Now in Part 2 I show how I extract the honey from the combs with inexpensive (less than $40 USD) equipment.
In Part 1 I showed how to remove honey supers from a hive easily and without disturbing the bees.
Video Link
For more information about the expense of wax production.
Showing posts with label honeycomb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honeycomb. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Harvesting Honey Part 1 - Bee Vlog - Aug 29, 2016
In Part 1 I show how to remove honey supers from a hive easily and without disturbing the bees.
Come back for Part 2 where I extract the honey from the combs with inexpensive (less than $40 USD) equipment.
Video Link
Video Link
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Honey Extraction - Bee Vlog - Aug 20, 2015
One of the criticisms and downsides of not using foundation is the difficulty in extracting the honey without destroying the comb. I decided to see how well my comb holds up in a radial extractor. Will it explode?
I was also interviewed on the Kiwimana Buzz show. I had a great time talking about beekeeping in Portland and how I create my videos. You can listen to the show here.
More on crush & strain harvesting.
The t-shirt: "We are all batpeople"
Video Link
I was also interviewed on the Kiwimana Buzz show. I had a great time talking about beekeeping in Portland and how I create my videos. You can listen to the show here.
More on crush & strain harvesting.
The t-shirt: "We are all batpeople"
Video Link
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Melting Down Brood Comb - Bee Vlog - Mar 10, 2014
It takes a bit of time and some sacrificial equipment, but melting bees wax isn't difficult.
I just set up a Facebook page. I'm trying to get the minimum required 25 "Likes" to qualify for a custom URL. So if you use Facebook please visit and "Like" my page.
You can also follow me on Twitter or Google+.
Video Link
I just set up a Facebook page. I'm trying to get the minimum required 25 "Likes" to qualify for a custom URL. So if you use Facebook please visit and "Like" my page.
You can also follow me on Twitter or Google+.
Video Link
Monday, March 10, 2014
What makes the comb black? - Bee Vlog - Mar 1, 2014
Fresh wax is white or cream colored. As it ages it darkens due to other products the bees apply to it, such as propolis. But the thing that makes it appear almost black is the thin casings left behind after the adult bee emerges from the cell. Each generation leaves a thin layer behind that darkens over time and use.
Video Link
Video Link
Monday, August 5, 2013
Bee Vlog - August 3, 2013
Queen Beatrice and Queen Flora have enough surplus honey that I can now harvest some of it. Beatrice weighs 176 lbs (132 lbs after harvest). Flora weighs 166 lbs (149 lbs after harvest. Even though Flora was 1 box shorter she essentially weighs the same. The 10 lbs difference is approximately the weight of an empty box.
I only took 5 frames from Beatrice and 2 frames from Flora. It isn't the harvest I was hoping to get because there was still some good honey frames that weren't fully ripened yet. Even though the main nectar flow is over it may have been too early to attempt a harvest. I need to give them a little more time to ripen and cap the honey. So I might be doing another harvest in a month. I do want to make sure not to take too much though so I can leave them enough to over-winter.
In this video I demonstrate 2 methods of doing crush & strain. Two of the frames I didn't crush, I just cut out sections and stored them in some storage containers for "cut comb." It can be eaten as-is, chunks can be cut off to sweeten oatmeal, or eat with cheese and crackers, etc.
Video Link
I only took 5 frames from Beatrice and 2 frames from Flora. It isn't the harvest I was hoping to get because there was still some good honey frames that weren't fully ripened yet. Even though the main nectar flow is over it may have been too early to attempt a harvest. I need to give them a little more time to ripen and cap the honey. So I might be doing another harvest in a month. I do want to make sure not to take too much though so I can leave them enough to over-winter.
In this video I demonstrate 2 methods of doing crush & strain. Two of the frames I didn't crush, I just cut out sections and stored them in some storage containers for "cut comb." It can be eaten as-is, chunks can be cut off to sweeten oatmeal, or eat with cheese and crackers, etc.
Video Link
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| Raw honey after straining |
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| Cut comb |
Friday, August 2, 2013
Bee Vlog - July 28, 2013
I attended a treatment-free beekeeping conference at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR. This was the first year this particular conference was put on and I'd say it was a big success. It was great to hear some lectures and have workshops with some experts in the field, as well as meet and network with other beekeepers from all over the US, Canada, and even as far as New Zealand!
