Hungry Bees

The last couple days we had very wet weather complete with numerous lightning strikes.  Not at all conducive to working with the bees.  The frames that we extracted the honey from were wrapped up nicely and then placed in heavy duty plastic containers waiting to be returned to the hives.  I didn't want to wait too long before giving them back to the bees.  The comb is already on the frames and there's still quite a bit of honey and nectar on all of them. 

Cooling a batch of sugar water in the sink

Yvonne cooked up a big batch of sugar water that will be fed to the bees.  This time of year the nectar flow is very minimal and foraging is difficult for the bees.  The second nectar flow will start in a month or so, but until then it doesn't hurt to give the bees a little help. 

Bee Wagon loaded down

Once I got out to the Bee Farm I began building more frames to fill the honey supers that were to be installed.  The wet frames (ones from the extraction) would be divided equally between the hives so they all have a good base to start building as well as nourishment.

New Bee Workbench quite handy

As soon as I started taking the wet frames out of the bags, quite a few bees materialized to take advantage of the sweetness.  All sorts of uninvited guests also showed up to the party including a few wasps, flies and ants.  After the wagon was loaded up with the supers and feeders I started inspecting the hives and immediately noticed a problem.  The nuc that was dropped the other day had a large crack on one side (the back door I was wondering about).  Fortunately there was an empty spare hive available to transfer those bees into  even though their numbers were on the small side.  They were not at all happy to be transferred again but it had to be done.  For their patience I rewarded them with the biggest feeder we had.

Gargoyle hive with new honey super and feeder

Half way through the work I looked down and noticed I forgot to zip up my head net.  All along my neck was completely exposed and bees could have flown right up into my headnet.  Fortunately I was pretty gentle with the bees up until then and hadn't done anything to alert the hot hive yet.  I quickly zipped the headnet snug.   And then that little voice in your head keeps suggesting that one of the girls snuck in and was walking around on the inside of the headnet admiring the view from the inside.   For a few minutes I was absolutely sure there was a bee in the headnet and would have bet money on it.  It's really not a big deal because worst case scenario is you get stung once but still it's kind of a mental thing that noodles around in your mind while you're working.

Besides the weather cooperating, everything went off fairly smooth and the bees are feasting tonight after several days of being cooped up trying to stay dry in their hives.

Down with the Queen (s)

Yesterday I brought home a bunch of scrap lumber from a job site that donates their scraps.    I brought home enough wood for several projects and spent the day building a Bee bench for out by the hives.  It's always nice to have clean flat surfaces to place your hive tools, smoker and whatever while you work on the bees.

This morning I drove out early to drop the bench off.  As soon as I got out of the truck I saw several bees attacking my truck in a frenzy.  As I'm watching, the thought goes through my head that when they get tired of trying to sting the truck I'm going to get some attention.  And then I hear it .... faintly at first ... then louder and louder until I heard (or at least imagined)  A high pitched "GET HIM" !!!!! and then the fun began. 

They just wouldn't leave me alone.  And it was fairly aggressive behavior that basically chased me from the yard.   Aggressive enough to promote thoughts of re queening the hives.  Re queening will replace your bloodlines with gentler bees even though that takes a few months before you're back to a calmer group.

Viva la revolution ... death to the queens !!!!

Cool Bees

I debated whether the title should be Cool Bees or Spoiled Bees.  You could say they're both.  Today we went to the nursery and picked up a couple plants to make a natural barrier between the apiary and the garden / shed area.  Most of the plants we got were very popular with honey bees at the nursery.

cool bees

new palm

Even though it was 94 degrees, we both spent a few hours planting and watering.  Also brought a large bunch of Hawaiian plumeria plant cuttings that were crowding the walkway at home.   After planting, everything was watered and looking good.   We even picked up some milkweed for the butterflies.

The bee hives were nice and shaded under their new structure and fortunately there were no guard bees with an attitude buzzing us while we gardened.

