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.
The Florida Bee Farm" is a mini eco-farm located in Clearwater Florida and completely solar powered. Our eleven hives of pampered (spoiled) honey bees produce delicious local honey. We utilize organic growing methods with naturally made compost and tonics to repel pests. Irrigation system fed by a rain barrel collection system powered by solar electric.
Honey Bee
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
The smell of bees and honey
An unexpected benefit of beekeeping is that occasional smell of honey from the hive. A little puff of wind or slight breeze is all it takes and if you're lucky enough to be downwind, you're in for a treat. They are bringing in the nectar now and filling up comb.
Today I went to a friends who also has a couple beehives. His wife and him manage the hives together and so I was able to be there when they opened up the hives this weekend. There was a lot of anticipation because when they split the hives a few weeks ago, the one queen died. So they had to wait while the bees created a new queen from existing brood. And they were pleasantly surprised that both boxes had a fresh young queen. Unfortunately the boxes had way too many hive beetles. We manually killed at least 20 of them. Maybe more.
I still need to get the new home ready for the last swarm. Maybe tomorrow.
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Today I went to a friends who also has a couple beehives. His wife and him manage the hives together and so I was able to be there when they opened up the hives this weekend. There was a lot of anticipation because when they split the hives a few weeks ago, the one queen died. So they had to wait while the bees created a new queen from existing brood. And they were pleasantly surprised that both boxes had a fresh young queen. Unfortunately the boxes had way too many hive beetles. We manually killed at least 20 of them. Maybe more.
I still need to get the new home ready for the last swarm. Maybe tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Daredevil butterfly and a doghouse without a dog
The milkweed in the bee garden has been blooming and bringing in the Monarch butterflies. I was watching one in particular today while I was sitting and taking a break. They fly erratically zipping up down and sideways. But this particular butterfly kept buzzing by the entrances of the bee colonies. I even noticed when it went through the traffic pattern of the very large hive it got banged into several times. It seemed like an accident but it was almost inevitable with the heavy bee traffic. What made me wonder was why this butterfly made a few passes past the hives. Was it showing off? Because it seemed to have no real destination other than the buzzing of the hives.
When it got real interesting is when the butterfly came around and was about 20 feet away from the hive. I then saw a bee whack the butterfly twice. Once might have been accidental but twice made for a definite challenge. Kind of how the bees have been keeping me away from their hives lately ... whacking me in the head a few times will convince me to find something better to look at.
Swarm #6 is now a reality and has moved into their new temporary home. If the bees are just scouts checking out the swarm trap then they'll be out of there before dark. But if you look into the swarm trap at night or early morning and it's full of bees then you know they're moved in. This morning just as it was getting light I went out and stuck my head by the entrance to the box. And sure enough I had a bunch of little eyes looking back at me. Doing what bees do in the early morning hours, probably having a coffee or sip of honey I imagine. When I saw all those little faces looking back at me I knew that I'm going to have to do some more carpentry tonight to get a new permanent home ready for them.
I had a little extra paint so the doghouse got a fresh coat to match the house. Now we just need to get a dog.
When it got real interesting is when the butterfly came around and was about 20 feet away from the hive. I then saw a bee whack the butterfly twice. Once might have been accidental but twice made for a definite challenge. Kind of how the bees have been keeping me away from their hives lately ... whacking me in the head a few times will convince me to find something better to look at.
Swarm #6 is now a reality and has moved into their new temporary home. If the bees are just scouts checking out the swarm trap then they'll be out of there before dark. But if you look into the swarm trap at night or early morning and it's full of bees then you know they're moved in. This morning just as it was getting light I went out and stuck my head by the entrance to the box. And sure enough I had a bunch of little eyes looking back at me. Doing what bees do in the early morning hours, probably having a coffee or sip of honey I imagine. When I saw all those little faces looking back at me I knew that I'm going to have to do some more carpentry tonight to get a new permanent home ready for them.
