All's quiet...

End of the year, winter is here, and the bees seem to be faring well. Occasionally a few fly out when the weather is mild with no rain; we are generally in the mid 40's to low 50's F during the daytime which is too cool for them to stir.

The hive is situated on the north side of the house and shaded from the low winter sun. That is a good thing because there is not a great fluctuation of temperature from sun shining on the hive to cause warming alternating with cooling, which leads to additional condensation in the hive. My main concern for overwintering has been condensation; I'm anxious to open the hive during the warmer days of spring to see what happened in that respect.

An industrious spider keeps building a web just above the entrance to the hive, capturing a bee or two every few days. I counter with sweeping the web away but am not always in time to prevent the snagging of bees. Nor does dispatching the resident spider in the attic seem to help; ahh, that's nature.

A skunk periodically visits the hive to feast on the dead bees that fall beneath the hive. I've tried to place a piece of white plastic on the ground below the hive to see the number of dead bees being removed from the hive but each night it is pushed aside. Although I've not seen the skunk itself, there's evidence of its digging in the area for bugs, which is a good thing so I welcome its night foraging...as long as it doesn't decide to live under the deck.

Tried to photograph bees just inside the hive entrance, but the camera lens fogged from the inside heat. Can see a portion of the bees clustering on the comb in their warming ball. No sound can be heard from inside.

I'd like to look at the bottom board to see how many varroa mites there are but this is not the time to open the hive nor the time to treat for mites, if one was going to...which I am not at this point. Various opinions by TBH beekeepers is that mites do not grow to such numbers in this type of hive to be a major problem. We shall see.

Days are getting longer, and it will be only a few weeks before weather warms, dandelions bloom, and bees fly. As horrific as it would have seemed only a year ago, I am spreading dandelion seeds here and there in the garden and yard...they are the first source of pollen in our area. Bees bringing pollen back to the hive is the first indication that the brood is happening as it should! Happy New Year to all of us.

Beekeeper Class

Class on November 14 at Jacqueline’s was quite informative; she shared that she has a psychic connection with bees. Although it was a basics class, I learned a few things…as usual...and will share them below.

As she went through the life stages of the bee, Jacqueline said that on day 16 the newer bees set their magnetic compass (GPS in our vernacular) during their orientation flight: they fly to a spot a few feet from the hive and hold for a few seconds, move to another spot, and another holding in place each time before returning to the hive. She observed that they do this at 11a and 1p.

Also, drones are not lazy and only for mating. I already knew they helped warm and cool the hive. Jacqueline told us that drones also sing to the babies in their own hive and are welcomed into other honey bee hives whereas any other bee is barred from entering; the drones then go to the nursery area and emit a “droning” sound. There’s a theory that they are sharing ‘bee history/life information’ with the new bees—what a wonderful concept.

Jacqueline related a winter time experience in which the beekeeper thought the bees were dead because of the extreme cold, harvested some of the honey and called her to come get the remainder, and placed the hive in the basement out of the weather. When Jacqueline arrived, the bees were moving around—they had been in “torpor” which is a cold weather survival mode. She and the beekeeper reassembled the hive, left honey that hadn’t been taken, placed it back outside, and now hope for the best; she is not optimistic that the hive can survive because of the disturbance and without the full complement of winter honey.

Opening the brood area is not advised at any time—even during the hot days of summer. Brood needs a 95° environment and even a slight dip in temperature stresses the larvae and pupae. They might hatch and do fine if there are not additional stressors but are weaker than they would have been.  I’ll definitely not be looking at brood from now on unless it is critical to do so. One can tell if brood is doing well by observing hive entrance; if pollen coming in, queen is laying and brood is fine.

We heard about “emergency queens” which is where the current queen has disappeared or has major problems and it is imperative that new one be established. The bees will take one of the newest laid eggs, revamp the cell to be vertical instead of horizontal and feed the new larva royal jelly continuously. This is in contrast to an intended queen where the cell is built vertical initially. The emergency queen then follows the normal mating procedure but is replaced within a few months by an intended queen who can be viable up to five years. I believe something similar happened in my hive. The queen cells found June 17 had me thinking that the hive was about to swarm, but it was really too new and didn’t swarm. And we found an unmarked queen on July 23 instead of the white dotted queen that came with the package in April. Jacqueline agreed that may have been the case as package queens are artificially inseminated and could be considered an emergency queen. So, in the end it appears this hive is actually quite healthy and further on the road to being as nature intended.