Hive beetle War strategies

As of today I have two excellent strong hives of honey bees left.  Besides being strong hives, they are gentle as can be and a pleasure to be around.  And that's something I want to continue.  Because once they get overrun with varroa and hive beetles that can change.

Secure base.  Nothing gets in except fresh air

Slides into base (lubricated with beeswax of course)

The first thing I did was completely caulk all new frames in the hives to allow no crevices where hive beetles can hang out.  Plus that saves the bees time and energy so they won't have to fill these areas with propolis.  Several members of the Pinellas beekeeping group had some innovative ideas how their hive bottoms and covers were modified to add ventilation and close off areas where hive beetles hide out.  The hive bottom boards were screened but under the screens they had trays that could hold either diatomaceous earth  OR oil.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages.  I decided to start off with the diatomaceous earth which is fatal to hive beetles ... especially their larvae.  Oil is a bit messy and you may end up with low spots due to the angle of the hives not being completely level.

sliding bottom board pan for oil or diatomaceous earth

fine mesh screen vent in the bottom board promotes cool bees

So now the bottom of the hive has closed off access to hive beetles while still retaining a fine screened ventilation slot.  Plus the pan of diatomaceous earth to catch hive beetles being pushed out by the bees.

Modified inner hive cover

Fine aluminum screen - Nothing gets in but fresh air from the cover

The top covers of the hives also have major modifications.  Besides extra venting, the bottom of the inner covers are completely screened with fine mesh to keep out any hive beetles (or other pests like wax moths, etc.).  They may get into the upper chamber but it's impossible for them to get in where the bees are.  And I think this will be a major help because above inner hive covers is where these nasty beetles love to hide out and plot their strategies to lay eggs in the brood chamber infecting the baby bee larvae.

The final method of hive beetle control is one I've mentioned in previous posts.  And that's adding an entrance reducer.  This gives the beetles a limited area to gain access to the hive.  With a couple hundred bees hanging out by the entrance keeping watch this really limits the options for hive beetles sneaking in.

Adding beeswax to honey super frames

I'm happy to report that the bee farm bees were ready for a honey super so some beeswax was melted in the slow cooker we got at a resale shop and then applied to medium frames.  I used a foam brush to apply the wax which was somewhat clumsy.  Need to refine this technique somewhat.  Also tried a mini roller which might work better.  A constant learning process for sure.  Fun fun fun

Honey Bee Sunday Garden Brunch

Today the bees were enjoying a nice Sunday brunch at the honey bee garden cafe behind their hive.  Plenty of sunflowers to pick from as well as gladiolas and other delicacies.  It looks pretty and there's something highly therapeutic about watching plants you grew from seeds transform into beautiful plants.

Beans !

New palm trees are doing well and the vegetable garden has it's share of wins as well as a few losses which are to be expected.  Beans are growing like a bean as they say.

The other advantage of the bee garden is it benefits butterflies and native bees as well as honey bees.  We can't forget about these important pollinators which are also very important to our environment.

Honey bee garden

bees on sunflowers

Honey bees enjoying sunflowers

honey bee garden

Finally some answers to the dying bees dilemma

It's been several weeks since I last posted because the dying bees dilemma has been quite time consuming and mentally draining.  The Bees kept dying and the initial diagnosis by the state inspector was only partially correct.  After the inspector came by the second strong hive ended up with a massive pile of dead bees in front of it.  And still .. bees walking around in circles on the ground very disoriented.

I called the state inspector and told him the problem was getting worse despite taking his advice to place feeders on the weaker hives and constrict all hive openings to make it easier for the bees to defend their hives from robbers and to make it harder for wax moths and hive beetles to gain access.

