tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47931377645994135562024-03-19T03:14:56.498-07:00I'll Bee Seeing You'There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance.' Henry David Thoreau
We are beekeepers -- new beekeepers. We started off as avid gardeners then moved to an acreage where we could grow our own food. Bees seemed like a natural progression.The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-10480729775943580702017-06-24T17:38:00.000-07:002017-06-24T17:38:20.622-07:00Swarm Chasers!<div class="MsoNormal">
Swarm Chasers!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swarm on a flower pot</td></tr>
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It’s that time of year again… the beehives are bursting out
all over the place, and we are out catching swarms. It’s a good time to remind
people to please not panic if you see a swarm of bees. You know what I mean –
the pictures of vehicles covered with bees, or a school bus fender hiding behind
a massive beard of our little lovelies. When bees swarm, they are very docile –
probably the most docile they will be in their lives – because they have a
queen with them, and they have no brood or food stores or home to protect. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craig called us to gather his swarm</td></tr>
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A swarm is really just nature’s way of allowing a colony to
reproduce. The bees, when they land in your yard and hang off a branch or
fence, or as they were today, a plant pot, they are only there temporarily
(unless the queen gets stuck somewhere, like in the back seat of a car). Their
original home will be usually less than a quarter mile away, and they have
stopped to re-orientate themselves as they head to their new home. Whether they
have already decided where it will be and are sending scout bees out to it, or
if they are there while scout bees hunt out a new viable home for them to move
to, is still under discussion. What we do know is that they will move from
their first landing point to their permanent home, usually in a couple hours.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg gathering a swarm in a juniper bush. </td></tr>
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If you watch them once they have landed and are bearded
around their queen, you will see many of them shaking their abdomens (which
could be considered their tails, in this case). That is their way of
communicating with each other, but it also is how they send out pheromones to
let other bees know where they are and where the queen is. This helps those
scout bees find their way back to the swarm. They will move on, so please, if
you can’t contact a beekeeper to gather them up, leave them alone for a few
hours and they will eventually fly away. Don’t spray them with insecticide, or
spray your plants around them. Instead, pour yourself a cup of coffee and
watch; they are truly fascinating.</div>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-56253058231535070782017-02-11T11:48:00.000-08:002017-02-11T11:48:12.681-08:00Planting for Bees<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee on dandelion</td></tr>
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It’s time to take advantage of these winter doldrums,
especially as we look out at fresh snow (again) in February. While the bees are
busy rubbing their wings for heat and (hopefully) tending the new brood that
will be spring bees, we can curl up by the fire and dream of warmer days. What
better way to do that than with the seed catalogs? We’ve been stock-piling
them since Christmas, so time to jump in and start planning our plantings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee on hyacinth </td></tr>
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For us, there are two things at the top of the list to
consider – the first is to find plants that feed either the family or the bees,
or both. Because we have locust trees, which create an amazing flavor in honey,
we want to compliment that taste. Raspberries work well, and we have a lot of
them; it’s a good thing because both the bees and the boys love them. We will
be planting some lavender this year, adding to what we already have, and I am
hoping to add more herbs around the new apiary. Crocuses and hyacinth which
bloom in the spring are always good additions (but those are planted in the
fall. We have our crocuses planted in the lawn so they come up and are finished
before the grass needs mowed). Bee balm (monarda), cosmos, Echinacea,
foxgloves, and all blooming trees are a great addition. Asters and zinnia in
the fall are also nice, and goldenrod is another important plant here,
providing nectar and pollen when most plants are shutting down in the heat of
the summer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee on Cherry Blossom</td></tr>
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The idea of tilling up some of our field to plant it to
clover and wildflowers also has some appeal. It would be a good three-season
food source for the bees, and would cut down on our need to mow the field as
much, reducing our carbon footprint. We will also be experimenting with cover
crops – planting buckwheat on a part of the old pasture to help choke out
invasive weeds and to feed the bees – they love buckwheat (but it does make a
darker honey). We can leave the cuttings on the field at the end of the season,
and that will help improve our soil. We have begun introducing white clover to
our lawns. This is primarily to feed our bees – nothing quite like clover honey
– but also to help keep the areas green in the hot temperatures when lawn just
doesn’t do it without copious amounts of watering, and cuts down the need for
mowing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcqVUs7CpwT0lPBo7DaU-Tae7gbEhm4hbq-P9MtLyTnEdXfZ9xVFv0qTgZcbRoJ7rbuYRJOVtubyWDl4liTTYrYQ_pdPH2Ms1yg4a4ynQ1Q5GwaDdO3TPWvCjepaYc17BJbB300RLG444/s1600/flowerssring2014+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcqVUs7CpwT0lPBo7DaU-Tae7gbEhm4hbq-P9MtLyTnEdXfZ9xVFv0qTgZcbRoJ7rbuYRJOVtubyWDl4liTTYrYQ_pdPH2Ms1yg4a4ynQ1Q5GwaDdO3TPWvCjepaYc17BJbB300RLG444/s320/flowerssring2014+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee on Apple Blossoms</td></tr>
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This takes us to the second most important consideration; to
choose plants that are hardy and that will not require or come with any chemical
contamination. Along with this, we need plants that can withstand the hot
summers without a lot of water. We have been leaning more toward heirloom
seeds, loving the varieties but also the nostalgia of them. We lean toward West
Coast Seeds from Canada and Johnny’s Seeds in the US, simply because of the
variety and quality – we know what we are getting and that it will be safe for
our bees. We want to grow plants that complement each other, creating a
symbiotic relationship wherever possible to fight diseases and pests. Sometimes
compromises have to be made – marigolds are wonderful for keeping pests away,
but don’t make the nicest honey. Fortunately a little marigold goes a long way
in protecting the garden, and if there are other sources of pollen available
(like raspberries!) the bees will choose those first. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bee on buckwheat</td></tr>
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We would be remiss to not mention the vital role dandelions
fill for the bees. In the spring, when there are not a lot of other plants
blooming, dandelions are a godsend. They are a wonderful source of pollen and a
first source of nectar for the bees, keeping them going in a time when the bees
are trying to build hive strength with only a few resources. Please do not
spray your dandelions – they are really only determined but misplaced flowers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you find you do have to spray your plants, please avoid
doing it mid-day when the bees are their busiest. In the mornings, when it is
still too cool, or in the evenings, when they are returning home for the day
would be a much better time, if you must. This isn’t just about our bees; it’s
about all the bees and other pollinators depending on these plants for
sustenance. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As an added note from our last blog, we finally have a ‘cleansing
flight’ day for our bees! It’s still colder than what it should be for them to
venture out, but when nature calls… <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">FLOWERS FOR BEES: </span></b>Calendula, Butterfly Bush, Cleome, Clarkia, Columbine, Cornflower, Cosmos, Forget-me-not, Delphinium, Dianthus, Digitalis, Echinacea, Blanketflower, Hollyhock, Candytuft (Iberis), Linum, Lavatera, Lobelia, Lunara, Lupins, Morning Glory, Nasturtiums, Purple Tansy, Poppies, Scabiosa, Snapdragons, Statice, Strawflowers, Sunflowers, Veronica, Yarrow, Zinnea</div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>HERBS FOR BEES:</b></span> Bergamot, Borage, Chamomile, Chives, Lavender, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme</div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-85133274919247243332017-02-08T20:30:00.001-08:002017-02-08T20:30:38.185-08:00Keeping the Hive Alive<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hives in their new apiary. The snow is up to the top<br />of the benches they sit on (18" high) and the weatherman<br />is today calling for about another 12" to fall tonight and<br />tomorrow morning.<br /></td></tr>
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As we brace for yet another blast of snow (really, Mother
Nature, enough is enough) it might be a good time to think about spring, from a
bee’s perspective. We spend a lot of time making sure that our bees have the
best preparation possible for winter, but in Canada, that season comes with a
lot of variables, so in many ways, it can be a bit of a nail-biter. For us, it
is very rare to still have these cold temperatures and snow falling. That is
where we’re at right now – wondering if we gave them enough food, wondering if
the weight of the hives was high enough to give them good odds of survival,
etc. The one thing we do know is that when the temperatures are this cold, we
cannot open up the hives to check on them. That blast of cold would definitely
hurt them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiGP8MTIgY5UOi8elZxtg6UpYNLczy0Y-G0tVe88pJA9gT6BPpbnvrjKLKHjfl4ZvVifaXf2hPWMtrV_fN3pSBDJ-9ohD31nX3Hup2LLPIk2LPkpHby8K9XjTnI8ktgk56JtVOV1nGXTw/s1600/feb+2016+189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiGP8MTIgY5UOi8elZxtg6UpYNLczy0Y-G0tVe88pJA9gT6BPpbnvrjKLKHjfl4ZvVifaXf2hPWMtrV_fN3pSBDJ-9ohD31nX3Hup2LLPIk2LPkpHby8K9XjTnI8ktgk56JtVOV1nGXTw/s320/feb+2016+189.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February last year, we were able to get into the hives.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the fall, we closed the screens at the bottom of the hive,
to help keep them warm. We treated the hives to make sure there were no mites
in them – we want to make the viruses that come in on the mites do not get a
chance to impact the brood that will carry the hive through the winter. We have
made sure they have food in the hives. They also have stored honey and pollen
which will become vital to them once the days start getting longer. That last
brood of bees in the fall are ‘winter bees’. During the rest of the year, a
worker bee lives about 6 weeks. Winter bees will carry the hive for up to 6
months. They have to be as strong as possible. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-eNgT9SNliJVDDKUHYydMSxkYeDdSaPOYKn3r7PO1wHyD8KHl4keYmBy-OHx1tykJMAq4a1Lbzq9JOYifDW9YFtTS_AdhDDo1BPDfjJ8wmLxA-r2eBTxUPAytMJLyx3eztk1OQdm1HPf/s1600/drones+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-eNgT9SNliJVDDKUHYydMSxkYeDdSaPOYKn3r7PO1wHyD8KHl4keYmBy-OHx1tykJMAq4a1Lbzq9JOYifDW9YFtTS_AdhDDo1BPDfjJ8wmLxA-r2eBTxUPAytMJLyx3eztk1OQdm1HPf/s320/drones+098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The worker bees from one of our hives forcing out a drone<br />last fall. The drones are much bigger, have much bigger eyes<br />and have no stinger.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our bees should have already started laying new brood. They
need pollen for protein primarily for the brood, so those stores are already
being depleted. In the spring, once we can open the hives, we will be able to
give them additional pollen, but right now, they are on their own. In the
coldest months, they will be frugal in their use of stores, but once the queen
starts laying brood again, the demand rises sharply. Remember that through
those winter months, the worker bees keep the hive at a constant temperature
(or as close to it as they possibly can) by rubbing their wings, or vibrating
them, to create friction. They do this all day, every day, to protect the
Queen. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKJNMi0UtkbYfiLQe842K1Z4mVbZy8CkiWUgMLQgM_yhvxXA07O7_F4WuJIiMgr3UEkMoHoBlPtIy1N1b8yCsCnAx4Q6Ldk-XI0J0g9D-OFDPhV773ClXH9xvIFOv9oyg5NBC5fJdlXdT/s1600/drones+118+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKJNMi0UtkbYfiLQe842K1Z4mVbZy8CkiWUgMLQgM_yhvxXA07O7_F4WuJIiMgr3UEkMoHoBlPtIy1N1b8yCsCnAx4Q6Ldk-XI0J0g9D-OFDPhV773ClXH9xvIFOv9oyg5NBC5fJdlXdT/s320/drones+118+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An evicted drone. Notice the size of the eyes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our queens now should be making worker bees. They will not
create any drones until they are needed – in a bee’s world, men serve one
purpose, and one purpose only; if it is not breeding season, the drones aren’t
necessary, and come fall, the worker bees will make sure that every drone is
kicked out of the hive. They are not feeding someone who does nothing to keep
them all alive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9ntxbyJOgKwJnq17dpVlAmrfWdm31IXlwU7KeyNpQoERFziQxegdDRBVOX-DL9-rNvWHIHiDNSGpbtuMEmAOlMOdNwXY8RZJ1Za-gmE_RkkrTj52OctCDgn5i7YZXE9G2eEQBGx-Lw7y/s1600/bee+boxes+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9ntxbyJOgKwJnq17dpVlAmrfWdm31IXlwU7KeyNpQoERFziQxegdDRBVOX-DL9-rNvWHIHiDNSGpbtuMEmAOlMOdNwXY8RZJ1Za-gmE_RkkrTj52OctCDgn5i7YZXE9G2eEQBGx-Lw7y/s320/bee+boxes+017.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making bee boxes... again. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, our bees are in their boxes, rubbing their wings,
creating friction, eating very little. The brood is starting to be laid, so the
queen is doing her thing. They cannot get out of the hive to forage. They also
cannot get out of the hive to relieve themselves; there is no indoor plumbing
in a bee’s world. On days when it warms up enough, they will leave the hive if
for no other reason than to do that which they cannot do inside. Our bees have
not had a possible ‘cleaning flight’ day for over three months, and this is
definitely a concern to us. As winter drags on, they are thinking about one
thing – providing for the hive the minute the temperatures are right. They need
to have brood ready to take over, because those winter bees are getting tired.
They need to have bees ready to forage, and they need more to take care of
brood as the queen keeps producing. It’s all about keeping the hive alive. While
some animals hibernate during the winter months, and other (like the wiener
dogs) are sleeping in front of a warm fire, our bees are working like crazy in
those little boxes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, they aren’t the only ones working in preparation
for spring. We’re once again making bee boxes, making honey supers, putting
together frames, and planning what to do with our bees and our honey this year.
We’ll keep you posted on that. <o:p></o:p></div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-73547336350229990272017-01-15T16:15:00.001-08:002017-01-15T16:15:58.527-08:00Looking Ahead to 2017<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgZN1L7X8FRuNYnNNEr6CFjIKLYl7JIbTxWdtEjlZjuVOJGWXRcTYLSPFu2k9QPAGXBjiaK4fmJaGOdZR3dof6FQWW_ktM1vqnTq9ClX8HX3MewzXJ7KONFTXVITdHFAGCGq7OPAsfs5m/s1600/IMGP2407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgZN1L7X8FRuNYnNNEr6CFjIKLYl7JIbTxWdtEjlZjuVOJGWXRcTYLSPFu2k9QPAGXBjiaK4fmJaGOdZR3dof6FQWW_ktM1vqnTq9ClX8HX3MewzXJ7KONFTXVITdHFAGCGq7OPAsfs5m/s320/IMGP2407.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hives in the new apiary, covered with snow but sitting<br />in the sunshine. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a very busy fall for us. Our first priority for the
fall was to move the bees to the new apiary. It has lots of room for growth,
and we can park a trailer in there as well, which is the long term plan – then we
can keep some bees on the trailer, and move them from orchard to orchard,
getting that wonderful fruit pollen. It makes amazing honey. For the move, the
hives were loaded up on the back of the truck, the tables were hauled over (we
don’t like to have the hives directly on the ground because then they are just
too inviting to bugs and critters who might have a hankering for some bees –
yes, we mean skunks. They don’t care about the honey but they sure do love bees…
and not in the good way.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BWWKBmW04zVMkJxh_d00n3fa9cI3Z-y_6a-qU6hJNXbhy-d_PARMLnxFKERE_0xa8xSLwQp-XL0LpHGgxNG7-fLHbh8MHkrNNwXjx75LH0EgOlgslHvFchwcqp2YyXlhKyylmyupXpfq/s1600/IMG_1324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BWWKBmW04zVMkJxh_d00n3fa9cI3Z-y_6a-qU6hJNXbhy-d_PARMLnxFKERE_0xa8xSLwQp-XL0LpHGgxNG7-fLHbh8MHkrNNwXjx75LH0EgOlgslHvFchwcqp2YyXlhKyylmyupXpfq/s320/IMG_1324.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking the honey from the FlowHive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also extracted our honey… lots of honey. When all was
said and done, we ended up with about 1100 pounds of honey. If that sounds like
a lot, you want to try to store it all in your kitchen pantry! Like all things,
there was still some learning this year in the extraction department. We
harvested our FlowHive for the first time, with mixed results – it was a very
messy process! We also harvested 32 pucks of honey in the comb, and were very
happy with that. With a little bit of that extracted honey, we did all our
preserves and especially our jellies, using less than a cup of honey per batch
instead of the many cups of sugar normally used, and it turned out wonderfully.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJSPythyphenhyphen7edrKzJohcOVDDbk_4zeQ60yXhEVuwCmrv1w8Ko05xVqc7uBD1Jn1fr_GXATxOUDcxKYBOJfNL7IKFtz5OmNHZWVB1k4ust6lXqeX5A5AZj74t2WmU23kl0zLPs-vcYs7Q_3c/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJSPythyphenhyphen7edrKzJohcOVDDbk_4zeQ60yXhEVuwCmrv1w8Ko05xVqc7uBD1Jn1fr_GXATxOUDcxKYBOJfNL7IKFtz5OmNHZWVB1k4ust6lXqeX5A5AZj74t2WmU23kl0zLPs-vcYs7Q_3c/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving the hives to the new apiary.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what about 2017? The hives are topped with snow, the
bees are inside making sure the hive stays at the right temperature, and we are
pondering the next honey season. As always, it seems, there are hive boxes and
honey supers to be made. That is a never-ending task, it seems, as we grow.
Since we hadn’t anticipated the growth we had last year, we used up every
available box and frame, so there is work to be done there. We need to make our
‘shopping list’ of necessities – like queen excluders, calculating as best we
can how many hives we will aim for next year. It’s hard to anticipate because
so much depends on the winter. This winter has been very cold, unusually cold,
with a lot of wind, so we could find that the hives are not as strong in the
spring as we hoped. We also had a long fall, so they could have depleted a lot
of their stores before the cold weather came. We also are over-wintering with
single hives, instead of doubles, so there will be less stores for them to rely
on inside. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5MaC-J3TCwsfEBh-sGOzufD_U6dm6yM2Smam7NGGH2okPrs0cbjgCr4ms5LhwEMfpn7_f6kb_D_HuGkcAvisSSSNmaHtI8neALoIHJkc3aKo94CmU9xqLb5ucvWcavaUOncrqW5FENm1/s1600/IMG_1329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5MaC-J3TCwsfEBh-sGOzufD_U6dm6yM2Smam7NGGH2okPrs0cbjgCr4ms5LhwEMfpn7_f6kb_D_HuGkcAvisSSSNmaHtI8neALoIHJkc3aKo94CmU9xqLb5ucvWcavaUOncrqW5FENm1/s320/IMG_1329.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our honey in the comb, ready for sale. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Without knowing what we have when we start the year, we
almost require a couple of contingency plans. If the bees do well, and they are
up and running strong early in the spring, we will have to decide if the focus
will be on creating more hives, or creating honey, and if we go with creating
honey, do we do more liquid honey or honey in the comb? We can also focus a bit
more on gathering propolis and pollen instead of just honey, or we can decide
to create hives to sell for other beekeepers, spreading diversity and helping
new beekeepers get established. Regardless of what route we take, we know we
have to re-queen the hives which raises the question of ‘growing’ our own
queens or purchasing queens. We learned from last year that to purchase queen
cells are much cheaper, but much more of a gamble. The growing of queen cells
is an involved and intricate art, requiring a careful hand at the start when
the harvest the day-old larvae, and absolute vigilance in monitoring and timing
their growth to be able to move them appropriately at the right time. Being off
even one day has dire consequences, so we need to be sure of what we’re doing
and when we’re doing it. The learning curve on this task is, honestly, a bit
intimidating, but the benefits, especially for our own hives, would be
substantial. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrm_yVnP_8FjzmbHhd0Hw2t1jcTTCH1FwV6y0JR_LjqPSBMOXMtMQ-F4yiK2YfQ2qF1FnvY7J20B0ge1reonY74nWBmWikWrmxOuUm6FuC6UDXaafmu981TZQl0BDmRd0lg2xPIpvn2bqR/s1600/DSCN3699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrm_yVnP_8FjzmbHhd0Hw2t1jcTTCH1FwV6y0JR_LjqPSBMOXMtMQ-F4yiK2YfQ2qF1FnvY7J20B0ge1reonY74nWBmWikWrmxOuUm6FuC6UDXaafmu981TZQl0BDmRd0lg2xPIpvn2bqR/s320/DSCN3699.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University of Purdue -- growing queen cells. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have to look beyond these issues though, and consider
what we do with what our bees produce. Selling hive nucs and queens are one way
to make this gig pay, but are those enough or do they deplete our own ability
to produce honey? We have been selling our honey, by the jar, by the puck and
by the bucket, but is there more we can be doing? We have gathered a lot of
beeswax over the last few years, so perhaps it’s time to find a use for that,
something that will help to make this more than just an interesting hobby. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR9eThLXnqyj0ftV9-qfwF_4Q3U0SbFGcKf3sYTsqDG346x2ggwAnFDbeydJtInxZ3xS_0mklkUwwsmvz0Rl8YKY5-0714bdqF-2lIVOErGffRzhJ9hf96FF2IP9GZ1ZHPQ2pjzF8jBIL/s1600/IMGP1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR9eThLXnqyj0ftV9-qfwF_4Q3U0SbFGcKf3sYTsqDG346x2ggwAnFDbeydJtInxZ3xS_0mklkUwwsmvz0Rl8YKY5-0714bdqF-2lIVOErGffRzhJ9hf96FF2IP9GZ1ZHPQ2pjzF8jBIL/s320/IMGP1796.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you have angry bees because you have<br />just taken away all their honey, you have<br />to get creative when working outside.<br />Greg is geared up to do some welding,<br />while wearing a bee suit! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So while we sit and ponder, and dream of sunshine and
flowers for our bees, we will have more than enough to keep us busy (besides
just making new hive boxes). We will pull out the aprons and the pots, and do
some experimenting with the many wonderful by-products of bees, integrating the
wax and hopefully the pollen and propolis, so more people can reap the
benefits. At this point, at least for a few more weeks, the evenings will be
spent reading and researching. The days inside the house will be spent testing
and sampling. We’ll try to share some of the results as we go. It could be an
interesting (and messy) journey. <o:p></o:p></div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-89764427555126107202016-07-26T16:13:00.000-07:002016-07-26T16:13:21.250-07:00Live From The Honey House!<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGntkuSwtZDWlC-fOs7Pap8YD4XbOrp5LZnlj4NlLKzpY_eXpUlU4HzRuzP1am-93Iw__vsuJvFyvtZx8eOolho02X0eCAQ9ZrtzXVe2HzK8bWiq9JmeN1Mgv4mmXJNkHrBXrPvmT2yoA/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGntkuSwtZDWlC-fOs7Pap8YD4XbOrp5LZnlj4NlLKzpY_eXpUlU4HzRuzP1am-93Iw__vsuJvFyvtZx8eOolho02X0eCAQ9ZrtzXVe2HzK8bWiq9JmeN1Mgv4mmXJNkHrBXrPvmT2yoA/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep boxes and frames ready for creating new hives</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Well, okay, the honey house is in our dreams, but one
day...! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a busy week with the bees. On Saturday, we had to
prepare the hives for re-queening. This year, we are trying to requeen with
queen cells, rather than using proven queens. It just stretches our ability a
bit further, and since we have a wonderful source for queen cells right now, we
will use it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMdMzcVmrn3EUfFusINcN6DZ66ApwnwIPt1m5NtrM10H7K0xGLeHgnZFRKw8Rzja2kyAvZcow-AmXgb5la7YDioJoa1Ff0EHFfu_MduD1F20sRrCw7tIFXIFtUC0w4i_uaJPJI7IQDBPj/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMdMzcVmrn3EUfFusINcN6DZ66ApwnwIPt1m5NtrM10H7K0xGLeHgnZFRKw8Rzja2kyAvZcow-AmXgb5la7YDioJoa1Ff0EHFfu_MduD1F20sRrCw7tIFXIFtUC0w4i_uaJPJI7IQDBPj/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unloading full honey supers from the second bee yard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Preparation meant cleaning out the queen castles that we had
prepared in the spring, moving those hives to the large deep boxes so they can
have a regular hive, and getting some new frames from some of the other hives,
including the Hawaiians, to use as a foundation for the queen castles again. Doing
this will add to the number of hives we have once more – essentially creating splits.
