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+.
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Showing posts with label natural comb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural comb. Show all posts
Thursday, March 13, 2014
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.
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Thursday, July 5, 2012
Bee Vlog - July 4, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 137.6 lbs (+7.2 lbs from 4 days ago)
Added a new empty super. New baseline: 150 lbs
Queen Beatrice: 49 lbs (+0.2 lbs from 4 days ago)
No inspection today. Just adding a honey super. The weather is good, summer is finally here. I'm not sure if a nectar flow is on right now, but if there is they'll need the room.
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Showing our little patch of bee-friendly wildflowers. We planted Bachelor's Button, Phacilia (in bloom now), Borage (also in bloom), Catnip (didn't come up), Lemon Balm, & Lemon Mint.
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Queen Anne: 137.6 lbs (+7.2 lbs from 4 days ago)
Added a new empty super. New baseline: 150 lbs
Queen Beatrice: 49 lbs (+0.2 lbs from 4 days ago)
No inspection today. Just adding a honey super. The weather is good, summer is finally here. I'm not sure if a nectar flow is on right now, but if there is they'll need the room.
Video Link
Showing our little patch of bee-friendly wildflowers. We planted Bachelor's Button, Phacilia (in bloom now), Borage (also in bloom), Catnip (didn't come up), Lemon Balm, & Lemon Mint.
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Monday, June 25, 2012
Bee Vlog - June 23, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 117 lbs (+12.4 lbs from last week!!)
Queen Beatrice: 47.5 lbs (+2.5 lbs from last week)
I'm trying things a little different with the video length. I know the internet can often give us short attention spans so I've been trying to keep the videos somewhat short by breaking them up where it seemed most logical. But instead of breaking up this video into 3 or 4 shorter videos I just kept it as one piece and got a little more aggressive with the editing (cutting out most of the time where I'm just putting frames back or prying things apart). I kept this video focused just on Queen Anne though and have Queen Beatrice in the next part.
Some of my favorite YouTube series are longer length videos now, and I don't mind that they're 30-60 minutes. In fact, one show I like to watch is usually about 30 minutes each episode. They tried an experiment with breaking it up into 4 segments and the audience revolted. So maybe internet video is ready for longer formats and can stretch beyond the 3 minute mark. Let me know what you think in the comments, if you have a preference for more short-length chopped up videos (as I've been doing) or fewer long-length videos (like this one).
Anyway, on to the inspection - The brood pattern is still looking good and they have plenty of room in the brood nest. They continued to bring in a good supply of nectar (without me feeding them) and made some progress drawing out more comb and filling up their honey stores. There's a great deal of pollen in the hive, so no shortage there. In fact, I found it interesting the way they've organized their food stores. There's honey and pollen to be found in small quantities all over the hive, scattered within the brood nest to make for easy access. But the mass quantities of honey are stored, for the most part, in the top box, while the extra pollen is concentrated more in the bottom box.
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The swarm we caught 3 weeks ago (named Queen Beatrice) is doing very well. They have a very good looking brood nest and should be getting some "new recruits" this week. So far they haven't wasted any resources with building drone comb, but that's sure to change once the population gets higher and they have enough resources to spend on drones. They only gained 2.5 pounds over last week, but it looks to me like they've maxed out their comb capacity for the current population. I don't think they're going to be drawing out much more until they have more bees.
Video Link
Queen Anne: 117 lbs (+12.4 lbs from last week!!)
Queen Beatrice: 47.5 lbs (+2.5 lbs from last week)
I'm trying things a little different with the video length. I know the internet can often give us short attention spans so I've been trying to keep the videos somewhat short by breaking them up where it seemed most logical. But instead of breaking up this video into 3 or 4 shorter videos I just kept it as one piece and got a little more aggressive with the editing (cutting out most of the time where I'm just putting frames back or prying things apart). I kept this video focused just on Queen Anne though and have Queen Beatrice in the next part.
