Monday, December 16, 2013
Busy December Bees
I'm a little surprised by the how busy the bees are in December. The temperature is 56.7 degrees and it is a beautiful sunny Monday. Busy, Busy Bees...
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Extracting Our First Honey Harvest
We ordered our extractor from Walter T. Kelley Company and are very pleased with it. The extractor was easy to use and since the strainer and storage tank with honey gate are all included, harvesting the honey was not as tedious as I had imagined it would be.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Mid-Summer Starvation?
Well, a lot has happened with our bees since re-queening Hive 4 a couple of weeks ago.
We started out by going to BeeWell Honey in Pickens on Monday morning to get a fume board and Natural Honey Harvester. Hive 4 had a fairly full shallow super of honey and the bees just weren't looking that good, so we were going to try and salvage what we could of the hive. When we returned home, Husband went into Hive 4 and we were amazed to see that our Queen was alive and well! She was busy laying brood! We were so happy! He still pulled the shallow super off and moved it to Hive 3 to give the bees an opportunity to concentrate on reproducing within the hive. Last week, Husband had also built a boardman hive feeder and had started feeding the Hive 4 bees a sugar water mixture to help them along.
Currently, Hive 3 has 3 shallow supers ~ 2 are full of honey + the partial one from Hive 4. Hives 1 and 2 each have 2 shallow supers. After checking the shallow supers, it seemed to me that Hives 1 and 2 had "lazy bee" syndrome (my terminology). There was an abundance of bees and lots of activity, but no honey and very little comb.
Yesterday, I called one of my beekeeper friends to see if "lazy bee" is really a syndrome. When I explained to him what was going on in the Hives, he said that the bees were probably starving. I was shocked! As a new beekeeper, it seemed like all of the rain would have helped the bees, not hurt them.
I'm so thankful for people who are willing to share their bee knowledge! Husband mixed up a big pot of sugar water and filled 6 quart jars and placed them on a table away from the hives for the bees. They immediately began drinking the mixture. As of this evening, all of the jars are empty. It has poured rain all day, but the bees have ventured out to get sugar water.
Husband built more boardman feeders today and we plan to fill them tomorrow and place them on each hive with quarts of sugar water. Then the bees will be able to access it without having to fly out in the rain.
I would have never dreamed that bees would need supplemental food in the summer. I'm learning something new every day as a beekeeper.
We started out by going to BeeWell Honey in Pickens on Monday morning to get a fume board and Natural Honey Harvester. Hive 4 had a fairly full shallow super of honey and the bees just weren't looking that good, so we were going to try and salvage what we could of the hive. When we returned home, Husband went into Hive 4 and we were amazed to see that our Queen was alive and well! She was busy laying brood! We were so happy! He still pulled the shallow super off and moved it to Hive 3 to give the bees an opportunity to concentrate on reproducing within the hive. Last week, Husband had also built a boardman hive feeder and had started feeding the Hive 4 bees a sugar water mixture to help them along.
Currently, Hive 3 has 3 shallow supers ~ 2 are full of honey + the partial one from Hive 4. Hives 1 and 2 each have 2 shallow supers. After checking the shallow supers, it seemed to me that Hives 1 and 2 had "lazy bee" syndrome (my terminology). There was an abundance of bees and lots of activity, but no honey and very little comb.
Yesterday, I called one of my beekeeper friends to see if "lazy bee" is really a syndrome. When I explained to him what was going on in the Hives, he said that the bees were probably starving. I was shocked! As a new beekeeper, it seemed like all of the rain would have helped the bees, not hurt them.
I'm so thankful for people who are willing to share their bee knowledge! Husband mixed up a big pot of sugar water and filled 6 quart jars and placed them on a table away from the hives for the bees. They immediately began drinking the mixture. As of this evening, all of the jars are empty. It has poured rain all day, but the bees have ventured out to get sugar water.
Husband built more boardman feeders today and we plan to fill them tomorrow and place them on each hive with quarts of sugar water. Then the bees will be able to access it without having to fly out in the rain.