When we clean out the queen castles, we open one nuc at a time. These nucs
consist of three frames each. We check them to see that there is new brood on
the frames; this means there is an active queen in that nuc. We check the
pattern she is using for laying her eggs – we want to see almost every cell
filled with larvae, with the odd open spot. Too many open spots or random
clumps means that she is not as strong as she should be.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3TCA9HjdV9GBrYQZ06BctWG_zroE_fyy35tf4Y_dqIc9iDPMG-dwcRxpr4ZRoN_Kn2SAzKfUiuqtKg6GBgCApJN_OtKyikIzA5wQMNZcjrW_Jkp9fe2iX4RFI-K9foesSPVc78l48hVy/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3TCA9HjdV9GBrYQZ06BctWG_zroE_fyy35tf4Y_dqIc9iDPMG-dwcRxpr4ZRoN_Kn2SAzKfUiuqtKg6GBgCApJN_OtKyikIzA5wQMNZcjrW_Jkp9fe2iX4RFI-K9foesSPVc78l48hVy/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One-way screens allow the bees to get out of the honey super,<br />but not back in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We take those three
frames and move them into a separate deep box, add some more empty frames
(preferably ones that have already got some built up comb on them, though) and
those hives are ready to go. The three-frame area is just not big enough, so
now they will have room to grow. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
With the queen castles empty, we then went to the other
hives that were already established. They need to be checked regularly anyway,
so now was the time (despite the bees being especially peeved at us, and
letting us know! It was a 9-sting week!). Hives that were especially strong
donated one or two frames to restock the queen castles. We added queen cells to
those queen castle nucs the next day and will check them in about a week. Hives
that were not as strong donated more frames to the castles and were marked to
get a new queen as well. We had three of those, and the queen cells were put in
on Sunday. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-o1h7Ceq2O9ceWfOAmqKjMUS4IjKwALnOV1WdkiExBTY0_n37NIY4bbHQ7JED4hsxXVy2OaPlDyKGvGpgBLU09NgpEyNeqgKPa14jChe0VPz-J9UWI0HhYldQpjHxjv19f0yT5v1OUGG/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-o1h7Ceq2O9ceWfOAmqKjMUS4IjKwALnOV1WdkiExBTY0_n37NIY4bbHQ7JED4hsxXVy2OaPlDyKGvGpgBLU09NgpEyNeqgKPa14jChe0VPz-J9UWI0HhYldQpjHxjv19f0yT5v1OUGG/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+005.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot days and crowded hives lead to<br />a lot of bearding on the outside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
While we were out there getting stung anyway, we decided to
put in the one-way screens between the honey supers and the hives. This would
allow the bees in the super to get out, but no more would be able to go back in,
leaving them empty (or almost empty) for us to extract the honey. We pulled the
supers and set them in the shop to warm up, making extraction easier. We also
pulled and extracted the Ross Rounds; our bees did a beautiful job of these,
and we are very excited to have more next year. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Extraction was earlier this year than last, (mostly because
we ran out of honey supers so had to empty what we could so they can go back on
the hives) and the end product is incredible. The honey has a wonderful dark
color and a rich taste with locust and floral undertones. It runs nicely, and
is nowhere near as thick as last year – thankfully – because of the less arid
conditions this year. The bees and Mother Nature were smiling on us in 2016.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will have one more extraction to do later in the year, hopefully, so our honey buckets are full again! Woo hoo! </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGFHI_ovjwDW8lVU2UwS5StBOaCxIQltEbDVM6a-aro267tyKZauYUeJdKf4apzY2kFLwhbZk5OrwE4u2DVTTL8iViNaRnw79RFOM0VNeET3DnoHVPoVzCLAJf2918xF4wF_OVCk05Lw8/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGFHI_ovjwDW8lVU2UwS5StBOaCxIQltEbDVM6a-aro267tyKZauYUeJdKf4apzY2kFLwhbZk5OrwE4u2DVTTL8iViNaRnw79RFOM0VNeET3DnoHVPoVzCLAJf2918xF4wF_OVCk05Lw8/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here comes the honey. The white flecks are wax from the comb<br />totally harmless (actually, very healthy) so we filter it out. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObOn9LF_A-hrqSg2B8MtsTxYViSwNtQvEvHqRd98SAYwMenfEONUGihLYK0HxhdjhtXoHkXoAfnF5KKJLkq4i6s3tzCf30to9VDaTg6pIPoQWtdM2iuLxnyIYWsDO5trMdfApqiYRvpzK/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObOn9LF_A-hrqSg2B8MtsTxYViSwNtQvEvHqRd98SAYwMenfEONUGihLYK0HxhdjhtXoHkXoAfnF5KKJLkq4i6s3tzCf30to9VDaTg6pIPoQWtdM2iuLxnyIYWsDO5trMdfApqiYRvpzK/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+113.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't always put honey in my tea, but when<br />I do, it is fresh from the hive! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMEEcvu8YK0Zs0WC6toi2Zyho7bg8QAwFE9K6dSj63mSi5ROJS9Ju07Rz5ZPevwzq-OHpIzJFbwmrqxqu7Dz7JkfXhtCAXur6xXK0omjPlDVovlMA1GB2Q9q3__CUjBJv_q0CSp1AjdhT/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMEEcvu8YK0Zs0WC6toi2Zyho7bg8QAwFE9K6dSj63mSi5ROJS9Ju07Rz5ZPevwzq-OHpIzJFbwmrqxqu7Dz7JkfXhtCAXur6xXK0omjPlDVovlMA1GB2Q9q3__CUjBJv_q0CSp1AjdhT/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+118.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full Ross Round frames!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_PVh45gXJgkFIVRsQ4xBuBS0fHa_lK1iJcFxHAPmU-dQBgKnctoUF5iZthycYvLVop9PAhOtUnMp99rTh9xU01MYDzTu6LDpS9Sn_LJp742GvSsvHBVfkAq151QgRkp1jvyHxy1vDGpM/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_PVh45gXJgkFIVRsQ4xBuBS0fHa_lK1iJcFxHAPmU-dQBgKnctoUF5iZthycYvLVop9PAhOtUnMp99rTh9xU01MYDzTu6LDpS9Sn_LJp742GvSsvHBVfkAq151QgRkp1jvyHxy1vDGpM/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+121.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the honey in the comb, a delicious delicacy. (Ross Rounds)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6gg1aQO2Bq3M5uIFYhgn5R8W3X7vtHi7Ri3I1m08ynXHof1rTHm2b43xEVpSV3GqmSkS3RQRRwZHXFLjiFmSwhYg4w7XnDaJlJXN018viBYjq-xFG1Lzg4MNSxVAw3QDpUYwbbJUU-eK/s1600/honey+harvest+july+2016+122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6gg1aQO2Bq3M5uIFYhgn5R8W3X7vtHi7Ri3I1m08ynXHof1rTHm2b43xEVpSV3GqmSkS3RQRRwZHXFLjiFmSwhYg4w7XnDaJlJXN018viBYjq-xFG1Lzg4MNSxVAw3QDpUYwbbJUU-eK/s320/honey+harvest+july+2016+122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a very full frame of honey, the first of many!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-15087309758098506902016-07-17T21:29:00.000-07:002016-07-17T21:29:37.937-07:00Waxing Poetic<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a busy summer so far, with very weird weather, but
we finally found a few minutes to do a bee update!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmnz07jFWIICaVeF0VKhkiv6mc7eOCed5WEUXKhKi0-J2YmXVf5-BM6SKzo_C71-FBkQvJx8b7MkoNQ6N1tt43X07_tIg_km2h6YobL2wxmX7q_t2alRGTlfHZF2EBwPfjiAZBFGbMphy/s1600/July+17+218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmnz07jFWIICaVeF0VKhkiv6mc7eOCed5WEUXKhKi0-J2YmXVf5-BM6SKzo_C71-FBkQvJx8b7MkoNQ6N1tt43X07_tIg_km2h6YobL2wxmX7q_t2alRGTlfHZF2EBwPfjiAZBFGbMphy/s320/July+17+218.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removing the partition from a Queen Castle to turn it into<br />one standard hive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have some results on our queen castles – the hives where
we put three small nucs into one box. Two weeks ago we cracked them open to see
how everyone was doing. On three of the castles, only one nuc per hive
survived. On one of these nucs, we could see the queen had not hatched. On
others, there were bees working but no queen laying eggs. Fortunately though,
one nuc in each hive was thriving, so we just removed the partitions and turned
them into regular hives with 10 frames each. This weekend, we checked those
hives again and all but one are doing marvelously. We have even added a honey
super to a one of them! Another of the castles, when we opened it, had all
three nucs thriving. The bees are laying brood and bringing in honey, so next
week we will be splitting them up into their own boxes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCnsGXcgAmK8q3_BvuXwhzYMZYHjkDGqHRtjYYoxYHkiKNUC993F6r0ZXnzmA8FmYwveABlXqc0COfOOyXFxqH2mSPL5-1Q5gjHwNjN1WzpERVwvFsnoDCcvj0gIlwVr7DVQDIyhJFfHW/s1600/July+17+236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCnsGXcgAmK8q3_BvuXwhzYMZYHjkDGqHRtjYYoxYHkiKNUC993F6r0ZXnzmA8FmYwveABlXqc0COfOOyXFxqH2mSPL5-1Q5gjHwNjN1WzpERVwvFsnoDCcvj0gIlwVr7DVQDIyhJFfHW/s320/July+17+236.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Examining the brood pattern from one of our Kona Queen<br />Hives. Lots of bees and lots of capped brood!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also have been seeing amazing results from our Kona
Queens from Hawaii. The hives are bursting with bees, and are they producing
honey! The three hives have produced more already this year than we had from
all our hives the first year with the apiary. All of the ones in our yard now
have 3 honey supers on them! For one of them, we have added a special honey
super. Instead of giving them frames to store the honey, this one has round
openings, about the size of hockey pucks, for them to fill with wax and honey.
When we harvest, we simply pop the pucks out and put them in containers,
selling the honey in the wax. It’s even healthier that way and a popular treat
for many people. We’re excited to see them doing such a good job filling in the
‘Ross Rounds’ and will be looking at doing much more of this next year. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXX2u1doDlrs0fk12EW41m8pOmNEbJAEBkzFWOAIIvfcehJFAmJQ-nsQSI2ESHcJH8mBJIIQPg6rJ0DJsn2HF-WdWVDn2XaWEupI5l265XFlUuDQq-Fb7S7rFnU4NcCaLERGVA4itZoSB/s1600/July+17+148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXX2u1doDlrs0fk12EW41m8pOmNEbJAEBkzFWOAIIvfcehJFAmJQ-nsQSI2ESHcJH8mBJIIQPg6rJ0DJsn2HF-WdWVDn2XaWEupI5l265XFlUuDQq-Fb7S7rFnU4NcCaLERGVA4itZoSB/s320/July+17+148.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building lots of burr comb on the lid of their hive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although it’s late in the year, with all the rainy and cool
weather it seems the bees have gotten a bit discombobulated. We received a call
this weekend about a swarm in someone’s yard. This is our fourth swarm to pick
up this year – this one was big and about 20 feet up a pine tree. We managed to
gather them though, and two days later these bees are doing orientation flights
at the door of their hive already. The bees in this colony are very distinctive
– they are much more yellow than ours, and have a lot more attitude. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two of the other swarm hives are doing well, and in fact one
of them now also has a super on them for honey. The last one unfortunately didn’t
work out. We’re still very happy with the three new hives; they were a welcome
bonus addition. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwx6Pc_TDFYq_3LDE6ukm9dOtL1a7-hYjjeJgkrU2KJuzDlgGAuJTwiRGVC8Bxv1YGXp2c6EerEE5U1rFjtXaQE1Pr7M9NqjGntKKiKqaCtfR7Dmn58zGPL8aEWnybRXM695nm-fLDiNw/s1600/flowhive1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwx6Pc_TDFYq_3LDE6ukm9dOtL1a7-hYjjeJgkrU2KJuzDlgGAuJTwiRGVC8Bxv1YGXp2c6EerEE5U1rFjtXaQE1Pr7M9NqjGntKKiKqaCtfR7Dmn58zGPL8aEWnybRXM695nm-fLDiNw/s320/flowhive1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Flow Hives. Social media loves this hive.<br />Sadly, our bees don't. :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Flow Hive. *sigh* For some reason, our bees do not like
the Flow Hive. We had it on a strong hive for over a month and that hive
swarmed twice rather than go up into the Flow Hive. We moved it to another
strong hive that had some partially full honey supers on it, but the bees would
rather fill anything else, and are avoiding it completely. Next week, we will
put it onto one of the hives with the Hawaiian queens, removing the full honey
supers and giving them just this and a partially full super, and hopefully they
will start to put something into it. It was easier getting them to do the work
in the empty Ross Rounds with no frames at all than it is to go into the Flow
Hive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqErlAAir9Lrgp8D0nTsW-bnwzEBxOFsPun55hFi_zB-LNEe6c348ERbqXOKuu2738_NulOVclLymEaCLIt1mTaq0WXmC65qRZ14KVEp4PMWE6BxGXuKA4F9BfSg6UbnOp6_XP8vFiU3ae/s1600/July+17+193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqErlAAir9Lrgp8D0nTsW-bnwzEBxOFsPun55hFi_zB-LNEe6c348ERbqXOKuu2738_NulOVclLymEaCLIt1mTaq0WXmC65qRZ14KVEp4PMWE6BxGXuKA4F9BfSg6UbnOp6_XP8vFiU3ae/s320/July+17+193.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking a frame of brood. The bees were very active<br />this day, but the sun was shining so everyone was happy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our inspections have been rather spotty over the last month,
because the weather has not been cooperating. They do not like to be opened
when it’s cloudy – most of the bees are in there instead of out gathering
pollen, so it’s full and they get a bit crabby. We cannot inspect hives when it’s
windy or, obviously, when it’s raining, so it has limited us quite a bit on
when we can see what they’re up to. The hives in the second yard are definitely
in need of some TLC. That will happen next week. Also next week, 12 hives will
be re-queened with new, local queen cells. Hopefully we will have nice weather,
because they clearly did not like being checked today. </div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztxEwHjLRL-3VM04ReUMEQEMr8w9CLc5t6dNOFhbBRmyDsna5OddP9ao4o_lbLhOP7C0ZDcYRip_a2rUjOteYG0tUlf-3DKcF6DZbulDgv_rROMFIfXf-vvViqLPHwVy6mjMQIUD80lJQ/s1600/July+17+355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztxEwHjLRL-3VM04ReUMEQEMr8w9CLc5t6dNOFhbBRmyDsna5OddP9ao4o_lbLhOP7C0ZDcYRip_a2rUjOteYG0tUlf-3DKcF6DZbulDgv_rROMFIfXf-vvViqLPHwVy6mjMQIUD80lJQ/s320/July+17+355.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messy, messy, messy! This is what happens when we forget<br />to give them something to build on!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We also pulled a frame from one of the hives two weeks ago.
It was a mess! We had miscounted the frames when we closed it up, giving them 9
instead of 10. The result was that the bees decided to be creative, filling in
the extra space themselves. One of the Queen Castles, as well, was missing a frame. They built their own, attaching it to the roof of the hive and filling it with honey and brood. I suppose, in the bee world, it’s a work of art,
but I would rather see them putting that sort of energy into filling more Ross
Rounds.</div>
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</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gB9R8Z1TGdkZnUIHbapkr0itDXfTuOdPshSMxMqaKy9v9zPlBmIghXghuqsV8kK2B3wlltbvZgBw6-3_xH_bvI-K8mV-d101leNb5R3qo6mh4wU57fzPhXFlGTCx9Xx2u9pnDOGmXe5d/s1600/July+17+213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gB9R8Z1TGdkZnUIHbapkr0itDXfTuOdPshSMxMqaKy9v9zPlBmIghXghuqsV8kK2B3wlltbvZgBw6-3_xH_bvI-K8mV-d101leNb5R3qo6mh4wU57fzPhXFlGTCx9Xx2u9pnDOGmXe5d/s320/July+17+213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another example of the bees taking initiative! They didn't have<br />a frame so they just created the frame themselves, building<br />it out of wax and filling it with honey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-81531905972783611682016-05-28T17:57:00.000-07:002016-05-28T17:57:14.046-07:00There’s Another and Another and Another... <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44WizSWU3FzrXpBGd0P6a_I6ucp9GzhoGe2aNvIz5S4hfZitmsuIAqcQivOqHRe6De2GpscaEfiypLmpya_QGo_SLNFSQ9jINOiyJlzyohBftqE0HB9r2XPWpZcInbkb3KMdtNk5obj_0/s1600/beeswarm+281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44WizSWU3FzrXpBGd0P6a_I6ucp9GzhoGe2aNvIz5S4hfZitmsuIAqcQivOqHRe6De2GpscaEfiypLmpya_QGo_SLNFSQ9jINOiyJlzyohBftqE0HB9r2XPWpZcInbkb3KMdtNk5obj_0/s320/beeswarm+281.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 'Swarmy' Hive.. doing very well, thank you!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When we talk bees, we tend to talk in big numbers. There can
be anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 bees in a hive (they typically start at
10,000 when you purchase a ‘package’ of bees). We can go through 100 pounds of
sugar in no time, and we get several hundred pounds of honey... and that’s just
with a few hives. Hives, however? Now that is something we can count, and our
numbers are growing. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Tt-OCx_1uCdRXRYxMzSGdXBQmLgKRmahl2QRkWkHysz0_S__tlEq8Q_De_h4k8VCFQoQhV464RkDsFquxfzR3XX7_ljB3F_xWhSKalhn31a57dYq4A7xUUQwpRosKYfrJ4CuT_oyPqOO/s1600/queen+castles+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Tt-OCx_1uCdRXRYxMzSGdXBQmLgKRmahl2QRkWkHysz0_S__tlEq8Q_De_h4k8VCFQoQhV464RkDsFquxfzR3XX7_ljB3F_xWhSKalhn31a57dYq4A7xUUQwpRosKYfrJ4CuT_oyPqOO/s320/queen+castles+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A queen castle with three separate nuc chambers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After the excitement of the swarm earlier this week (yes,
all our bees are back home, in a new hive box, and doing swimmingly!) we
decided we needed to be a bit more proactive in what we are doing. As we said
last time, we ended up with the swarmed hive back as a new hive, we used some
of the other swarm cells in that same Mellow Yellow hive to create two new
nucs, and we had already split one hive because it was getting too full and we
had a spare queen. That put us four ahead. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJD23VYLUqR618QQdjh4iADybPwMqWnv0kvQknmnfmbozAli6IRFUERk1mQDKVPkYnb6TTpKYHBWJoVb78HiPu7s3dQxUt6brlHJmpaHEsdSfw314nqVppuUhVD_JX_6d9a2SKxZGNvAF-/s1600/queen+castles+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJD23VYLUqR618QQdjh4iADybPwMqWnv0kvQknmnfmbozAli6IRFUERk1mQDKVPkYnb6TTpKYHBWJoVb78HiPu7s3dQxUt6brlHJmpaHEsdSfw314nqVppuUhVD_JX_6d9a2SKxZGNvAF-/s320/queen+castles+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Queen cell without the protector.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Today, we added 10 new queen cells, to create 10 more new
hives! That would mean we went from 7 to 21 in two months (if they all work).
We definitely can’t complain about that! We had hoped to be able to just add
some new queens, but there is a shortage of queens. They are definitely a hot
ticket item (and one that we will have to research more so we can start to
create our own queen cells). The advantage of adding a queen, as opposed to a
queen cell, is that when you purchase a queen, she is ‘proven’, meaning she has
taken her maiden flight, and has already started to produce eggs. We could also
purchase ‘virgin’ queens, which have been hatched and are alive, but still have</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AHJpAqTXWRfY8eFAydvygx2QWB8nf5HGl7m0TfqVg0NFoVYZue8adzpQQyRQDedHnKB9jRIk4AWauGC4a5lfPiWTEded4_pzM4cs3TLfKiiOfaomKPYvhshGouUTyHc_jp7eX6YJEqc5/s1600/queen+castles+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AHJpAqTXWRfY8eFAydvygx2QWB8nf5HGl7m0TfqVg0NFoVYZue8adzpQQyRQDedHnKB9jRIk4AWauGC4a5lfPiWTEded4_pzM4cs3TLfKiiOfaomKPYvhshGouUTyHc_jp7eX6YJEqc5/s320/queen+castles+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen cell with the protective cover in place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
to leave the hive to do a maiden flight, so could fall prey to a bird or other
hazard. When you get a cell, although much less expensive, there is no
guarantee of what will come out of there when she finally emerges. The supplier
for our queen cells, however, is local, and has a very good success rate with
his queens, so we are fairly comfortable trying this route. <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
While some beekeepers are comfortable just dropping a queen
cell into an established hive, we didn’t want to do that, especially since we
have just added some new queens to the hives. Instead, we went a different
route, taking some capped brood from some hives, some honey from others, and,
of course, a smattering of bees to attend the queen, the honey supply and the
eggs. They are the elongated cells just like you would see on the frames of
brood, but they are alone. We put them into little cages that allow the queen
to emerge, but that will prevent anyone else from hurting her, should a queen
somehow have slipped past us.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RbFxNozTUVphL7lcYyXD-ZruAILyFQw3Q1Xds1l5mYWNp1OTvrT6wpdf5VLiUpamrirZM0OVJXsKxARqxqsIxc6OFYx58LZ9u8p-zl3ZH5lj3xu-nxnEpPAnCmeIc4juiOLCIs9OCirA/s1600/queen+castles+big+camera+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RbFxNozTUVphL7lcYyXD-ZruAILyFQw3Q1Xds1l5mYWNp1OTvrT6wpdf5VLiUpamrirZM0OVJXsKxARqxqsIxc6OFYx58LZ9u8p-zl3ZH5lj3xu-nxnEpPAnCmeIc4juiOLCIs9OCirA/s320/queen+castles+big+camera+080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting the Queen cell into the Queen Castle nuc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For practicality purposes, we do not want to use one of the
big hive boxes (’10 frame deeps’) for this, because it would give them way too
much room to be rattling around in. That much space is hard to keep warm if the
temperatures drop, and has too much space inside to cool if the temperatures
outside spike. Temperature is very important in the production of bee cells,
but fortunately the bees know what to do to maintain it where it should be – we
just want to make it as easy as possible for them so they are able to do other
things, like make honey and tend to brood. For this reason, we need to start
with smaller hives and/or smaller frames. Our compromise to that is to use the
same sized frames, but to use only three of them per nuc and to separate the
box into three equal pieces (called ‘queen castles’). This means we can put
three frames into each nuc. One frame will have food on it – syrup, pollen,
honey. This is important because we have to lock all the bees in for five days,
ensuring that the foraging bees will not just return to their old hive. One frame
will have some capped brood, so that the new brood will hatch and strengthen
the hive. We will also include all the bees that were on the frame of brood.