This video is broken up into 3 parts. The first was a mini-workshop on swarms, taught by Dr Tom Seeley (auther of "Honeybee Democracy"). The 2nd part features some musical selections performed by Timothy Sellers from Artichoke. The 3rd part was a queen grafting workshop taught by Melanie Kirby from Zia Queenbee.
There were also lectures from Dr. Seeley, Dr. Deborah Delaney, Kirk Webster, Dr. Sujaya Rao, Eliese Watson, Dr. Lynn Royce. And workshops taught by Les Crowder and Matt Reed. I didn't get any video of any of the lectures or other workshops, but I'll update this post with links to videos other people put online as they get posted.
Dr. Tom Seeley - Honeybee Democracy (video by beethinking)
Dr. Deborah Delaney - The Sustainability of Honeybees (video by beethinking)
Video Link
This video is broken up into 3 parts. The first was a mini-workshop on swarms, taught by Dr Tom Seeley (auther of "Honeybee Democracy"). The 2nd part features some musical selections performed by Timothy Sellers from Artichoke. The 3rd part was a queen grafting workshop taught by Melanie Kirby from Zia Queenbee.
There were also lectures from Dr. Seeley, Dr. Deborah Delaney, Kirk Webster, Dr. Sujaya Rao, Eliese Watson, Dr. Lynn Royce. And workshops taught by Les Crowder and Matt Reed. I didn't get any video of any of the lectures or other workshops, but I'll update this post with links to videos other people put online as they get posted.
Dr. Tom Seeley - Honeybee Democracy (video by beethinking)
Dr. Deborah Delaney - The Sustainability of Honeybees (video by beethinking)
Video Link
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Bee Vlog - July 13, 2013
I'm bringing back the hive scale for some baseline measurements. I hear that the main nectar flow is over for my area so I'm taking weights to see how well all the hives did this year. This will also help me to track if another nectar flow starts up or if everything is done for the year. The weights and a chart are available at my apiary page.
It's also been 2 weeks since installing the quilt boxes on 2 of the hives and I wanted to see if they've started chewing through the canvas bottom. I'd like to put quilt boxes on all the hives this winter, but need to first test things out with this design.
All the hives but one seem to be doing just fine. The one hive, Queen Isabella (a cutout from June 1, rescued from a townhouse attic), just isn't growing as I would expect. The population seems to be dwindling. There's good looking brood, plenty of pollen, but very little honey. I'll check on them again in 2-3 weeks and see if things have improved. If they still look weak then I'll give them a boost from a frame of brood and a frame of honey from a strong hive and reduce their space to one box.
Video Link
It's also been 2 weeks since installing the quilt boxes on 2 of the hives and I wanted to see if they've started chewing through the canvas bottom. I'd like to put quilt boxes on all the hives this winter, but need to first test things out with this design.
All the hives but one seem to be doing just fine. The one hive, Queen Isabella (a cutout from June 1, rescued from a townhouse attic), just isn't growing as I would expect. The population seems to be dwindling. There's good looking brood, plenty of pollen, but very little honey. I'll check on them again in 2-3 weeks and see if things have improved. If they still look weak then I'll give them a boost from a frame of brood and a frame of honey from a strong hive and reduce their space to one box.
Video Link
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Bee Vlog - July 6, 2013
I relocated my newest swarm, Queen Jezebel, to another yard. When I moved the hive I found a lot of dead workers piled up under the screened bottom board. Some still dying. Then this morning I saw more dead workers all around the hive, and witnessed some pretty aggressive behavior before and after I opened them up to add a second box. They were not aggressive with me...just each other.
This was a swarm I caught 2 weeks ago and they've been so crowded (thus...the addition of the 2nd box) I wondered if that has contributed to their attitude. But after showing the battle in this video to some other beeks, 2 possible hypotheses have emerged. 1) It's a robbing. 2) This swarm had 2 (or more) queens and the bees are at war to choose a winner (or a victor has emerged and the losers are being exiled).