Despite these steps, the dying was actually intensifying. So a little more than a week after the initial inspection he came back out with another inspector to give it another look.  This time the inspection found the culprit. And it was grim. The hives were infested with varroa mites very bad and it caused a virus which they deduced caused the walking in circles on the ground.   In one weeks time, the hives were starting to look critical.  One of my weaker hives that looked very healthy last week was completely dead.  As we opened up that hive, two frames were covered in hive beetle larvae (looks like long magots).  Last week this hive had a lot of brood and honey.  Now nothing but hive beetle larvae and quite depressing.

My other two strong hives were border line.  One may make it and the other probably won't.  And finally my last feral hive I caught (swarm) was quite healthy still. 

The way they explained it to me was once the varroa mites weakened the bees and gave them the virus, the hive beetles and wax moths were able to get the upper hand and take over.  The hives were weakened which means a perfect target for robbers.  So it was a chain reaction.

What to do?  The next day I treated all my hives with powdered sugar.  I used an old 1940's flour sifter and filled it with powdered sugar.  Open up the hives and sprinkle several cups onto all the bees !  The net result is thousands of white ghost looking bees (not very happy I may add) all over the place.  The sugar gets on the bees and dislodges the mites which fall through the screened bottom of the hive.  The bees groom each other and in no time they're all clean as well as had a little snack of sugar.

I placed monitoring boards under the screened bottom to inspect after the sugar treatment.  And sure enough, the boards were filled with little red spec's of varroa mites as well as a good many hive beetles.  Until I figure out a more permanent solution for the mites the sugar treatments will be applied on a weekly basis for the next month. And the weaker hives will get feeders.

And after the inspectors checked out the bee farm hives I returned home to find my house hive fighting off honey robbers !  What a day.  The house hive also got a feeder and an entrance reducer.

It's been a heck of month so far.  Just part of the learning process.  So much to learn still.  Looks like I'll need to get the magic swarm trap out again.

Dead bees everywhere

While visiting the bee farm yesterday I noticed a large dark spot in front of one of our strongest hive.  Unfortunately the dark spot was a pile of dead and dying bees.  And it spanned a good size area.  I immediately suited up and opened all the hives to look for anything that might have caused this disaster.  Nothing inside the hives gave me any clue as to what caused this tragedy.  The good news is the hive still was loaded with healthy bees.  The bad news was the next morning there was a fresh new batch of squirming bees in agony on the ground in front of the hive entrance.  It will probably be a couple days before we know how many will die.   

 

A couple new plants

After going into the hives yesterday, I then noticed all the milkweed plants were stripped bare by a bunch of hungry caterpillars.   What a day.

Butterfly Love

While gardening today I kept watch on the monarch butterflies which seem to be attracted to the bee garden.  As I mentioned before they seem to always be zipping through the heavy flight path of the bees by the hive entrances, even getting occasionally banged into by bees while flying through their congested traffic pattern.  Several theories have played out in my head why they do this and my number one theory was because I thought they love the heavenly smell of honey that emanates from the hives.  But today the real reason for this mischievous behavior was discovered.

Another butterfly phenomenon that was observed is how two are always zipping around together to where it looks like one may be chasing another.  Which indeed was the case.  While taking a break this morning and wondering what they were doing it all became crystal clear in a moment.  That's when I noticed two butterflies locked in capitulating bliss in the butterfly garden.  I never really considered where baby butterflies came from but now it's abundantly clear.  It explains the buzzing of the bee hives by the butterfly.  Of course it's the guy butterfly showing off in front of his girlfriend.  He's probably shouting in butterfly "Hey check this out ... I ain't afraid of them steenken bees" as he swoops through in front of five very active beehives.  And apparently it worked because they finally did hook up in the end.

I took a video of the two butterflies in the heat of the moment but decided not to post it as we're a PG-13 blog and posting x rated butterfly video just didn't seem right.  So you can just let your imagination run wild ....