This will give them plenty of time and potential to establish a strong hive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZbM-hQoCckyfiNg1CJGH7zmA_WPmJGzxraNerLskDV-JBNMWcCcV_5at0vQb3fsaA-_5HaysW-7pNfiuiXj0QeVXjPx3W-jS5W1scS1CtLu29Ijo0Y7q6qI71m2aZ0gGCcOg3UiZS1GR/s1600/queen+castles+big+camera+104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZbM-hQoCckyfiNg1CJGH7zmA_WPmJGzxraNerLskDV-JBNMWcCcV_5at0vQb3fsaA-_5HaysW-7pNfiuiXj0QeVXjPx3W-jS5W1scS1CtLu29Ijo0Y7q6qI71m2aZ0gGCcOg3UiZS1GR/s320/queen+castles+big+camera+104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closing the lid on one of the three Queen Castle chambers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we open the doors again, the foragers will re-orient to their new hive,
returning to it with their provisions. The queen should have hatched by then,
and will go on her maiden flight, and within two weeks from today, we should
have hives that are abuzz with activity and life. That’s the plan, anyway. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’ll know in two weeks if it worked. An 80% success rate
(meaning hopefully for us 8 new hives) would be a huge win. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_Yrm0FBEZ7R7vS0Ub6I2voRG2jz_UmRYtoruv8XeJIrQeLWug3Fmt5CjXxrGeWw7TgJHVjBiIN-OlZd4MlmVzflNrP-3pprcDAYDKlQv92sU8V3yXpM4scD9yvwWOMqUce1QW7yL3GJJ/s1600/beeswarm+183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_Yrm0FBEZ7R7vS0Ub6I2voRG2jz_UmRYtoruv8XeJIrQeLWug3Fmt5CjXxrGeWw7TgJHVjBiIN-OlZd4MlmVzflNrP-3pprcDAYDKlQv92sU8V3yXpM4scD9yvwWOMqUce1QW7yL3GJJ/s320/beeswarm+183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always have the smoker handy! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-46753641613764475442016-05-24T20:17:00.000-07:002016-05-24T20:17:11.874-07:00Bee-pocalypse<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_Sl9YldU1QWS4eipCYUz_H6EP_NP1sPp0vUsAi4tVQPQ_dTNGUY9SO7B8CZKhRty7b2MHLLFaPWKypBNn4UjJ-GaQfWISiRfBJxp88cLa1MF3rsbDXgvkZCMZQxaARqaZ1N3JSE3wdvV/s1600/beeswarm+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_Sl9YldU1QWS4eipCYUz_H6EP_NP1sPp0vUsAi4tVQPQ_dTNGUY9SO7B8CZKhRty7b2MHLLFaPWKypBNn4UjJ-GaQfWISiRfBJxp88cLa1MF3rsbDXgvkZCMZQxaARqaZ1N3JSE3wdvV/s200/beeswarm+026.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our FlowHive, ready to go. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This blog was going to be about setting up our hives in our
second bee yard, or about the new boxes we created that will house three nucs
in one, or we were going to talk about setting up, yes, the new Flow Hive that
comes complete with honey tap on it... but apparently our bees had different
plans for us.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQEwWWTHZ1fYJS9ne8TLpC2gi9jf2GrbqhPAn9WwNt-sS1su0iRi-bjfO_Ls8I-yezV-TOOilcXNqOdXU5UwPMucogtdZFB9CQgcftX1W2yg-H_ZE4ckO2bTHf_uS7KX2wbDNDRWt2AEF/s1600/beeswarm+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQEwWWTHZ1fYJS9ne8TLpC2gi9jf2GrbqhPAn9WwNt-sS1su0iRi-bjfO_Ls8I-yezV-TOOilcXNqOdXU5UwPMucogtdZFB9CQgcftX1W2yg-H_ZE4ckO2bTHf_uS7KX2wbDNDRWt2AEF/s320/beeswarm+080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are a LOT of bees and honey in that hive!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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First, we should say that all the hives are doing well. The
new queens we added seem to be very happy and very busy. We are watching new
orientation flights happening outside the hives daily. The bees are producing
honey, and our raspberry patch is absolutely abuzz as they work there, drawing
pollen. They were doing so well, producing so much honey and so many news bees
that...</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00QBbK8vMV8Cnj85iJlbgRDhklnKhQfIiOUc5520FJLw7YDjTbH4FhDRtkRq5utu_Tk1vKXye5IoJ4JBzByRaBnYlAKNwX5qFA9C7JSU0Oz_BA6-vgn9yzS3z1SJV_8-y2KQqPCYXl4i8/s1600/bees+june8+114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00QBbK8vMV8Cnj85iJlbgRDhklnKhQfIiOUc5520FJLw7YDjTbH4FhDRtkRq5utu_Tk1vKXye5IoJ4JBzByRaBnYlAKNwX5qFA9C7JSU0Oz_BA6-vgn9yzS3z1SJV_8-y2KQqPCYXl4i8/s320/bees+june8+114.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen cells. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Yes, today the Mellow Yellows were feeling less mellow, and
decided that, after three days of rain, they would take advantage of the
sunshine – they swarmed. For those of you not familiar with bees, in the
spring, when the hive gets busy and strong, healthy queens start to produce a
maximum output to keep up with the demands of the honey production, the hive
will get too crowded. When that happens, those pesky nurse bees will pick out
some of the best newly laid larvae and will start to pack those cells with lots
of royal jelly, making the baby bee grow into a potential queen. These are
relatively easy to spot on the frames because they are very long cells.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaIp_4Tc0mEqMlmtpk2uBl9Xz3Pc_oWfvVA5Slwzw1l7sGtAux5M73QfZm_bQzRFUQn_VO-oQvZEKkhM9XLteb96FMfupbnIg0TmRHlLsVCMyJ3Xbolhboh8ndtpi_kuPUFZLmgoNGVuM/s1600/beeswarm+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaIp_4Tc0mEqMlmtpk2uBl9Xz3Pc_oWfvVA5Slwzw1l7sGtAux5M73QfZm_bQzRFUQn_VO-oQvZEKkhM9XLteb96FMfupbnIg0TmRHlLsVCMyJ3Xbolhboh8ndtpi_kuPUFZLmgoNGVuM/s320/beeswarm+088.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mellow Yellow hive... very very full!</td></tr>
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The idea they have is that if they make enough of these
cells, the one that is the strongest will hatch first, kill the other wanna-be
queens while they are still in their cells, then go on the hunt for the
reigning queen. No hive wants two queens, but it is thought that the reigning
queen knows what is happening, is aware of the new queens being produced, and
starts to work gathering her loyal workers so that they will leave together to
start a new colony. In this way, she leaves a legacy – another hive. She has
opportunity to kill the forming queen cells, but she won’t. Isn’t nature
amazing? </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCMKlApRHBwM5p-o_qs88M_wfnZW6ITeAYnBf5BgEVHHU03nmgchczXEVhORuR9QGl62yI0khEUsymVE7zlimmoZh7gmwIMmc8zahTLmkqEDYpVqkya_fZcy19K4Eb-8357zGNjxXNBvt/s1600/beeswarm+276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCMKlApRHBwM5p-o_qs88M_wfnZW6ITeAYnBf5BgEVHHU03nmgchczXEVhORuR9QGl62yI0khEUsymVE7zlimmoZh7gmwIMmc8zahTLmkqEDYpVqkya_fZcy19K4Eb-8357zGNjxXNBvt/s320/beeswarm+276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swarm starts! All those little yellow dots? Bees!</td></tr>
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When we looked out the window late this morning, and saw a
cloud of bees hovering over the bee yard, we knew exactly what was happening!
It was exciting to see how they started and what they did (after reading about
swarms and having a swarm land here several years ago), but it was infuriating
and a bit disheartening to know that all those bees, and the value therein,
were leaving. Fortunately we were able to watch where they went, and once they
started to gather and beard around the queen, we were able to shake the tree
branch they were on, and get the bees into a bucket then into a new hive. It
took several trips, but we ended up with most of them tucked away. We’re not
sure we’re out of the woods on this one yet, but tonight the hive was active,
so we slipped in a frame of larvae for the bees to tend to. It will help to
keep the bees in there, because they will not abandon uncapped larva, but is
also a bit of insurance in the event the queen was injured, stressed or killed
in the move (damn, those birds and their appetites), because the hive can now
use those larvae to create more queen cells. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRPDeDmFPnT2OUkiLu6n05J31c1Hpvw2pCnwnfX0b-POdPuuLgwHBK-ZVVSnBgRtSVKiME0IiQ-O46RAocDLTGpdon-1nwi0GaJkNoyreWCO_2b2p_N6dXqPUaHKKcBZefVCQfWfkoM4V/s1600/beeswarm+279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRPDeDmFPnT2OUkiLu6n05J31c1Hpvw2pCnwnfX0b-POdPuuLgwHBK-ZVVSnBgRtSVKiME0IiQ-O46RAocDLTGpdon-1nwi0GaJkNoyreWCO_2b2p_N6dXqPUaHKKcBZefVCQfWfkoM4V/s320/beeswarm+279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swarm rises higher and starts to move. </td></tr>
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On examination of our other hives, we found more ‘swarm
cells’ – new queens in the making – in the Mellow Yellow hive. The new queen
hadn’t yet gotten around to killing them, so we pulled those frames, added some
other frames (with honey and pollen) from other hives, and set them up as nucs.
In a week or so, we will know if this worked as well. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNj-_xUXMVzuxQxxYtYSB4hvq0-Ms98X6C9kXhVpNhTcTu9tL0Qcxc8WC5zNAHrdDCqgSxGtWmvR7s0vdv5w3YTKiTUMX5NA6oQF1-76HKeAZfmqjc0TvMf9S6GXWe3PDdsGXVl_SOXni/s1600/beeswarm+293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNj-_xUXMVzuxQxxYtYSB4hvq0-Ms98X6C9kXhVpNhTcTu9tL0Qcxc8WC5zNAHrdDCqgSxGtWmvR7s0vdv5w3YTKiTUMX5NA6oQF1-76HKeAZfmqjc0TvMf9S6GXWe3PDdsGXVl_SOXni/s320/beeswarm+293.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swarm gathers on a branch about 14' in the air.</td></tr>
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So, to recap, we will write about the other bee yard and the
Flow Hive later (we promise) but today we got to see a swarm actually happen,
got to capture (recapture?) a swarm, and may have come out three hives ahead.
It was, all in all, a memorable day in our beekeeping world. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjmb8dqYQZzGhrcgtsEiWeTEB5PlPe45oNvs9iThdXDXx5KTSr60C_r17ukiiruEShto5d6yOUVTpFTMIB5QItSlzpnM4jMLqDAp602Thu672_N5G0YgwHdT3tVjP1i-wN8RHUtZZx-Lj/s1600/beeswarm+309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmjmb8dqYQZzGhrcgtsEiWeTEB5PlPe45oNvs9iThdXDXx5KTSr60C_r17ukiiruEShto5d6yOUVTpFTMIB5QItSlzpnM4jMLqDAp602Thu672_N5G0YgwHdT3tVjP1i-wN8RHUtZZx-Lj/s320/beeswarm+309.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new hive. The bees are flapping their wings, signalling to<br />other hivemates, letting them know where their new home is.<br />(at least, we hope they are right about this!)<br /><br /></td></tr>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-62229795309105837652016-04-17T15:10:00.001-07:002016-04-17T15:10:58.890-07:00Splitting and Shaking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOeJvI5cU9v2LWxcvqwknR1oLgt1GmmBMli0sgBX4-mTP1iJ9T-d7f1IIPvSzczmlNrP7FRQXMVROfYTyRvC4YUpG5nJpzfPkZr1FASHX_Tn4t_PRSzSYNBfkn8uO97ApCZ8cKF9HOLpq/s1600/new+queens+april+2016+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOeJvI5cU9v2LWxcvqwknR1oLgt1GmmBMli0sgBX4-mTP1iJ9T-d7f1IIPvSzczmlNrP7FRQXMVROfYTyRvC4YUpG5nJpzfPkZr1FASHX_Tn4t_PRSzSYNBfkn8uO97ApCZ8cKF9HOLpq/s320/new+queens+april+2016+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queens in cages, with attendants.</td></tr>
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It's spring, and in a beekeeper's world, that means time to do some hive splitting, before they do it themselves. That's what has happened when you see swarms of bees on car fenders, or fences or wherever -- the hive is too full, the queen in the hive is getting old, so the bees hatch out a new queen and the majority of the hive's population breaks away to start a new one, once they find a place to live. It was a swarm that started us in this journey, and we get a bit excited when we hear about swarms, as long as they are not from our hives. Losing that many bees is never a good thing. That said we would never say no to someone who calls to tell us they have a swarm on their property and want us to gather it up!<br />
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The first thing we need to do making these splits, at least at this time of year, is make sure we have some new queens. Our queens this year are from Hawaii. Each one is in its own queen cage, along with a few assistants to take care of it. At one end of the cage is 'candy' for them to eat on the way, and we give them water by putting a few drops directly on the cage. They don't need a lot, but they still do need some. When we put them into the hives, we will take the plug out of the cage to allow the bees in the hive to eat their way in, while the attendants eat from the inside, trying to get the queen free. This teamwork and time allows the bees in the hive to acknowledge that they have a queen, and she becomes their main focus. They smell her pheromones and make a connection with her. If we just turned her loose in there, the other bees might not accept her, swarming her and killing as they believe she could be an intruder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfT6G-H78wAAtYVk1iSsSKfl1m2rWTdSySUTwFazXjxhd2GxCEV5y26K1dxlhxNE7ZK1JIgq-B05wFhJu8DfpwxLMi2eqx42CJ31EXpqpyb170HXw19eq9UBRT-cjfJs2odLcVEldwKDy/s1600/queening+april+17+2016+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfT6G-H78wAAtYVk1iSsSKfl1m2rWTdSySUTwFazXjxhd2GxCEV5y26K1dxlhxNE7ZK1JIgq-B05wFhJu8DfpwxLMi2eqx42CJ31EXpqpyb170HXw19eq9UBRT-cjfJs2odLcVEldwKDy/s320/queening+april+17+2016+024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dropping the Queen cage into the hive.</td></tr>
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Before we add any queens, though, we have to prepare the hives, and split them. Each hive will already have a queen in it, and since we can't have two queens in a hive, we need to know where she is. To do this, we remove all the bees from the top box, brushing or shaking them off the frames, into the bottom box. If the queen is among them, she will also then be removed into the bottom box. Ideally we do this in the heat of the day, while the foraging bees are out working. Once the bees are all in the bottom box, we take some frames with brood out and move them into the top box. This will make the nurse bees want to be up there with them. We put in a 'queen excluder' -- a screen that allows the bees to go through but not the larger queen -- so that when we go to take that box off in 24 hours, there is a group of nurse bees, larva and eggs, all up there. That will be the basis of the new hive. We remove that box, set it up as the base unit on a new hive, drop in the queen, and we have our split complete.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2tT1OwkpOsAVoCragcJ0-M_qLQqSTv-_K5H9vW3Q5pmmsdt5iXFl_hsB9UVD1pXmeZ1rPl-TNuTS3fQFdQdu8_BxwPYU_lTWzRdYTNXlljc8ht5CZEiMrl4PN9fRLWLnRE6HI988PzJ8/s1600/spring+split+april2016+270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2tT1OwkpOsAVoCragcJ0-M_qLQqSTv-_K5H9vW3Q5pmmsdt5iXFl_hsB9UVD1pXmeZ1rPl-TNuTS3fQFdQdu8_BxwPYU_lTWzRdYTNXlljc8ht5CZEiMrl4PN9fRLWLnRE6HI988PzJ8/s320/spring+split+april2016+270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The queen excluder.</td></tr>
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Sounds easy, right? It probably would be, but then again, you have to remember we are dealing with some -- okay, millions of -- very protective, very determined little ladies here. We also have to check the hives before we do anything. We need to make sure they haven't started creating queen cells on their own -- a sign that they were getting ready to swarm. If they have, we may be able to use one of their own queens to start yet another hive. We don't want to add a queen to any new queen cells that are about to open. We also want to make sure the hive is healthy; there is no point dropping a new queen into a hive that is not going to survive. These are queens from Hawaii. They don't come cheap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD13myLRDSjy6ryN7xnzUJPgADy9mGz5niWZmYU5qt18MOYsbfYRY6sX4kcGkBA-PYbcCzXHwB1mHzh_ViOV0Ci72m_8L6hsqOg35IKpTj729aRbM8lxpomzjsL4jJ-aXkm7Hxa8cXsNce/s1600/spring+split+april2016+360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD13myLRDSjy6ryN7xnzUJPgADy9mGz5niWZmYU5qt18MOYsbfYRY6sX4kcGkBA-PYbcCzXHwB1mHzh_ViOV0Ci72m_8L6hsqOg35IKpTj729aRbM8lxpomzjsL4jJ-aXkm7Hxa8cXsNce/s320/spring+split+april2016+360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Shaking' the frames. You can see the honey spraying off it.</td></tr>
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When the splits are complete, we need to provide for the bees in the new hives for a few days. If we didn't, without foraging bees (because they would fly back to their original hive), the nurse bees would have nothing to live on, so syrup is a requirement at this point. When we did the splits, we also gave them some capped honey and pollen on the frames from the old hives, so they will be fine for a couple days while they all adjust and new bees hatch. Those new bees will soon be able to forage and the hive will thrive. We then will load up those new hives and take them to a new location; we will do this because these new hives will be a bit weaker and if conditions change, they could be overpowered by stronger bees from the original hives coming in and stealing from them. Our hives will be heading north about half an hour, where they will be able to help pollinate some fruit trees. Moving them also should mean that if something happens to harm the hives here again this year, as happened last year, we still have some bees to build from.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwVJ32m16qwI3bMtxQWWF3l4P0EPS0FTpMQXksZYXfpOC2_fkBJuZN3r_qoYCKlJ7te0g52pmszXFqK6DX1h8tNJMReuC_v_tuidcPruKdb0o8_Q9SSJhTkAsQMwFLr1NJ8mQgFP6Dz4T/s1600/spring+split+april2016+273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwVJ32m16qwI3bMtxQWWF3l4P0EPS0FTpMQXksZYXfpOC2_fkBJuZN3r_qoYCKlJ7te0g52pmszXFqK6DX1h8tNJMReuC_v_tuidcPruKdb0o8_Q9SSJhTkAsQMwFLr1NJ8mQgFP6Dz4T/s320/spring+split+april2016+273.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The queen excluder in place. The top box will sit on top it.</td></tr>
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The bees that stay here will be unaffected by the change. They currently have plums, peaches, crabapples, pears, nectarines and apples all in bloom. The dandelions are out in abundance. The flowers are breaking through in the garden, and the holly trees are, apparently, abuzz with bees as they start to bloom. We have lots of drone cells in our hives, and they are all in good shape. The bee year is well underway. Hopefully these are the first of many splits over the next few months, and we will see lots of honey in the fall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbc54LzoH9JknrFzTJme9Z-2o7p_3G8OQ7tQWZN5AQbni5zSz_YtUlylg-RelyvlnDek-WcjY6UPEL6LG5cK0zr-yHqoMHogvw5lb9V6d3OyBaIYq7CsXao01CfPIysyEOTKI4MzHMmTP/s1600/spring+split+april2016+288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbc54LzoH9JknrFzTJme9Z-2o7p_3G8OQ7tQWZN5AQbni5zSz_YtUlylg-RelyvlnDek-WcjY6UPEL6LG5cK0zr-yHqoMHogvw5lb9V6d3OyBaIYq7CsXao01CfPIysyEOTKI4MzHMmTP/s320/spring+split+april2016+288.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bees don't like being shaken and split, so more smoke to calm them. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjHKpg7k2mpeELkmO1vbHR0X6D0OuUjYhZQ40AWjSmuzFaLfAIAp325Q2BQDkxPyLrCM-31cGwLSRxBSwmcTAa2YGq0rD9rMX7c6eEsEc0m1zsSFyYLxHNArfRp_B_6LaMUPzNaPI6pHa/s1600/spring+split+april2016+333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjHKpg7k2mpeELkmO1vbHR0X6D0OuUjYhZQ40AWjSmuzFaLfAIAp325Q2BQDkxPyLrCM-31cGwLSRxBSwmcTAa2YGq0rD9rMX7c6eEsEc0m1zsSFyYLxHNArfRp_B_6LaMUPzNaPI6pHa/s320/spring+split+april2016+333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really full hives, and lots of drone cells! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38UHkex0My6Sv_oaMpqozLNqGFbf2rvqCI74a93Xq4HElhmQck-S0f03Ywz1LJczTclcDRHuU8iTaIflTYKX7sWhyphenhyphengqJh8ffZtH2yBupLZx3HC0Fw6yYWSzmztluO9jFcRR_7e7x7923g/s1600/spring+split+april2016+394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38UHkex0My6Sv_oaMpqozLNqGFbf2rvqCI74a93Xq4HElhmQck-S0f03Ywz1LJczTclcDRHuU8iTaIflTYKX7sWhyphenhyphengqJh8ffZtH2yBupLZx3HC0Fw6yYWSzmztluO9jFcRR_7e7x7923g/s320/spring+split+april2016+394.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More indicators that the hives are doing well, and are very full! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQ3odepz3YqQjwSnJuyt2xz8GaqHGczu-2_g2KoeYgEBq_07LKmAhBJOLapr6RNyBWQMFjQeKUOAGLXT6TAUJRK8jTvRNMBkj3_oLyNjySkIXgStJO1pswHBOkBOwO4gLpjBvzCzIOPir/s1600/spring+split+april2016+419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQ3odepz3YqQjwSnJuyt2xz8GaqHGczu-2_g2KoeYgEBq_07LKmAhBJOLapr6RNyBWQMFjQeKUOAGLXT6TAUJRK8jTvRNMBkj3_oLyNjySkIXgStJO1pswHBOkBOwO4gLpjBvzCzIOPir/s320/spring+split+april2016+419.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Bearding' on the front. They are agitated and overcrowded in the bottom box. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0Ov4zd4hdm6fV7V4Z6xcSCYqYYuODcM-hCXDZdVCenpRSBs1Hehg8eQMCqgYVZcxrvqzSmmi7mJ3IHYywbFfn7ZtuQqNlp6H40d0bu3y8rsIhwx_SDH-W9wg-fcrDbMAJuFtCUgvFJ2y/s1600/spring+split+april2016+435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0Ov4zd4hdm6fV7V4Z6xcSCYqYYuODcM-hCXDZdVCenpRSBs1Hehg8eQMCqgYVZcxrvqzSmmi7mJ3IHYywbFfn7ZtuQqNlp6H40d0bu3y8rsIhwx_SDH-W9wg-fcrDbMAJuFtCUgvFJ2y/s320/spring+split+april2016+435.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, they even beard on us as we work. For this job, we want to wear full whites. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-63957227665486850502016-03-28T07:34:00.000-07:002016-03-28T07:34:03.192-07:00Springing Forward<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_gXjzLzpOm5CQksuebY-Uo6Ty5IAFhXsDIU2_XEolkG8A7AMryjD1NQ1Y3miihBAw9QAapw8WY_D5DBlnk807zSioAxT3vAoZnFeNc-2N4UC8VqcYYcHqo9uIXPo2x4kJC-k-EDhuVKn/s1600/honey+bees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_gXjzLzpOm5CQksuebY-Uo6Ty5IAFhXsDIU2_XEolkG8A7AMryjD1NQ1Y3miihBAw9QAapw8WY_D5DBlnk807zSioAxT3vAoZnFeNc-2N4UC8VqcYYcHqo9uIXPo2x4kJC-k-EDhuVKn/s320/honey+bees.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swarm that started it all!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With the hope of ending 2016 a bit stronger than this last
year (hopefully by tripling our hive count), this is the time of year when we
have to do some planning. Of course, we plan the best way to split hives –
there are a couple ways to do that. We plan the best strategy for watching out
for and dealing with swarm cells, when the hives get too big and decide they
want to make a new queen that will then take most of the young, strong bees to a
new hive. Swarms are also a means for us to grow our yard, though, because when
a swarm, either feral or from another bee yard does a surprise landing in some
stranger’s back yard, we can go out and gather it up. It was a stray swarm
landing in our yard four years ago that made us start this journey in the first
place. We will be trying some ‘split hives’ where we put a divider right into
the hive, like a bee condominium, with queens in each side. This allows them to
keep the hive warm yet, and gives them a chance to get established without
having to start completely from scratch. We will do a blog on this as we get
into actually doing it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKgYmGMSjVFiK-kxY8Lo5MhscxOnB4KezE8hMIOAzVyQ7WELrcg-oV60wD5ujhSPXMAD9z0Q1IHuw2zAkSxskp-0QmFqyEqd3MFeLaUj5uAd9xkhANgHtMdxntWbkQpKD1mUVQuZ1ri7V/s1600/bruce+bees+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKgYmGMSjVFiK-kxY8Lo5MhscxOnB4KezE8hMIOAzVyQ7WELrcg-oV60wD5ujhSPXMAD9z0Q1IHuw2zAkSxskp-0QmFqyEqd3MFeLaUj5uAd9xkhANgHtMdxntWbkQpKD1mUVQuZ1ri7V/s320/bruce+bees+049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early hive activity 2016.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We have to plan on what purpose our bees will fulfill. They
could strictly produce honey for us and this usually involves putting them into
orchards and crops for the purpose of pollinating those crops. This is a very
important part of having honey bees, and some would even argue that it is the
only reason for having them. We could put pollen traps on the hives and gather
the pollen for sale, because of the medicinal values. We could do likewise for
propolis, which can be used in natural therapies. Some people raise bees simply
in order to create more bees, breaking up the hives frequently and allowing
those fragments to grow into full hives for sale, or for their own use. Queen
rearing is a big business, and takes a special skill, because the queen cells
are grafted into several dedicated frames, and are then caged and sold. There
are even some apiasts who gather bee venom. Just about everything about bees
can be used, so the options are many. Thankfully we don’t have to commit to
just one thing, and can try our hand at several of them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P8toyALLwlIKEemiCNJa72jLcyM8n1DpwSLpLcrrlSeSgIai5fLjiBMsC0HWKLhI-AlW4ZY9hTkICAJntKvFHyTBBuG6Mos1-5TvmEzQRTGZ-HKZAszk4sMbRpw1IcP1GtmP-qGxluMv/s1600/bruce+bees+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5P8toyALLwlIKEemiCNJa72jLcyM8n1DpwSLpLcrrlSeSgIai5fLjiBMsC0HWKLhI-AlW4ZY9hTkICAJntKvFHyTBBuG6Mos1-5TvmEzQRTGZ-HKZAszk4sMbRpw1IcP1GtmP-qGxluMv/s320/bruce+bees+044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Another issue to make decisions on is where to put the
primary bee yard. Right now, we have a small yard near the house, but if we are
going to grow the number of hives, we also have to grow the area, then make
sure it will be safe from any rather unwelcome guests, including (but not
limited to) skunks, racoons, and bears. Since we have been spending the last
few days refencing the property, we have been able to give this problem a bit
more consideration, and believe we finally have a spot picked out for it. The