Jacqueline indicated that moisture is a problem in our area, most often mildew shows up in the spring when there are warm days that cause more heat in the open hive space and condensation happens when the outside cold returns. I plan to insulate the attic of the hive to have a more gradual temperature contrast in an attempt to prevent condensation.

Although it’s a 100 mi drive to Battle Ground, WA, the trip was worthwhile and Jody and I plan to attend Jacqueline’s classes when possible.

A late fall hive check after all...

Mild, overcast day, slight breeze, 55° and bees are flying more than they have in the past week. Probably cleansing flights, although there are blossoms in the yard and nectar/pollen to be had; this is not the time. They should be in their hibernation mode by now.

Opened the end of the hive to see if comb on B14 was empty and I could remove the bar to show Ken how bees were attaching comb to the wider V on the bar. B14 was empty on the left side but had capped honey filling almost half the comb on the right side. Good news, actually, that they are not decimating their winter food supply as I thought might be happening when I last observed the combs on Oct 19 and found the left side of B14 empty. B13 left side also had a good amount of capped honey remaining. So, B14 left in place and top of hive closed.

B14 right side

B13 left side

Then I unfastened the securing straps of the bottom board, which had been put in place last week to keep the board tight against the hive for winter, and removed the bottom board for a look there.

Lots of debris on the board: bits of casing, bee carcasses and bits, and mites—yes, mites have now been seen. Will have to keep an eye on the number. By the nature of the natural comb cell size in the TBH (top bar hive) the mites are supposed to be scraped off the backs of the bees as they move into the cells…we shall see.  It appears the bees are not able to remove dead bees and other debris from the bottom board as easily as they did when board was not sealed. While I had the top space open two bees came out through the opening each with a dead bee in tow; maybe the bottom board should not be sealed—our winters are temperate, Phil Chandler in England (http://www.biobees.com/index.php) has mesh bottoms in his TBHs, and bees like a clean environment so dead bees and debris might be a stressor for them. Jody and I plan to attend a beekeeping class Monday evening—that will be a good question to explore with Jacqueline (http://www.friendlyhaven.com/classes.html).

Not being sure about the best way to handle the bottom board, I returned it to the closed position. No detectable moisture in the hive at this time; that is another concern I have because of our wet winters here and the fact that mildew was in the hive last May. Lots of questions to be addressed during this first year of beekeeping…fortunately there are people who willingly share their experiences.

Warm day, a peek into the end of the hive

3pm 68° cloudy; many bees flying. Left side of B14 has no honey on it; did not move bar to see right side or B13 and beyond. Bees removing carcasses from bottom board. One wasp flying near the hive; no ants on the hive; removed two spider cocoons under roof.  When we have another warm, dry day I’ll look at B14 and remove it if no honey on either side and move the follower further in again.

October 19, 2011

Anniversary of Brad’s leaving…and it’s a beautiful warm day here in Independence, Oregon, located in the mid Willamette Valley. We’ve not had a frost yet and it appears we’ll get to Nov 1 with little rain—if that happens I can make it through a rainy winter just fine. So today’s high was 75°, clear, barely noticeable breeze—fantastic Oregon fall day! I checked the top bar hive with a plan to remove empty B16 and B15 if there was little honey left on it and move the follower to reduce air space.  Yes, most of the honey was gone and B15 and B16 removed; ¾” spacer inserted and follower moved. I placed B15 on the cradle and set it on the kitchen table for display and to have the honey, wax, and propolis smell in the house…nice. And that’s it for the fall unless we learn something that indicates we need to check the hive sooner than late winter. Jody and I are looking for learning opportunities on top bar hive beekeeping and found what looks to be an interesting experience: http://www.friendlyhaven.com/classes.html.

A few ideas I’ve picked up during recent reading:

*To determine the start or end of honey flow:  Place 1 tablespoon of honey on a shallow container in the sun. If nectar is unavailable, bees will find it within 15 min or so and call others to the feast.