Operation Rescue Stragglers

It was heartbreaking.  Yesterday afternoon we went out to where the swarm trap was and there were still about 50 bees hanging out in a clump on the fence.  Homeless bees they were.  What really started tugging at our heart were some of the bees had the pollen sacks on their legs full of pollen with no place to go.  Yvonne had a good idea.  She said to put the swarm trap back so they have a place to sleep tonight (even though bees technically don't really sleep).  Then we'll plug the trap when it's still dark and the next day transport them out to the bee farm with their hive.

About an hour after putting the swarm trap back where it was, all the bees happily went inside.  And it's a good thing because it started pouring rain shortly after.  So they stayed nice and dry.  Early the next morning the box was plugged and the honey bees were reunited with their sisters.  And a happy, joyful reunion it was.  I should have brought extra Kleenex.

Ignoring the beekeeper "Rule of 2's" and resulting chaos

Since there are really no rules in beekeeping since it's all so different with each beekeeper, the title should really be ignoring the beekeeper "guideline of 2's".  The Chaos part can stay though.

The guideline of 2's simply states if you're going to move a beehive then you should move it less than 2 feet or more than 2 miles.  Anything in between might cause confusion for the bees (and chaos).  Today was moving day for the swarm trap in our backyard.  I planned to move it to the front yard on the stand I built but a little voice kept nagging me saying "NO" .... take them to the bee farm.  Two hives in your front yard might not be a good idea.  And listening to that little voice inside is something you need to pay attention to.

I started the fiasco early but the bees were heavy on the outside of the swarm trap.  After smoking them, I was able to close up the holes and move them to the front yard.  I quickly set up the new hive with fresh frames and the new base.  Of course the transfer from the nuc swarm trap to the new hive was a little chaotic and it got the bees zipping around pretty good.  It seemed to go ok so I put everything away and came inside to take a break.  About an hour later I visited the spot where the swarm trap originally was and saw a good size ball of bees hanging on the side of the wood that just held the swarm trap.  The bees were returning to their old home area ... lots of them.  Bees get a point of reference and use that to guide them back to the hive.  Going only a few feet or more than 2 miles makes them establish a new set of reference points.  At this stage it looked like I would have to move them out to the bee farm unless I wanted the new beehive to be empty in the morning and all the bees sitting out in the back of the house.

The problem with all this was I had to get the new hive, put it in my truck and then find something to hold the pile of bees bearding up in the backyard.  I found a big box to hold the new hive and lamely taped it up.  Very lamely.  The original swarm trap/nuc was used to capture the beard of bees in the back.  The nuc/Swarm trap was something they were familiar with so that made it easier.   Then they were loaded into the truck with all the new pieces of the new hive.  Put the smoker out, take off the bee suit and off I go.

The first thing I did when getting to the bee yard was to move all the hives over a tad to accommodate the new hive.  And of course this gets all the bees in those boxes a little defensive and rightfully so.  Next I grab the screened bottom board to lay on the hive rack and to my horror I noticed the wrong bottom board was grabbed.  The unfinished one  ie a screened bottom board without the screen.  And that will not do.  The smoker is already lit and the only choice I had was to drive home again with the bees in the back of the truck so I could get the correct bottom board.  Another problem with that was the box (that was lamely taped) came untaped and bees were everywhere inside the bed of my truck.  The truck bed topper fortunately kept most of them in there but they were all pretty much hanging on the open box.   The trip home better be uneventful or things will get interesting.  I close up the tailgate, return home and get the correct bottom board.  Then another trip back.  Poor bees.

Newest arrival (far right)

When I finally arrived back at the bee yard, the smoker was still puffing away which was nice.  Getting the box of bees and the nuc into the new hive was a little challenging but it all worked out in the end.  They were not happy though.  And it was a pretty good size swarm I have to say.  With all this jostling and moving around they could very well take off.  We'll see.

I'm worn out and taking the rest of the day off.

Into the hives and guess what?