next step will be to get it fenced and set up for moving the bees. Of course,
not all of them will go to one spot in our yard. Hopefully we can find several
other locations to set them out, allowing them to access more sources of
pollen, and also to ensure that if something happens to one yard, we still have
some bees to carry on with. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyaAtt2rbZL8ZzxQYeAhSbxZWu_1qGiP4_DycZ2VTulaNKd0ArUw84D_EfbQzl1sdDNA9bYI3ND-RckCDJip3viEiFETHg93dSEcjbUf-pt8rquwOnX8MK7MMep0zWh_mUQjKxQzf3Lod/s1600/neonicotinoids+pin+blog+title.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyaAtt2rbZL8ZzxQYeAhSbxZWu_1qGiP4_DycZ2VTulaNKd0ArUw84D_EfbQzl1sdDNA9bYI3ND-RckCDJip3viEiFETHg93dSEcjbUf-pt8rquwOnX8MK7MMep0zWh_mUQjKxQzf3Lod/s320/neonicotinoids+pin+blog+title.png" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While it might be right that these plants are<br />protected from unwanted pests, they fail to<br />mention how deadly they are to pollinators.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Being avid gardeners at heart, we also need to consider what
plants we want, and where we want them, to offer the best advantage to both the
gardens and the bees. Some plants are just not what the bees want, while others
can attract bees from miles away. Finding out which is which is a much more
challenging undertaking than we thought it would be, because opinions differ
greatly for many plants. Ideally we will avoid double-flowering plants – the ones
that originally had just one layer of petals but now have been hybrid to the
point of having two or even three layers of petals, making the flowers much
fuller. By making them fluffier, it also makes them harder for the bees to find
the pollen. We also must avoid any plants containing neonicotinoids. ‘Neonics’
are absolutely NOT bee friendly. </div>
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We also need to consider the flavors our plants will add to
the honey. Some plants, like sunflowers, add no noticeable change to flavor but
are an excellent source of pollen for bees (and the birds love the seeds all
through the fall and winter). Others, like the blooms on the locust trees, add
a wonderful flavor to the honey that is easily detected, and in some areas will
add value to the finished product. We have a lot of locust trees on our
property, and will soon have more, but we are also leaning toward planting more
lavender. Alyssum, cosmos, and of course, dandelions are all plants that bees
love, and that are vital to them. Planting some of these near the vegetable
garden will ensure that all our plants are well pollinated and produce as much
as possible – well, not the dandelions; the wind will take care of planting
them all over the yard. It already looks like we are in for a bumper crop this
year.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xKuy6dqdKRLUqzyWLxgCofIxJIJrhNr1ahFgLtQ7X7Ii_BEzovkzCsXMCz4MRBWWIf_yW-0xyTYNLYUPNqUQIaVSHwU5_wlNE-exQMshTW0PaGC20s60taCgvR_4N5ymx7AzGhExagEJ/s1600/spring2014bigcamera+106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xKuy6dqdKRLUqzyWLxgCofIxJIJrhNr1ahFgLtQ7X7Ii_BEzovkzCsXMCz4MRBWWIf_yW-0xyTYNLYUPNqUQIaVSHwU5_wlNE-exQMshTW0PaGC20s60taCgvR_4N5ymx7AzGhExagEJ/s320/spring2014bigcamera+106.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our bees on an apple blossom. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The final consideration in choosing plants is blooming
season. We want our bees to eat for as long as possible, but sometimes there
are dry spells in a season where not much is happening, at least as far as
flowers are concerned. Living in a rural community, we can count on the alfalfa
and clover to provide for them throughout the summer and fall. We know that
corn crops will do nothing, but berry crops will be wonderful in the spring. Of
course, the orchards need bees, and our bees need fruit trees, so we have that
one covered, at least for this year. We need to find plants, like primula, that
will bloom early in the year, and some, like goldenrod, that bloom late. The
value of the plants to the bees also will vary because of geographic location
and anomalies, so it’s all a learning curve, but we’re more than happy to
experiment to see what we like, and what our bees like. </div>
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It goes without saying that there are many more things to
think about and plan for, like keeping the bees healthy, and the need for
water, but at this time of year, these are the priorities in our bee yard.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16oq1FROF6Dlexmtxv9d5yUEUmO74nisqA5DVbbZST-ihW3mSC8OSStA-PX6IDzT0QSA-4btjLKt5neEs3Xb7dpEeu_DPGwUzSEdUlvL3W1Dv55_ArVs5sYx_oPRrSzXB2kLwwh_aNBC3/s1600/BooBooBear+Oct+2015+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16oq1FROF6Dlexmtxv9d5yUEUmO74nisqA5DVbbZST-ihW3mSC8OSStA-PX6IDzT0QSA-4btjLKt5neEs3Xb7dpEeu_DPGwUzSEdUlvL3W1Dv55_ArVs5sYx_oPRrSzXB2kLwwh_aNBC3/s320/BooBooBear+Oct+2015+050.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BooBoo Bear was just a little guy last year, but even when little<br />these guys can do a lot of damage to a hive. </td></tr>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-24771205273411062332016-03-06T20:43:00.000-08:002016-03-06T20:43:12.283-08:00Pollen, Pollen Everywhere<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cmqNtukPOMAqXLBv19SNnCXW_Naj9nOIpjiTiDG96_3ti7RgsbdWQ-stAp2gDq_FGYm2pC6gArC1oTv9t12HZHcL-e6bzqL6VTqiFA7r4Tpvz3lkJ5ZKkOFxWL7PM-s1J9E0laQyKDkZ/s1600/b0d172a4522cb3b47a2206e1a6628739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3cmqNtukPOMAqXLBv19SNnCXW_Naj9nOIpjiTiDG96_3ti7RgsbdWQ-stAp2gDq_FGYm2pC6gArC1oTv9t12HZHcL-e6bzqL6VTqiFA7r4Tpvz3lkJ5ZKkOFxWL7PM-s1J9E0laQyKDkZ/s320/b0d172a4522cb3b47a2206e1a6628739.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almond orchards in California</td></tr>
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We are learning that pollen is often available, even when one wouldn't expect it to be about. That's what makes this an interesting time of year for bees. We receive a lot
of questions regarding what happens with bees when they want to get out of the
hive, but they have no place to get pollen. In large part, the answer to that
depends on the local climate in general, and the day-to-day conditions. In some
areas of North America, primarily California where almost 7 million tons of
almonds are grown annually, the bees have been working for weeks already, pollinating
almond trees, a substantial task, and a bit of a juggling act for beekeepers in
the US. The need for the bees is massive, requiring bees to be shipped from one
coast to the other in order to provide enough bees to do the job. The problem
becomes ‘what do they do with them when almonds are done but nothing else is
ready for pollination’. For bees from naturally colder climates, this is not a small
problem.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqwDOF7Tv4RJIthsvvMxhyijW_s8E3WUf3IZRoTy1NHR3lDbrn2rE2LQR04-GV4eAo8YM9c7-iWIT-POen5H0h10MI9SJwt1kxp6x9YkwQ4gZZOuPbmw8VDfU2rmduUPMg8TY6-jl6Ok1/s1600/Pussy-Willow_Bee_Kristin-Shoe-SHoemaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqwDOF7Tv4RJIthsvvMxhyijW_s8E3WUf3IZRoTy1NHR3lDbrn2rE2LQR04-GV4eAo8YM9c7-iWIT-POen5H0h10MI9SJwt1kxp6x9YkwQ4gZZOuPbmw8VDfU2rmduUPMg8TY6-jl6Ok1/s320/Pussy-Willow_Bee_Kristin-Shoe-SHoemaker.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Bee on pussy willow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, we are blessed, especially this year, with our
moderate winter and early spring. The bees, at least ours, are never totally
locked away. They always have access to get outside the hive. On warmer days,
they will go out to do their business – it can be a long time for them to keep
their little bee legs crossed. Sometimes they take flight and realize too late
that they underestimated the temperature, and we see a number of dead bees on
the snow around the hives. They got too chilled to make it back. Some days, we
see the results of their cleaning around their hives, where they have already
started to remove those who didn’t make it through the winter.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NvZyj3smFmO1L8qummPlZTqFg5WxWhakzb3zlwwfrU-r9JiufykINe1tW-FruLp43KFJ2eXz3QOmaHI0vNyRMTVdRpzrHyr8_t53M1xnMwiwpAPFO9EORXVWHr3r4MyoRqdoNl3UQ8hW/s1600/blog-1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NvZyj3smFmO1L8qummPlZTqFg5WxWhakzb3zlwwfrU-r9JiufykINe1tW-FruLp43KFJ2eXz3QOmaHI0vNyRMTVdRpzrHyr8_t53M1xnMwiwpAPFO9EORXVWHr3r4MyoRqdoNl3UQ8hW/s400/blog-1_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
When the bees start winter, they form a mass in the center
of the bottom of the hive. They use their wings to keep the temperature
constant and to create heat – hard work in very cold weather. Their only purpose is to keep the
queen protected and alive, and they will keep their wings moving 24 hours a day
to that end. They do not hibernate. As the winter progresses, the mass will move up the hive, dictated
by the food they have stored away. They need to have enough depth of hive and
enough food stores to last them through the entire winter. Once they get to the
top, you know they have run out of food, and it becomes time to feed them,
which we do every spring. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6tSgMY5Nv3h_KtH1fsTdyMryMwZC1i9aiZOplI9o51nXQEo4NAizLv0QhJYMGFVfjPWR056Rq9Ko5JidKvojA9NCZ_d2SVQT7gttlM26zXH2lZuFV9AqdCXYWhDxDBW68hVpILj668CI/s1600/hazelnuts+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6tSgMY5Nv3h_KtH1fsTdyMryMwZC1i9aiZOplI9o51nXQEo4NAizLv0QhJYMGFVfjPWR056Rq9Ko5JidKvojA9NCZ_d2SVQT7gttlM26zXH2lZuFV9AqdCXYWhDxDBW68hVpILj668CI/s320/hazelnuts+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female bloom on hazelnut tree.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it’s early March in the Okanagan. This year, our snow is
gone. The temperatures are above normal. The bees are out and about... and to
our great surprise and greater joy, they are already bringing in pollen... a
LOT of pollen. There are no flowers, no grasses, no crops. There are no leaves
on any of the trees yet, although the leaf buds are definitely swelling. So,
where are they finding pollen? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Believe me, it’s there, but the flowers are so small, you
really have to look for them. The first source for them is the wonderful,
woolly pussy willows. Remember how, as kids, we would cut them and bring them
in, the first true confirmation that winter has passed, spring was coming as
promised, and life was going on? It’s understandable, but please remember,
these little fluff balls are critical to bees early in the season, so leave
some for them. This is the source of the deep yellow pollen they are packing
into our hives right now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I8merBGMS-ZhI3SmkfpZgIBJUu4x1EzDBoD9g8r4TXZ-VflzMBlIK59JwuOzk7DkltZ6dnwxXt5shdcUNOltyUfz4qEUTHwv9JWqQxkWmB8SZ9kCWgP__Ldq_pmkG0_9iasTCdbgX0tb/s1600/hazelnuts+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8I8merBGMS-ZhI3SmkfpZgIBJUu4x1EzDBoD9g8r4TXZ-VflzMBlIK59JwuOzk7DkltZ6dnwxXt5shdcUNOltyUfz4qEUTHwv9JWqQxkWmB8SZ9kCWgP__Ldq_pmkG0_9iasTCdbgX0tb/s320/hazelnuts+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female hazelnut flower with male catkin in background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The second source would be hazelnut trees. Most people never
notice the blooms on them... they are early in the year, when people aren’t
looking for blooms on anything, but they are there. The hazelnut tree has both
male and female flowers, the female being a very small star-like purple flower
on the end of the bud. Hanging around these little ladies are long, thick
catkin, about 8 inches long. In reality, the tree is NOT pollinated by bees at
all. The plant is designed so that the wind does all the work, but there is so
much pollen on the male catkins, that it is a true feast for the bees. The bees
have absolutely nothing to do with the small, delicate female flowers. The
catkins would be the source for the paler yellow pollen being stored away in
our hives. </div>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMH53qhMRh3HggZRSCZlb_VqdWDLQb3laUumMQ7pZEWIoujut3ytjejG7B_Ej8u9ZhhsiWqUCRj_k9-NEiLjmtYLUf8dABMStoo8XJ-bWdj56gtpwr6D_zgOoFxngqziVL5ctrz71ipFoQ/s1600/hazelnuts+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMH53qhMRh3HggZRSCZlb_VqdWDLQb3laUumMQ7pZEWIoujut3ytjejG7B_Ej8u9ZhhsiWqUCRj_k9-NEiLjmtYLUf8dABMStoo8XJ-bWdj56gtpwr6D_zgOoFxngqziVL5ctrz71ipFoQ/s320/hazelnuts+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazelnut tree with catkins evident. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our search isn’t done. Today we saw they are bringing in
bright red pollen. The search is on to find the source of that! The top of our
suspect list is the weeping willow. </div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-29471381360528696432016-02-08T21:36:00.001-08:002016-02-08T21:36:12.926-08:00Time Sure Flies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo3VQaGS5Tm6crNfXvnBjtaMyfqLY_Cc_6C7fB1imkzGvUojd1soGu35TlWwFnOhV9QbW5KpCuNUcgettXEx_ILbkfi_ESQ5gESusFQV7VYB7gpmciLHzc17pmCRrvd3jl-Vuot-4ESrJ/s1600/goodfridaybees+122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo3VQaGS5Tm6crNfXvnBjtaMyfqLY_Cc_6C7fB1imkzGvUojd1soGu35TlWwFnOhV9QbW5KpCuNUcgettXEx_ILbkfi_ESQ5gESusFQV7VYB7gpmciLHzc17pmCRrvd3jl-Vuot-4ESrJ/s320/goodfridaybees+122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 New Zealand new hive package Queen cage and comb</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been almost a full year! How did that happen? Our last blog was about the Flow Hive, and we start this season off with, yes, you
guessed it, a real Flow Hive of our own. It's only one of the new developments from the last 12 months, and to be honest, we are more than ready to leave 2015 behind and start 2016 with a bang. We can’t wait to get our Flow Hive out there and full
of bees, and we can't wait to include updates about the hive in our blog, so come on, Spring! Time’s a-wasting. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzzaHg62AUV8Kf6BsFHcBDWVQIm3Aha6kPxWGsamR6OcbX7-sWpgptfVkl7hU0up7t0Shl_SICWRvm_ghsoVE9leHeTpiJGnPQnyTvIvBKxwoB0vHMuDQYwdSvbqJVDNm6xF2LrzJjpwT/s1600/bee+queens+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzzaHg62AUV8Kf6BsFHcBDWVQIm3Aha6kPxWGsamR6OcbX7-sWpgptfVkl7hU0up7t0Shl_SICWRvm_ghsoVE9leHeTpiJGnPQnyTvIvBKxwoB0vHMuDQYwdSvbqJVDNm6xF2LrzJjpwT/s320/bee+queens+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frame with Queen cells -- 23 of them -- not a good sign.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
2015 was busy in many ways for us (which is why we never did any blogs). It
was also, to say the least, a bit disappointing from the beekeeping perspective. The year started off wonderfully, with all our hives
coming through the winter with flying colors. We were thrilled to see all those
bees in all those boxes. The Queens seemed strong, the hives were busy and everything seemed wonderful in our little bee world. We set a couple of hives in a new yard (thankfully) and prepared for a year of growth, success, and lots of honey. Unfortunately,
the best laid plans of mice and men... </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuPQaMXIAaSNTA374NCTtJcg2Ct27G0y3gMKPLQXZVAs6pQicDlwsTRaggiN2Mw_KKPyCIkRXaNQDKOSdoJQgwvIzQEHE-DhEFlzMOZs2KUSdsi27VTRA8J3Vsg2OQn_sSdAERS3OBNRt/s1600/aug2015+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuPQaMXIAaSNTA374NCTtJcg2Ct27G0y3gMKPLQXZVAs6pQicDlwsTRaggiN2Mw_KKPyCIkRXaNQDKOSdoJQgwvIzQEHE-DhEFlzMOZs2KUSdsi27VTRA8J3Vsg2OQn_sSdAERS3OBNRt/s320/aug2015+023.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new motorized 20-frame extractor!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though we started off strong with all our hives, and we
added three new package hives from New Zealand, and three new local nucs to the
mix, we ended up the year with one less hive than when we started. These were definitely not the results we had hoped for, but it was better than it could have been. The new
packages started off well enough and grew steadily enough, that we purchased more boxes, more equipment
and, thankfully, a new motorized extractor that didn’t have to be hand-cranked! Soon into
the spring, though, our bees faltered. The new hives didn’t grow. The queens
were laying in spotty patterns – not a good sign. We found hives with dozens of new emergency Queen cells, indicating that the hive was in a panic to create a new queen -- the current one was either sick or dead. We had many bees dying, their
tongues protruding as if they were poisoned. In fact, we assumed that they must
have gotten into a sprayed crop and brought the poison back with them, but the symptoms didn’t seem quite right. It was the start of a massive learning curve for us, as new beekeepers. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwQxwKXqrYIZc9cH_vgSKbnwI5TSblYp65fv3vTnYdavVuJRzjC7IRsHjl79o_-i4sF_uYEmrIDtthpNZJL31y01kIgvjAuSkEpcDU2iXOawAmfS6P9ZD1csKVd9WYpyxW4ZBjMsC8ZaD/s1600/beesandbloomsJun1515+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwQxwKXqrYIZc9cH_vgSKbnwI5TSblYp65fv3vTnYdavVuJRzjC7IRsHjl79o_-i4sF_uYEmrIDtthpNZJL31y01kIgvjAuSkEpcDU2iXOawAmfS6P9ZD1csKVd9WYpyxW4ZBjMsC8ZaD/s320/beesandbloomsJun1515+044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A week hive -- one of the new hives from New Zealand. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had the provincial Bee Inspector come around and he went
through all our hives. The idea of it being Foul Brood was mentioned then ruled
out (thank god, because the thought of burning our hives completely - the only treatment for the disease - was
heart-breaking). Mites were also considered and tested for, but were ruled out.
Samples were sent off to be tested, but the results were inconclusive. Through
this, more of the hives faltered. We would split some because of massive queen
production then find all queens had perished. It was a year of many challenges,
and not much good news to share with anyone. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvcH1dw2t-q09bb11wAYCIbvjzI9iFGKQfysrANLqW_315BzZneoO2E4DdL_fyqQn_0Sj_W2rnZZF2XafRn6qOa_u3mRtbVcQwe88ZMbZAgg2m1odAD2QODhUqpEOsJ70WZv6ZaWrL4D6/s1600/goodfridaybees+160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvcH1dw2t-q09bb11wAYCIbvjzI9iFGKQfysrANLqW_315BzZneoO2E4DdL_fyqQn_0Sj_W2rnZZF2XafRn6qOa_u3mRtbVcQwe88ZMbZAgg2m1odAD2QODhUqpEOsJ70WZv6ZaWrL4D6/s320/goodfridaybees+160.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weak frame with no production and few bees. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Add to this the fact that we had a very dry year, not conducive
to flowers blooming or plants growing well, and not really something that makes
already-stressed bees happy. The bees were always looking for water, finding it too often in the swimming pool where they then became trapped. The drought also meant an increase in wasps, too
many of which had a taste for new bee brood. We lost three hives completely to
wasps – they came in, killed the already-struggling bees and robbed the brood. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Qg-v5GX88MMZQovuIIvbfehKcypTgjyeq3kwVs1rR7yDo7bV4ErD_cnqqbcybihaeagPwnHhOvxZJXlODkdtsAQsAQ3-I2OSoQv0EImFJs8EkGJ_N3SZP3vWX_coeLPTqgk-dQFAKcY/s1600/goodfridaybees+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Qg-v5GX88MMZQovuIIvbfehKcypTgjyeq3kwVs1rR7yDo7bV4ErD_cnqqbcybihaeagPwnHhOvxZJXlODkdtsAQsAQ3-I2OSoQv0EImFJs8EkGJ_N3SZP3vWX_coeLPTqgk-dQFAKcY/s320/goodfridaybees+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Queen cage, complete with Queen and attendants.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
As we learn in life, though, failure begets knowledge. We learned
many things over the course of the year. Among those things learned was that it
was not a very good year for beekeepers in general around the continent. It was
not a fact to celebrate, but it did reassure us that perhaps we weren’t the
cause of our hives dying. We learned that spring in the apiary business means
increased sensitivity to stings. We learned that in dry years, the honey will
be less abundant but thicker in composition (thank god for the motorized
extractor!). We have had the ultimate crash course on just about every disease
known to bees, and every threat, and how to try to mitigate the damage they can
cause. We tried a different treatment program (still organic) for the treatment
of mites when we put the hives to bed for the winter. We will be trying some
new techniques in the spring when the hives get ready to swarm, hopefully
resulting in more hives for us in the end.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgoiphKZTohpfeYbPzag_Jb3yjrTZVM38ESlO1zncZJt21tgAu0bwAC8I23wBTRtpNYyDLyLb2hqZs-ZiD2QceKjKEBQ49gecr1pAUB0-BJmG8knx_nr4Gd9fwHeJw4TkaMK1UolBuls8/s1600/aug2015+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgoiphKZTohpfeYbPzag_Jb3yjrTZVM38ESlO1zncZJt21tgAu0bwAC8I23wBTRtpNYyDLyLb2hqZs-ZiD2QceKjKEBQ49gecr1pAUB0-BJmG8knx_nr4Gd9fwHeJw4TkaMK1UolBuls8/s320/aug2015+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mostly what we learned, though, is that we love being
beekeepers, despite the challenges (and man, were there challenges in 2015!).
Our first inspection this year went very well. The bees were in good clusters,
and the hives we were sure would not last the winter seem to be going strong.
We have put out feedings for them – another new recipe, as well as the pollen
patties – and we are watching as they emerge on those first spring flights; they
have waited a long time to go to the bathroom. It feels to be an early spring,
with a new year of possibilities and potential (and hopefully a few less stings
than last year, although we also learned some new, amazing tricks to deal with
that as well). We have our new signs to up – hanging out our shingle, as it
were – we have some new ideas and plans for our bees and their honey, and we’re ready to face 2016 head on. </div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-78636516549721132792015-02-28T09:35:00.002-08:002015-02-28T09:35:58.332-08:00Building a Better Bee Hive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S71NHhyphenhyphen0Xqq_ViVTbFAiGqHV4fGwXpYD6C5VZKHFS5sknbos3IgKUxB_YJacW_vTadR-ds0kbpJZhXbKTA30JvM17ukbulB38Z4Az18HpXIzeVEy32gqLuASnqMsNC0HEjqhc7JRqEYP/s1600/flow-hive-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9S71NHhyphenhyphen0Xqq_ViVTbFAiGqHV4fGwXpYD6C5VZKHFS5sknbos3IgKUxB_YJacW_vTadR-ds0kbpJZhXbKTA30JvM17ukbulB38Z4Az18HpXIzeVEy32gqLuASnqMsNC0HEjqhc7JRqEYP/s1600/flow-hive-5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
We’ve had a lot of people talking to us and sharing with us
information about the Flow Hive! Thanks so much for that. This hive claims that
we would be able to get honey from the hive without disturbing the bees. We
have been more than curious about it, and hopefully in a few weeks will have a
chance to view one for ourselves. We thought, though, that we would share some
of our thoughts leading up to this, and share some of the things we will be
looking for when we finally see this hive that has seemingly turned beekeeping
on its ear.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34j43qLjPtJxghmMNapgNyULZP4WYR2kNLatygNbW3wyEUaPoCZgBBx8hvzCD_KqC0zp97g-pmYcgJvUgSpbQJoYZEFgq8d7Lhi0OE6On_AweITDCcVXHtHsZ5b2RUcqUF-faN6L91EVM/s1600/DSCF1054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34j43qLjPtJxghmMNapgNyULZP4WYR2kNLatygNbW3wyEUaPoCZgBBx8hvzCD_KqC0zp97g-pmYcgJvUgSpbQJoYZEFgq8d7Lhi0OE6On_AweITDCcVXHtHsZ5b2RUcqUF-faN6L91EVM/s1600/DSCF1054.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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First, one of the big jobs in tending hives is being able to
check them to see what is going on inside. That means we need to pull frames,
see if there are eggs and larvae at every stage, so we know the Queen is alive
and well and doing what she should be doing. It also allows us to see if there
are any new queen cells being formed – a sign that the hive could be getting
big enough that it needs to swarm and start a new colony, or a sign that the
Queen is in distress (or is gone) and needs to be replaced. We also want to be sure that there are no mites, parasites or other problems in the hive; we need to watch for these regularly so that if a problem develops, we can deal with it quickly. The only way to
check on these things is to pull the frames and inspect them. Even with
windows, you will not get a good view of the activities in the comb or the
activity taking place on the inner frames, which so far in our experience has
been where most of the action happens. Taking apart the Flow Hive to inspect,
with spigots and other equipment there, could become much more labor intensive.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrA0qfkarmbqxMv33pGsENrRn70Oy1z5T8ewZ_9-O4Kn4FO9_DCbBGIAtrzsd_NKsew_n4O6IMY70xCUa4t8pUQdND4UgbJCIkh-zfOVUaP-GiIxQXYPv4ntgKRra7aosMMrQZodJyLh78/s1600/flowhive1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrA0qfkarmbqxMv33pGsENrRn70Oy1z5T8ewZ_9-O4Kn4FO9_DCbBGIAtrzsd_NKsew_n4O6IMY70xCUa4t8pUQdND4UgbJCIkh-zfOVUaP-GiIxQXYPv4ntgKRra7aosMMrQZodJyLh78/s1600/flowhive1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our understanding at this point of the Flow Hive is that the
frames are plastic, and they split open when you turn on the tap, so that the
honey drains down and out the spigot. We’re not totally sure, though, how the
bees will know that, with the cells capped, their honey has been taken away.