The first one seems most likely, but weird given the fact that the same thing was happening in both locations. And, while it has some similarities, this doesn't look like a textbook robbing. So I like the 2nd hypothesis. During and after the inspection I got the vibe that there were 2 warring factions living in the same hive. But you'd think this kind of situation would have already been worked out. My personal 3rd hypothesis is that, as we enter a time of dearth this over populated hive can't feed everyone so some bees have got to go. Either way, this footage is getting archived for future reference.
Video Link
**UPDATE** Things settled down a bit after a couple of hours. Still some wrestling, but not as much activity. The next day everything looked normal. Typical foraging activity with pollen coming in.
This was a swarm I caught 2 weeks ago and they've been so crowded (thus...the addition of the 2nd box) I wondered if that has contributed to their attitude. But after showing the battle in this video to some other beeks, 2 possible hypotheses have emerged. 1) It's a robbing. 2) This swarm had 2 (or more) queens and the bees are at war to choose a winner (or a victor has emerged and the losers are being exiled).
The first one seems most likely, but weird given the fact that the same thing was happening in both locations. And, while it has some similarities, this doesn't look like a textbook robbing. So I like the 2nd hypothesis. During and after the inspection I got the vibe that there were 2 warring factions living in the same hive. But you'd think this kind of situation would have already been worked out. My personal 3rd hypothesis is that, as we enter a time of dearth this over populated hive can't feed everyone so some bees have got to go. Either way, this footage is getting archived for future reference.
Video Link
**UPDATE** Things settled down a bit after a couple of hours. Still some wrestling, but not as much activity. The next day everything looked normal. Typical foraging activity with pollen coming in.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 29, 2013
While out inspecting hives I got word of a swarm just about a mile away. A quick and easy catch. I didn't keep this one. Gave it to a friend who was wanting to get a swarm.
Video Link
I've been wanting to install quilt boxes on my hives for a while now, but never found or created a design I liked...until now. One of the common problems I was seeing around the quilt box in general is trying to prevent the bees from chewing through the cloth. I think I may have solved it, but only time will tell. Queen Catherine and Guinevere get the quilts.
Oh my! Queen Catherine is bulging at the seams and needs a 4th box ASAP. I just finished a couple boxes but they still need paint. I can barely keep up with the equipment demands!
I also built more top entrances and installed them on 2 of the larger hives (Beatrice & Flora). When I used an entrance like this last summer I found that the bees used them more for ventilation on hot days than actual egress.
Checked up on Queen Elizabeth to see if they might have too much room. They've filled out box #1 about 80%. Box #2 isn't getting used for brood or honey yet. But there are plenty of bees and they seem to be working on it to get it cleaned up and ready for use. So I left the configuration as-is.
Queen Isabella got her first inspection. Last weekend, after moving them out to the new location and leaving them locked up for 3 days they were very angry and attacked me when I set them free last Monday. So they've had the week to cool off and they seem to be doing fine now. Box #2 is full and is being used for all the brood and food at the moment. But there are bees working on the comb in Box #1.
Video Link
Video Link
I've been wanting to install quilt boxes on my hives for a while now, but never found or created a design I liked...until now. One of the common problems I was seeing around the quilt box in general is trying to prevent the bees from chewing through the cloth. I think I may have solved it, but only time will tell. Queen Catherine and Guinevere get the quilts.
Oh my! Queen Catherine is bulging at the seams and needs a 4th box ASAP. I just finished a couple boxes but they still need paint. I can barely keep up with the equipment demands!
I also built more top entrances and installed them on 2 of the larger hives (Beatrice & Flora). When I used an entrance like this last summer I found that the bees used them more for ventilation on hot days than actual egress.
Checked up on Queen Elizabeth to see if they might have too much room. They've filled out box #1 about 80%. Box #2 isn't getting used for brood or honey yet. But there are plenty of bees and they seem to be working on it to get it cleaned up and ready for use. So I left the configuration as-is.
Queen Isabella got her first inspection. Last weekend, after moving them out to the new location and leaving them locked up for 3 days they were very angry and attacked me when I set them free last Monday. So they've had the week to cool off and they seem to be doing fine now. Box #2 is full and is being used for all the brood and food at the moment. But there are bees working on the comb in Box #1.
