Busy Bees

Wow, what a difference a few weeks make. About 2 weeks ago, I checked the hives, noted that they were growing at different rates. Mine seemed to be a little ahead of Reese's with lots of brood and the frames being drawn out. I made a mental note to order the new honey supers since you will need them earlier than you might think.



I get back from a trip, and go to check out the girls only to find them spilling out of the hive, large numbers of them in the entrance and all the frames in both boxes totally filled. Not just with comb but with brood, honey, pollen...jam packed. Then it got hot. Now I realized I should have ordered the honey supers and been ready. I hadn't and wasn't ready. What to do?

Panic was the #1 reaction. By all accounts, I was (and still maybe am) setting myself up for the hive to swarm. Too many bees, too little space, hot, and right at the time in mid Spring when the bees have a tendency to swarm....great. So, I started emailing and calling around. First call was to Tony L. from the club who said: "get a honey super on yesterday!" He also noted that hives will beard by congregating outside the hive to cool off. Great...new beekeeper and no clue. How could I have been so damned lazy to not order the honey supers?

Here is a picture of Ed K.'s hive bearding. Nowhere near what I have!


Next email was to Ed K. at the club too. Ed was SUPER helpful and went out of his way to help me out. He reiterated I needed to put the honey supers on even if it was raining and to not wait. He gave me an older hive box with new frames/foundation that I could use. Not only that, he drove up in the rain and delivered it to my door! THANK YOU!

So, the same day (3 days after seeing my bees do their thing), I popped the top and put an old box with new frames in. I didnt have a queen excluder at the time but more on that in a minute. Howard said that he would use the box with no hesitation since he knew where it came from and he was sure of no contamination. What Howard says, goes.

Drove up to Tyngsboro to get some supplies from Rick. Great guy. Bought 3 boxes, and 20 Pierco frames. All I need to do tonight is paint the boxes. here's the next step. I now have a honey super that is being worked on and hopefully the comb is being drawn out. On Saturday, i need to put the queen excluder and then frame by frame knock the honey super bees into the new supers to make sure the queen is NOT in the honey frames, otherwise, she'll go ahead and lay eggs. Then, I need to go in and really inspect the hive to make sure I dont have swarm cells or burr comb in the hive bodies. Then, i need to treat the bees with the sugar to start the IPM process and really keep the mites in check. Rick also suggested that I put a drone frame in to have drone brood and pull the frame 2 days prior to them hatching. That might be a little too ambitious....the rest, will happen on Saturday.

In Hive or Castle, Duty Without Power

By NATALIE ANGIER, NYT
Published: May 15, 2007
I never much cared for royalty, although I admit that, for reasons my family and I are still struggling to understand, I named my first cat “Princess Bubbles.”

[more]

Organic Beekeepers Seeing Fewer Cases of Colony Collapse

May 14, 2007
By Holly Case
Natural Food Network Newsletter Editor

The huge numbers of bees lost to the mysterious "colony collapse disorder" (CCD) continue to baffle scientists. However, some organic beekeepers say that they have not been experiencing the problem to the same degree that conventional beekeepers have.

According to anecdotal reports of members of a large email list for organic beekeepers, all beekeepers have been fighting a difficult battle against Varroa mites. Mites have been previously named as a possible cause of CCD; however, this problem is not entirely new. However, many conventional beekeepers are allegedly engaging in practices which may put their colonies at greater risk of collapse.

Many beekeepers have been using large quantities of pesticides to fumigate for the Varroa mites. When mites become established in a colony, they are often very difficult to eliminate before significant damage is done. Organic beekeepers are reportedly not experiencing as many problems with colony collapse, and they believe that the lack of pesticide use is the probable reason for the difference.

In addition, conventional beekeepers are more likely to transport their colonies across great distances to provide pollination services. As CCD becomes an even more widespread problem, beekeepers who offer pollination services for hire find themselves with more such work, which stresses their own colonies even further.

It is not conclusive that organic beekeepers' colonies are completely protected from CCD. Mites appear to be a substantial problem for all beekeepers, and it is unknown how significant the role of pesticide use is in colony collapse. Scientists are hoping to find the answer before it's too late.

Second Hive Body

Nice warm day. Tons of activity in and out of both hives. Smoked Reese's hive, cracked the top, and peered in. They had eaten 3/4 of the syrup. I checked the frames and they are just working on the 7th frame. I figured that why not put the hive body on top. So I did and replaced the syrup and took out the entrance reducer. I spoke to Harry P. who had gone to the club meeting where Howard had suggested that the entrance reducer be taken out. So I did.

Then, smoked and checked in to see the girls. WOW. Huge progress. Almost all the frames filled or at least bing worked on. I did the same thing to my hive: additional hive body, 1/4 syrup left and entrance reducer out! Check out the pictures.

Sunny Saturday

No pictures this time. Took some but haven't downloaded them yet.

Went with Reese on Saturday to check out the girls. Nice sunny day. There was lots of activity around both hives. Bright orange pollen, dark green and some electric yellow. We saw some large ants walking in and out of the hive. The bees tended to repel them but the ants were persistent enough to walk in. We'll watch that next weekend to see if it continues. Maybe put some cinnamon down around the hive.

Reese's hive had about 5 frames nicely drawn. 3 of the were nice and heavy. He did have some buckling of the foundation on one frame which resulted in huge piece of burr comb with capped brood, etc on it. We moved that out so that it faced the exterior edge of the hive. Not sure that was the right move since burr comb is only going to get worse. We just felt bad to destroy that huge piece.

My hive seemed a little further along. The bees were very gentle and a few puffs of smoke had them tamed down below. 6 or 7 frames nicely drawn with 4-5 full frames. Capped brood, and some honey cells. Lots of big fat brood hanging out in their cells. Still no sign of the queen but at this point, we know she is around and we'll let her be. No pun intended...

Both hives had eaten a good amount of syrup but only 1/2 to 2/3 of the pail. We switched the pails out and wondered if that was the last time we fed them. Dandelions are out as well as a ton of other flowering plants.

Other Notes
Matt Smith dropped by with his friend. He reported that his hive was doing ok and he hadn't really opened it a lot recently.
Harry Peper said that he applied the powdered sugar last weekend and it was a colossal mess. He said it got everywhere and was a bit of a logistical nightmare. The powdered sugar is part of an attempt to stem the onset of the Varoa Mite. Apparently they can't cling on as well to the bees with the sugar on top. Otherwise, his hive was ok.

And Now Taiwan Loosing Bees?

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's bee farmers are feeling the sting of lost business and possible crop danger after millions of the honey-making, plant-pollinating insects vanished during volatile weather, media and experts said on Thursday.[more]

Flickr Slide Show of Bee Activity