I would have never dreamed that bees would need supplemental food in the summer. I'm learning something new every day as a beekeeper.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Re-Queening and Getting Stung
Our new Queen arrived yesterday. We met the seller in Clemson. He was very nice and knowledgeable. Since we are new beekeepers, and we had seen a couple of empty Queen cells in Hive 4, he told us to take the Queen and her attendants and place the cage on top of the hive body frames to see if the bees were going to accept her. According to him, if there is a virgin Queen already in the hive, the bees will try to sting the cage with the new Queen. To be honest, we THINK the bees were NOT trying to sting the Queen, so we placed her in the hive. This bee business is not cut-and-dried for a new beekeeper. There's a lot of art along with the science of beekeeping. Were the bees facing the cage in an accepting manner or did they have their bottoms pointed toward the cage trying to sting it? Who can really say? Maybe we will be able to tell the difference with more experience.
My job was to hold the Queen and protect her as we traveled from Clemson back home. She was a $30 investment that I was trying my best to handle with care. All seemed well, we installed her in Hive 4 and then moved to Hive 3 to check the honey super. No problems, everything was moving smoothly.
Then, we moved to Hive 2. Pow! Sting on the right hand! Then, Pow! Sting on the right foot! I have worked the bees without gloves since the very beginning and prior to yesterday, I had only been stung once while inside the house rescuing my dog from a honey bee. I suit up with a veil, but haven't had a problem with not wearing gloves, until yesterday! When we went into Hive 1, the unthinkable happened! Pow! Stung again on the right hand. The initial sting of a honey bee is a little painful, but it's the after effects that really cause the problems. The photo below is 24 hours after the initial stings on my right hand.
I'm sure that I'm not allergic to honey bee stings, but I did a Google search just to make sure the swelling wasn't excessive. Turns out that I'm in good shape. Many folks swell all the way to the elbow when experiencing a honey bee sting.
My husband thinks I should be more careful and begin wearing gloves, but I am going to try it one more time without gloves to see how things go. I'm beginning to think the pheromones from the Queen were on my right hand because I had carried her cage for at least 2 hours. Maybe the bees were just in a bad mood. Who knows? I will be happy when the swelling subsides.
My job was to hold the Queen and protect her as we traveled from Clemson back home. She was a $30 investment that I was trying my best to handle with care. All seemed well, we installed her in Hive 4 and then moved to Hive 3 to check the honey super. No problems, everything was moving smoothly.
Then, we moved to Hive 2. Pow! Sting on the right hand! Then, Pow! Sting on the right foot! I have worked the bees without gloves since the very beginning and prior to yesterday, I had only been stung once while inside the house rescuing my dog from a honey bee. I suit up with a veil, but haven't had a problem with not wearing gloves, until yesterday! When we went into Hive 1, the unthinkable happened! Pow! Stung again on the right hand. The initial sting of a honey bee is a little painful, but it's the after effects that really cause the problems. The photo below is 24 hours after the initial stings on my right hand.
I'm sure that I'm not allergic to honey bee stings, but I did a Google search just to make sure the swelling wasn't excessive. Turns out that I'm in good shape. Many folks swell all the way to the elbow when experiencing a honey bee sting.
My husband thinks I should be more careful and begin wearing gloves, but I am going to try it one more time without gloves to see how things go. I'm beginning to think the pheromones from the Queen were on my right hand because I had carried her cage for at least 2 hours. Maybe the bees were just in a bad mood. Who knows? I will be happy when the swelling subsides.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
3 Weeks Away From the Hives
We left for a trip Out West on July 4th and the bees were doing fine. Our friend, Bev stopped by and texted these pics on July 17th, almost 2 weeks into the trip. We returned home late on Tuesday, 7/23, and checked the hives on Wednesday, 7/24. The colony of bees in Hive 4 (in the bottom photo, hive 4 is on the left-hand side) were acting a little crazy. They were flying around and around the hive. On Thursday, 7/25, my husband went into the hive and there was no Queen, no larva, no pupae, no nothing. Just a whole lot of bees with no leader.