Today was inspection day for the bee farm hives.  All four hives were opened up and examined.  In particular I was anxious to look at the smallest colony that was from the swarm that split.  Not as many bees as all the others so I had to determine if there was a queen.  Sure enough when the hive was opened, the numbers were not great but ok.  Two to three strong frames being worked on.  And as hard as I looked, there was no queen to be found.  The good news was I found active brood and what appeared to be queen cells midway up one of the frames.  We have many dragonflies in this area and dragonflies love to eat bees.  Maybe the queen went out to find a boyfriend and got eaten by a dragonfly. 

The two original hives (from the Nuc's I purchased) were going strong and the honey supers on top were already half filled.  What this means is I better get to work building more supers and frames.  Because these will soon be filled and need more supers stacked on top.  The last swarm colony looked quite healthy.  Only hive Beatles were found in one of the original hives from the Nucs.  I placed beetle traps in them.

After examining 60 frames it was time for a rest.  I still struggled with keeping the smoker lit but will get it right eventually.   All in all it was a good inspection and took a good portion of the morning.   The colony in our front yard won't be opened for a couple more weeks.

Last night frames and bases were built.  This seems to be a never ending fun project.  Deeps, mediums, more frames and inner and outer covers need to be constructed this week.  I can't imagine doing this and having to buy everything instead of building it yourself. 

Here's the guess what from the title ... I was on the side of our house and noticed a lot of bees around where the swarm traps were stacked on top of each other (with no bait scent).  A lot of activity was around the one in the middle so I removed the cover and couldn't believe how many bees were inside.  A bunch flew out at me buzzing around.  Quite amusing so I put a couple frames in the box for them to start building comb.  Why not?  What's so funny is they're only a few feet away from the noisy air conditioner.  Is this swarm 6?  Not sure yet.  I'll check back in a couple days. 

New House bees settling in and why it's good to have a fast riding lawnmower in the Bee Yard

The new bees that were moved from the tree to the stand in our front yard are settling in nicely.  Yesterday there was a lot of zipping around in bee confusion as they tried to figure out why their queen moved to this new box.  And many bees were zipping around in the area of the tree where their old home was.  Today is much calmer with a few bees still zipping around the tree but it's pretty much normal bee foraging going on with a much calmer atmosphere than yesterday.

Today was lawn mowing day at the Bee Farm.  A little breezy and the first time mowing since the hive count made it to 4 out there.  The breeze made for some dust being thrown up by the riding mower  ... a little too much dust for the bees apparently.  Because on my first pass behind the hives I felt something hit my head.  And then another and another ... bam bam bam bam.  Major warnings being thrown at me by the guard bees.    So I shift into high gear full speed to get away before things get too interesting.  And they followed me for quite a ways until I jumped off the tractor and took off running, losing my sunglasses in the process.  Finally they let me go and I sheepishly returned to find my sunglasses.  Good thing I have to mow on the other side of the property and let things cool off by the hives.  But eventually I have to face up to the fact that the bee area still needs mowing.  Time to develop a plan.

The accelerator is increased quite high and the race course is formulated in my brain.  I'll zip under (actually into) the loquat tree and buzz the back of the hives with the pedal to the medal as they say.  Then do a little on the other size of the property setting up for another screeching run at the hives.  All they see is a red blur of the mower shooting past them before they even know what's happened.  The plan works !!!

Unfortunately one bee remembered me and away from the hives by the shed she would not leave me alone.  Quite the bee bully.  So time for another plan.  I grab a spray bottle of Murphy's oil soap and hold it up against my forehead as I quickly pump the sprayer turning in circles.  It works too.  Finally (before I got too dizzy) I see her start to fly away and she gets nailed with some dead on squirts of Murphy oil soap.  And that solves that problem.  Murphy's oil soap was what I had and it worked pretty good.  Shooting bees with warm soapy water will kill them.  So Murphy's was a good alternative. 