Some of my favorite YouTube series are longer length videos now, and I don't mind that they're 30-60 minutes. In fact, one show I like to watch is usually about 30 minutes each episode. They tried an experiment with breaking it up into 4 segments and the audience revolted. So maybe internet video is ready for longer formats and can stretch beyond the 3 minute mark. Let me know what you think in the comments, if you have a preference for more short-length chopped up videos (as I've been doing) or fewer long-length videos (like this one).
Anyway, on to the inspection - The brood pattern is still looking good and they have plenty of room in the brood nest. They continued to bring in a good supply of nectar (without me feeding them) and made some progress drawing out more comb and filling up their honey stores. There's a great deal of pollen in the hive, so no shortage there. In fact, I found it interesting the way they've organized their food stores. There's honey and pollen to be found in small quantities all over the hive, scattered within the brood nest to make for easy access. But the mass quantities of honey are stored, for the most part, in the top box, while the extra pollen is concentrated more in the bottom box.
Video Link
The swarm we caught 3 weeks ago (named Queen Beatrice) is doing very well. They have a very good looking brood nest and should be getting some "new recruits" this week. So far they haven't wasted any resources with building drone comb, but that's sure to change once the population gets higher and they have enough resources to spend on drones. They only gained 2.5 pounds over last week, but it looks to me like they've maxed out their comb capacity for the current population. I don't think they're going to be drawing out much more until they have more bees.
Video Link
Monday, June 18, 2012
Bee Vlog - June 16, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 104.6 lbs (+9.6 lbs from last week)
Queen Beatrice: 45 lbs (+2.5 lbs from last week)
Last week the hive looked near starvation. They had lost 7.5 lbs and had no honey stores so I put a feeder back on and gave them 1.5 quarts of 1:1 sugar syrup. They used all of it and it looks like it's really helped them get back on their feet (er...wings?) and they've built their honey stores back up again. I'm not giving them any syrup this week so I can see if there's a nectar flow on and if they are bringing any of it in.
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They are making good use of the comb in the 2nd box to raise brood and store some honey. But a couple of the frames that were new 2 weeks ago still don't have any comb drawn out, which puzzled me at first until later when I realized that the near starvation last week made it impossible for them to draw out that comb.
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Last week I found a couple frames of empty comb in the bottom box. These were frames that normally contained brood that had all emerged and the queen hadn't gotten back around to them yet. Today we spotted her on one of those frames and watched her lay eggs. It was nice seeing her do her thing and that she was laying in the empty comb. She has plenty of room to continue laying eggs. I don't think it will be necessary to expand the brood nest out any further. I think she's now being stretched to her limits.
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I verified that the last couple of frames are still very full of pollen. They have been bringing plenty of it in and have no shortage. I also need to get more experience stacking the hive boxes. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The bees just want to suddenly come crawling and flying out of the hive right when I'm trying to put another box in place and they just get in the way. The longer I take to try to avoid crushing them the more they come flowing out. I got very frustrated with the situation.
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Queen Beatrice is doing very well. They nearly finished off the 1.5 quarts of syrup I gave them last week. They are still drawing comb and even managed to produce a bit of capped honey (I'm sure it's just syrup, but if I'm not eating it I don't see the point in differentiating). I really didn't expect to see any of that as I haven't seen any capped honey in Queen Anne's hive. The brood pattern is looking really good with a good mix of eggs, young larva, and capped brood. Just a couple more weeks and they should have some reinforcements beginning to emerge.
Video Link
Queen Anne: 104.6 lbs (+9.6 lbs from last week)
Queen Beatrice: 45 lbs (+2.5 lbs from last week)
Last week the hive looked near starvation. They had lost 7.5 lbs and had no honey stores so I put a feeder back on and gave them 1.5 quarts of 1:1 sugar syrup. They used all of it and it looks like it's really helped them get back on their feet (er...wings?) and they've built their honey stores back up again. I'm not giving them any syrup this week so I can see if there's a nectar flow on and if they are bringing any of it in.