We called our local bee suppliers and neither place had a Queen in stock. However, the SC Beekeepers were holding their annual meeting in Clemson and one of the suppliers gave me a gentleman's name and number. When I reached him by phone, he was at the beekeepers meeting and told me that he would have a Queen for us to pick up on Friday at the Clemson event.
I'm learning that you can never second guess what will happen with bees. They looked fine when we left and they looked fine 2 weeks into our trip. After checking everything out, it seems that the Queen took off for vacation when we did.
We called our local bee suppliers and neither place had a Queen in stock. However, the SC Beekeepers were holding their annual meeting in Clemson and one of the suppliers gave me a gentleman's name and number. When I reached him by phone, he was at the beekeepers meeting and told me that he would have a Queen for us to pick up on Friday at the Clemson event.
I'm learning that you can never second guess what will happen with bees. They looked fine when we left and they looked fine 2 weeks into our trip. After checking everything out, it seems that the Queen took off for vacation when we did.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Honey! Pure, Sweet Honey!
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| The "Girls" Working Hard for the Honey |
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| "Mini Me" and Me |
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| So Yummy! |
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| Our Taste-Tester |
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| Husband Checking Hive 3 |
We have been out of town quite a bit since the last time I posted. On May 17, my husband added honey supers to Hives 1, 3, and 4. Hive 2 is my weakest hive, so I added a couple of quart jars of sugar water + Honey B Healthy before we left to go out of town.
When we returned home around June 10, we checked the hives and the bees were beginning to build comb and make honey in Hives 1, 3, and 4, so we added a honey super to Hive 2.
We added food-grade foundation for cut comb to 10 of our frames and divided them between the 4 hives. Today, my husband checked Hive 3's honey super and two cut comb frames had capped honey. Well, actually one had capped honey and one had capped honey and capped brood. We removed our excluders from all of our hives prior to going out of town in May. It seemed like the excluders were hindering the honey production and we realized that removing them would open up the possibility of brood getting in the honey super. Using excluders seems to be a personal preference among beekeepers. My opinion is that it is worth taking the risk of giving up a few frames of honey to brood rather than working the bees to death with trying to move up and down through the excluder. We tried plastic and metal and both types were a hindrance in my opinion.
It was an exciting day as we harvested the one frame of cut comb! Our Granddaughter E loves honey and eats it everyday, so she was our "taste tester". E approved, so that passes the test at our house.
We are hopeful that the bees will stay healthy and continue to produce. We added an additional honey super to Hive 3 today. And Husband is working to get supers and frames assembled for Hives 1 and 4. We plan to add those this upcoming week.
What a blessing it is to be a beekeeper!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Hive Top Feeders - Not for Me!
As a new beekeeper, I read lots and lots of material about beekeeping. I watch lots and lots of YouTube videos about beekeeping. I talk to lots and lots of experienced beekeepers about their best practices. After all of this input, I decided to use hive top feeders on my hives this year. I purchased the feeders from a reputable company (which I will not name in this post). What a let-down! What seems like a great idea and an easy way to feed the bees is one big mess in my opinion.
Again, I'm new to this, but here's the "real deal": The hive top feeders have floating panels in two separate sections. You prepare your sugar water mixture, place the feeder on top of your brood chamber / super / whatever, and then pour the sugar water mixture in. Yes, it does hold more sugar water mixture than jar feeders. That's the only positive that I could find.
After a week, I went back to check the feeders. There was at least 100 dead bees floating around in the feeder. The "floating" panels are more of a trap than a way for the bees to "safely" drink. It seems that when one bee drowns, another bee tries to help, and then it drowns, and so on and so on. My husband is creative, so he decided to add styrofoam pieces to each of the panels. We tested the design and it looked like the drowning problem would be resolved.
After week 2 of using the hive top feeder with the new panel design, I went into the hive again. To my dismay, I had more dead bees than the week 1 check AND some type of larva living in the sugar water. To say it was disgusting is an understatement!
Lesson learned ~ I really don't want to trash the hive top feeders. I would really like to sell them to someone who likes them more than I do. 4 of them at around $20 each is a very expensive lesson.