New Hive outside our living room window

With this last swarm, there came a bit of work.  There needed to build some more hive equipment to accommodate these new arrivals.  They were going to be put on the existing platform at the Bee Farm but instead I decided to keep them at home because they're so much fun to watch.  To do it right the same type of ant proof hive stand needed to be constructed and cement into the ground.  It was built to accommodate  two hives eventually.  All this took longer than I expected but it was done right and looks nice in our courtyard.  The stand and hive base/deep were painted turquoise and the top is lavender.  While I was in cutting, sanding and painting mode the bee vacuum was finished correctly.  The bee vacuum was slapped together in 3 hours and looked a little rough.  Now it looks professional and ready to gather swarms.

New screened bottom board

One of the rules of beekeeping (well not a rule but more of a guideline) is to move your hives less than 2 feet or 2 miles or more.  Anything in between may confuse the bees and it's said you risk them leaving.  Since this swarm was moving about 15 feet we'll have to just cross our fingers and hope they love their new digs (and nobody told them about those guidelines).

While the sun was coming up the anti-ant grease traps and grease covers were installed on the hive stand.  Then it was time to light the smoker and suit up.  The new hive and stand were readied with all the new frames needed.  As I was climbing the ladder with the smoker, it looked like the hive was starting to wake up (actually they never sleep and are just not as active at night).  After a couple puffs with the smoker, I cradled the swarm trap under my arm and descended.  The bees were placed on the hive stand next to their new hive.  The hive tool was needed since the top of the swarm trap was stuck pretty tight (probably with propolis from the bees).  When the top was finally pried opened the sight of a zillion bees was marvelous.  That little swarm trap was absolutely packed with bees.  First thing I did was transfer the completely packed frames.  Then two large pieces of comb were removed from the lid and then the remaining bees on the top were dropped into the new hive. Finally the swarm trap box was shaken upside down and bees were poured into their new home.  Bees everywhere so the top to the hive was installed on right away.

Honeycomb that was on the lid

Next the swarm trap was bagged up so they didn't get tempted to return to their old home (bees are sentimental like that).  The tricky part is not bagging it until all bees are off it so none get suffocated in the bag.  There was plenty of activity and many bees zipping around everywhere.   Complete Bee Chaos.

After removing the bee suit and extinguishing the smoker I noticed the piece of wood in the tree that held the swarm trap had quite a few bees bearding up on it.  A pretty good size clump.  So the bee suit was put on again and the piece of  support piece of wood was removed from the tree (complete with a large clump of bees) and it was gently placed under the new hive.

New home for the bees just outside of our living room window

About an hour later the bees that were bearding on the tree (around where their old home was) seemed to be finding their way to the new hive.  There is still a good amount of bees flying around that area but the good news is there's more bees zipping in and out of their new home so the move looks pretty positive so far.  Hopefully they'll soon stop buzzing around and start foraging.

The size of this swarm is amazing.  The amount of bees around our home is strong.  Providing a home for this swarm in our yard will be beneficial for the bees as well as for us. 

Swarm Number Five

This blog is beginning to sound like a broken record with all these swarms.  I either have a magic swarm trap or a magic oak tree that it sits in.  Because I've never heard of anyone catching this many swarms in their front yard all within one month.  It's crazy.  And this swarm seems to be bigger than all the others.

I wasn't going to put the trap back in the tree because I ran out of hive stands and bottom boards.  But I missed sitting in the living room watching bees check out the swarm trap.  It's quite addicting and I'll admit I'm completely addicted.  Watching bees is relaxing.

So now another dilemma ... I need to come up with a bottom board and base to the hive as I have a deep brood box and inner and outer top cover and frames.  The hive stand out at the bee farm was technically built for 5 hives so a few minor adjustments could be made to the existing hives to squeeze one more in.  But hey .... why not.