The cap will still be there, intact, so the bees will have to learn how to tell
when they are empty, and will have to remove the cap so they can then refill
the comb. This may take away from their actual production of honey. An
additional concern is the plastic frames themselves. Plastic can absorb what is
around it, including pollutants and poisons. They will need to be replaced more
often than our current frames require.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekjhvvq1QRsuChxMBbFWj1e1nVlUgo4yhacDXMBbZzpMzb2bOXgcJC9jvGSN-hGUPOds70E6qt3B4EDqVnD-gKk6qygjn29XUJeVIa1oMZp08Rt2Bmcp28lbGVqhGh7mpTNemYRZyYHrS/s1600/beehivecheck+196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekjhvvq1QRsuChxMBbFWj1e1nVlUgo4yhacDXMBbZzpMzb2bOXgcJC9jvGSN-hGUPOds70E6qt3B4EDqVnD-gKk6qygjn29XUJeVIa1oMZp08Rt2Bmcp28lbGVqhGh7mpTNemYRZyYHrS/s1600/beehivecheck+196.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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Another thing that we need to understand is the hive
structure. We have two large bee boxes that house the bees and larvae. Both
boxes are used for that, to keep the hive healthy and to ensure you always have
a steady supply of new bees. When they start producing honey in the summer,
they store that near the top of the hive, in what we call honey supers. In the
Flow Hive, there are only two large boxes. That would mean they are using the
second box for honey production instead of bee production. How does that impact
the hive overall? When we remove the honey, we just remove the honey super,
leaving the rest of the hive untouched, so we’re not really sure what the
benefit would be.</div>
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It will be interesting as well to see how they deal with
ants and other pests. Having honey outside the hive will be an invitation to
wasps, ants and other critters we do not want trying to get into the hive. It
also means that the honey is more accessible/tantalizing to skunks, bears,
raccoons, etc. Do we have to remove and clean the spigots every time and does
that require taking the boxes apart? How do we keep it all clean without having
to break down the hive, which is the thing this hive is supposed to circumvent?
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7ATYy6Qcz5sJpHIojl7JBckiA0k1pVtGUL11kco6YM1Au5p0cPdRFd2muKihwvJty1Ru8xz3q_Pf25OKZ9NP_Oh5ABu5Hk_S1P0edQNQ8R-v2TbYJeVE9Q_uuPOSdmr9ayDQ5nl36M4w/s1600/flowhive2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7ATYy6Qcz5sJpHIojl7JBckiA0k1pVtGUL11kco6YM1Au5p0cPdRFd2muKihwvJty1Ru8xz3q_Pf25OKZ9NP_Oh5ABu5Hk_S1P0edQNQ8R-v2TbYJeVE9Q_uuPOSdmr9ayDQ5nl36M4w/s1600/flowhive2.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we first saw the information about this hive, we were
skeptical, to say the least. Information on the internet shows that it’s been around
since about 2008, but has only gotten legs now. It was the subject of a huge
crowd-sourcing effort of late and we honestly wondered if it was nothing more
than a scam. That said, several well-known and reputable beekeepers have said they’ve seen it, and were impressed, so we will absolutely go into this
with open minds. We’re excited about going to learn more about the hive in a
few weeks. Hopefully our questions will be answered. Then the next issue will
be if the cost of a Flow Hive, for anything more than a promotional/education
tool or as a novelty, will pay off. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQL2rSV7Pg08X5pZF0wN97hD4vaf0ogtE5ME3vXLcsNrVNU_Z2PLHMYuSOWOGz_FieGK9-A0qu1XV3jKwSs3LjyEGBPmNXvh4Cjx4Y7eiKdcbP_lphZae_e_Fs5Ykc0PkSv7dy6rJjkv5/s1600/angry_bee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQL2rSV7Pg08X5pZF0wN97hD4vaf0ogtE5ME3vXLcsNrVNU_Z2PLHMYuSOWOGz_FieGK9-A0qu1XV3jKwSs3LjyEGBPmNXvh4Cjx4Y7eiKdcbP_lphZae_e_Fs5Ykc0PkSv7dy6rJjkv5/s1600/angry_bee.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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Now for a quick update on our own hives. We checked them a
few days ago and gave all of them (except The White Outs and the Moody Blues) pollen
patties. None of the hives had touched the sprinkled sugar plates we put in
with them. We didn’t give pollen patties to the Moody Blues because we thought
we had lost that hive. There was no activity in it at all. The White Outs
missed out because, well, they had a few attitude problems when one of us (who
shall remain nameless) mistakenly grabbed at the hive to pry off the lid and in
the process slammed his hand over the upper opening... and about 300 bees. They
will get their patty this weekend. On a more positive note, in the last few
days, with warmer temperatures, we are seeing some activity around the Moody
Blues, so maybe they were just really hunkered down because of the cold. We’re
hoping so anyway. </div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-89750624623439293252015-02-08T15:30:00.000-08:002015-02-08T15:30:07.314-08:00Taking Care of Beesness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEUKMte0WD0H-WVp1jPAjSm-t6qIZgQECq11mEBm0JdJ-kKxxT0Xhx4RYIuBuqoxVnvHjStrj7S7DAy-quEPxNL2uWrwBnERfPovKtyG9haiOFBs4Rfw3_Lo4JDWJend3S8eLsVINka8S/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEUKMte0WD0H-WVp1jPAjSm-t6qIZgQECq11mEBm0JdJ-kKxxT0Xhx4RYIuBuqoxVnvHjStrj7S7DAy-quEPxNL2uWrwBnERfPovKtyG9haiOFBs4Rfw3_Lo4JDWJend3S8eLsVINka8S/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+013.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have talked about what bees do in winter in Canada, but
what about the beekeepers? How do they spend the winter? While it’s not all
work, there are still some critical things that need to be done. </div>
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First, because we need to be ready for spring, we build bee
boxes for new hives. We have some new bees coming next year, but we also have
to be ready for the hives that might want to split up, getting some into new
hives before they swarm and we lose them. We will be adding 5 new hives in the
spring, 3 packages from New Zealand, and 2 local nucs. We’ve done our homework,
and have some of the best, oldest strain of bees coming – who knew bees had
pedigrees? They aren’t as detailed as the American Kennel Club, but there is
definitely some advantage to knowing a bit of the history of your bees. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBP_gMPWYBm9-FjjTZe3RH8Q2nhMu1cpYLkImVlDfxo2EDKNzHYaqSj3ZTsLnjI-I5e5H5iPxfZOi0FaVyPn05lajQKKvPTe7jccXLRapHEkR1iNTvZ6Yc13Z8sLABOu-ZomXbp2admZw/s1600/bee+boxes+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBP_gMPWYBm9-FjjTZe3RH8Q2nhMu1cpYLkImVlDfxo2EDKNzHYaqSj3ZTsLnjI-I5e5H5iPxfZOi0FaVyPn05lajQKKvPTe7jccXLRapHEkR1iNTvZ6Yc13Z8sLABOu-ZomXbp2admZw/s1600/bee+boxes+019.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squaring up the boxes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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To make sure we have enough for this year – the five new
ones and whatever splits we may get from the ones we already have – we created
24 boxes, so 12 new hives. We don’t expect that we will fill them all, but we
can dream. It’s assembly line work to make them, but with all hands working,
they’re stacked and ready to roll. We’ve decided that each year will be
assigned a color, so we can keep track of when they arrived. This year, will be
The Motley Blue. Each hive is a different shade, so hopefully we will be able
to tell them apart. </div>
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Another thing we do in the winter is learn more about our
bees. We want to start raising our own queens, so we have been studying that
process. Next year we should have a lot more honey, so we need to figure out
where we can sell it and how to promote it. To that end, we have spent the winter
discussing (okay, arguing) about a name for our apiary. Suggestions are
welcome! </div>
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While thinking about what to do with the honey, we have also
done some product testing at home – we need to have some fun, right? We’ve made
some mead, using our own honey, our very pure wonderful, natural water, and our
own fruit. We spray nothing, and are far enough removed from spraying that we
are very comfortable with all our produce being organic. We have made some
plain honey mead, some raspberry honey mead, some blackberry honey mead, and
some peach honey mead. This year was just small batches, so we can see how it
tastes before we do anything more. It is already bottled, and needs to sit like
that for several months before it will be ready. We’re also trying our hand at
some honey lager beer. No kits or store bought shortcuts, though. We used hops, malted barley, and honey, sparged our wort, and soon it will be heading to the carboys to
finish up. It should be wonderful for the summer. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9My5t21saNqUV1VZ6bfNxKTm65pfZ7E2ol5IRAfl1tB0S6Z9RLQkKL5lku384HeBfmZx6pGkwD7kGWsN3dMCb9GCb4pDoYVXBPbHwm9NULasZeuZhFtAjWOIC-yb2kIltlVCKrRnj7A5R/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9My5t21saNqUV1VZ6bfNxKTm65pfZ7E2ol5IRAfl1tB0S6Z9RLQkKL5lku384HeBfmZx6pGkwD7kGWsN3dMCb9GCb4pDoYVXBPbHwm9NULasZeuZhFtAjWOIC-yb2kIltlVCKrRnj7A5R/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+013.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Motley Blue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We have been planning on something to do to help our bees as
far as gardening. You may remember that we were originally avid gardeners. Now
we want to have plants that will complement and accommodate the bees. We’re
thinking lavender and clover. We won’t be putting in five acres of either, but
we may start with a few hundred plants, just to see how it goes. We also will
be looking at adding some monarda (bee balm) for the little ladies, and
hopefully they’ll like the herbs we keep every year. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZnGq_FOMiU_8Oo2qyL-ja1TgPtYdqg4Q2AiRr4PM4MIWHc7L39JG8wI7HAe3biFbyOYLF-24gadCLmWjcCvBLBIXkNj38GtOjXp5MI71si3j0bajtYyBp6HG_Ge8Gzqt4cY0gALWF3P_/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZnGq_FOMiU_8Oo2qyL-ja1TgPtYdqg4Q2AiRr4PM4MIWHc7L39JG8wI7HAe3biFbyOYLF-24gadCLmWjcCvBLBIXkNj38GtOjXp5MI71si3j0bajtYyBp6HG_Ge8Gzqt4cY0gALWF3P_/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+001.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plates of misted sugar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We also still take care of the bees. This time of year can
be tricky. They are starting to lay, starting to become active again, and their
stored food could be growing sparse, so today we helped them out with plates of
misted sugar – not sugar water, and not dry sugar, but misted so that it is
sticky. If we had left it dry, they may think granules are dirt and set to work
getting it out of there once the temperatures warm up some more. The sugar will
also take on some of the humidity from the hive, and should hold them until temperatures
are warm enough that we can put sugar water out for them. If course, once we
reach summer, they don’t need us to give them anything in the hive; they want
the entire inside for brood and honey. In a month from now, when we know that
our temperatures are a bit more consistently warm, we will give them some
protein patties, and let them get ready to bulk up and really get to work. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDHJ-3-TiVe4hBS571QrE7cXscfPy5z9GITzzK5WPNdZGQUvq2uDv51Dx8ToYdqgeoLQX3FswAVAt_PYeR7ysC8-K5Af18yYhqYHFjZ5xNHkzbPoiQPQ5ANr4UZEyF2iZeKVK6EWHKO45/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDHJ-3-TiVe4hBS571QrE7cXscfPy5z9GITzzK5WPNdZGQUvq2uDv51Dx8ToYdqgeoLQX3FswAVAt_PYeR7ysC8-K5Af18yYhqYHFjZ5xNHkzbPoiQPQ5ANr4UZEyF2iZeKVK6EWHKO45/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+016.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we opened the hives today to put in the plates of
misted sugar, we were able to see how our little bees were doing. They were
very active today, flying around a lot. The Dregs, Gang Green and Pistachio
were all doing well. There was some activity, and lots of bees taking flight.
Moody Blue is a bit of a concern. We didn’t see any bees going in or out, and
when we lifted it, there was very little activity. The White Outs, however,
were crazy full and busy, creating comb and cleaning house. Because it is so
full, the humidity is high and could be a problem. There was some mould around
the edges, of the lid, so we cleaned out the doorways and hopefully they will
get some air in there to dry it out a bit. Humidity is a much bigger problem
than the cold is. Team Tangerine has been a concern for several months now, but
it seems to be doing okay. It wasn’t nearly as full or active as the White
Outs, but they are definitely holding their own. Mellow Yellow, as always, is
going strong, lots of bees, lots of buzz, and hopefully this summer, lots of
honey – barring issues again with humidity. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihY5ATqj2UyN6QHP9ODPsrSxr2ycxe8zb0vAjSRlG0_Dgzw8msIudzu8DpnIqgP-wYeWr3HCz1_oLeWDUYBOhxGjR_Oae5vDVQ1gLx7goiIlVHkk2izOqbUuOjHzQ4itA6eIXUncGfCdxJ/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihY5ATqj2UyN6QHP9ODPsrSxr2ycxe8zb0vAjSRlG0_Dgzw8msIudzu8DpnIqgP-wYeWr3HCz1_oLeWDUYBOhxGjR_Oae5vDVQ1gLx7goiIlVHkk2izOqbUuOjHzQ4itA6eIXUncGfCdxJ/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+006.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The White Outs! That's a LOT of bees! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mU7mGOsXIGPaY7iOuVNPfnMC8LWfRgHeLtWefD6g6WqcMCwvtX0DyacImcyKNX5gx8XKVMl4q0p4hmaivXKxr01zlsxODvhipfQnFAtGRl5BAkaPzCcJBhTCtxdAvbhSmUCbnfmUM5zv/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mU7mGOsXIGPaY7iOuVNPfnMC8LWfRgHeLtWefD6g6WqcMCwvtX0DyacImcyKNX5gx8XKVMl4q0p4hmaivXKxr01zlsxODvhipfQnFAtGRl5BAkaPzCcJBhTCtxdAvbhSmUCbnfmUM5zv/s1600/honey1+feb+2015+012.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're already going for the sugar. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgS79kKb4WqImiiaL1HYFDJAbRKt22s8YTlFaDr4Xrf2A3I3SNJzy2xRl2x7ElKH2FM4x6dXN-XB18XhL2FNf_f4KgnzsaVNiw-tVSUY4QS6-mwmaSoJwHXOFz3Q0HGXBCX_OonuZqGzp/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgS79kKb4WqImiiaL1HYFDJAbRKt22s8YTlFaDr4Xrf2A3I3SNJzy2xRl2x7ElKH2FM4x6dXN-XB18XhL2FNf_f4KgnzsaVNiw-tVSUY4QS6-mwmaSoJwHXOFz3Q0HGXBCX_OonuZqGzp/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+034.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mellow Yellow is also full to bursting. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDHJ-3-TiVe4hBS571QrE7cXscfPy5z9GITzzK5WPNdZGQUvq2uDv51Dx8ToYdqgeoLQX3FswAVAt_PYeR7ysC8-K5Af18yYhqYHFjZ5xNHkzbPoiQPQ5ANr4UZEyF2iZeKVK6EWHKO45/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDHJ-3-TiVe4hBS571QrE7cXscfPy5z9GITzzK5WPNdZGQUvq2uDv51Dx8ToYdqgeoLQX3FswAVAt_PYeR7ysC8-K5Af18yYhqYHFjZ5xNHkzbPoiQPQ5ANr4UZEyF2iZeKVK6EWHKO45/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+016.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving sugar to the Gang Green.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gj7Z3d8V8cWehohPr_cw8qkGQOmduNxETPn_I0kLoW85OdFMfSeyWLz6s58CzP4fGOwX7NwjVy9jzTf9vX7p5S5IvXH8EjSwdwc8D6PJ4Hs38Om2RpAqTkSh32fyzJ0PrN-UjlspYyrz/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gj7Z3d8V8cWehohPr_cw8qkGQOmduNxETPn_I0kLoW85OdFMfSeyWLz6s58CzP4fGOwX7NwjVy9jzTf9vX7p5S5IvXH8EjSwdwc8D6PJ4Hs38Om2RpAqTkSh32fyzJ0PrN-UjlspYyrz/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+007.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food for The Dregs. They're getting busy making honeycomb.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5gMFApW_pP-Q4FWCRjtfLGavMWCRLDyIzmQd73MmUQdT8K_wXkf27N_A6oj6RTDJW7YaqHnmt-zpRnJflKIJqAb-ha-mBwcPvDnhx1R0nPasCuGcXaZIS3HVqD7x_qomV1su__qBGcso/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5gMFApW_pP-Q4FWCRjtfLGavMWCRLDyIzmQd73MmUQdT8K_wXkf27N_A6oj6RTDJW7YaqHnmt-zpRnJflKIJqAb-ha-mBwcPvDnhx1R0nPasCuGcXaZIS3HVqD7x_qomV1su__qBGcso/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+020.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moody Blues. This one is a concern. We don't know where the bees have gone. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSOijOaFylu6O0EeBFUnDgWtF2jv-4Ub1FruwyoufzzYywSLeir4PpAfM7b9l8Qw5prDH0ozo_ypC7rpMKXhNpBsxUcvtBHq64RWmoHi2MliAFBg4HuRKDkTmPmfD5_trpqKlTieKxiEC/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSOijOaFylu6O0EeBFUnDgWtF2jv-4Ub1FruwyoufzzYywSLeir4PpAfM7b9l8Qw5prDH0ozo_ypC7rpMKXhNpBsxUcvtBHq64RWmoHi2MliAFBg4HuRKDkTmPmfD5_trpqKlTieKxiEC/s1600/bees+big+camera+feb+7+2015+035.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mellow Yellow has so many bees we had to push them aside to get the plate of sugar in there. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-67337551355166140222015-01-25T13:24:00.000-08:002015-01-25T13:24:46.295-08:00Hives of Activity<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9Pa88QiKGjuyDea_HE51wJtOhFemeeSA6w0Jr0MrVd2IRGKxT9jXK-UiTP7hmJy1kFaTKQqrMOxY-ciLpLd_XZy4iK60GzL7hN6dKnHdn12Wno5q9AGOqp9yus0r0yojAs5diaNnzxRd/s1600/winterbeesbigcamera+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9Pa88QiKGjuyDea_HE51wJtOhFemeeSA6w0Jr0MrVd2IRGKxT9jXK-UiTP7hmJy1kFaTKQqrMOxY-ciLpLd_XZy4iK60GzL7hN6dKnHdn12Wno5q9AGOqp9yus0r0yojAs5diaNnzxRd/s1600/winterbeesbigcamera+004.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
Well, despite the fact that it’s January 25<sup>th</sup>,
our hives are a-buzzing! We couldn’t be happier. We expected that we would have
some loss – some of those hives weren’t particularly strong when we bundled
them up for winter, we are noo-bees, and winter loss is just a fact of the
business. We expected we may lose two or even three of our little apiary, but
today, again, they are busy at work. We had to see what they were up to.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first thing we noticed was that the bees jumped at the
opportunity the warmer temperatures brought, and started their spring cleaning.
As we have said before, they are incredibly clean animals, not wanting any dirt
or debris in their hives. Over the course of the winter, for one reason or
another, bees don’t survive, so the first job when cleaning is to push the dead
bees out. It looks like a fairly big task, but after watching them kick the
drones out – sometimes requiring three and four workers to force the male out
of the hive – in the fall, the job is probably a bit easier. Then again, at
this time of year, the bees are probably not as strong, being older, and being
inside the hive for weeks at a time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAwXbChx_Er9MLMWVzdtcP5J2EbyIfjEGBbcKgk66wcQzV7SVTFdScRwCYqHLYmvKDoNa_39j2PoZ_LnG5dpO5iZwr_kioacsz0qFF05JNm5iCtdeCwylJw9ls1ZIQKtiYWm4D0RLyaYi/s1600/winterbeesbigcamera+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAwXbChx_Er9MLMWVzdtcP5J2EbyIfjEGBbcKgk66wcQzV7SVTFdScRwCYqHLYmvKDoNa_39j2PoZ_LnG5dpO5iZwr_kioacsz0qFF05JNm5iCtdeCwylJw9ls1ZIQKtiYWm4D0RLyaYi/s1600/winterbeesbigcamera+006.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pushing dead bees from the hive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re thrilled that they are not just surviving the winter,
but thriving through it. That doesn’t mean that we are out of the woods,
though. We still have to get through February, which can be bitterly cold here,
and we may even have to help them get through March, so we can’t party down
quite yet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hives are alive and busy, which means the bees are
eating. More than likely, the Queen has started to lay eggs again, putting more
demand on food stores. Starvation at this time of year is always a concern.
They’re working, and they could go through their food rather quickly. If we
continue to have warm days, though, they could soon start to gather pollen. *waits
a minute for the laughter to stop* Here in the Okanagan Valley in British
Columbia, the bees have a ready supply of pollen they can collect any time of
the year – pine trees. They are great pollen producers, and if our weather
keeps warm like this, and we can make to 60F, our bees could easily slip into
the tree belt and get a bit of a nosh to keep them going. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ6YNCZyChuGFENDSkVgP6HFMNO7bolzhnqvGRK3lzR_XPw7lPYSNeNSX0HaibWHGkH2zzOlXbYJMtdLM7LTbYbxIpl9w2ZLUKwaZLhVpzxtUZSph37KqlrPvr-7Lrefx2pQHURXAWUfc/s1600/winterbees2+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ6YNCZyChuGFENDSkVgP6HFMNO7bolzhnqvGRK3lzR_XPw7lPYSNeNSX0HaibWHGkH2zzOlXbYJMtdLM7LTbYbxIpl9w2ZLUKwaZLhVpzxtUZSph37KqlrPvr-7Lrefx2pQHURXAWUfc/s1600/winterbees2+016.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A return of the cold weather could also give another
opportunity to mites and disease, as the bees gather tightly together in the
middle of the hive. As mentioned in earlier blogs, humidity in the hives is
also a concern if the temperatures drop. The cluster of bees can maintain a temperature
of 92F, but as they work to maintain that temperature, they sweat. Just like
humans, when we consume food to live, we also give off solid and liquid waste.
For bees, that moisture – respiration – rises to the top of the hive. If the
temperature is below freezing outside, and the moisture collects, and the hives
are not properly insulated, ice will form and block the bees from getting to
the food. Our special tops on the hives help to stop this by having extra
ventilation to allow the moisture to escape, and by having materials that will
soak up the moisture without dropping it back down on the bees. That doesn’t
mean it can’t happen though, so we still must be vigilant to keep them
protected. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27JBmiBYCi0OZFHk3-436V1i6873i7QZ6vX5CQj3sUkwuiBxnCOKXOqd41l25rHuVVfoHVLOpD-9PV0kDZWMVvi9Sa1uYethqonTs18EU9FQbWlLkjn2BvWRA7SiMfaWfPDo0QsVSYfBR/s1600/winterbees2+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27JBmiBYCi0OZFHk3-436V1i6873i7QZ6vX5CQj3sUkwuiBxnCOKXOqd41l25rHuVVfoHVLOpD-9PV0kDZWMVvi9Sa1uYethqonTs18EU9FQbWlLkjn2BvWRA7SiMfaWfPDo0QsVSYfBR/s1600/winterbees2+015.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, today we opened a hive. It’s cold, and we don’t want to
let that cold air in, but we believed the hive had not survived. It was a
wonderful surprise to find them alive and happy, and very busy. There’s still
more winter to get through, but we’re feeling very blessed today, and are
looking forward to getting back into the groove with our 150,000ish little
ladies. </div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-79523146544523252372015-01-24T11:54:00.000-08:002015-01-24T11:54:19.426-08:00But BaBee It's Cold Outside<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2J-5jQvmAa5n7TRqbaberYC6E_V_K6yERNq-ZxPrFIEfrCqRlo5vUT_QRAcQRLJwZLGbAHaVkeH1yftcjOuGATAp11L-N_t7wCmXplCainw_qdoEvS7ZTSbbAuqBO7sQxbkV5JfahBIkY/s1600/winterbees+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2J-5jQvmAa5n7TRqbaberYC6E_V_K6yERNq-ZxPrFIEfrCqRlo5vUT_QRAcQRLJwZLGbAHaVkeH1yftcjOuGATAp11L-N_t7wCmXplCainw_qdoEvS7ZTSbbAuqBO7sQxbkV5JfahBIkY/s1600/winterbees+007.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
Bees in winter, you say? Why yes, on nice days, we do see
our honey bees, even when there is snow on the ground.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Honey bees do not hibernate; even though they are, for the most
part, out of sight tucked away warm and snug in their hives. Even here in cold,
frozen Canada, honey bees do not hibernate. They don’t even take long naps like
squirrels do. Bees work in winter. They work to stay warm, and that takes a lot
of energy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we mentioned in our earlier blog, one of the things bees
do to prepare for winter is to evict all the drones/males. Males don’t do
anything in the hive. They don’t protect the hive, they don’t help with the
production of honey. They are there for the sole purpose of breeding queens
(but not the queen in their own hive). Queens only breed at one time in their
lives but they will breed with as many as twenty different drones on that
mating flight. She then returns to her hive and begins to lay her eggs. When
there is a need, she will create some drone eggs, but otherwise all the eggs
she lays will be females which will do the work to maintain the hive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDD5uTb6o_SL4jmsHuBtsdPCwa7u-CL5ZhHH7sV2s31_UggYe2GNIxHRXVAqiXxjY1ssMxXs3mvANeRK6q8WNkynt0jAX5jVIOujkIKgjG_7hj9-8gmFCNLJO0Fv0B3YOj1bEcXyjRb_D3/s1600/winterbees+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDD5uTb6o_SL4jmsHuBtsdPCwa7u-CL5ZhHH7sV2s31_UggYe2GNIxHRXVAqiXxjY1ssMxXs3mvANeRK6q8WNkynt0jAX5jVIOujkIKgjG_7hj9-8gmFCNLJO0Fv0B3YOj1bEcXyjRb_D3/s1600/winterbees+011.JPG" height="303" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The eggs will progress to larvae which will be capped over
by the workers. They then enter a pre-pupal and pupal stage before becoming a
bee. This process will take 21 days for a worker bee, 16 days for a queen, and
24 days for a drone. For the first three weeks of their lives, worker bees will
work in the hive. For the last three weeks of their lives, they are field bees,
collecting pollen. (However, if you were to remove one class of bees – hive bees
or field bees – completely from the hive, the other class moves in and takes
over the work so that the hive survives). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of this changes, though, come fall. The queen slows,
then temporarily stops, laying eggs while the hive prepares for the winter
months. They have put extra stores of honey and pollen away, and the hive uses
these stores to survive throughout the winter and into spring until the temperatures
are warm enough outside to start production again. Where summer bees generally
live six weeks, winter bees have to survive throughout the winter, so they will
live up to six months or even longer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgwuy0PRQRHYGrCd0gXgrCLjK3ZLyTwZyR4yA6Ge-ZsaUEyi15uHA1kwN8UUxdFTjv4SHLYImSFY1H7hH6I3UV5OwDv_DUkZUjHIFncknYczH5AnojP-jG0s4DoejgILzEOsfCV_pOjn4/s1600/winterbees+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgwuy0PRQRHYGrCd0gXgrCLjK3ZLyTwZyR4yA6Ge-ZsaUEyi15uHA1kwN8UUxdFTjv4SHLYImSFY1H7hH6I3UV5OwDv_DUkZUjHIFncknYczH5AnojP-jG0s4DoejgILzEOsfCV_pOjn4/s1600/winterbees+001.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a>So what do these bees do during the winter? The sole goal of
a bee is to help the hive survive. That’s what they do in the winter. They
gather together, low in the center of the hive, and they generate heat to keep themselves
warm. It’s amazing how much heat they can generate. As the winter progresses,
and because heat moves up, the core of bees will move up the hive, consuming
the food they put away. The stores at the top of the hive will be eaten last.