And that's my rant of the decade!
On a happier note, the ladies are working hard for the honey! I'm planning to add a honey super on Friday!
Again, I'm new to this, but here's the "real deal": The hive top feeders have floating panels in two separate sections. You prepare your sugar water mixture, place the feeder on top of your brood chamber / super / whatever, and then pour the sugar water mixture in. Yes, it does hold more sugar water mixture than jar feeders. That's the only positive that I could find.
After a week, I went back to check the feeders. There was at least 100 dead bees floating around in the feeder. The "floating" panels are more of a trap than a way for the bees to "safely" drink. It seems that when one bee drowns, another bee tries to help, and then it drowns, and so on and so on. My husband is creative, so he decided to add styrofoam pieces to each of the panels. We tested the design and it looked like the drowning problem would be resolved.
After week 2 of using the hive top feeder with the new panel design, I went into the hive again. To my dismay, I had more dead bees than the week 1 check AND some type of larva living in the sugar water. To say it was disgusting is an understatement!
Lesson learned ~ I really don't want to trash the hive top feeders. I would really like to sell them to someone who likes them more than I do. 4 of them at around $20 each is a very expensive lesson.
And that's my rant of the decade!
On a happier note, the ladies are working hard for the honey! I'm planning to add a honey super on Friday!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Another Week as a NewBee Beekeeper
This week has been cooler than normal. It is almost the end of April and it feels like late Fall instead of Spring. Today, Hive 2 celebrated one week in their new home. I opened the hive yesterday afternoon and checked to see if the Queen had been released and she was out of her cage. I never saw the Queen, but the bees were working building comb and gathering pollen and nectar. There were a few eggs in the frames, so she must be alive. I'm still such a newbee at this that I'm not even sure that is the correct terminology. I added 2 more quarts of sugar water HoneyBHealthy mixture, but these bees don't seem to be drinking as much as Hive 1 did. I think it must be because more pollen and nectar is available to them since we are moving into May soon.
Another great thing happened this week. Brushy Mountain Bee Farm had a posting on their Facebook page advertising a free webinar for Hive Tracks. We had been trying to track our hives using a combination of memory, notebook, and this blog. Finding out about Hive Tracks has been a true blessing! Everything is now in one place!
Check out this info from Hive Tracks Facebook page (there's also a link to their website below).
And did I mention that the web based application is FREE!
Hive Tracks (www.hivetracks.com
) is a web based application for beekeepers. It's easy to use and makes learning beekeeping, keeping records, tracking weather and connecting with other beekeepers easy and fun!
General Information
Hive Tracks is a powerful web based application where you can keep track of your hives, queens, weather, inspections, feedings, medications and more. This service is FREE! |
| A map of the bee yards with beekeepers using Hive Tracks in our area. Listing your bee yard publicly is completely optional. |
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Moving On Up...
I added a medium super to Hive 1 today. When checking the frames, 7 of 10 had comb, capped brood, and stored sugar water / honey. My plans are to "marry" the deep body hive and the medium for the bees. If they fill both of those, I'll add a shallow super to see if we can get some honey this year. Time will tell.
On another note, I hate those darn small hive beetles! One of the hive traps had 4 or so dead beetles. It's hard to believe that those pesky things can find a hive so quickly!
On another note, I hate those darn small hive beetles! One of the hive traps had 4 or so dead beetles. It's hard to believe that those pesky things can find a hive so quickly!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Bee Day at Bee Well in Pickens - Redeaux
This morning we went to Bee Well in Pickens to pick up our bees for hives 2 & 4. The owner donated 20 packages of bees to new Beekeepers who completed our county's extension club training. There was a drawing at the end of our last class and my husband and I each won a package. Packages of Italian bees are selling for $80 this year, so winning was a much appreciated surprise.