Video Link
They are making good use of the comb in the 2nd box to raise brood and store some honey. But a couple of the frames that were new 2 weeks ago still don't have any comb drawn out, which puzzled me at first until later when I realized that the near starvation last week made it impossible for them to draw out that comb.
Video Link
Last week I found a couple frames of empty comb in the bottom box. These were frames that normally contained brood that had all emerged and the queen hadn't gotten back around to them yet. Today we spotted her on one of those frames and watched her lay eggs. It was nice seeing her do her thing and that she was laying in the empty comb. She has plenty of room to continue laying eggs. I don't think it will be necessary to expand the brood nest out any further. I think she's now being stretched to her limits.
Video Link
I verified that the last couple of frames are still very full of pollen. They have been bringing plenty of it in and have no shortage. I also need to get more experience stacking the hive boxes. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The bees just want to suddenly come crawling and flying out of the hive right when I'm trying to put another box in place and they just get in the way. The longer I take to try to avoid crushing them the more they come flowing out. I got very frustrated with the situation.
Video Link
Queen Beatrice is doing very well. They nearly finished off the 1.5 quarts of syrup I gave them last week. They are still drawing comb and even managed to produce a bit of capped honey (I'm sure it's just syrup, but if I'm not eating it I don't see the point in differentiating). I really didn't expect to see any of that as I haven't seen any capped honey in Queen Anne's hive. The brood pattern is looking really good with a good mix of eggs, young larva, and capped brood. Just a couple more weeks and they should have some reinforcements beginning to emerge.
Video Link
Monday, June 11, 2012
Bee Vlog - June 9, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 95 lbs (-7.5 lbs from last week)
Queen Beatrice: 42.5 lbs (+4.5 lbs from last week)
Today I needed to see if the queen cups have eggs, larva, or have been capped. I picked up more hive equipment to do a split if necessary, but before setting up the hive stand and getting everything in place I wanted to see if it was even necessary. Fortunately I found that the queen cups were in the same state as last week and unoccupied. Unfortunately I also discovered that the hive had no honey stores. They still have plenty of pollen, but either they've been using all the nectar they've been bringing in or there just isn't much to bring in right now. We also saw the queen up in the top box. She's still at work and doing fine.
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In this video I go through the middle box and find that the queen cups I saw last week are empty. I wonder if bees make queen cups "just in case" or what. No honey found in the middle box either.
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I found 2 frames in this box that were completely empty. It looked to me like they had recently hatched and the queen probably just hasn't made her rounds to that spot of the hive yet to lay eggs. Hopefully I'll find eggs/larva in those 2 frames next week. But I've also heard that bees will take a break occasionally, and since it doesn't look like much nectar is coming in, this may be one of those lulls in brood rearing. No honey was found in any of the 3 boxes, so to keep them from starving I added a syrup feeder.
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I finally got to open up the hive where I put the swarm I caught last week. They really took a lot of the syrup I gave them. There was about 10 oz left of the 48 oz I gave them. They've built up a good amount of comb. We saw the queen, and she's been busy laying eggs. So in a few more weeks we should have a population boom in that colony. They're looking very good so far. It will be interesting to see what differences, if any, they exhibit compared to the other colony.
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Queen Anne: 95 lbs (-7.5 lbs from last week)
Queen Beatrice: 42.5 lbs (+4.5 lbs from last week)
Today I needed to see if the queen cups have eggs, larva, or have been capped. I picked up more hive equipment to do a split if necessary, but before setting up the hive stand and getting everything in place I wanted to see if it was even necessary. Fortunately I found that the queen cups were in the same state as last week and unoccupied. Unfortunately I also discovered that the hive had no honey stores. They still have plenty of pollen, but either they've been using all the nectar they've been bringing in or there just isn't much to bring in right now. We also saw the queen up in the top box. She's still at work and doing fine.
