Casualties are inevitable...

Latest inspection: both hives are actively producing new bees and storing honey and pollen for winter reserves. I got some honey on my frame grip as I reloaded frames into the supers — the bees wanted it back! See photo, right, of a few bees clustered on the grip.


Rocky is thriving, but bee-laden Apollo looks really healthy right now. I saw very few beetles and wax moth larvae, so I reckon the bees can, indeed, take care of themselves.


Opening up the hives is dicey process for the bees. Removing and replacing covers and supers inevitably results in some casualties...but I still feel bad about every bee I lose.

Cool breeze

We're experiencing our first taste of fall this weekend in north Georgia. We've got sunny, bright blue skies and a light breeze. The lows have been in the upper 50s/low 60s, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s and no humidity.


Yesterday's cool temps made doing a hive inspection more inviting. The top super of Apollo still shows little activity, except for a few bees drawing out comb and storing pollen. The middle super has brood and honey storage, and the bottom super is heavy with brood (see photo at right). When I say these supers are heavy, I mean it! I'm guessing they weigh at least 40 pounds each when full of bees and/or honey. I'm using medium-sized supers, so I can only imagine how heavy the deep supers must be when they are full.


I saw very few beetles in Apollo and found only a few in the beetle trap (pictured right). Forgot to pull out the sticky board to see if there were any moth larvae, but I'll do that next time. Thankfully, I'm not seeing any mites.

Rocky is still gaining strength. The bottom super has plenty of egg-laying activity going on, and the top super has some honey/sugar-water storage. After a discussion with my friend and bee-mentor Drea last week, I moved some empty frames to the center of the top super in hopes of encouraging the queen to move up and lay eggs there, too.

I've been curious about how the bees would react to cooler temperatures. The only real change I've noticed is a decrease in "bearding" on the outside of the hives. Guess it's more comfortable to be indoors these days.

Unfortunately, I've learned that bees really can sting through the protective clothing. I got a stinger through my glove. Sorry little buddy, you gave your life to zing one into the heel of my left hand. This makes only my fourth sting (not counting the rogue yellow yacket) of my beekeeping experience. I'd like to think this means my bees love me...but in reality I've just been lucky.


And now for something truly scary (could be this year's Halloween costume). My friend (and possibly biggest bee fan) Dick Funderburke has been nagging me about posting a photo of myself in my bee gear. So, here you go, Dick, this one's for you.