Hive 2 is mine and I plan to install the Queen differently this time to see if I can avoid a mess of burr comb. We shall see. I'm using a very small nail to place the cage with strap onto one of the middle frames. I'm adding a rubber band to hold the cage against the foundation. For Hive 1, I only used a rubber band. When I went into the hive for the first time, the cage and burr comb fell into the bottom of the hive. It was not a pretty sight.
The weather is rather cool today for mid-to-late April. I had planned to use the hive top feeder with this package, but have reconsidered due to the expected low temp of near 40 this evening. I don't want the girls to be without sugar water because they can't leave the cluster, so I'm using 2 quart jars on the bases that my husband made.
Hive 1 appears to be doing well and I am going to leave them alone for at least another week before opening the hive to check their progress. I did place a hive top feeder on their hive last Sunday and opened the top only on Thursday to refill.
Another day of working for the Queen.
~ Donna
Hive 2 is mine and I plan to install the Queen differently this time to see if I can avoid a mess of burr comb. We shall see. I'm using a very small nail to place the cage with strap onto one of the middle frames. I'm adding a rubber band to hold the cage against the foundation. For Hive 1, I only used a rubber band. When I went into the hive for the first time, the cage and burr comb fell into the bottom of the hive. It was not a pretty sight.
The weather is rather cool today for mid-to-late April. I had planned to use the hive top feeder with this package, but have reconsidered due to the expected low temp of near 40 this evening. I don't want the girls to be without sugar water because they can't leave the cluster, so I'm using 2 quart jars on the bases that my husband made.
Hive 1 appears to be doing well and I am going to leave them alone for at least another week before opening the hive to check their progress. I did place a hive top feeder on their hive last Sunday and opened the top only on Thursday to refill.
Another day of working for the Queen.
~ Donna
Friday, April 19, 2013
Looking for a Queen
On Sunday, April 7, one week and one day after installing my first package of bees, I opened the hive to see how things were progressing. Here's a video of that day's adventure in beekeeping:
Looking for a Queen
It was a very distressing and disturbing time as I did not expect to see the Queen box and a clump of burr comb the size of a dinner plate on the bottom of my hive. I ended up closing the hive and leaving the "mess" in there.
The following week, I consulted with everybody I could think of who might be able to guide me in finding a solution. All of the answers, except one, were "Wow! I've never heard of that before!".
My husband and I went to Carolina Bee Company in Travelers Rest last Saturday to buy a couple of deep body hives. While there, I talked to one of the owners about my dilemma and he said, "That burr comb must come out." So, when we returned home on Saturday afternoon, I donned by bee suit and veil AND gloves (which I don't normally wear) and went in and removed all of the "mess" that I had left during my previous "visit" to the hive.
The good news is...I finally met the Queen! And, as it stands today, I am working for the Queen. I knew that the worker bees (and Drones) existed for the Queen, but I didn't realize the level of my employment to her until Saturday.
Humbly Serving Her Highness,
~ Donna
Looking for a Queen
It was a very distressing and disturbing time as I did not expect to see the Queen box and a clump of burr comb the size of a dinner plate on the bottom of my hive. I ended up closing the hive and leaving the "mess" in there.
The following week, I consulted with everybody I could think of who might be able to guide me in finding a solution. All of the answers, except one, were "Wow! I've never heard of that before!".
My husband and I went to Carolina Bee Company in Travelers Rest last Saturday to buy a couple of deep body hives. While there, I talked to one of the owners about my dilemma and he said, "That burr comb must come out." So, when we returned home on Saturday afternoon, I donned by bee suit and veil AND gloves (which I don't normally wear) and went in and removed all of the "mess" that I had left during my previous "visit" to the hive.
The good news is...I finally met the Queen! And, as it stands today, I am working for the Queen. I knew that the worker bees (and Drones) existed for the Queen, but I didn't realize the level of my employment to her until Saturday.
Humbly Serving Her Highness,
~ Donna
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Food for the Ladies
Sugar and Water 1:1 mix + Honey B Healthy 1 1/2 teaspoon per quart.
During the first week, our bees were consuming 1 quart every other day per hive.