Video Link
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 24, 2013
A swarm call was posted up on Facebook and after seeing that it was located just around the corner from my house I just had to take it.
This swarm has been sitting in the tree looking for a home for 3-4 days. I should have taken that into consideration before shaking them out of the tree. I've dealt with swarms before in this fashion with no problems whatsoever, but this one was less tolerant and I took quite a few stings on my arms and hands. Because of this, I'm naming this one Queen Jezebel.
Video Link
This swarm has been sitting in the tree looking for a home for 3-4 days. I should have taken that into consideration before shaking them out of the tree. I've dealt with swarms before in this fashion with no problems whatsoever, but this one was less tolerant and I took quite a few stings on my arms and hands. Because of this, I'm naming this one Queen Jezebel.
Video Link
Monday, June 24, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 22, 2013
A quick inspection for Queens Flora & Beatrice just to check space. Flora is ready for another box, while Beatrice is slowly making progress in the top super.
I moved Queen Helen from Outyard #1 to Outyard #4 so I can have a minimum of 2 hives at each outyard. The move is less than 2 miles so I'm keeping them closed up for 3 days to force them to reorient and reduce the loss of foragers returning to the old site.
Then Queen Isabella gets her first inspection where I get my first exposure to wax moth. Nasty stuff! The wax moths where already invading the comb from the attic where I rescued them. And with more comb than the colony could guard the moths were starting to take over. The bees had done their best to try to chew out the cocoons, but hadn't finished the job yet. So I made it easier on them and just removed the mothy wax and reduced their living space to a more manageable size.
I put the mothy wax into the freezer to kill the larvae and any eggs. I'm debating if I want to just melt down the wax or save it for baiting hives next year. Maybe I'll save the better looking stuff and melt the rest.
Video Link
I moved Queen Helen from Outyard #1 to Outyard #4 so I can have a minimum of 2 hives at each outyard. The move is less than 2 miles so I'm keeping them closed up for 3 days to force them to reorient and reduce the loss of foragers returning to the old site.
Then Queen Isabella gets her first inspection where I get my first exposure to wax moth. Nasty stuff! The wax moths where already invading the comb from the attic where I rescued them. And with more comb than the colony could guard the moths were starting to take over. The bees had done their best to try to chew out the cocoons, but hadn't finished the job yet. So I made it easier on them and just removed the mothy wax and reduced their living space to a more manageable size.
I put the mothy wax into the freezer to kill the larvae and any eggs. I'm debating if I want to just melt down the wax or save it for baiting hives next year. Maybe I'll save the better looking stuff and melt the rest.
Video Link
Monday, June 10, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 8, 2013
Queen Guinevere and Queen Dulce are ready for a new box. In this video I show the details of how I "pyramid up" to expand the brood nest and encourage the bees to move up into the new box.
Video Link
The trap-out experiment is at an end. The hive in the wall appears dead or trapped and will soon be dead. There were a good number of survivors in the hive body, but they are queenless. Rather than take eggs from a strong hive and basically create a split, I decided to just add these bees to another smaller colony (Queen Elizabeth) that could really use the boost in population. I used the newspaper method of combining the 2 colonies and will check up on them again in another 7 days.
It was interesting to observe the difference in behavior of a queenless colony. They still worked together and were loyal to the hive, but they were also less active, less interested in working, and almost seemed melancholy. They were still foraging, but at a less active pace.
I left the mesh cone in place just in case there are still remaining bees in the wall that are alive and work their way out. They'll either find a new hive to move into (there are some hives just across the field) or they'll die off. There won't be many though. I'll return in a couple weeks to clean up the cone and window and seal things off.
Video Link
Video Link
The trap-out experiment is at an end. The hive in the wall appears dead or trapped and will soon be dead. There were a good number of survivors in the hive body, but they are queenless. Rather than take eggs from a strong hive and basically create a split, I decided to just add these bees to another smaller colony (Queen Elizabeth) that could really use the boost in population. I used the newspaper method of combining the 2 colonies and will check up on them again in another 7 days.