Video Link
In this video I go through the middle box and find that the queen cups I saw last week are empty. I wonder if bees make queen cups "just in case" or what. No honey found in the middle box either.
Video Link
I found 2 frames in this box that were completely empty. It looked to me like they had recently hatched and the queen probably just hasn't made her rounds to that spot of the hive yet to lay eggs. Hopefully I'll find eggs/larva in those 2 frames next week. But I've also heard that bees will take a break occasionally, and since it doesn't look like much nectar is coming in, this may be one of those lulls in brood rearing. No honey was found in any of the 3 boxes, so to keep them from starving I added a syrup feeder.
Video Link
I finally got to open up the hive where I put the swarm I caught last week. They really took a lot of the syrup I gave them. There was about 10 oz left of the 48 oz I gave them. They've built up a good amount of comb. We saw the queen, and she's been busy laying eggs. So in a few more weeks we should have a population boom in that colony. They're looking very good so far. It will be interesting to see what differences, if any, they exhibit compared to the other colony.
Video Link
Monday, June 4, 2012
Bee Vlog - June 2, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 102.5 lbs (+11.6 lbs from last week, not counting weight of additional box)
Queen Beatrice (swarm): 38 lbs (starting weight, approx. 3 lbs of bees)
I was asked to give more information on the hive stand, so here it is.
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After combining the dying colony with the healthy one I was curious to see how progress was coming along in the 3rd box. It looked like they were using it mostly for honey, which is fine, but I wanted the brood nest to expand up into the 3rd box. So I'll be moving some frames up to continue the pyramid in the next video.
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Well, this was a complete surprise, to find queen cups! I never expected them to do anything like this just 2 months after I installed them from a package. They've got plenty of room, so I can't understand why they'd want to swarm. The queen is doing very well so I can't see why they'd want to supersede her. It's quite a puzzle for me. But I think I have an idea of how to deal with this if things progress to full capped queen cells.
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The bees didn't like my waterer with the rocks and the tray. I never saw them use it and I never found any evidence of them using it. But they like the neighbor's dog's watering bowl. The neighbor is cool about it, but I still don't want to bother them (and any other neighbors that might not be so cool about it). So I put together a new waterer. The idea came from milapostal's video here. I really like this waterer. Let's hope the bees agree with me.
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I got another call for a swarm. Another easy location that didn't require a ladder. This location was also just a few blocks from where I caught my last swarm. It took me a little while to figure out how to catch it due to the complicated spot it was in, but I eventually worked it out.
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Queen Anne: 102.5 lbs (+11.6 lbs from last week, not counting weight of additional box)
Queen Beatrice (swarm): 38 lbs (starting weight, approx. 3 lbs of bees)
I was asked to give more information on the hive stand, so here it is.
Video Link
After combining the dying colony with the healthy one I was curious to see how progress was coming along in the 3rd box. It looked like they were using it mostly for honey, which is fine, but I wanted the brood nest to expand up into the 3rd box. So I'll be moving some frames up to continue the pyramid in the next video.
Video Link
Well, this was a complete surprise, to find queen cups! I never expected them to do anything like this just 2 months after I installed them from a package. They've got plenty of room, so I can't understand why they'd want to swarm. The queen is doing very well so I can't see why they'd want to supersede her. It's quite a puzzle for me. But I think I have an idea of how to deal with this if things progress to full capped queen cells.
Video Link
The bees didn't like my waterer with the rocks and the tray. I never saw them use it and I never found any evidence of them using it. But they like the neighbor's dog's watering bowl. The neighbor is cool about it, but I still don't want to bother them (and any other neighbors that might not be so cool about it). So I put together a new waterer. The idea came from milapostal's video here. I really like this waterer. Let's hope the bees agree with me.
Video Link
I got another call for a swarm. Another easy location that didn't require a ladder. This location was also just a few blocks from where I caught my last swarm. It took me a little while to figure out how to catch it due to the complicated spot it was in, but I eventually worked it out.
