Feeding and Feeding

The bees in Beelandia did not have much honey stored two weeks ago, so I've been feeding the bees sugar syrup, hoping they'll store enough for winter. They have a ravenous appetite right now, consuming a gallon or so of 2:1 syrup a day.

News From Metpropolis

I am back from a weekend in Chicago with Monta and so I needed to get out an inspect both The Nuc To Be Named Later and one of my top bar hives, Metpropolis.

To be honest, I didn't spend all that much time inspecting the nuc. I opened it up, took a glance around and refilled the frame feeder with sugar syrup. The nuc seems to be doing fine and they are taking the syrup.

I spent a significant amount of time going through Metpropolis. As I continue beekeeping, I've become to notice that different hives have different "personalities" and I really enjoy Metpropolis'.

I do treat the bees gently and this hive responds in kind. The bees go about their business while I work around them going about mine. And speaking of business, Metpropolis is doing very well indeed. The queen has a good brood pattern, and the foragers are bringing in nectar and pollen. The Italian bees in this hive have drawn comb on every bar but one. I harvested one bar for honey, while cutting out some drone brood on another. Even with all this manipulation, the bees neither stung or head-butted me like Lib-BEE-taria.

Three and Half Inspections This Afternoon

I went out a day earlier than usual and inspected three hives today: Plan Bee..., Lib-BEE-taria, and the Nuc To Be Named Later.

To be honest, I didn't really do much an inspection the nuc (The Nuc To Be Named Later). All I did was move the division board in the hive and put in a feeder filled with sugar syrup. I'd done a full inspection two days ago and didn't want to disturb anymore this week.

I've been a bit concerned about Plan Bee... This is the hive that swarmed twice, and, while it had a goodly number of bees, in my last inspection, I saw no evidence of a laying queen. Well today, I finally saw her and some newly laid eggs. The hive seems behind in collection of nectar, however, so I will watch the hive closely in the next few weeks.

Lib-BEE-taria, the langstroth hive filled with carniolans, is still as feisty as ever. I don't get stung but the bees do try to "head butt" me. This hive is very productive; the upper and second boxes are pretty heavy with honey. While I did not see the queen herself, I did see some eggs in the upper box, so she seems to be doing fine. I closed up the hive and reduced its entrance.

I really had to be quick today and not leave any honey comb exposed. All the bees in Beelandia were in a robbing mood. After I left the yard, everything looked pretty chaotic. All because I forgot to "hide" a frame with only the slightest bit of capped honey in it.

Inspection Of May 17

Sunday afternoon I inspected Metpropolis and Bee Glad... The honey bees in each colony were active on this morning after two days of unseasonable cold and rain. On Sunday, however, the weather was in the 70s and sky only partially cloudy. The bees were bringing in pollen of various color, though probably mostly from dandelions.

I inspected Bee Glad... first. The bees had actually started work on 8 of the 10 frames in this Langstroth hive. The queen has been active, as I observed brood in all stages of growth in the hive. Another healthy inspection! I closed up the hive and put some more sugar syrup in the feeder. After the bees drink this gallon up, they should be ready to go it on their own, so to speak.

I can give the same report for Metpropolis as I did for Bee Glad... Plenty of brood in all stages of development. The two empty bars I placed in last week have comb drawn on them. This hive tends to have a voracious appetite for the sugar water, consuming a half gallon in little over a day. I will continue to feed this one until I see evidence of refusal.

While in Beelandia I placed a sheet of sticky paper under both Bee Glad... and Lib-BEE-taria to test for mites. I did a 24 hour check and I am pleased to report not a single mite was sighted in either hive.

Year 2, Week 5: Pleased to See the Queen

My friend Joyce and I did a quick inspection of Plan Bee... and Lib-BEE-taria this morning, after a quick program meeting. Although it was a bit cool for a mid-May day, the carniolans were very active, bring in pollen of various colors and shades.

Plan Bee..., the top bar hive, continues to draw out more comb, and the queen is laying a nice solid capped brood pattern. I had to add another bar to the hive, and fill the feeder with more sugar syrup. As usual, the bees were calm and gentle. No real problems seem to exist in this healthy hive of honey bees.

I did find the queen in Plan Bee... She attempted to hide under some workers but was unable to escape my gaze. She is large, at least larger than the queens I observed last year in my two hives.