It was interesting to observe the difference in behavior of a queenless colony. They still worked together and were loyal to the hive, but they were also less active, less interested in working, and almost seemed melancholy. They were still foraging, but at a less active pace.
I left the mesh cone in place just in case there are still remaining bees in the wall that are alive and work their way out. They'll either find a new hive to move into (there are some hives just across the field) or they'll die off. There won't be many though. I'll return in a couple weeks to clean up the cone and window and seal things off.
Video Link
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Bee Vlog - June 1, 2013
We had another cutout to do today. This one was in the attic space of a townhome. It took a few tries to figure out exactly which wall/attic cavity was being used. It was a huge hive with the potential of getting much bigger.
Removal went smoothly. There was quite a bit of honey, so everything got very sticky. We found the queen, Isabella, and caged her up to keep her safe. In the end we filled 2 medium hive bodies with comb (all 20 frames) and 2 buckets with bees. We moved the hive to their new home, released the queen, and emptied the 2 buckets into the hive, giving them a 3rd box for additional expansion.
One thing I love about doing cutouts is seeing how the bees organize their comb in a "natural" setting. One thing I really dislike is the attitude I sometimes feel towards the bees. When you're working in an uncomfortable situation, struggling against the sticky honey and awkward arrangements, taking stings here and there, you start to feel a little like you're at war. It's you vs the bees. I don't like that feeling and I don't want it to change how I work with the bees, so I try to leave that attitude at the job site and not take it home with me.
Video Link
Removal went smoothly. There was quite a bit of honey, so everything got very sticky. We found the queen, Isabella, and caged her up to keep her safe. In the end we filled 2 medium hive bodies with comb (all 20 frames) and 2 buckets with bees. We moved the hive to their new home, released the queen, and emptied the 2 buckets into the hive, giving them a 3rd box for additional expansion.
One thing I love about doing cutouts is seeing how the bees organize their comb in a "natural" setting. One thing I really dislike is the attitude I sometimes feel towards the bees. When you're working in an uncomfortable situation, struggling against the sticky honey and awkward arrangements, taking stings here and there, you start to feel a little like you're at war. It's you vs the bees. I don't like that feeling and I don't want it to change how I work with the bees, so I try to leave that attitude at the job site and not take it home with me.
Video Link
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Bee Vlog - May 25, 2013
It's been a busy swarm season for me. I caught 3 swarms and did 3 cutouts. This video shows the progress all these bee colonies have made so far. We got to see Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Helen. It was quite good luck to see Queen Helen, as we did not see her during the cutout (May 18th), but it looks like she pulled through just fine.
Queen Guinevere seems to have Varroa mite problems. One of the workers had deformed wings caused by a virus transmitted by mites. Quite a few mites were found on the board under the bottom screen. I didn't do an exact count to see how bad the infestation is, but it does look high. Of course, the board has been in there for nearly a month, so it could just be that. I do not apply treatments, but I will be watching this colony to see how well they pull through.
Queen Dulce and Queen Guinevere are growing nicely and will be ready for a 2nd box in the next week or two.
I also plan on building some quilt boxes to place on top of the hives to give that a test.
Video Link
Queen Guinevere seems to have Varroa mite problems. One of the workers had deformed wings caused by a virus transmitted by mites. Quite a few mites were found on the board under the bottom screen. I didn't do an exact count to see how bad the infestation is, but it does look high. Of course, the board has been in there for nearly a month, so it could just be that. I do not apply treatments, but I will be watching this colony to see how well they pull through.
Queen Dulce and Queen Guinevere are growing nicely and will be ready for a 2nd box in the next week or two.
I also plan on building some quilt boxes to place on top of the hives to give that a test.
Video Link
Monday, May 20, 2013
Bee Vlog - May 18, 2013
Someone contacted me about a beehive living in a pillar in the front porch of their house. It has been there for about 4 years and they've tried killing it a few times with bee & wasp killer. Each time it was sprayed it set back the colony a bit, but never completely killed it. They've also had other people out to try to seal up the opening with expanding foam, tar, and caulking, but that never really worked either, as the bees just chewed through and reopened it.
It took about 4 hours just to get the pillar open. We took a great deal of care in removing the cedar siding so it could be reassembled easily. But then we discovered some OSB that was nailed in place and refused to pull free. So cutting it open was the only option.