During the first week, our bees were consuming 1 quart every other day per hive.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Beekeeping NewBee ~ Installing My First Package of Bees
This is a video of me installing my first package of bees. What a learning experience! While reading books and attending classes about beekeeping is helpful, there is nothing like working with those bees for the first time "up-close and personal"...
Installing My First Package of Bees
Thanks to Bee Well Honey Farm Market in Pickens for such healthy bees!
~ Donna
Installing My First Package of Bees
Thanks to Bee Well Honey Farm Market in Pickens for such healthy bees!
~ Donna
Friday, March 29, 2013
Countdown to Bee Day!
Wow! How the time has flown! When I was dreaming of becoming a beekeeper, it seemed like something that I would do "in the future". Well, the future is almost here. Hubby and I attended our small town's Christmas parade back in early December. Our local beekeepers club had a float in the parade and club members were handing out fliers for their upcoming January beekeeper training. Who knew?! Training for learning about beekeeping?!
We began the course in January and met for 3 or 4 Saturdays for intense training. All along, we knew that the SC State Certification required a test and a practicum within a year of passing the test. The instructors gave out lots of papers, notes, a BOOK (very important, the BOOK), we watched videos about beekeeping, etc. When test day came, I had already planned a shopping / lunch day with friends. Hubby encouraged me to come back early so that we could review our materials one more time before testing. Did I mention that I'm not much for listening? I returned from shopping about 20 minutes before time to go and test. To summarize, hubby passed the test and I failed (one point shy of the minimum score), and I did NOT pass.
Our club held it's March meeting a couple of weeks ago. At the meeting, I learned that about 3/4 of the class didn't pass. Guess what ~ the ones who didn't pass, didn't read the BOOK. Yes, that BOOK! Our State Beekeeping Board is reviewing the class content and the test. An "embellishment" class was held this past Saturday for those of us who failed. I was out of town on business, so I didn't attend, BUT I am now reading the BOOK.
We began the course in January and met for 3 or 4 Saturdays for intense training. All along, we knew that the SC State Certification required a test and a practicum within a year of passing the test. The instructors gave out lots of papers, notes, a BOOK (very important, the BOOK), we watched videos about beekeeping, etc. When test day came, I had already planned a shopping / lunch day with friends. Hubby encouraged me to come back early so that we could review our materials one more time before testing. Did I mention that I'm not much for listening? I returned from shopping about 20 minutes before time to go and test. To summarize, hubby passed the test and I failed (one point shy of the minimum score), and I did NOT pass.
Our club held it's March meeting a couple of weeks ago. At the meeting, I learned that about 3/4 of the class didn't pass. Guess what ~ the ones who didn't pass, didn't read the BOOK. Yes, that BOOK! Our State Beekeeping Board is reviewing the class content and the test. An "embellishment" class was held this past Saturday for those of us who failed. I was out of town on business, so I didn't attend, BUT I am now reading the BOOK.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Today's Wall Street Journal
I'm finding that I'm a lazy blogger, with lots of notes to add to my blog, and hopefully, I will get them logged here one day soon. BUT, I'm an excellent "pinner" on Pinterest. Pinning is like shorthand to me (again the lazy way out). Anyway, earlier today when I was "pinning", I opened a new tab and started searching for decorated bee hives on Google. Well, one thing lead to another and I ended up on the Williams-Sonoma website looking at their "Agrarian line". That sounds pretty fancy-smancy, doesn't it? Along with bees, I would like to have chickens someday, so I pinned a very cute $1300 chicken coop. A few hours later, when I finally settled in to read today's newspaper, I saw the exact chicken coop on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/XTsNlu
Don't be mislead, I'm not a high-end consumer who subscribes to the WSJ for financial advise. Maybe I will elaborate in another post about how I ended up subscribing to the WSJ. Now, back on subject. Today's WSJ had a very nice article about the "modern homesteader" craze. I don't know about all that, but I'm happy to see that other folks are getting interested in beekeeping. Very cool!
Here's a picture of the coop:
Cedar Plank Coop and Run with Planter, from Williams-Sonoma http://bit.ly/Wziia2
Monday, January 28, 2013
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