I had a little extra paint so the doghouse got a fresh coat to match the house. Now we just need to get a dog.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Pesticides, herbicides and fun honeybee facts
While at our beekeepers meeting last week, the lady in charge of our group told us that when she recently went to inspect her hives she found several hives full of dead bees. Inside the hives were full of dead bees and there was a pile of them dead on the ground under each hive. Quite distressing for a beekeeper. Another hive was trying to swarm and get away but they too were dying.
Why did this happen? It's unknown at this time so she froze many many of the dead bees to give to a state inspector to help determine the cause. Not sure it will ever be known but the probable cause is pesticides. The actual pesticide may be hard to determine but another possible culprit may be the chemical used to kill lawns / crops named roundup. Some are even saying it may be the cause of colony collapse syndrome. Roundup is a cancer causing chemical that is sprayed on most of the corn people eat. Here's an article on the subject if you're interested http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/roundup-bees-zm0z10zarc.aspx?PageId=7
So to counteract the downer of reading about dead bees here's a couple "Fun Facts" that was on a beekeeping brochure from St. Pete College in addition to a few other online sources:
Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans. Honey is the oldest food in existence and it never spoils; it contains all the substances necessary to sustain life including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it's the only food that contains "pinocembrin", an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning.
Honeybees will usually travel approximately 5 miles from their hive for pollen and nectar.
A single honeybee will produce approximately 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
It would take about 1 ounce of honey to fuel a honeybee's flight around the world.
A honeybee has to travel over 55,000 miles and visits approximately 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey.
88% of pollination of fruit, vegetables and seed crops in the U.S. is accomplished by honeybees.
Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, compared with only 62 in fruit flies and 79 in mosquitoes. Their exceptional olfactory abilities include kin recognition signals, social communication within the hive, and odor recognition for finding food. Their sense of smell is so precise that it could differentiate hundreds of different floral varieties and tell whether a flower carried pollen or nectar from metres away.
A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work.
Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones), have no stinger and do no work at all. All they do is mating. In fact, before winter or when food becomes scarce, female honeybees usually force surviving males out of the nest.
Each honey bee colony has a unique odour for members' identification.
Honey bees make about 200 beats per second with their wings, creating their infamous buzzing sound. A worker bee in the summer lasts six to eight weeks. Wearing their wings out is the most common cause of their death.
Why did this happen? It's unknown at this time so she froze many many of the dead bees to give to a state inspector to help determine the cause. Not sure it will ever be known but the probable cause is pesticides. The actual pesticide may be hard to determine but another possible culprit may be the chemical used to kill lawns / crops named roundup. Some are even saying it may be the cause of colony collapse syndrome. Roundup is a cancer causing chemical that is sprayed on most of the corn people eat. Here's an article on the subject if you're interested http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/roundup-bees-zm0z10zarc.aspx?PageId=7
So to counteract the downer of reading about dead bees here's a couple "Fun Facts" that was on a beekeeping brochure from St. Pete College in addition to a few other online sources:
Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans. Honey is the oldest food in existence and it never spoils; it contains all the substances necessary to sustain life including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it's the only food that contains "pinocembrin", an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning.
Honeybees will usually travel approximately 5 miles from their hive for pollen and nectar.
A single honeybee will produce approximately 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
It would take about 1 ounce of honey to fuel a honeybee's flight around the world.
A honeybee has to travel over 55,000 miles and visits approximately 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey.
88% of pollination of fruit, vegetables and seed crops in the U.S. is accomplished by honeybees.
Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, compared with only 62 in fruit flies and 79 in mosquitoes. Their exceptional olfactory abilities include kin recognition signals, social communication within the hive, and odor recognition for finding food. Their sense of smell is so precise that it could differentiate hundreds of different floral varieties and tell whether a flower carried pollen or nectar from metres away.
A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work.
Larger than the worker bees, the male honey bees (also called drones), have no stinger and do no work at all. All they do is mating. In fact, before winter or when food becomes scarce, female honeybees usually force surviving males out of the nest.