The hive looked like they had recently swarmed, but with no queen cells to be found. There were no drones, some young larva, but no eggs, and we never found the queen. The comb was very dark. They had very little capped honey. Just for safety, I gave them a frame of eggs and brood of all stages to give them the opportunity to raise a queen, should they need to.
Video Link
It took about 4 hours just to get the pillar open. We took a great deal of care in removing the cedar siding so it could be reassembled easily. But then we discovered some OSB that was nailed in place and refused to pull free. So cutting it open was the only option.
The hive looked like they had recently swarmed, but with no queen cells to be found. There were no drones, some young larva, but no eggs, and we never found the queen. The comb was very dark. They had very little capped honey. Just for safety, I gave them a frame of eggs and brood of all stages to give them the opportunity to raise a queen, should they need to.
Video Link
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Bee Vlog - May 7, 2013
Back to the same farm where I did the chicken coop cutout, this time a swarm has just recently moved into the wall/ceiling of the house. They really put themselves in a difficult spot this time. It would be very costly to attempt a cutout, so I'm giving a try with a trap out.
I made a cone from some window screen material and stapled it as best I could around the opening they are using in the wall. I'll return tomorrow to make sure I did a thorough job in closing off all openings. If they can find another way into the hive then the trap out just won't work.
Video Link
I made a cone from some window screen material and stapled it as best I could around the opening they are using in the wall. I'll return tomorrow to make sure I did a thorough job in closing off all openings. If they can find another way into the hive then the trap out just won't work.
Video Link
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Bee Vlog - May 4, 2013
Dulce & Elizabeth
I moved the baited swarm, Queen Elizabeth, to their new home. It's a very small colony. Only occupying half of 3 frames. But there are eggs present and they seem to be doing well.
Queen Dulce is really doing superb. 7 of the frames are drawn down. There's eggs and plenty of food coming in.
Both swarms started at the same time, but with significantly different numbers. So it should be interesting to see how they compare to each other.
Video Link
Catherine & Guinevere
The swarm I caught on May 1, Queen Guinevere, needed to be moved to their new home. This was a more simple move of just closing up the hive the night before, moving it, then opening it back up again. I guess I moved this one far enough away that no foragers or drones came back to their old location.
I checked the bottom empty box on Queen Catherine to see if they've moved in there yet. I suppose they don't need the room yet because they haven't moved down there.
My attempt to do even a minor inspection without a smoker was not the best idea. I did get an aggressive sting. The bees were much more on guard this time.
Video Link
Beatrice & Flora
Queen Catherine came from a hive I cut out of an RV last week. I didn't need to do an inspection, but I was curious about what happened to the queen cells I left them with. It turns out that the hive changed its mind about swarming and/or requeening and has destroyed the queen cells.
I suppose at the time of the cutout I could have just split the hive. I had a queen and knew where she was. I also had queen cells. But because cutouts are such a mess, and the hive really has to spend some time healing (it's basically like a major surgery), I didn't want to take any risks. Besides I didn't know if either the queen cells or the queen had become damaged in the process. So I kept it just as one hive and let the bees figure it out.
Queen Beatrice is a really strong colony. They haven't made too much progress in the new top box, which I'm okay with. I don't really want them growing too fast anyway. I'll take slow and steady.
Video Link
Lost Foragers
When I relocated Queen Elizabeth from the bait hive to their new location, I only moved them about 1/4 mile. There's an old saying that you have to move them 2 feet or 2 miles. Anything in between and the foragers can go astray and not make their way back to their new home. Well, this was an opportunity for me to learn that lesson the hard way.
There are ways to move a hive less than 2 miles, but I didn't observe those methods here. When I moved them I closed them up at night to make sure everyone was home. Then the next morning I moved them to the new spot, took the frames out and put them in the new hive. Unfortunately, the bees that didn't get put into the hive just flew off, not really knowing where they were, but they seemed to know the way back to the old place.
What I should have done instead is move them to the new spot and either leave them there closed up for 3 days, or just open the entrance and stuff some grass into it. Either way would force them to take orientation flights and reset their homing flight path. After they reorient I could then transfer the frames to the other box.