The bigger problem in the hive, as opposed to heat, is humidity. It can, in
essence, rain inside the hive, and that’s bad. For this purpose, we have
special covers for the hive that include a layer of wood chips to help absorb
the moisture, preventing it from condensing and falling onto the bees. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YDMzg4j6fLGNri4BV-sT_dKC4VFFR4cLpzvQ4VolzOqT16LVpfPyj-li5ChaDUJT7JkcodcNyPhTYvWC78Jd0vdm4dgteMBg1Ty6CdiAUcOaW_I-xeu6z0PGoidkkkBxWldd_5DF4182/s1600/winterbees+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YDMzg4j6fLGNri4BV-sT_dKC4VFFR4cLpzvQ4VolzOqT16LVpfPyj-li5ChaDUJT7JkcodcNyPhTYvWC78Jd0vdm4dgteMBg1Ty6CdiAUcOaW_I-xeu6z0PGoidkkkBxWldd_5DF4182/s1600/winterbees+019.JPG" height="320" width="298" /></a>What they don’t do, though, is poop in their hives. Bees are
fastidiously clean, so on those warm days, they leave the hive to take care of
business. Even with the several feet of snow we have on the ground, the bees
will come out. Unfortunately not all bees make it back to the hive. Inside the
hive, though, because they are in confined spaces for long times, disease and
mites can be a problem. Ordinarily bees can come and go and a sick bee is
quickly replaced. In winter, the diseases and mites can get a better grip on
them and can take a toll. In the fall, while preparing for winter, we help by
doing treatments for these problems to help prevent or lessen the impact, but
that doesn’t always work. The bees, the temperatures the length and intensity
of the winter will all play a role, but seeing bee come out at this time of
year gives us that much more hope that they were properly prepared, and will be
more than ready to start production soon. There is nothing like the hum of a
beehive in winter to remind you about how amazing these little critters are. </div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-30835747350992607632014-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:002014-09-20T15:00:00.144-07:00He bee? Gee, bees!<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDT7gb5D509Dn1CHvBwgKAvQE24OxX3jKsXSTP0jxv6Ve-Fndz-xREpIx7MrjzOeOGcV3P4ZetDcwygs8Rast0-ERBw2OnIZ1ctEHsmWTx1UxFNL3LHUP-0SIChgsLKTxOKwvu7iTWSOA/s1600/drones+107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDT7gb5D509Dn1CHvBwgKAvQE24OxX3jKsXSTP0jxv6Ve-Fndz-xREpIx7MrjzOeOGcV3P4ZetDcwygs8Rast0-ERBw2OnIZ1ctEHsmWTx1UxFNL3LHUP-0SIChgsLKTxOKwvu7iTWSOA/s1600/drones+107.JPG" height="285" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yes, we are talking about drones today –
the male of the species. There was some discussion about titles for the blog
today – <i>Drone It Make You Want To Go Home</i>, and <i>Droneo oh Droneo</i>. All three are
relevant. Drones are the playboys of the hive set. They’re born, they mate, and
they die. Well, if they’re lucky, they mate (although that could be subject to
interpretation, I suppose). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Today, while watching the hives in action
(a not rare pastime around here), we were able to see the drones outside the
hives. The workers were working – some bringing in absolutely HUGE loads of
pollen, some cleaning, some defending the hive. The worker bees are all –
surprise, surprise – female. The workers are the smallest bees in the hive. The
drones are slightly bigger, and the Queens outsize them all. We’ll talk more
about the workers, and the Queens, later on in the year. Right now, it’s drone
time! (although we were absolutely thrilled to see so much pollen being
gathered at this time of year). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclbbQ0ahBMIfeF5-Ue-8alfyJ0J6vgQ9fuf8R6TeQsLi8JSiEdqTW4DZaRsC_DiqdIMxiDpy_0MT6edZswycgGTwDtHjbyO98ctOuLDOdGputRk5VJghyphenhypheno4VG-35Es_fioeyoGbM-43yz/s1600/drones+130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclbbQ0ahBMIfeF5-Ue-8alfyJ0J6vgQ9fuf8R6TeQsLi8JSiEdqTW4DZaRsC_DiqdIMxiDpy_0MT6edZswycgGTwDtHjbyO98ctOuLDOdGputRk5VJghyphenhypheno4VG-35Es_fioeyoGbM-43yz/s1600/drones+130.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Drones – they take the longest to mature
(no, we shouldn’t be surprised at that, should we?). They are distinctive
because of their size, but also because of their huge eyes. You would think
that they are built this way in order to better defend and protect the hive,
but no. They have no stinger, so they are not a defensive creature. When they
hatch, they are fed and cared for by the workers. Then they leave the hive
during the day to try to find some sweet new Queen bee on one of her (usually)
three nuptial flights. When they do find one, they lay on the charm, hoping to
be one of the twenty or so men she will take a shine to. Here’s the thing
though – once they have mated with her, that one time, they die, because she
rips off their reproductive organs and carries them with her. She stores the
sperm in her spermatheca where she can then get it when she is laying her eggs
(which she will do all day, every day, for the rest of her life). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2L4Oq7OTJTNef_k8hibrrSXWsQENZx2-iFsp-T6zzT7_eqF4vlkX-Z9pU-wHym40vI_LlIRnTdd94DAOBddiOOm9XUKFTSutU_bjaDAXTlUEIWlNIefP83Ib2Z79NWWVNofnsnodqwX3p/s1600/drones+139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2L4Oq7OTJTNef_k8hibrrSXWsQENZx2-iFsp-T6zzT7_eqF4vlkX-Z9pU-wHym40vI_LlIRnTdd94DAOBddiOOm9XUKFTSutU_bjaDAXTlUEIWlNIefP83Ib2Z79NWWVNofnsnodqwX3p/s1600/drones+139.JPG" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worker bee on the left side of the opening, drone on the right.<br />See the difference in their eyes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When the hive needs drones, the Queen will
lay unfertilized eggs that will then become males. She never breeds again,
other than on her nuptial flights, and no mating is ever done within the hive.
When a new Queen is ready to be bred, she finds drones from another colony,
thus keeping her hive strong and healthy. A colony will produce several hundred
drones (compared the tens of thousands of workers it produces) so seeing the drones
is always a good sign of a healthy hive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2G437r_c_XnjCw7G_6-16SlM-EgdO6quOvKCmhGwIaqa89gvf-HriMNiFa2iwUPDDNqx9YagQHH3clsg0HNNzmDGbibW2XUCaFRVysLBcVP0Hmk4n0YYJZIqmPdYVBBZVeo0Mz4GcafJA/s1600/drones+126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2G437r_c_XnjCw7G_6-16SlM-EgdO6quOvKCmhGwIaqa89gvf-HriMNiFa2iwUPDDNqx9YagQHH3clsg0HNNzmDGbibW2XUCaFRVysLBcVP0Hmk4n0YYJZIqmPdYVBBZVeo0Mz4GcafJA/s1600/drones+126.JPG" height="234" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workers pushing a persistent drone away from the hive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But, females can be pragmatic critters, and
when it comes time to prepare the hive for winter, they are worried about
having enough food to last. They know the males will do nothing but help
deplete stocks, and they know that the queen can create new drones within 24
days, so when the going starts to get tough… the men get going. Yes, the
workers will force the drones from the hive, which is again another death
sentence for them. (To be fair, they only live about 4-6 weeks anyway.) As we
watched today, the workers from The Dregs were having no argument. The drones
were being pushed out, sometimes dragged out, and occasionally wrestled out of
there! They didn’t want to go, but then again, they were living a pretty
charmed life – no cooking, working, cleaning or helping with the kiddos. In a
hive, if you don’t work, you don’t last. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__iVWN8wukpJbCQ-IhFke_j_mgActYubK8eQ_e216jJWe5Idw91aKAZj_pwLT6npoxGm8wj_Yp0zpCbaRKRXgcYVUT49Fto8HLpOnJe2mYxBTP9MVRbLtZsehnjk583mHKz30FSnKlNh7/s1600/drones+120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__iVWN8wukpJbCQ-IhFke_j_mgActYubK8eQ_e216jJWe5Idw91aKAZj_pwLT6npoxGm8wj_Yp0zpCbaRKRXgcYVUT49Fto8HLpOnJe2mYxBTP9MVRbLtZsehnjk583mHKz30FSnKlNh7/s1600/drones+120.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pushing another persistent drone out the door. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s another sign that the bees are getting
ready for winter. We will be helping them in the coming weeks, but for now, as
long as they’re pulling in the pollen, we are going to let them. The nights are
cool, but there are still some good bee-flying days ahead… unless you’re a
drone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN0FzDcaQ4Ahzg4tWfe1MSJByL88Ttdwm8J7LuZmnO9cfiBKRd1UE1LB4hMSf4mQ6jO79ulKyIJX5AT3nJr8C13lTdxQD8v1dEGS3m1Dx9oBvxZhSPTJ-4dFytaCsyYSi4u3RldBahr5I/s1600/drones+137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN0FzDcaQ4Ahzg4tWfe1MSJByL88Ttdwm8J7LuZmnO9cfiBKRd1UE1LB4hMSf4mQ6jO79ulKyIJX5AT3nJr8C13lTdxQD8v1dEGS3m1Dx9oBvxZhSPTJ-4dFytaCsyYSi4u3RldBahr5I/s1600/drones+137.JPG" height="193" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workers heavy with pollen. The one had so much she toppled<br />over when she landed. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-34000667536888418592014-08-30T19:47:00.001-07:002014-08-30T20:23:09.616-07:00WE BEE HARVESTING HONEY<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlht4By0XMh3hjPWs7vwnQJa5A3MWMliOWguR1KROMAmJSKORHVrhDgaRjzJ99E-APG9uNSzmXl9iWTV34tlO4kQSP1dL4NiKS3BRozmBQgYHuvRVIEAgBEDR7227c6J3b1ggAGyYXT5fS/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlht4By0XMh3hjPWs7vwnQJa5A3MWMliOWguR1KROMAmJSKORHVrhDgaRjzJ99E-APG9uNSzmXl9iWTV34tlO4kQSP1dL4NiKS3BRozmBQgYHuvRVIEAgBEDR7227c6J3b1ggAGyYXT5fS/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+009.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, it’s finally that time of the year, a
first for us, hopefully of many. It’s apparent that our bees didn’t read The
Introduction to Bee Keeping book where it said that they should not produce any
surplus honey in their first year. We’re sort of happy they didn’t.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We started the morning by pulling the honey
supers off the hives. Last week we had condensed them down, taking the empty
frames out of the lower supers and replacing them with ones already filled with
honey from the ones near the top. We also pulled 10 frames that were totally
filled and capped. Well done, little bees. The bees cap the honey when the
moisture content is below 18%, which is when the honey is about perfect, and
will naturally store with nothing else done to it. They know what they’re
doing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9deWQMi8LOjWHms9jBliwqD8QPFIbYHa-6DE86imgllZO5XJvAVTBGoKU4TzGX3MyTSEyAa2WRjrh6HR8i6eH7i-al6eC5IoR0U8h_27KFDZAfUsclGdD2AmMtqxHkIdlV6-EA5DOSQVs/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9deWQMi8LOjWHms9jBliwqD8QPFIbYHa-6DE86imgllZO5XJvAVTBGoKU4TzGX3MyTSEyAa2WRjrh6HR8i6eH7i-al6eC5IoR0U8h_27KFDZAfUsclGdD2AmMtqxHkIdlV6-EA5DOSQVs/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+054.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Once the rest of the honey supers were
pulled, and the bees (angry bees, they were) were evicted from the frames, we
started treating them to get them ready for winter. Varroa mites are one of the new </span>major problems for bees, and they must be treated before they tuck away for
winter. These parasites feed on the bees and on the brood, weakening and eventually killing the bees and the hives, especially over the winter. We wanted the honey out of there first, even though the treatment for
the bees is not supposed to harm it. It’s a natural, organic treatment that is
heated and the vapors are let off in the hives. This will have to be done two
more times before they bees are ready for winter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpu7osl0nDuWmJWFrW0aCGvc6XEB2cdYtM0rTs9e7HqiyWY1W7K1INi-hMuZH0XmK2gH0i-3TRindePB6vGXSQifFN7svApxJDW1OIIhR1e-O2sXfqQGTqw1sL76DK6-FYPhQnF03Ejsd/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpu7osl0nDuWmJWFrW0aCGvc6XEB2cdYtM0rTs9e7HqiyWY1W7K1INi-hMuZH0XmK2gH0i-3TRindePB6vGXSQifFN7svApxJDW1OIIhR1e-O2sXfqQGTqw1sL76DK6-FYPhQnF03Ejsd/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+042.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We then started the fun of extracting
honey. With so few hives, we were able to borrow an extractor. I’m not too sure
we would want to use this hand-crank one if we had twenty hives to pull honey
from, but today it worked well. Thanks, Smiley. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR5S5HXZMN-cBmxl7TWfaF83xq628wjLX_ACiDan2CGn9L_wT-sSHyOrFbPzXzUCIWSjEa3L36VaeF3agx7sT4YftSWnpPsghkbOxqgLjqYVV0PcbFUeHYQDKHRRDHRPQAAtHtYjHLAOa/s1600/honeyharvest2014+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR5S5HXZMN-cBmxl7TWfaF83xq628wjLX_ACiDan2CGn9L_wT-sSHyOrFbPzXzUCIWSjEa3L36VaeF3agx7sT4YftSWnpPsghkbOxqgLjqYVV0PcbFUeHYQDKHRRDHRPQAAtHtYjHLAOa/s1600/honeyharvest2014+030.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We put the frames where they would warm up.
This is a much easier process with them in an area that is above 80F. We then
took the caps off, trying a </span>couple different methods. For us, using a warm
sharp knife worked best. This exposes the honey in the comb. We then put two
frames into the extractor, and start them spinning. It takes 150 turns to pull
the honey off each side of the frame using centripetal force. We then turn the
frames inside the extractor and do it again. At 300 turns per two frames, ten
frames per super honey box, and six honey supers full, we did a LOT of cranking
today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBheaDMqRFnc6HVRN0fNPbCf3zIZcNISUYYA8FbVTJxCP-EUBJsL0nzJMJZ75EeG4zJZYKUVhZtIa6tGSjlzuhFcCFP0falwFQeQDNTCzDDpXLlcB-b2nH0SIpktoFK5wYtxm6TkQAbdbo/s1600/honeyharvest2014+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBheaDMqRFnc6HVRN0fNPbCf3zIZcNISUYYA8FbVTJxCP-EUBJsL0nzJMJZ75EeG4zJZYKUVhZtIa6tGSjlzuhFcCFP0falwFQeQDNTCzDDpXLlcB-b2nH0SIpktoFK5wYtxm6TkQAbdbo/s1600/honeyharvest2014+033.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">The honey comes out the chute near the bottom
of the extractor, to be gathered in a filter bag that pulls out the little
pieces of comb that might still be there. It drips into food-grade 5 gallon
buckets that are </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">sealed up until we are ready to take care of the honey in
them. We let it clarify for a day or two then we put it into sterilized jars.
We will have a LOT of jars of honey by the end of this week. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0GTkhznCssqhoz4x8ijmSCeOA7qAajl0EYUgHsnjgf6qsW4jknMlYMK83llwlrzqywUnbv3Lp2YcFoMr7A0NAd-kuNIvV3OY8zkQ9PLG6xLndzs2nbvayjI2B_c9y7qEULgsWd_KHvOD/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0GTkhznCssqhoz4x8ijmSCeOA7qAajl0EYUgHsnjgf6qsW4jknMlYMK83llwlrzqywUnbv3Lp2YcFoMr7A0NAd-kuNIvV3OY8zkQ9PLG6xLndzs2nbvayjI2B_c9y7qEULgsWd_KHvOD/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+086.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">This is what it was all about… well, sort
of. The honey tastes wonderful. It won’t be processed or pasteurized, so it
will retain all its wonderful healthy and healing properties. Of course, there
is an absolute need to test the honey as it comes out of the extractor (and we
certainly ended up with sticky enough hands), and it was wonderful. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpRmL61EtFFrmE8tk7BidinGo91UCcBIzwSkQQAbTFtI0tEmsDi4SQV2xgA5OkQQVp7a31yRBNrno2ONvlnywuuLt76pXMGioUoMFBC6MmBoaKfgjnRy4KF8WEX2zuaiGWcTP-r4fWIyV/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpRmL61EtFFrmE8tk7BidinGo91UCcBIzwSkQQAbTFtI0tEmsDi4SQV2xgA5OkQQVp7a31yRBNrno2ONvlnywuuLt76pXMGioUoMFBC6MmBoaKfgjnRy4KF8WEX2zuaiGWcTP-r4fWIyV/s1600/honeyharvestbigcamera2014+093.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a><span lang="EN-US">We learn </span><span lang="EN-US">more every day, and now we know that when we build our ‘honey shack’ –
something on the Technicolor wish list – it will have a sink and running water
in it. </span>We may try next year to catch some of the pollen for a while, and we
will add some more hives next year. For this one, we need to finish up treating
them, and bedding them down after the first frost. Stay tuned, then cross your
fingers that they have a good winter. We’ll blog later about how we prepare
them for the almost 6 months of inactivity that they will endure, and why it’s
such a nerve-wracking time for a beekeeper. </div>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-19533806498932260592014-08-10T15:44:00.000-07:002014-08-10T15:44:49.308-07:00Gimme A High Five!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn5zC-6_6uD4lJGKOFBT1YgoBiVno2j_Tannwut1LaOZDPmtOaz-1DmGkOrzcdNUvSkPFwn-TTvOfAMTcnHqSN0s2kKIZhB9GtEFIia5vGnjO4lFxEd9cpRIWVx1e5ZwAL5N0IEKCXLfv/s1600/august8+bees+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn5zC-6_6uD4lJGKOFBT1YgoBiVno2j_Tannwut1LaOZDPmtOaz-1DmGkOrzcdNUvSkPFwn-TTvOfAMTcnHqSN0s2kKIZhB9GtEFIia5vGnjO4lFxEd9cpRIWVx1e5ZwAL5N0IEKCXLfv/s1600/august8+bees+007.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow, we have a lot of catching up to do! It’s been hot and
while a number of beekeepers are saying their hives are slowing down and they
are supplementing food, we are still doing okay. There are a lot of alfalfa
fields around us in bloom now, and apparently bees like sunflowers, and we have
a LOT of them. The other thing we have, though, is a bear nosing around, so we’re
getting ready to deal with that. For now, we have a radio (talk radio station)
playing all night to keep him hopefully away. There are a lot of berries and a
ton of fruit on the trees so hopefully he likes that better. It would certainly
be easier for him to eat. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week we found that Gang Green had only one frame empty,
and they were laying lots of babies, so we added a second box to their hive
this week. We removed a lot of burr comb at the top and swapped a couple of
frames from the bottom to the new top box to encourage them to move up. We
shimmed the lid to give them a bit more air movement in the heat, and we will
now see how they do. Considering how late the hive was started, we aren’t going
to complain. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pistachio had already made use of their second box, and had
only the outside frames left to use. We swapped them to the middle, and this
week we added their honey super box. In the intense heat we’ve been having,
this is our only hive to beard – they collect in a huge pile stuck to the front
of the hive... hanging there like a beard. We’ll try to get pics this week of
it.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The Dregs... the poor poor dregs. Last week there was one
frame with brood that we moved to the top box, and there was no other activity
there. The bottom box had two frames of capped brood. Today we found queen
cells on one frame in the bottom box. We also found one frame with a lot – A LOT
– of drone cells. Obviously they need a new queen, so there has been no new
brood, and there are a lot of empty frames. We changed to a smaller entrance
way with them. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The Moody Blues have been busy bees. Last week they had
filled all but one frame in their top box, not with brood but with honey. This
week, because they were still at it, and because they had a ton of burr comb on
top of the hive, we added a honey super for them. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The White Outs last week had seven frames of honey in their
honey super, although nothing was capped. Today, like the Moody Blues, they had
a lot of burr comb, and they had the honey super just about full, so we added
another honey super for them. When we added it, we put it under the first honey
super, so they will be more inclined to go to it now. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Team Tangerine – well, everyone has that one that they worry
about, and I guess that’s Team Tangerine for us. We had added a honey super
already, but last week there was nothing in it. They had four frames of capped
larvae in the second box though, so we were hopeful. Today we took a lot of
burr comb from the top of the second box. We swapped out a drone frame for a
regular frame. They had some capped and uncapped brood, so we moved the outer frames
that hadn’t been used yet into the middle. If this hive survives the winter, we
will probably be looking for a new Queen for it come spring. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
To end on a high note – really high.... high five, in fact –
we added a third (yes, THIRD) Honey super to the Mellow Yellows. They are quite
mellow, and gentle, for bees, but man, do they work! Last week the top honey
super had 5 full frames of honey. The second honey super was full – it weighs
over 30 pounds! – and we swapped the two supers around. Today, they had lots of
burr comb that absolutely dripped with honey because they only had three frames
left unused. Gotta love those Mellow Yellows! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczPXmNzcN__Sg-z7npBbn-Liny4ec4ex8EyLIJwA3l6D9S0VGLXJ70_x9WZOzHbPzYMnNEOwxODo7IAHkx5IG71-fRnHoLdN8A1BLSgiJnoHPP3dqWbGudHbvrXy6v6CJezumzY3hi0sI/s1600/august8+bees+234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczPXmNzcN__Sg-z7npBbn-Liny4ec4ex8EyLIJwA3l6D9S0VGLXJ70_x9WZOzHbPzYMnNEOwxODo7IAHkx5IG71-fRnHoLdN8A1BLSgiJnoHPP3dqWbGudHbvrXy6v6CJezumzY3hi0sI/s1600/august8+bees+234.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-14423447150353535432014-07-20T15:52:00.000-07:002014-07-20T15:52:22.565-07:00Hello, Queenie Waheenie, Queen of the Moody Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwPipEv2lREg0bXg5wqNACtLnvcDIAdkm8XmZjzqtkMc6Dmm6lxHwiTX97ncm0_O2zzxlhdH8CspgPxPyT0Rm_6q26-UrIpp8ULXwEo37-ZfYhUSU_RQW9j3psoPEkx4QDh5Jw5q2_u5U/s1600/beehivecheck+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwPipEv2lREg0bXg5wqNACtLnvcDIAdkm8XmZjzqtkMc6Dmm6lxHwiTX97ncm0_O2zzxlhdH8CspgPxPyT0Rm_6q26-UrIpp8ULXwEo37-ZfYhUSU_RQW9j3psoPEkx4QDh5Jw5q2_u5U/s1600/beehivecheck+108.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
We needed to give the hives some time to sort out and settle down after the splits, the moves and everything else in the last few weeks. The weather hasn't helped matters, with strong winds, unheard of hot temperatures and unbelievably dry conditions. There is not much in bloom, although some surrounding alfalfa fields are about to be ready again, so that should give our babees a bit of a boost.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_ksrsa3Sjf0vT-evaJYtxYRmIIY3ZSCtWym8deDcbvBmKfKvvUbpe2cXaTMqutRw53onC4aVx_TtJO8LNQuQEHmkakCyvMjftiLsyHOmQgJAYtYYIBDku3oSbKn5ZRZiBS-1KQZi7aVP/s1600/beehivecheck+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_ksrsa3Sjf0vT-evaJYtxYRmIIY3ZSCtWym8deDcbvBmKfKvvUbpe2cXaTMqutRw53onC4aVx_TtJO8LNQuQEHmkakCyvMjftiLsyHOmQgJAYtYYIBDku3oSbKn5ZRZiBS-1KQZi7aVP/s1600/beehivecheck+108.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