I am pleased to report the same for Lib-BEE-taria as well. The carniolans in this hive haven't shied away from drawing comb on the plastic foundation. I am reluctant to admit that the black color of the plastic makes it much easier to see the eggs and young larvae in the open cells. This colony is producing a little more drone brood. I don't think this is a problem, just something I noticed.

In two days I will open up the other two hives and see what I can observe there.

Year 2, Week 4: A Quick Inspection While the Sun Shined

Today was one of those days in Minnesota. Just wait 5 minutes, the weather could get worse. The temperature was in the upper 60s, amidst periods of sunny skies and rain. I quickly got in my inspection of the carniolan bees hived in Plan Bee... and Lib-BEE-taria, between down pours.

The bees have been quite active this week. Trees of various types (e.g. crab apple, maple, cherry) are still blossoming and dandelions are in full bloom as well. The bees come back to the hive looking like participants at a clown convention, pollen of all color types on their back legs.

The carniolans in both hives have been quite active. In the top bar hive, nine out of ten bars had some comb drawn on them. The queen in this hive seems quite good. The capped worker cells on both sides of 5 of the ten bars is solid, very few empty cells to speak of. I closed up this hive, added one undrawn bar to one side, filled the feeder with some more sugar water and went on to Lib-BEE-taria, the Langstroth hive.

The honeybees in the Langstroth have been as well although they have been somewhat reluctant to draw comb on the plastic frames, as I expected they would be. Two frames have capped worker brood but with slightly more empty cells as the top bar. I had to remove some cross comb as well. The carniolans in this hive seem a bit more defensive than in the top bar but were still quite decent to me. I "escaped" this inspection without a sting!

Just a note about the other two hives in which I installed Minnesota Hygienic bees two days ago. So far they have seem to be doing well. Metpropolis, the top bar hive, had drawn comb from last years bees and this year's inhabitants have been cleaning out debris and dead bees from it. They were bringing in pollen and have gone through half a gallon of sugar water already. The other hive, Bee Glad..., the other Langstroth, seems to be doing fine. They have a harder week ahead, having to draw comb in 8 out of 10 frames. I will take out the queen cages Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting.

Latest News From Beelandia

It's been 4 days since I installed the two packages and the bees seem to be doing just fine. They are not consuming as much sugar syrup as anticipated but they are bringing in pollen from some unknown source. Except for a blossoming forsythia, I cannot see any other sources of pollen in the neighborhood right now, though many trees are about to flower. In three days I will do my first inspection and remove the queen cage from each hopefully.

I have discovered how mcuh my mental health is connected to working with my bees. Since installing these packages and watching the hives each day, I feel much less anxiety and am probably sleeping better. I know the death of my two hives installed last spring took much out of me.

Week 1, Year 2: Picking up Packages at Nature's Nectar

Monta and I got up early this morning and travelled over a hundred miles to pick up our two 2 lb. Carniolan packages at Nature's Nectar in Stillwater Minnesota. We had an excellent trip thanks to google maps and also found that our Vibes' cargo strap system keeps 2 lb. packages very secure over a relatively long trip.

Early in the afternoon I installed both packages in our two new hives: a top bar named Plan Bee From Outer Space, and a green Langstroth called Lib-BEE-taria. The installations went well without much problem. (see videos below). I gave each hive a MegaBeetm pollen patties and filled each hives' feeder with 1:1 sugar syrup.




The packages seemed very healthy, if I compare them with last year's two. Only a few dead bees, and very, very few damaged in transit. I am quite pleased with Nature's Nectar.

Week 11: Bringing in Honey

Yesterday, I did the 11 week inspection. I only inspected Bee Glad..., the Langstroth hive, as Metpropolis was inspected two days before. The inspection occurred during some excellent weather at around 11 a.m. The temperature was in the mid-eighties, there was a light breeze, and it was sunny. The bees have continued foraging; some return to the hive covered in a greenish-yellow pollen which I haven't yet identified.

The bees have stored away much honey in the middle and top box. Every frame but one in the top box is at least three quarters drawn with honey on the sides and honey and brood (in all stages) in the middle. . The middle box is, of course, practically fully drawn with much capped honey on the sides and brood and capped honey on the middle frames. Again, the green plastic drone frame has not been worked on with the same enthusiasm as the foundationless frames. I sprayed some sugar water on the drone frame to see if I might induce them to draw it out a little better. The bottom box was almost empty of any activity. There was some capped brood, some bees, but most of the honey has been moved up above. It looks like a "reverse" might be in order for next inspection. I will also be doing the monthly sugar powdering of both Bee Glad... and Metpropolis in that inspection as well.