the middle frames are capped and they're starting to fill in the frames on either end of the box. Hopefully that means a harvest in a couple of weeks.



Also, Apollo and Rocky are "bearding" in this hot weather. Last year, I freaked out the first time I saw this behavior. This year, it's just normal.

Sweet BEEzus!

Friends and followers, you were all quite creative with the names you submitted for Hive #3, but I think pretty much everyone agreed that "Sweet BEEzus" was outstanding! Thank you, David. I'll be sending you the first jar of honey I harvest this summer.


Today's hive inspection was so exciting! First, Sweet BEEzus is queen right and thriving. A look into the top super showed the queen is laying in a nice pattern and the girls are storing honey/sugar syrup in the tops of the frames. In a couple of weeks when I stop feeding these girls, I'll add another super on top just in case they decide to make some honey.


Now, for Apollo. The original hive is going strong, despite producing a couple of swarms and some robbing activity. A peek into the third super shows the girls are storing honey on about three of the frames, but it is not yet capped. I'm hopeful they will make at least one super of honey by the end of the summer.


Rocky had the best suprise of all. My scrappy swarm hive captured last summer is very productive! This hive also swarmed twice in the spring and has fended off "robbers." When I pulled out some frames in the third super, they were heavy with honey, most of it capped! I'm pretty sure I'll be able to harvest this honey in a couple of weeks.

All of this honey activity sent me hurrying to my computer to order more supplies. I ordered two shallow supers with frames for more honey production in Apollo and Rocky; an escape screen for separating the bees from the honey super; and nylon strainer bags for the honey filtering system.

What a sweet morning it's been. I love my bees.

Hot syrup

Hive 3 seems to be thriving. They have moved up into the second super, but I haven't opened up the hive again to see if the queen is laying brood there. Thought maybe I should give them some "space" for a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, my sugar buying frenzy at the grocery store continues. The bees need to be fed for another three to four weeks. Around noon today I realized I hadn't fed them since Sunday — oops! I made up a batch of sugar syrup in a hurry and barely gave it any time to cool off before I filled the feeder and loaded it in the hive. Yes, the bees got hot syrup today! Considering the afternoon heat here during the past two weeks, I doubt they will notice anything different.

Hive 3 is up and running!

My new package of bees arrived on Monday, May 16, 2011. Just as last year, I ordered them from Rossman Apiaries in Moultrie, Ga., and they were shipped through the U.S. postal service via Priority Mail. I find that people are either amazed, amused or horrified when they hear that live bees can come in the mail. Trust me, they are well packaged in a screened box and separated from the mail that comes to your residence, so no worries.

The installation went much smoother this time with a year's worth of experience under my belt. I now know that the bees are in swarm mode and fairly docile during this process, so I was comfortable using my bare hands.

The queen was in her little cage fastened to the top of the box and the rest of the bees were clustered around her in a cone shape hanging downward. I doused the package of bees with the simple syrup (sugar-water mixture) to keep them busy and happy while I removed a few end frames from the hive box. Using a nail, I removed the cork from the end of the queen's cage and placed it, screen side up, on the bottom of the hive under the middle frames. The worker bees would be able to see the queen and would eat through the candy "plug" on the end of her cage to release her.

Next, I banged the box on a brick paver to shake the bees down and away from the top. Using the hive tool, I pried up and removed the can of syrup from the box. The can serves as both a food source (there's a tiny hole poked in it to release small amounts of syrup for the bees) and a seal during transit.

Now the bees were ready to "load." Turning the box upside down, I shook it hard, dumping the bees out through the opening where the syrup can had been and down into the hive box. It took a good bit of shaking and banging each side of the box with my hands to get most of the bees out. As I replaced the removed frames down into the box, I was amazed at how easily the bees moved aside to accommodate them. Finally, I set the box down on the ground in front of the hive so the bees that were left inside could eventually fly out and into their new home.



Next the inner cover and cover were placed on the hive. I used the contents of the syrup can to fill the feeder and inserted it into the hive. And there you have it, new hive installed.



Today, almost a week later, I wanted to check and see if the workers had released the queen from her cage. (Rule #1: ALWAYS have the smoker going!)
The girls had done their job — the queen's cage was empty! A quick inspection of the frames showed lots of pollen and sugar-syrup storage. I didn't see any capped brood yet but thought I saw some larvae, so I do think the hive is "queen right."