The Gang Greens -- they have kept us on our toes. The fact that bees from the other hives were going to the Gang Green three to steal easy food was probably what caused the problems, to a large degree. It has been almost like a shell game with them, but finally we think they are sorted out. We knew two weeks ago that the red racer was not going to do well. It had no queen, it had a small population... so last week, we broke it down and the bees found a home in the neighboring Gang Green hive. The red racer was in the middle. Today, we broke down the blue racer as well, for the same reason. That leaves us with a Gang of one Green... but that one is doing pretty well, all things considered. They are filling out frames, creating pollen and creating a queen.<br />
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Pistachio is rocking! They are two high now, and are packing the top frame with honey. There were 7 frames already started. They have a good, healthy, large, active population, and new larvae. If we have any concerns about it, that concern would be about the noise -- it was much louder than normal which can mean they aren't happy. We're hoping that's just because of the heat and the smoke in the area.<br />
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The Dregs is also doing well, and we'll put a second box on it so they can move up. They are really full. Considering how that hive started, we couldn't be happier with the results so far. Moody Blues is also doing well. It is also in need of a second box, but we need to get more frames before we can do that. We'll be getting them this week. We also had the treat of seeing the queen in that hive... a first for us. The White Outs have been wonderfully busy, so we gave them their first honey super. Their frames are totally full and they are laying a lot of brood. Mellow Yellow got a second honey super, and looks good. We left them to do their thing undisturbed today, other than to add the new box.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguiM5bKuFMzw8d13bpGl-cYzvCf4xGzyI7isYipJ_fw899FuGtf6voTSidAENXKRdxxGf6Jm88Cdoi3F9KCvSg6Ig2C57AwA-eox29-jmzqNXWO7eDmQWeGrb2-Bg5vHHdzb0Ms3W9RYH/s1600/QueenieWaheenie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguiM5bKuFMzw8d13bpGl-cYzvCf4xGzyI7isYipJ_fw899FuGtf6voTSidAENXKRdxxGf6Jm88Cdoi3F9KCvSg6Ig2C57AwA-eox29-jmzqNXWO7eDmQWeGrb2-Bg5vHHdzb0Ms3W9RYH/s1600/QueenieWaheenie.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queenie Waheenie -- Ruler of the Moody Blues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Team Tangerine is still a concern. The honey super is untouched. Two of the frames in the second box do have brood though, so that was a very good sign. It's still hanging in, slowly building back up. We'll give it time, and hope for the best on it, but it should be fine once that new brood starts to hatch.<br />
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<br />The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-20601446762092831092014-07-05T15:49:00.002-07:002014-07-05T15:49:12.597-07:00Introducing... The Gang Greens!<br />
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We're late, I know... and have a lot of ground to cover to catch up. Yes, some days we wish we had the same stamina and dedication that our little honeys have. This is to catch up from last week (you'll understand why before you get to the end of this log). We will have more tomorrow on Monday, for this week's romp through the hives.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB9ZRmae14stkO6ih1A8FE1vmd6DDLiWDcN8CYvH3DmV1nto3lfxNwHnHIpxUYQEleHjoMdVfqQJgXjEWv0bh3pD4cAW11tXZH3Xd63BgXO3uvJpWf9Wl5FVvAVaqvykD9aOPN4UJrMqC/s1600/BeeStingDay+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB9ZRmae14stkO6ih1A8FE1vmd6DDLiWDcN8CYvH3DmV1nto3lfxNwHnHIpxUYQEleHjoMdVfqQJgXjEWv0bh3pD4cAW11tXZH3Xd63BgXO3uvJpWf9Wl5FVvAVaqvykD9aOPN4UJrMqC/s1600/BeeStingDay+034.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
We made the decision about The Dregs. We made three new hives, and took three of the four frames with Queen cells from The Dregs, and created new hives. Considering that we planned on having only 3 hives for the year, we are now a long ways ahead of where we had planned. The Dregs and Pistachio were humming! In The Dregs, they had been capping lots of honey while they waited for one of their 27 Queens to emerge from her cell. Pistachio had been making a massive amount of comb, and was ready for a second box. That said, the bees were a bit.... grumpy (a new epi-pen, a trip to the emergency, and several days in a Benedryl haze attests to their grumpiness... at least where one of us was concerned.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFisA1o4gS7y8ODmkq23PTAxQCrhOZHjCDYQE_bb9X0cS4SFvwWTTPJ7bvqiUqF0ohudi4qcHLfTA74i5xawxpecDMoy9vmm70NsStQb4okY20-d-JnOzCBwwugZY4-eJX7n9twYUd_0H/s1600/BeeStingDay+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFisA1o4gS7y8ODmkq23PTAxQCrhOZHjCDYQE_bb9X0cS4SFvwWTTPJ7bvqiUqF0ohudi4qcHLfTA74i5xawxpecDMoy9vmm70NsStQb4okY20-d-JnOzCBwwugZY4-eJX7n9twYUd_0H/s1600/BeeStingDay+001.JPG" height="135" width="200" /></a>The three new hives were set out. They were cobbed together pretty quickly, and all painted the same color -- so we give you... The Gang Greens. We will be able to tell them apart though, because each one has a racing stripe that is a different color. Lucky for us, the bees will also be able to tell them apart as well because of the different colored doors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1wDZZO5admU7LiHAMels_bwD53H-P5B02RsdJl5UjFPgyQPIdBq2PBIrn2MSK6JkTQEH8aN7jxzzS5YaeDcGkB5b6tGx2bke6CUFyVPP37GiA_ZSojllK6pRpM7TNLKFXXyVvYasE5I6/s1600/BeeStingDay+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1wDZZO5admU7LiHAMels_bwD53H-P5B02RsdJl5UjFPgyQPIdBq2PBIrn2MSK6JkTQEH8aN7jxzzS5YaeDcGkB5b6tGx2bke6CUFyVPP37GiA_ZSojllK6pRpM7TNLKFXXyVvYasE5I6/s1600/BeeStingDay+064.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
The White Outs seem to be loving their new home. They were busy, but had only started filling in their new frames. The Mellow Yellows had three frames of honey for us! Team Tangerine was very quiet, their new Queen being a bit slow on the uptake, plus it would seem the majority of the bees who made up The Dregs came from TT. The Moody Blues got a second box as well, so they were all pretty happy overall.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCS2pKAa-EI-zeUGLyrZ65x9BAVLIo8Su6WXLx_DmmJCgZDZlwixDw46PJT5Zaj35n8CqrPEK9fEPYk0-ABmS-6dmY9o6p53dYqwA1481QLJgQDuFCFhfk4XBO8rLBVQJzdRcGvmF7EFi_/s1600/BeeStingDay+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCS2pKAa-EI-zeUGLyrZ65x9BAVLIo8Su6WXLx_DmmJCgZDZlwixDw46PJT5Zaj35n8CqrPEK9fEPYk0-ABmS-6dmY9o6p53dYqwA1481QLJgQDuFCFhfk4XBO8rLBVQJzdRcGvmF7EFi_/s1600/BeeStingDay+057.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
We did discover a mistake we had made, but it was an interesting one, to say the least. We had left out one frame from the Pistachio hive when we took out the feeder. They create honeycomb sculptures to fill in the empty space. Apparently bees, like hoarders, cannot stand empty space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe_w4FyOBPgARaz5WV7GXdIvi113ti_OdgxdIiPNn59R75pFS0muGjmvbUuxQe2bMxgoeCRL3LhG-AjO0NngKdgagsYTJtE7krZSFauQAussqpg1PPThrEXHE_XiN77d6xqPTvLLaw_l8/s1600/BeeStingDay+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe_w4FyOBPgARaz5WV7GXdIvi113ti_OdgxdIiPNn59R75pFS0muGjmvbUuxQe2bMxgoeCRL3LhG-AjO0NngKdgagsYTJtE7krZSFauQAussqpg1PPThrEXHE_XiN77d6xqPTvLLaw_l8/s1600/BeeStingDay+088.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
The Gang Greens are the only ones left in the yard (and they will be moving out soon too). They haven been much calmer, although the bees wanted water and decided the swimming pool would be a great place to get it. After rescuing MANY from the pool, we set up a container of water in the apiary for them, but there was one stubborn bee who wanted pool water instead... and resulted in our second sting of the weekend when, while checking the thermometer in the pool, the bee hitched a ride unbeknownst to us, and decided he didn't like hands on his floaty seat.<br />
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(Yes, the first sting was to yours truly... the only one without a suit because you can't write and take pictures with the whites, gloves and veil on. He got me in the face.)<br />
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HELPFUL HINT -- if you get stung by a bee, remove the stinger right away, then soak the bite in white vinegar. Seriously, it really works. We're learning! (albeit the hard way)The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-54656280852954607802014-06-27T18:58:00.001-07:002014-06-27T19:02:32.497-07:00Schrodinger's Bees?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4793137764599413556" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCawzER5XZlo2ttFtqt4o3Dn9oi4eWPhMdASwpPq6UIWksL7AY4Fj8mepIZBEXqaniC4BdWbJTOi8oY3KlYX2LEb7pw0STpGTrgKFabSZctQlbDFmzekmKegVzF1BvH20337Z-s5jlhzm/s1600/The+Dregs+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCawzER5XZlo2ttFtqt4o3Dn9oi4eWPhMdASwpPq6UIWksL7AY4Fj8mepIZBEXqaniC4BdWbJTOi8oY3KlYX2LEb7pw0STpGTrgKFabSZctQlbDFmzekmKegVzF1BvH20337Z-s5jlhzm/s1600/The+Dregs+002.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dregs, sitting and chilling on their front porch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It's been five days, and we just couldn't wait. Bees were coming, bees were going, which was good, but not enough to satisfy our curiosity. We needed to know what was going on inside The Dregs. This is the one problem with bees and beehives -- you can't see inside them without lifting the lid. Like the famous cat of Schrodinger fame, they could be alive or dead, but without looking in the box, we would never really know.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc-3gvy1uLfWO56F8z8sfjUtFkDVRBp70ukStjZS5KaB_b-ukv-tqQb_LwgtpxEXurIuDn6CORHYsBCx3M-uRwLSX2ntCYWWrBsbaMTAbnoWKFpWAqQeqKYPmnySLjJPBxJjcIkL46nCl/s1600/The+Dregs+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc-3gvy1uLfWO56F8z8sfjUtFkDVRBp70ukStjZS5KaB_b-ukv-tqQb_LwgtpxEXurIuDn6CORHYsBCx3M-uRwLSX2ntCYWWrBsbaMTAbnoWKFpWAqQeqKYPmnySLjJPBxJjcIkL46nCl/s1600/The+Dregs+088.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of capped brood and Queen cells at the bottom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once everyone was suited up, that was exactly what we did -- and we could not beelieve what we saw! We were hoping that by taking uncapped brood from other hives, the new hive would be able to create some Queen cells so they would have the required egg-layer to keep the hive alive. Alive? That would be an understatement! They did create a Queen cell... then another... then another. Actually, we counted 27 Queen cells on the middle four frames, and they have been working on every frame in the hive. They also went through all their juice; it was bone dry. The Queen cells are distinctive because of their long shape and bigger size. Usually the brood cells are capped flush with the frame. Only one Queen will go on to rule the hive. When she comes out of her cell, she will chew through the other Queen cells and kill the growing Queens inside. The Queen in this hive will spend a lot of time chewing those other cells!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian0KYhk7cxmq98vy2tVT0RggR0ZTraqbcWNRKJ1E1NHMsrWSceEzQYAlcxqD7dE6PnH1nV4uXX6eT8JJBEfMVrDCbSBRBTZrnidO2Ak69Y12zDm_MjiuUAjFQZsac2UQwv88ck-TpXl0m/s1600/The+Dregs+093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEian0KYhk7cxmq98vy2tVT0RggR0ZTraqbcWNRKJ1E1NHMsrWSceEzQYAlcxqD7dE6PnH1nV4uXX6eT8JJBEfMVrDCbSBRBTZrnidO2Ak69Y12zDm_MjiuUAjFQZsac2UQwv88ck-TpXl0m/s1600/The+Dregs+093.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Textbook Queen cell on the bottom right end... the really long one!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, now comes the new dilemma. Do we try to split it again, taking the three frames with Queen cells and putting them into a hive each, robbing some brood and eggs from the other hives, or do we not get greedy in the creation of new hives? We were more than content to end the year with 5, especially considering that we had only planned on 3 when we started out. We already are up one -- a bonus hive. Do we push our luck and see if we can take this year to establish the hives, then let them do their honey thing in full force next year? Looking out the window and seeing the rain, I can't imagine the bees will want to be doing much of anything in this cold, so perhaps letting them make a new hive or two might not be a bad idea after all.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfImk5kXlVU9RECUrtFB-5dLIXS_JbGmKvrJuVtUpCvUnzwQblVaXSZf_OAu07Tik0C5CvZxaQuK8_HrwEKI39OFtoswLwaaFgjDoaq_4Q9sN3iKGPSZe2KnDN_6PS-Da68gC8E0Yi9Yrj/s1600/The+Dregs+096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfImk5kXlVU9RECUrtFB-5dLIXS_JbGmKvrJuVtUpCvUnzwQblVaXSZf_OAu07Tik0C5CvZxaQuK8_HrwEKI39OFtoswLwaaFgjDoaq_4Q9sN3iKGPSZe2KnDN_6PS-Da68gC8E0Yi9Yrj/s1600/The+Dregs+096.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More hired help. They will eventually get paid... in honey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N2M5a56bRg2BEqUcjo_YWnBRsRQuiUdhDnnkxESMZMsxv_YPOB0jUBdUorLHcfzqzASJrWakuXbO0r7CaTYdRfSpUAs9iFzokUrR9gJA_0bUNgxW41hmQHQFiNrlCmwnGPb3PdMwfRDP/s1600/The+Dregs+085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N2M5a56bRg2BEqUcjo_YWnBRsRQuiUdhDnnkxESMZMsxv_YPOB0jUBdUorLHcfzqzASJrWakuXbO0r7CaTYdRfSpUAs9iFzokUrR9gJA_0bUNgxW41hmQHQFiNrlCmwnGPb3PdMwfRDP/s1600/The+Dregs+085.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Queen cells, these all over the frame. The bees will pick any cell that has an egg that is the right age when they don't have a Queen. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-86713623387531574152014-06-22T16:42:00.001-07:002014-06-22T16:42:28.655-07:00Splitsville!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHOnvqbkp1Navyqh4RnPsbROim4w3nzakjAaXEyAGDVCB-Eh0IxVLc8YWxxmhGUG5wllwC2Cj5H_Bbeyc2Q6Py5Pu28yVOUg5QFcpamOxNSEA06tHTwmRlDiltvat5IYH0bU8wrRSa1_9/s1600/spring2012+982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHOnvqbkp1Navyqh4RnPsbROim4w3nzakjAaXEyAGDVCB-Eh0IxVLc8YWxxmhGUG5wllwC2Cj5H_Bbeyc2Q6Py5Pu28yVOUg5QFcpamOxNSEA06tHTwmRlDiltvat5IYH0bU8wrRSa1_9/s1600/spring2012+982.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Herbie the Wonderdog, in case you had to ask.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, it’s been a week. After the Moody Blues and White Outs
got too cranky to have in the yard, taking their ire out on man (especially
when mowing lawns) and beast (poor Herbie the Wonderdog does not like bee
stings), we decided it was time to find them a permanent (for now, because that’s
how we roll) location. Thankfully, the longest day of the year held promise for
such a job. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIjUC40s56JXeaYbW90WTo7K3JMjyt79toJsq5AK37-7MBdJG6bwu7zaE8DF9qpMPqN_dU5OW9LeGhN7yTMXvZl8vu4OJ0Uu-vmICWAPJsb2bDs4WR_zDYtV1jdylQDhrPqzL3AmF0lQi/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIjUC40s56JXeaYbW90WTo7K3JMjyt79toJsq5AK37-7MBdJG6bwu7zaE8DF9qpMPqN_dU5OW9LeGhN7yTMXvZl8vu4OJ0Uu-vmICWAPJsb2bDs4WR_zDYtV1jdylQDhrPqzL3AmF0lQi/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+042.JPG" height="200" width="135" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday, a day that started at 6am, we cleared out the area
where the bees would call home. We pounded in the posts, stretched the wire,
covered the ground with crush, built the benches, and finally, at 9pm, we were
ready to move the bees. Luckily for us, the Moody Blues and the White Outs had
retired early (being cranky all day is probably tiring). We covered their doors
and moved them to their new digs. Team Tangerine and Mellow Yellow, however,
were more than content to sit on their front porch and visit. After all, it was
the longest day of the year, and the evening was very pleasant. They were still
visiting out there at 10 pm, and at 10:30 pm... Finally, being the old fogies
that we are, we went to bed before the bees, promising to be up early again the
next morning to move the last two hives. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOjtQOeP-grhbeNa7oqZ5RkadiiFzO-qaWy3uctOZMYan1ASCRzYxBMiWubOZ9ffZmcVUYdqKVjyCpcBkhENJgmHQF06JWKeHU4hXiHqDh-4yRwX2gpNoftD0p5eCMk_fTGkYL2jYNQJR/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOjtQOeP-grhbeNa7oqZ5RkadiiFzO-qaWy3uctOZMYan1ASCRzYxBMiWubOZ9ffZmcVUYdqKVjyCpcBkhENJgmHQF06JWKeHU4hXiHqDh-4yRwX2gpNoftD0p5eCMk_fTGkYL2jYNQJR/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+057.JPG" height="200" width="135" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Herbie (the twice bitten but still not shy) Wonderdog woke
us at 5 am, apparently anxious for the rest of the bees to be gone. We could
see that the Mellow Yellows were sleeping in (thankfully) but Team Tangerine
was already starting to buzz. A few pieces of wood and some duct tape later,
they too were on their way. We put pieces of wood in front of their porches so
they would know that something was different so they would do some exploring flights, but
some of those bees were just downright determined to stay in the yard,
returning there and gathering where their hives used to be. Fortunately, the
Pistachios, being the slowest of the hives, had been left in the yard, put in
place of the Mellow Yellows. This was done in the event some of the bees wanted
to return to their old home. A lot of them did, and are now calling Pistachio
home, but that’s okay. It’s a simple and effective way to strengthen a weak
hive. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqeSz1bHZs3SoG_DEfiTxAXkD0xFsEklG9gIh64Q-JjuR8TQqPGwR61WIjeo_Fnw6SXBj7EjkNrnc0Z62tU5eRczl6uQNAdAoY1RVf_qrRaajWHq3sT6sVNgoDVjqrZBW8LwvQrfFJDKv/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqeSz1bHZs3SoG_DEfiTxAXkD0xFsEklG9gIh64Q-JjuR8TQqPGwR61WIjeo_Fnw6SXBj7EjkNrnc0Z62tU5eRczl6uQNAdAoY1RVf_qrRaajWHq3sT6sVNgoDVjqrZBW8LwvQrfFJDKv/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+165.JPG" height="200" width="135" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We noticed though that there were a lot... seriously A LOT
of bees returning to where Team Tangerine used to live, as well as some to
where the other two hives used to be. What to do? The obvious thing to us was
to take a new hive, pull a couple of frames with brood and eggs, and some
uncapped larvae from the established hives, slip them into the new one, give
them a feeder and some protein paddy, and put it where the stragglers were
looking for their home. We now have 6 hives (if the new one creates a Queen)...
we’ll call the new one The Dregs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAIvF1HuGjmjHqpdle9yRjyC4XD-WZ61neZt0TQBTJ6O4qwSbiYBWYsUzknvtqmbHf8cOjVEh4IrldhgyrxXjqvNXzPJu5X3NU98m0adUGQVJP_hv59HjeFgYXPgoIS7umujn-YXIRpmu/s1600/HOT+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAIvF1HuGjmjHqpdle9yRjyC4XD-WZ61neZt0TQBTJ6O4qwSbiYBWYsUzknvtqmbHf8cOjVEh4IrldhgyrxXjqvNXzPJu5X3NU98m0adUGQVJP_hv59HjeFgYXPgoIS7umujn-YXIRpmu/s1600/HOT+002.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having upset their routine so severely, we wanted to check
on all the hives. Of course, it has to be the hottest day of the year... hotter
than the hubs of hell, as my dear old daddy used to say. We opened up the
bottom screens for all the hives, giving them some better air circulation. We
opened up their doors, allowing more bees to go in and out. We were thrilled
with one hive, disconcerted about another and a bit disappointed in the third. Suffice
to say that none of the hives were thrilled to see us!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iWusKdVPu6O3EOE2jGRceN48qHpVU7siH4O1jEyiuqKN566uG-ShV30Veu_LOenGCK6hK_GC-DulAIGNDXKDMP8NG4QB3brvkDU09htY1le0Y6M50M98_GJLBJAzHcP4GMauwR64SaPg/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iWusKdVPu6O3EOE2jGRceN48qHpVU7siH4O1jEyiuqKN566uG-ShV30Veu_LOenGCK6hK_GC-DulAIGNDXKDMP8NG4QB3brvkDU09htY1le0Y6M50M98_GJLBJAzHcP4GMauwR64SaPg/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+076.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Moody Blues had moved onto their first new frame. We
took out the feeder, and we removed the protein paddy (okay, we left it out by
accident but they weren’t eating it anyway). There were still five empty frames
so we sprayed them with a bit of sugar water. We were hoping to see a bit more
progress from them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2B7kD9t4LS7aaz4HMg_GjluSv03_sbl5qfPVpSwffDcsrZRNzzABTEX55oLG2Mg2Rtfe9Cy3CoJMwgayHzytcs6G1NBtXeXWDjdXtNJm-NEHsOvv6__Uo78YArVM2aF9TGaBRHMgeKje/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2B7kD9t4LS7aaz4HMg_GjluSv03_sbl5qfPVpSwffDcsrZRNzzABTEX55oLG2Mg2Rtfe9Cy3CoJMwgayHzytcs6G1NBtXeXWDjdXtNJm-NEHsOvv6__Uo78YArVM2aF9TGaBRHMgeKje/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+092.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After closing up that hive, we were thrilled to see what was
happening with the White Outs. They still had juice, but we pulled the feeder
anyway to make some room for more frames They had five frames with both sides
capped with brood! We scraped off the comb they had been making on the lid,
because it too was filled with open brood, and put it in the second box. Yup,
they had progressed enough that it was time to double their hive size! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpTqlUS2Fdw_-n-0rTI56erHwFpf1GoeP38QRtf9OsZH1yNwWQVV1IDfD2-Gihph68KQFImCyYTZGiBZWSAkKcdC9lApKP8PfnIq2mi6e3-NKqyX6JDAMpKAlK9OMz_rtsgcRiTdDBmyy/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpTqlUS2Fdw_-n-0rTI56erHwFpf1GoeP38QRtf9OsZH1yNwWQVV1IDfD2-Gihph68KQFImCyYTZGiBZWSAkKcdC9lApKP8PfnIq2mi6e3-NKqyX6JDAMpKAlK9OMz_rtsgcRiTdDBmyy/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+102.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Team Tangerine still had their drone frame empty. We removed
their feeder because the entire top box was full of... honey! There was no
brood there at all, so we decided it was time to give them their third box, a
honey super. They can fill that baby with honey to their hearts’ content now.