Video Link
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Bee Vlog - May 26, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 79.4 lbs (+4.4 lbs from last week)
The swarm I caught has been dying off very quickly. So quickly that the mortician bees can't keep up with it. The frame of brood I gave them last week has been hatching, but since their population is so small they can't even properly care for a full frame and some of it won't be hatching.
The queen is still in the hive, but I didn't see any eggs. Since she's not laying eggs and her wings are very torn up, I'm thinking she's just a really old queen and can't do her job anymore. If there were more bees in the hive and they weren't dying so fast I could give them some grafted queen cells, or even a frame with eggs so they could raise a new queen, but I think they're too far gone for even that. The only options left that I know of are either let them die or combine the hives.
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But in the other hive, Queen Anne has been doing very well. The hive is very strong and has been making really good progress in comb building and raising brood. I'm very happy with how well this hive is doing.
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The upper brood chamber is getting very heavy. I'm glad I chose to go with all medium boxes (or "westerns" as I hear many people call them). I don't think my back could take lifting a full deep.
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I finally decided that instead of just letting the weaker colony die off completely I would just go ahead and combine it with the stronger one. Of course, this involves adding a new box about a week earlier than I had really intended. I also had to capture the queen and kill her. I did NOT like doing this, but I really didn't see any other option. Unfortunately, the camera's memory filled up and I didn't get the whole thing on video.
One concern I have with the newspaper barrier is that the rain will damage it and make the introduction between the hives go too quickly. I'm going to take a quick peek on it tomorrow and see how things are going.
Video Link
Queen Anne: 79.4 lbs (+4.4 lbs from last week)
The swarm I caught has been dying off very quickly. So quickly that the mortician bees can't keep up with it. The frame of brood I gave them last week has been hatching, but since their population is so small they can't even properly care for a full frame and some of it won't be hatching.
The queen is still in the hive, but I didn't see any eggs. Since she's not laying eggs and her wings are very torn up, I'm thinking she's just a really old queen and can't do her job anymore. If there were more bees in the hive and they weren't dying so fast I could give them some grafted queen cells, or even a frame with eggs so they could raise a new queen, but I think they're too far gone for even that. The only options left that I know of are either let them die or combine the hives.
Video Link
But in the other hive, Queen Anne has been doing very well. The hive is very strong and has been making really good progress in comb building and raising brood. I'm very happy with how well this hive is doing.
Video Link
The upper brood chamber is getting very heavy. I'm glad I chose to go with all medium boxes (or "westerns" as I hear many people call them). I don't think my back could take lifting a full deep.
Video Link
I finally decided that instead of just letting the weaker colony die off completely I would just go ahead and combine it with the stronger one. Of course, this involves adding a new box about a week earlier than I had really intended. I also had to capture the queen and kill her. I did NOT like doing this, but I really didn't see any other option. Unfortunately, the camera's memory filled up and I didn't get the whole thing on video.
One concern I have with the newspaper barrier is that the rain will damage it and make the introduction between the hives go too quickly. I'm going to take a quick peek on it tomorrow and see how things are going.
Video Link
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Bee Vlog - May 19, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 75 lbs (+6.6 lbs from last week)
The swarm I caught is very low on numbers. The flightless queen that got stuck outside is still alive in the bait hive, but the main hive body is queenless. So I moved the queen into the hive and will give it a frame of brood from my other hive to give it a boost in population as well as comb that is ready for the queen to start using (after the brood emerges).
There are still many unknowns here that could spell the demise of this colony:
1) Is the queen mated?
2) Will they even accept the queen back after being out of the hive for so long?
3) Will they accept and raise the brood I gave them?
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Queen Anne (from my first hive) is doing very well. The entire colony is going gangbusters. After "pyramiding up" the brood nest they are making excellent progress building up the comb in the empty frames. Queen Anne has already laid eggs in some of the new comb. We also find her in the upper chamber and get some good video of her. I pick a frame of mature worker brood from the lower chamber to move over to the Queen Beatrice (swarm) hive to give them a boost of new bees and help ease their dying population.