 

I love it when a plan comes together

Despite the fact that my table saw wasn't working, the bee vacuum came together very quickly this morning.  Since I was rushing, it was a little rough around the edges but once the bees are relocated the bee vacuum will get sanded down and finished.  I didn't have caulk so I used duct tape which sealed the areas just fine.  Total construction time was 3 hours which wasn't bad.  Everything just came together with no problems at all.  Everything fit first time and all my zany ideas actually worked.

But the first thing I did this morning was spray the swarm down with sugar water to buy me some time and keep them from swarming again. 

Time to gather the bees.  The saw horses that were used in the construction were moved by the tree to make a table to put the bee vacuum on.  I then connected the hoses and ran an extension cord out.  After putting on the bee suit, it took about 45 minutes of gently pulling the bees into the vacuum hose.  Despite being a 2.5" hose, the bees clogged up the hose a couple times and I had to wiggle the hose and hold it up to persuade them to stay in the hive.  The pressure was perfect.  Not too much but just the right amount.  That was pure luck.

Bee Vacuum ready to work

After 45 minutes, my neck was getting a little sore.  Halfway through the process I cleared the entrance to the swarm trap and plugged that up to take with us.  At this point I didn't have a clue what was inside the swarm trap.  As the weather's starting to heat up around here, I was drenched in sweat after gathering the swarm.  The vacuum motor was then disconnected and removed from the bee vacuum to allow ventilation into the deep box now full of bees and frames.  There were a few stragglers but most were in the box.

Deploying the new hive at the bee farm was quite simple.  I lit the smoker and then the first thing I did was position the landing pad/base/bottom board on the platform.  Then the ratchet straps were removed and after smoking the vacuum the deep was placed on the bottom board.  Then the top was removed and the inner cover and outer cover were installed.  It only took a few minutes.  By this time there were a lot of buzzing and not the happiest bees in the world zipping around.  A bunch were clumped on the vacuum top and bottom so those parts were shaken off to add even more flying bees to the mayhem.   Oh and the Nuc was opened up and was empty !!!  It's a good thing they were captured with the bee vac because they might have flown off in a swarm. 

Tomorrow it's time to inspect the other hives and I suspect that they may be reaching capacity.  Some medium frames are coming in the mail today.  I couldn't resist having a little peek into those hives and wasn't expecting how packed full of bees they were.  After seeing numerous bees on the inner cover and crowded around the inner cover hole I decided to wait until tomorrow to continue so I wouldn't disrupt the hives too much.  Adding the medium supers tomorrow probably should happen so they don't run out of room and possibly swarm.

And then there were four

As the new arrivals are numerous and not in the best mood I decided to leave and let them all calm down.  Everything worked out even better than I expected.  PLUS there were no dead bees in the entire vacuuming operation which is a plus. 

Newest Hive (far right) painted by mom

Be careful what you wish for

It was a particularly rough day getting a couple yards of topsoil to cover the new flower garden that's by the bee hives.  They warned me that two yards of soil might be too taxing for my truck but since it's a GMC 2500 HD diesel, it didn't seem like much of an issue.   It's just a good thing I didn't have far to go because that truck was loaded to the max.  Pulling a heavy fifth wheel was nothing compared to the weight of the top soil.  And it was a comedy of errors on my part at the soil place.  After he dumped the first load of dirt from the top loader I noticed the tailgate was still down !!!  Lucky I brought a shovel.  The tailgate gave me a lot of trouble though and it took awhile before I could get the second load.  And then I noticed the sign that said no credit cards.  Geez.....  at least there was a bank within walking distance.

Unloading the soil was a big chore and took a long time.  Then the truck needed to be cleaned.  Needless to say when I got home later in the afternoon I was quite tired.  I sat down in the living room to relax and out of the corner of my eye noticed that the swarm trap that was just re-deployed was now covered in another massive swarm of honey bees.  Less than 24 hours and I caught another even bigger swarm.  Third one in 2 weeks.   And like the last one they bearded up on the outside of the swarm trap.  So much for relaxing tonight ...