Video Link
I moved the baited swarm, Queen Elizabeth, to their new home. It's a very small colony. Only occupying half of 3 frames. But there are eggs present and they seem to be doing well.
Queen Dulce is really doing superb. 7 of the frames are drawn down. There's eggs and plenty of food coming in.
Both swarms started at the same time, but with significantly different numbers. So it should be interesting to see how they compare to each other.
Video Link
Catherine & Guinevere
The swarm I caught on May 1, Queen Guinevere, needed to be moved to their new home. This was a more simple move of just closing up the hive the night before, moving it, then opening it back up again. I guess I moved this one far enough away that no foragers or drones came back to their old location.
I checked the bottom empty box on Queen Catherine to see if they've moved in there yet. I suppose they don't need the room yet because they haven't moved down there.
My attempt to do even a minor inspection without a smoker was not the best idea. I did get an aggressive sting. The bees were much more on guard this time.
Video Link
Beatrice & Flora
Queen Catherine came from a hive I cut out of an RV last week. I didn't need to do an inspection, but I was curious about what happened to the queen cells I left them with. It turns out that the hive changed its mind about swarming and/or requeening and has destroyed the queen cells.
I suppose at the time of the cutout I could have just split the hive. I had a queen and knew where she was. I also had queen cells. But because cutouts are such a mess, and the hive really has to spend some time healing (it's basically like a major surgery), I didn't want to take any risks. Besides I didn't know if either the queen cells or the queen had become damaged in the process. So I kept it just as one hive and let the bees figure it out.
Queen Beatrice is a really strong colony. They haven't made too much progress in the new top box, which I'm okay with. I don't really want them growing too fast anyway. I'll take slow and steady.
Video Link
Lost Foragers
When I relocated Queen Elizabeth from the bait hive to their new location, I only moved them about 1/4 mile. There's an old saying that you have to move them 2 feet or 2 miles. Anything in between and the foragers can go astray and not make their way back to their new home. Well, this was an opportunity for me to learn that lesson the hard way.
There are ways to move a hive less than 2 miles, but I didn't observe those methods here. When I moved them I closed them up at night to make sure everyone was home. Then the next morning I moved them to the new spot, took the frames out and put them in the new hive. Unfortunately, the bees that didn't get put into the hive just flew off, not really knowing where they were, but they seemed to know the way back to the old place.
What I should have done instead is move them to the new spot and either leave them there closed up for 3 days, or just open the entrance and stuff some grass into it. Either way would force them to take orientation flights and reset their homing flight path. After they reorient I could then transfer the frames to the other box.
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Bee Vlog - May 1, 2013
An easy swarm catch, in the same neighborhood as the 2nd swarm I collected (Queen Dulce). So I wonder if they're coming from the same hive, or a different hive from the same beekeeper.
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Friday, May 3, 2013
Bee Vlog - April 28, 2013
After the cutout I still had 2 buckets of bees that needed to be assimilated into the hive. There wasn't sufficient room in just the one box for all these bees, so I added another box with empty, foundationless frames on the bottom, dumped half the bees in there, then dumped the rest into the top box. Wow, what a lot of bees. I'd estimate I pulled out at least 10 pounds of bees in this cutout.
When I released the queen the bees were so drawn up to the cage that it was difficult to get her out and get a good shot of her on camera, but we lucked out there and caught a quick glimpse.
Upon review of the video I noticed how overly excited the bees were to get to her. I know that most of these bees had been in the bucket overnight, and probably thought they were queenless. So I'm wondering if their actions of climbing all over the cage was an act of joy and celebration or aggressive "kill the intruder." I suppose we'll see soon when I do an inspection to see how well things are going.
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When I released the queen the bees were so drawn up to the cage that it was difficult to get her out and get a good shot of her on camera, but we lucked out there and caught a quick glimpse.
Upon review of the video I noticed how overly excited the bees were to get to her. I know that most of these bees had been in the bucket overnight, and probably thought they were queenless. So I'm wondering if their actions of climbing all over the cage was an act of joy and celebration or aggressive "kill the intruder." I suppose we'll see soon when I do an inspection to see how well things are going.
Video Link
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