Video Link
Video Link
Queen Anne: 75 lbs (+6.6 lbs from last week)
The swarm I caught is very low on numbers. The flightless queen that got stuck outside is still alive in the bait hive, but the main hive body is queenless. So I moved the queen into the hive and will give it a frame of brood from my other hive to give it a boost in population as well as comb that is ready for the queen to start using (after the brood emerges).
There are still many unknowns here that could spell the demise of this colony:
1) Is the queen mated?
2) Will they even accept the queen back after being out of the hive for so long?
3) Will they accept and raise the brood I gave them?
Video Link
Queen Anne (from my first hive) is doing very well. The entire colony is going gangbusters. After "pyramiding up" the brood nest they are making excellent progress building up the comb in the empty frames. Queen Anne has already laid eggs in some of the new comb. We also find her in the upper chamber and get some good video of her. I pick a frame of mature worker brood from the lower chamber to move over to the Queen Beatrice (swarm) hive to give them a boost of new bees and help ease their dying population.
Video Link
Video Link
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Bee Vlog - May 5, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 49.6 lbs (+1.1 lbs from last week)
Just checking on the progress of the brood and seeing if any "newbees" have hatched. We got a good look at some drones, which seem to be new. We also saw drones emerging from their cells. We didn't notice it at the time, but part of the video also captured worker bees emerging.
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Video Link
Video Link
Queen Anne: 49.6 lbs (+1.1 lbs from last week)
Just checking on the progress of the brood and seeing if any "newbees" have hatched. We got a good look at some drones, which seem to be new. We also saw drones emerging from their cells. We didn't notice it at the time, but part of the video also captured worker bees emerging.
Video Link
Video Link
Video Link
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Bee Vlog - April 28, 2012
Hive weigh-in
Queen Anne: 48.5 lbs (+5 lbs from last week)
Today I talk about how important bees are. I give my list of 5 ways that everybody can help save the bees.
Queen Anne: 48.5 lbs (+5 lbs from last week)
Today I talk about how important bees are. I give my list of 5 ways that everybody can help save the bees.
- Stop using pesticides.
- Educate ourselves. Start by watching Vanishing of the Bees.
- Support organic agriculture. Buy local. Support your farmer's market.
- Plant bee-friendly plants in your yard/garden.
- Keep some bees.
The entire family gets in on today's inspection. Tammie, Rachel, and Adam show no fear by approaching and standing by an open hive with no protection. The bees are very gentle and show no signs of aggression. The comb is coming along very nicely. Lots of capped brood. The hive gained 5 pounds in the past week, but used very little syrup. So I'm wondering if they are finding another good source of nectar and not taking as much of the syrup.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Bee Vlog - April 14, 2012
A very nice day for an inspection! I was able to get a good look at the comb the bees have built out. Queen Anne has been very busy laying eggs.
I got the design ideas for the portable hivescale from BeeHacker.com. It's a great tool to have and was relatively cheap to build.
Video Link
It's swarm season here in Oregon and I'd like to try to catch one. I built and installed a bait hive in my backyard. The internal dimensions of the box are 14" tall, 19-3/4" long, 8" wide. Some 1x2 on the sides allow the frames to hang. It's a little tricky getting the bottom row of frames in, but they fit just perfectly.
Video Link
I got the design ideas for the portable hivescale from BeeHacker.com. It's a great tool to have and was relatively cheap to build.
Video Link
It's swarm season here in Oregon and I'd like to try to catch one. I built and installed a bait hive in my backyard. The internal dimensions of the box are 14" tall, 19-3/4" long, 8" wide. Some 1x2 on the sides allow the frames to hang. It's a little tricky getting the bottom row of frames in, but they fit just perfectly.
Video Link
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