Each honey bee colony has a unique odour for members' identification.
Honey bees make about 200 beats per second with their wings, creating their infamous buzzing sound. A worker bee in the summer lasts six to eight weeks. Wearing their wings out is the most common cause of their death.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
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.
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.
Monday, March 23, 2015
The Honeybee Garden
For the last couple weeks work has been progressing on the honeybee garden which sits approximately 30 feet behind the hives. Last weekend we planted the milkweed flowers and various other plants we had been accumulating. Also there were many seedlings that were ready to plant so those were added to the garden. Most of the seedlings were various varieties of sunflower but there were also Moringa (edible) and papaya seedlings. I'm finally getting the hang of starting plants from seeds which is much more gratifying than store bought plants.
A couple hundred bulbs were also planted in the garden including many varieties and colors of iris, gladiolas and a bunch whose names evade me now. A bag of mixed flower seeds (honeybee mix) was also sprinkled over the entire area. If everything grows as planned it should be very beautiful.
A couple of days after mowing the lawn with that riding lawnmower, several bees kept harassing me as I worked in the yard. Even when I wasn't even close to the hives a few chose to be quite annoying. Fortunately I was able to send them to bee heaven and it's been back to normal since ... kind of. The one very large hive by the chair where I used to sit and watch the bees seems to have a million guard bees hanging out on the landing entrance area. They don't seem to like me sitting there any longer and let me know it. It's like a bunch of gang members hanging out on a street corner and then I come along. A few of them want to show off in front of the other guard bees and have a good laugh as the lumbering human gets chased off. It's so humiliating ....
The original 2 raised beds are doing well but the new one is just ok. That one didn't get enough good compost and soil so it's going to need some extra TLC. Most of the plants are doing very well and we've been getting plenty of fresh tomatoes which is our favorite. And it looks like the mustard greens will be ready for picking soon.
The rain barrel system has been tweaked and a level indicator was installed. It rained right after it was installed so watching the indicator rise showed how quickly the rain barrels fill up. The plumbing with the new pump was also completed and works very well. Only thing that still needs to be installed is a backup system which will allow me to hook up a hose to city water in case the rain barrels run dry and the irrigation system needs to run. The (new) irrigation system will be installed later this week and should automate most of the watering. Because it takes a lot of time to water all these plants and you can't ignore that task.
A couple of days after mowing the lawn with that riding lawnmower, several bees kept harassing me as I worked in the yard. Even when I wasn't even close to the hives a few chose to be quite annoying. Fortunately I was able to send them to bee heaven and it's been back to normal since ... kind of. The one very large hive by the chair where I used to sit and watch the bees seems to have a million guard bees hanging out on the landing entrance area. They don't seem to like me sitting there any longer and let me know it. It's like a bunch of gang members hanging out on a street corner and then I come along. A few of them want to show off in front of the other guard bees and have a good laugh as the lumbering human gets chased off. It's so humiliating ....
The original 2 raised beds are doing well but the new one is just ok. That one didn't get enough good compost and soil so it's going to need some extra TLC. Most of the plants are doing very well and we've been getting plenty of fresh tomatoes which is our favorite. And it looks like the mustard greens will be ready for picking soon.
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| Growing corn in Florida should be interesting |
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| Slightly challenged raised bed |
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| Brussel sprouts |
The rain barrel system has been tweaked and a level indicator was installed. It rained right after it was installed so watching the indicator rise showed how quickly the rain barrels fill up. The plumbing with the new pump was also completed and works very well. Only thing that still needs to be installed is a backup system which will allow me to hook up a hose to city water in case the rain barrels run dry and the irrigation system needs to run. The (new) irrigation system will be installed later this week and should automate most of the watering. Because it takes a lot of time to water all these plants and you can't ignore that task.
Friday, March 20, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Monday, March 16, 2015
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 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.
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