We took one of their top frames of capped honey and moved it to the new box we
were starting. In their lower box they had very little capped larvae, but all
frames were in use and new larvae, uncapped, was there, so the Queen is back on
the job. That was a relief to see, because Queen transactions can be tricky. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY7ns8QcRExHnaO8L5R61alWYZeIV0qGfiNqcC9rmdjfDuJrNI99-JY3U3chU4MnYWDeSP3gwdk_GUcQqPGpnkKQ1c1-HdrBIOMpTQMl-LLgezt_sHmDlaGH3aAJ9HrKpsYkle0B5p4fv/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY7ns8QcRExHnaO8L5R61alWYZeIV0qGfiNqcC9rmdjfDuJrNI99-JY3U3chU4MnYWDeSP3gwdk_GUcQqPGpnkKQ1c1-HdrBIOMpTQMl-LLgezt_sHmDlaGH3aAJ9HrKpsYkle0B5p4fv/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+125.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's honey... lots of honey just as it should be!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mellow Yellows have been working like troopers. They
have had a honey super (third box) on the hive for a week, and they have
already filled four frames with honey. On their second box, the outside frames
were empty but the rest was very active with brood and honey. We took one frame
of capped larvae to the new hive, and one frame of larvae and eggs. Hopefully
the bees in the new hive will feed one of the new larvae lots of royal jelly
and turn her into a Queen. They really are incredible animals. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBONYvgMI52IxJGCyUuJohEWDjyYDhI7ce2HTAyYgsKYD7Fo5GVmXf0J955_UVY7Oc_WletOrWlJe4MAmdmMy3UWjQMc_dJanuU9_2raFA4gJ9t_iQAMu9bq6B0KFrT9lcEZvN_zd7Yjp/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBONYvgMI52IxJGCyUuJohEWDjyYDhI7ce2HTAyYgsKYD7Fo5GVmXf0J955_UVY7Oc_WletOrWlJe4MAmdmMy3UWjQMc_dJanuU9_2raFA4gJ9t_iQAMu9bq6B0KFrT9lcEZvN_zd7Yjp/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+170.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last was poor little Pistachio. The hive is still in the
yard, gathering the stray bees from Mellow Yellow, and it was a busy place
today. They still have three untouched frames, some capped brood and still have
some juice. We opened the door, and will probably move them to the new area
next week. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWchIgM6qgvDKn_asVmhJOO0BH-0716jmNWfUTxNZb1Pl0OiDJ4nxsBaK7LVPe8pqFEsGGOZ6LXsP13uRCXKeHblBteX54ghitMgcmnRnYZxIMu90iX1fHoLMNjDOOH129qmmY_r9LXY5a/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWchIgM6qgvDKn_asVmhJOO0BH-0716jmNWfUTxNZb1Pl0OiDJ4nxsBaK7LVPe8pqFEsGGOZ6LXsP13uRCXKeHblBteX54ghitMgcmnRnYZxIMu90iX1fHoLMNjDOOH129qmmY_r9LXY5a/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+167.JPG" height="200" width="135" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Dregs was given a full feeder of juice. They will be a
little bit of Mellow Yellow, a little bit of Team Tangerine, and tonight, when
the Moody Blues and White Outs stray try to go to bed in their old location, we
will have a cardboard box for them to sleep in. Once they are asleep, we will
quietly move them into The Dregs as well, so they will have a home. Hopefully
it works, but it will be a learning experience nonetheless, and could have the
potential to create a new hive – a split (because it comes from pieces taken
from already established hives). Welcome to Splitsville!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37b0nhJeDV4uO9IaWs0FKt-NzheBX94MIQJMcS8MHZO5dEgy3d_0e99Ng6LlS1YaboUqlBwcrjesvPEc76Qjb6TFG1uhCagYTqCq8VMG8yt65fcPYjTXxf3ZeuXQuYn-y-ORHPxfJMkn0/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37b0nhJeDV4uO9IaWs0FKt-NzheBX94MIQJMcS8MHZO5dEgy3d_0e99Ng6LlS1YaboUqlBwcrjesvPEc76Qjb6TFG1uhCagYTqCq8VMG8yt65fcPYjTXxf3ZeuXQuYn-y-ORHPxfJMkn0/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+052.JPG" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtITwovmxp_I6R8mhL5AOUoXLcD15Q8sdxoj_beXr0u1mP1OwObp2aN8BB_SV5SB0R9niFvcPoTOkgs1diFfBiuqDZm1SaT1VEosoRwPZaxL2rhDD5F3pdIQlEGXpxaGQS8DhH7a5Pqa0/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtITwovmxp_I6R8mhL5AOUoXLcD15Q8sdxoj_beXr0u1mP1OwObp2aN8BB_SV5SB0R9niFvcPoTOkgs1diFfBiuqDZm1SaT1VEosoRwPZaxL2rhDD5F3pdIQlEGXpxaGQS8DhH7a5Pqa0/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+081.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUGe9yc_H19fdICFPIur4UuQB2KOzkMFhuMZS7K84Ipw_IiaZj79LDatu6fmb7JUMALWwEVTKNbktaxzaXdh5TwZ4L96UvQ42t2fCiqLnt_VYV-bzvdUXukL0DneLMslYyeFnRCQLpRkU/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUGe9yc_H19fdICFPIur4UuQB2KOzkMFhuMZS7K84Ipw_IiaZj79LDatu6fmb7JUMALWwEVTKNbktaxzaXdh5TwZ4L96UvQ42t2fCiqLnt_VYV-bzvdUXukL0DneLMslYyeFnRCQLpRkU/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+163.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angry bees -- for now.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7gIbt1Zh8V1PzZ7g09Bk56AYMbG3znPIAYW2dInZDFxMfGgs6_0i4ZyP0wjpZufx-HAE0_CzfOSEt7AZq_V1QvkmjldKGmRC1Mru196QsPraosxEOkI7gz86UaOdJ03DRPPC88sUlrjR/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7gIbt1Zh8V1PzZ7g09Bk56AYMbG3znPIAYW2dInZDFxMfGgs6_0i4ZyP0wjpZufx-HAE0_CzfOSEt7AZq_V1QvkmjldKGmRC1Mru196QsPraosxEOkI7gz86UaOdJ03DRPPC88sUlrjR/s1600/beescreatingnewhive22june+186.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Splitsville -- The Dregs, with all it's new bees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
The Great Hair Migrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16155524028753279300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4793137764599413556.post-29987516743100148832014-06-15T08:51:00.000-07:002014-06-15T08:51:31.537-07:00More NooBees Are Here<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgCMR8gG3L39dvZEIzv6_JvFe5IsQRFkC2qMo9N5SUGbe2BjhyEPgpCiCm04nXqMbGQrk1N4twcAL3YJ5WUPMOI-nVENpPh415GZUTv0sDKfG4kktbrC5F9NmUuwswzxQeCSdEmvMoQgi/s1600/bees+june8+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgCMR8gG3L39dvZEIzv6_JvFe5IsQRFkC2qMo9N5SUGbe2BjhyEPgpCiCm04nXqMbGQrk1N4twcAL3YJ5WUPMOI-nVENpPh415GZUTv0sDKfG4kktbrC5F9NmUuwswzxQeCSdEmvMoQgi/s1600/bees+june8+012.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yes, they arrived last week… the Moody
Blues, Pistachios, and the White Outs. These are our first nuc hives – they are
made of cells started in other hives, where the Queen is established. The
frames are transferred into the new hive, complete with queen, to set up a new
colony. This is supposed to be a faster way to establish a colony, so it will
be interesting to see how they do in comparison to the other two already here. These
bees have many generations of being bred locally and are supposed to be well
adapted to our environment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVMd2-0NbaQX5XGbDZ_A3cKUYZkjWDkxJR_xI-X_MfV-BsE5YnMeJ6AxRb_vBDpRoDC0vQRHkWh4I6TscHrkAH7LMmjjHbRQcKBbiYctqeztEOPpGS_GQopXYVslG9H3ZFACbEcCNcx54/s1600/bees+june8+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVMd2-0NbaQX5XGbDZ_A3cKUYZkjWDkxJR_xI-X_MfV-BsE5YnMeJ6AxRb_vBDpRoDC0vQRHkWh4I6TscHrkAH7LMmjjHbRQcKBbiYctqeztEOPpGS_GQopXYVslG9H3ZFACbEcCNcx54/s1600/bees+june8+018.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The bees in the new hives seem… different.
We wouldn’t say they are more aggressive, but perhaps a bit easier to excite.
They certainly let you know that they don’t really appreciate you peeking into
their hives. They were set up with protein pads and juice, and we’ll see how
they do. As happened with the first two hives, there is one that seems stronger
(The White Outs) and one that seems to be lagging (Pistachios), but as we’ve
learned from Mellow Yellow and Team Tangerine, they tend to do things their own
way in each hive, at least a little bit, so we count no one out yet, even if
they seem a bit slower coming out of the gates. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mcAb3jo65qs3ILKi_8emuGXgJazPyD0X6SxZAn6Dg2anXkRz2yMNjYEBNNQsO4Xmg3__hfGG4uj58rE8YNG06aPVAatFsENcjmAf-u_vJ4v7vx2hIgeLd1OU01_lnPf8EEjpfWYdS-zB/s1600/bees+june8+114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC45-MRHCevTOEbuZMdzIB6Yan5z3jGjLzq81_0wz8kE8FlQNO6fKNIo5c6g3tw-H6ZaIU_A-lVhN2cobH58l8ReU9h2hDbJBzytUhmujOI0uc6iPbZU9c9us-LvnLBeeXaiJsn3hyphenhyphentgF/s1600/bees+june8+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC45-MRHCevTOEbuZMdzIB6Yan5z3jGjLzq81_0wz8kE8FlQNO6fKNIo5c6g3tw-H6ZaIU_A-lVhN2cobH58l8ReU9h2hDbJBzytUhmujOI0uc6iPbZU9c9us-LvnLBeeXaiJsn3hyphenhyphentgF/s1600/bees+june8+048.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When we checked on Team Tangerine, we found
an interesting (and perhaps concerning and perplexing at the time) discovery.
There were some ‘new’ cells at the bottom of a middle frame, longer and much
bigger than the other larvae cells. There were three of them, which removed any
doubt about what they were – new Queen cells. Team Tangerine wanted, or needed,
a new Queen, so they set to work and created one. By the time we found them,
all three were opened. When the hive does this, it’s because there is a problem
with the Queen – she is too old, she is sick, she isn’t able to lay eggs… so
the hive, knowing that the Queen is vital to survival, takes matters into their
own hands. The new Queen, when she hatches, will eat her way out of the cell.
She then goes to the other two Queen cells, rips them open and kills the Queens
in them. She then has to go on a ‘mating flight’ outside the hive… she finds drones
from another hive to mate with. This is the only time she will leave the hive.
Once she returns, she will spend the rest of her life laying eggs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mcAb3jo65qs3ILKi_8emuGXgJazPyD0X6SxZAn6Dg2anXkRz2yMNjYEBNNQsO4Xmg3__hfGG4uj58rE8YNG06aPVAatFsENcjmAf-u_vJ4v7vx2hIgeLd1OU01_lnPf8EEjpfWYdS-zB/s1600/bees+june8+114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mcAb3jo65qs3ILKi_8emuGXgJazPyD0X6SxZAn6Dg2anXkRz2yMNjYEBNNQsO4Xmg3__hfGG4uj58rE8YNG06aPVAatFsENcjmAf-u_vJ4v7vx2hIgeLd1OU01_lnPf8EEjpfWYdS-zB/s1600/bees+june8+114.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">While all this has been happening, we
noticed that there was no egg production in the hive (since there wasn’t a laying
Queen for about two weeks). Instead, because bees are nothing if not busy, they
have put all their energy into creating honey. Though they were lagging behind
The Mellow Yellows in bee production, they are leaving MY in the dust when it
comes to filling their comb with sweet wonderful honey. Some of the frames,
when lifted, are nearing 20 pounds in weight with bees and honey. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiW5DfNTrYViMvIq2Pnq9m9uF53w9lxP1RIARAN3Ne4_bk2WJQJAnR-m3a99q5eFVHZYtitFdPqaFIOG_MFE5HHf5SYV43l6qoTEK5Ok2L7t0vIyexup4XTqxFM4HehSSFZQNsKoPzq04/s1600/Bees+14June2014+117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiW5DfNTrYViMvIq2Pnq9m9uF53w9lxP1RIARAN3Ne4_bk2WJQJAnR-m3a99q5eFVHZYtitFdPqaFIOG_MFE5HHf5SYV43l6qoTEK5Ok2L7t0vIyexup4XTqxFM4HehSSFZQNsKoPzq04/s1600/Bees+14June2014+117.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">The discovery of the Queen cells was
disconcerting because it can be an indicator that the hive is about to swarm,
leaving here and finding new digs to call home. All evidence though indicates
that this was because they needed a new Queen, and it was done with typical
bee-ish textbook proficiency.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntqDPkQ2AUtQsI-CFGzh_931dyUuvcgwvO7yKP6rmJ4i22iiMMy2G59NULm-WitdWyS7HmlYvE_Z7PiWCf5eiv-x4ibdX9emkCl1rFsDNoYkqeCAgITDFtQYQo75TLVS25fLP_02YHEYL/s1600/Bees+14June2014+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntqDPkQ2AUtQsI-CFGzh_931dyUuvcgwvO7yKP6rmJ4i22iiMMy2G59NULm-WitdWyS7HmlYvE_Z7PiWCf5eiv-x4ibdX9emkCl1rFsDNoYkqeCAgITDFtQYQo75TLVS25fLP_02YHEYL/s1600/Bees+14June2014+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF13moK4pMmpqtj8ixIhp2OJCZaWrFQYJf5kdDAMZ90Pdd48wmY6gWskaZD5VdTSaDt6x0y5OE7ceKc1xbY7QhS0BucpI4OU5xmq2HpdctqbTNE13NvZJ_iPGRGqI5j2AMvdWZ8Vy4qpSF/s1600/Bees+14June2014+123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJ_0AXs5QHSRA55TRYYKTr2gHkfkOzhC_c4nfVNbEJzDVgKQHyoLL4fkP6a0wixmbsm-dJnZMFkFQ2n4-u20y6-BaImfevF4es6qHzqeUmQYOcc4V_k1maA4ec0IzBzW_gSXm2ARmEjiG/s1600/Bees+14June2014+129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJ_0AXs5QHSRA55TRYYKTr2gHkfkOzhC_c4nfVNbEJzDVgKQHyoLL4fkP6a0wixmbsm-dJnZMFkFQ2n4-u20y6-BaImfevF4es6qHzqeUmQYOcc4V_k1maA4ec0IzBzW_gSXm2ARmEjiG/s1600/Bees+14June2014+129.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJ_0AXs5QHSRA55TRYYKTr2gHkfkOzhC_c4nfVNbEJzDVgKQHyoLL4fkP6a0wixmbsm-dJnZMFkFQ2n4-u20y6-BaImfevF4es6qHzqeUmQYOcc4V_k1maA4ec0IzBzW_gSXm2ARmEjiG/s1600/Bees+14June2014+129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJ_0AXs5QHSRA55TRYYKTr2gHkfkOzhC_c4nfVNbEJzDVgKQHyoLL4fkP6a0wixmbsm-dJnZMFkFQ2n4-u20y6-BaImfevF4es6qHzqeUmQYOcc4V_k1maA4ec0IzBzW_gSXm2ARmEjiG/s1600/Bees+14June2014+129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span lang="EN-US">As for the Mellow Yellows, they grew into a
third box. Yes, we have our first honey super, three boxes high, with the top
box waiting to be filled with nothing but honey, just in time for peak honey
production season. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgS35fhcqaHXvWQv5vff5_JFg-LatF_3BRvPPRXSiCdBmlkjiW6tG0sQm65VKYnoYC53b1UGWLaAsYieAlNv8GHN7b-Lul27KiKULK-hP5iu2LkwCNXcnMW7zzfvTurpRj6BKuJXwOoVPP/s1600/Bees+14June2014+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgS35fhcqaHXvWQv5vff5_JFg-LatF_3BRvPPRXSiCdBmlkjiW6tG0sQm65VKYnoYC53b1UGWLaAsYieAlNv8GHN7b-Lul27KiKULK-hP5iu2LkwCNXcnMW7zzfvTurpRj6BKuJXwOoVPP/s1600/Bees+14June2014+071.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the Queen cell. You can see how she chewed a flap open so she could get out. She then ripped open the other two so she could kill the Queens developing in them</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YofxYc5u04sEbXBWnbZixT12c8L5c4OlO1onfi5K0pWePK7c1f1tPoWHp9XXHUstWr_6-j1wf3r4q3UGFdgulKc6mrdC_NT1BqTPWUihSa8T0l1HAeEpE9L45r9flhB74KHiRKLQLnJH/s1600/Bees+14June2014+102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YofxYc5u04sEbXBWnbZixT12c8L5c4OlO1onfi5K0pWePK7c1f1tPoWHp9XXHUstWr_6-j1wf3r4q3UGFdgulKc6mrdC_NT1BqTPWUihSa8T0l1HAeEpE9L45r9flhB74KHiRKLQLnJH/s1600/Bees+14June2014+102.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-Bq76zh58r2couTb2osHcruGWKrqn0EUbcgMT3fRT7O110YaiVt2Y1aysZ6WJNoIFOwFIpmGPr9Ohgjj9qQ6joVsqcgBuSc7G8jCOkPcLL6zm36pabplfpWtyX7mKy7zd4drpkxhOs_m/s1600/Bees+14June2014+117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-Bq76zh58r2couTb2osHcruGWKrqn0EUbcgMT3fRT7O110YaiVt2Y1aysZ6WJNoIFOwFIpmGPr9Ohgjj9qQ6joVsqcgBuSc7G8jCOkPcLL6zm36pabplfpWtyX7mKy7zd4drpkxhOs_m/s1600/Bees+14June2014+117.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJ2qeoWuGjUIvryfEw1SZTX4ceq5IaTyUPf7xOn0yNsMrNAQEwwto7vqQZHYwqm0yrvf5D2TlprKuTcQneI_Wg0oau5rWaoeOr-DWeJeIwmxMck3RPXGVvFdm0EqeeGdiNqD5PK4kll75/s1600/Bees+14June2014+123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJ2qeoWuGjUIvryfEw1SZTX4ceq5IaTyUPf7xOn0yNsMrNAQEwwto7vqQZHYwqm0yrvf5D2TlprKuTcQneI_Wg0oau5rWaoeOr-DWeJeIwmxMck3RPXGVvFdm0EqeeGdiNqD5PK4kll75/s1600/Bees+14June2014+123.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOTS of bees now in this hive!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJ5towVYPyajP2U-18dKw3GXBN2Q49TtMCmoXcrrcZRG5pGPO3KhmK4fli_IBWxO_p0ynIjEUCdktdeGFIfGXFhr8YLZzRA3vW5x4BjjF5h7BG8N_V7lqZL4kKvETl6ZFiviA6gaCIpfp/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJ5towVYPyajP2U-18dKw3GXBN2Q49TtMCmoXcrrcZRG5pGPO3KhmK4fli_IBWxO_p0ynIjEUCdktdeGFIfGXFhr8YLZzRA3vW5x4BjjF5h7BG8N_V7lqZL4kKvETl6ZFiviA6gaCIpfp/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+031.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a>Well, our bees are certainly earning their keep... at least the Mellow Yellows are. Team Tangerine has some catching up to do! We checked the hives this afternoon, peeking into the top box first, and we were very happy with what we saw.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fXETDf12lR6GlxOsOX6wbNnqbYfthuDOd9DKw-U9Mx61nnuI6WC5zpkPVTTLg-mPYCcyzIQOFT2oN0aOUUvNkMY8jmCpPIGdmo3PK8pOo94Xx-5Rlfhyphenhyphen3dq4m7NJpQfFJkK5uOu-keXA/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fXETDf12lR6GlxOsOX6wbNnqbYfthuDOd9DKw-U9Mx61nnuI6WC5zpkPVTTLg-mPYCcyzIQOFT2oN0aOUUvNkMY8jmCpPIGdmo3PK8pOo94Xx-5Rlfhyphenhyphen3dq4m7NJpQfFJkK5uOu-keXA/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+033.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
TT is creating comb on the top box, and there are some cells with larvae. They have gone through their protein pad and their juice jug was empty, and we decided to leave them that way for a while. There are so many plants in bloom that they will not go hungry. They seem to have taken a shine to the burning bush, which is in bloom right now. We wouldn't have known it was in bloom (because the flowers are very nondescript) if it hadn't been for the bees gathered around it. The trees out front are just starting to bloom now, and those will keep the bees more than well fed. TT had an increased population of bees, and new ones are doing the dance outside the hive daily, but we don't need to add another box to their stack yet, and we didn't open their doorway more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyob0ZxwRwf4N1ngQv0RwjKhZi3Pp7VAbQPFVl_hkre1bZmS3eGNWiiSb354lPvxwsuyizGwHHsjn3xLBnHSDvNt9gDIf24yWB7TP5Q5ad412erXKA8QXZ9WxyJqtA-Xqn81vF1zDaAl7R/s1600/more+bees+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyob0ZxwRwf4N1ngQv0RwjKhZi3Pp7VAbQPFVl_hkre1bZmS3eGNWiiSb354lPvxwsuyizGwHHsjn3xLBnHSDvNt9gDIf24yWB7TP5Q5ad412erXKA8QXZ9WxyJqtA-Xqn81vF1zDaAl7R/s1600/more+bees+014.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
As always, the Mellow Yellows were next, and wow! They have comb and are laying a lot of babies in most of the frames in their second box, and in the lid as well. There were a LOT of new bees... enough that we had to smoke them a bit more to calm them, and enough to make us give them a bigger door to go in and out. We were so surprised by the progress made in the top box that we just had to open it up and see what was happening in the box below. The comb down there is darker, and gets even more so with each brood of babies they hatch out. They are busy filling out that comb with honey... LOTS of honey. (Now comes the fun of keeping the wasps and hornets away, and man, do we have those again this year.) Mellow Yellow's amazing progress probably means they will be getting a new box again by next weekend, and will be three boxes tall with a medium depth one for honey on top. The experienced apiarists in the area tell us that peak honey flow usually happens around the summer solstice, so we are just in time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqhMt8aUZ1Ve_TIuIo8XTAhiWFz27VY0O2kIBy1XN8SmFIghq6bjPc8g3PyR7yqbVkc929KT_7f6DbrxSBaH4Twvfh3_YUpWY0KO89zGDe9LhGbSGaCOscXDZLTx7xIBqaNNEU8vVQJ7r/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqhMt8aUZ1Ve_TIuIo8XTAhiWFz27VY0O2kIBy1XN8SmFIghq6bjPc8g3PyR7yqbVkc929KT_7f6DbrxSBaH4Twvfh3_YUpWY0KO89zGDe9LhGbSGaCOscXDZLTx7xIBqaNNEU8vVQJ7r/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+039.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
We will also be starting three new hives this week. Finally, we will be receiving our first 'nucs'. It took a long time for the bees to be ready to breed because of the very cool and wet May weather, but we will finally have some local home-grown bees of our own. They get handled differently (at least as far as introducing them to the hive goes) so this will be yet another new experience for us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27oHJFSHDNuN7Z3S2qs4pcfXZFJ9ObqAuWb1fG417G_ewal2Gl4VRd0FKMBBzS6-pykOQBCSrYimNlvgLs_4tNZzXZ2ud5S1J3NxljkBHRfS2FX5z4gqxiHnYQW6_2IY2raTBa8bta60O/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27oHJFSHDNuN7Z3S2qs4pcfXZFJ9ObqAuWb1fG417G_ewal2Gl4VRd0FKMBBzS6-pykOQBCSrYimNlvgLs_4tNZzXZ2ud5S1J3NxljkBHRfS2FX5z4gqxiHnYQW6_2IY2raTBa8bta60O/s1600/bigcamerabeesjune1+043.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
We also have another bee suit, so if you're interested in seeing what we're doing, you're welcome to suit up and have some fun. This way, you get a front row seat for all the action. While we were working with the girls today, we had another guest show up -- a rhinoceros beetle, which isn't supposed to be here in June, but we weren't complaining.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCuDQmkSbFufo86aqXSbnjgbVNnkkuKW22LQyqxtcvsz7ZhIS0_uev1woTcMS4QWxoDr2PGjifZPyYku8ERzxxNvUv1Lwe2utoVCOv5eSoWMSLb-PAgSJX2jCGdAc9OKx5vKdm3WFxBcy/s1600/Bees+June1+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCuDQmkSbFufo86aqXSbnjgbVNnkkuKW22LQyqxtcvsz7ZhIS0_uev1woTcMS4QWxoDr2PGjifZPyYku8ERzxxNvUv1Lwe2utoVCOv5eSoWMSLb-PAgSJX2jCGdAc9OKx5vKdm3WFxBcy/s1600/Bees+June1+024.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">We'll include some pics of the honey cells, the frames loaded with pollen, and one that has a really amazing picture of the bees' tongues -- yeah, they have tongues! Who knew? </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfK5ZjG1Fol-6FvlIjhpEZ6HiqtN2klEX5rq53aBGE4R2qvAUp2gUXNwKY_QvPE0GfE6MzmCctTESnN_NfZGTkgS8a2hU8l042D0cz0YaWh2t2mvQP23-ldT0oG2ZIk8hjKRI7LX5jv7O/s1600/more+bees+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfK5ZjG1Fol-6FvlIjhpEZ6HiqtN2klEX5rq53aBGE4R2qvAUp2gUXNwKY_QvPE0GfE6MzmCctTESnN_NfZGTkgS8a2hU8l042D0cz0YaWh2t2mvQP23-ldT0oG2ZIk8hjKRI7LX5jv7O/s1600/more+bees+006.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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