ANOTHER new swarm only hours after deploying trap

This time I'll act quickly to prevent the beard from flying off like last time.  I've been designing a very cool bee vacuum for a few weeks now.  The idea is still conceptual and a mixture of all the ideas that are floating around on youtube and the internet.  If it works, it will be the best bee vacuum out there.  Because my idea covers all bases.  It will allow gently pulling the bees into a hive that's ready to deploy with frames and all.  The bee vacuum will be a 3 piece unit.  Top has a vacuum built in, middle is the actual deep with frames (hive), and the bottom is a smooth landing pad where the hose connects to pull the bees in.  And the best part is once you're done vacuuming them in, the vacuum disconnects on the top leaving a nice big ventilation screen to keep the girls cool.  That's really important.  The plans are in my mind and I'm confident of the feasibility.    Plus I have extra wood and most of what I need to fabricate it in the morning.  Should be interesting.

Moving Day

While it was still dark this morning, plans were being made to move our new honey bees to a new permanent home at the Bee Farm.  The plan was to quickly plug the entrance hole with paper towels and then use duct tape to seal it.  However when the flashlight illuminated the swarm box up in the tree I saw a big clump of bees gathered in the entrance.  The group of bees was densely packed together about the size of a golf or tennis ball and they protruded slightly outside of the entrance hole.  Those bees need to be inside before I can plug the entrance. 

This means the smoker is needed.  The smoker was lit and after a few puffs of smoke the bees went inside.  Fortunately my wife delayed going to work a few minutes to hold the flashlight as the ladder was not too stable.  A few more puffs of smoke and then I sealed all the openings (they opened up a few of their back doors chewed in the Styrofoam).

When I arrived at the bee farm it was still dark.  Plenty of time to fire up the smoker again and move the girls into their new home.  I wanted to be as gentle as possible and transfer the frames quickly.  Because the least amount of disruption will provide a smooth transition to their new hive.  As twilight arrived the frames were transferred into the new hive and I was surprised how much new comb they had already created.  And there were a lot of new honey bees in the box.   I didn't do a full inspection  and look for the queen because it wasn't light enough out and they need to get acclimated to this new location first.  An entrance reducer was also installed to help them defend their new home against any potential robbers looking to take advantage of the newbees.

Best looking (new) hive in Pinellas county

The transfer went as smooth as could be and I spent a lot of time watching the new bees get settled in.  I have a chair in front of the hives and it's so relaxing to sit and watch them all.  They were very curious about their new home buzzing all around and especially checking out the screened bottom board.  The other two hives did the same thing when they arrived.  After an hour or so I noticed a few fights on the landing board but not too bad.  Probably just curious residents from the other hives getting too close.   And of course the big ole Carpenter Bee paid a visit zooming around all the hives a few times .... probably showing off.

And then there were three !

It didn't take long for the new arrivals to start foraging.  Several bees were noticed returning loaded up with pollen already.   I thought that might take a day or so but they didn't waste any time. It was a very relaxing morning observing the bees, working in the garden, and listening to all the song birds.  What a beautiful way to start your day.

It's official - They're gone ...

It was pretty much the same this morning when I looked out at the swarm trap.  No activity.  So I made it a point to get home around noon to check on things and see if there were bees.

I got there right about noon and sure enough there were 5 honey bees hanging out in the entrance.  A pretty good sign but after looking around I realize there wasn't a buzz of activity around the hive.  No comings and goings.  So what's going on?  Are these wayward bees goofing off in their new playhouse when they should be out gathering pollen and nectar?  Maybe there's a drone inside and the girls are throwing a party.  Or maybe getting a little buzzed on the rich scent of lemon grass essential oil I put in the box.  Who knows?

And then a little lizard quickly slipped into the swarm trap.  Not a good sign for honey bees.  I opened up the box and sure enough empty.  Lizard was hiding under the frames and nothing else.

Empty !!!  It was a one night stand after all.  Back to square one.