Apollo and Rocky were both busy. I removed the entrance reducers I'd put on during the swarming and robbing weeks, so now they have better ventilation. There's comb being built out in the top boxes but no honey yet. Maybe in the fall! The swarms taught me that I'd chosen to make bees rather than make honey, but that's not a bad thing — our environment can certainly use more pollinators.


Currently soliciting suggestions of names for the new hive; winner to be announced soon!

Newbies...make that new bees!

Tomorrow's "shipping" day. The new bees I ordered from Rossman Apiaries will be shipped out to me via Priority Mail. (Hopefully, there is no significance to Friday the 13th in this case.) The new girls should arrive here Monday or Tuesday.

In preparation for their arrival, I watched the Brushy Mountain DVD for beginners again, paying special attention to the segment on how to install packaged bees. The hive is painted and ready in its place out in the back yard. All that's left to do is make a batch of sugar syrup on Monday for spraying the bees down and then feeding them.

Pictures to come after installation next week.

Swarmy weather

Today I experienced the natural phenomenon of swarming first-hand. I noticed some unusual activity going on in front of the Rocky hive this afternoon and when I went outside, I heard an enormous BUZZ. Thousands of bees were flying around in a frenzy in the warm sunshine, heading up to the branch of a nearby pine tree. They held in a tight cocoon on the branch, and I hoped that they would make their way to the empty hive I'd set out a few days ago.

About four hours later, the swarm had vanished, heading on to whatever permanent location they'd selected. Unfortunately, it wasn't the "bait" hive in my yard!

Here's a little movie of this afternoon's action:

Preparation is the key

It's a beautiful, warm, sunny day — just perfect for painting my new hive and doing an inspection of Apollo and Rocky.

Both hives overwintered nicely and appear to be strong. I did not go into the bottom supers, but did pull some frames from the middle supers to see that the queen was busy laying eggs and the bees had plenty of honey stored around the edges for food.

I have put queen excluders on both hives and honey supers on top of those. (The excluder keeps the queen from making her way up and laying eggs in the honey super.) The workers have made their way up into the honey supers and are building out comb, so I hope this signals lots of sweet honey to come this summer!

Preparing for spring

I'm excited! I've ordered another package of bees and the woodenware to start a third hive. The bees were ordered from Rossman Apiaries in Moultrie, Ga. (same place as last year), and are supposed to arrive in mid-May. I'm expecting the hive box to come via UPS sometime next week, so I'll need to pick out a level spot in the back yard for it, paint it and buy some concrete blocks for the base.

Now that the weather's warming up, it's time to think about feeding the bees again. Temps have been climbing into the low 70s this week, and both the Apollo and Rocky bees have been very active in the afternoons. It's fun to see them out and about, flying around. Once the temperatures are consistently above freezing in the mornings, I'll take out the entrance reducers on the hives and remove what's left of the pollen patties that were a food source during the winter months.

With the possibility of summer honey in mind, I've started saving small jars for samples to give to family and friends. Last fall, I had to scramble for jars and finally found some at Hobby Lobby and, believe it or not, a fabric store. In the event there's a LOT of honey, I'll order some squeeze bottles and labels. That's a pleasant though.

The third hive is gonna need a name, preferably continuing the Rocky theme. Now accepting suggestions, folks...

Snow bees

Sunday night, the snows came to Roswell...and then the ice. Fortunately, our electricity stayed intact, but the Atlanta roadways have been an icy mess for four days. The media have dubbed it "Snowmageddon."


On day 2 of Snowmageddon, I wanted to see how the bees were coping with the situation, so I put on boots and headed out to the back yard. Snow had completely blocked the entrances to the hives, so I brushed it away. Bees need a way in and out of the hive for cleansing flights in the wintertime (believe it or not, bees can get dysentery if they are hive-bound too long).

I gently lifted a corner of each hive's cover and heard the girls humming. I could see them buzzing through the oval-shaped hole in the inner cover, and they appear to be eating the pollen patties I inserted in late November. The following afternoon, I made another short visit and noticed some "bee debris" on the snow in front of the hives so I know the girls are flying out for a little fresh air.

Although they appear quite delicate, honeybees are amazingly tenacious little creatures.