*Use Mrs. Stewart’s liquid bluing for stings

*Sprinkle a little salt on the entry board—bees will take if needed

*Construct some kind of an entrance board for the tbh???

*Sprinkle cinnamon to stop ants on their path.

Bees still flying, although in reduced numbers, and returning with pollen and nectar. Bees throughout the yard on the plants purchased and planted last month—wait until next year when the plants have grown and become established…there will be buzzing all around!

Probably last hive check of the fall

Another hive check, 20 min, partly cloudy, 68°, calm.  Bees flying today, 30% returning with pollen. Got a sting on cheek soon after moving B15 to the cradle, so put on the veil. B15 appears much the same as it did a week ago. Cut through brace comb on B14, bringing the blade of the hive tool up from the bottom of the comb next to the hive side with a gentle sawing motion. Set B14 on the cradle, too, in order to look at and move B13 to see B12. (Because of two added bars during the summer—2.5 and 9.5—B13 is actually B15 and B15 is actually B17 in the hive, etc.) Good to see that the comb on B13 and B12 is drawn deep into the hive with a small amount of brace comb near the top and a good number of capped honey cells. Not keen about the cross combing on the front side between B12 & B13; appears to be a small amount of cross combing from B13 to B14 also on the front side. Next spring we will probably find that same configuration back to B10, which is where it all started a few months ago. Really wanted to go further back to find where the brood is but after about 15 min the buzzing inside the hive became much louder and more agitated bees were flying closer to where I was working, it was time to close up and leave. They have capped honey through B13 and a good amount on the right half of B14; they should have enough food for winter. Later in October I'll remove B16, which is still empty, and move the follower in to reduce air space in the hive.

Ants were up under the roof so I sprinkled cinnamon where they were entering…frustrating ants, which will always be here but I don’t want them on/in the hive. Will mix up a borax solution and see if that eliminates the nest that is infesting the hive area.



B12



B12 cross comb to B13 at hive front

B13 left side, comb drawn deep into hive

B13 right side showing cross comb from B12

Not a mite in sight...

Just a quick peek with pictures today; total sunshine, not a cloud to be seen, 70° at the time I opened the hive about noon.

Still no comb on B16, which was expected; B15 had no nectar on the left side but had capped honey on the right side. There was lots of nectar on the right side of B15 when viewed on Sept 12 and 25; I actually saw capped cells on this side yesterday, which is why I decided to take pictures today, but nectar and capped cells gone today—am I seeing things?! Are they using their food stores already? I’ll put out a 2:1 sugar syrup and check B15 every few days to see how it goes. Compare B15 picture today with that of Sept 12…lovely but few bees and no nectar.

Took a photo of B14 from the top to show how it wows into B15 space; that seems to be a normal configuration so I am not worried about it. The 1.5” bars seem to be good.

Took photos of bottom board to check for mites, which I did not see while holding the board and do not see now when zooming in on the pictures. Nor do I see any mites attached to the bees themselves in the pictures of bees inside the hive. I could see mites on the sticky board at the neighbor's hive and on the bees there as well, so I’m 98.5% sure there are none in this hive…big yeah!

Bottom board, brood side

Bottom board, other side

A good photo of the bottom up view showing part of B11, and B12, B13, B14, B15 and empty B16.

B11 through B15 comb, note the two-bee space between

Another bottom up view, bees in the middle section showing no mites. Zoom in to see the tiny body hairs and veins in the wings.

Closed hive…bees and hive are good.

Fall 2011 has arrived.

Fall has arrived with rain showers and mostly cloudy skies today, 67° when I peeked into the hive to check progress on B15. Someone should look at the properties of propolis for glue…follower and B16 really stuck on tight! Probably someone has and it won’t generate enough dollars in that use to warrant much attention. However, it is promoted as beneficial to human health. Here’s an excerpt from a site selling bee products for health: http://queenselixir.com/propolis-info/what-is-bee-propolis.htm.

A sticky glue-like substance, bee propolis is created by the worker bees and used around the hive to insulate and protect the structure of the hive, and as an antibiotic to protect its inhabitants.
Propolis has been used for many centuries as a natural antibiotic, treating all manner of cuts, wounds and abrasions, and taken topically for its healing benefits.
The substance is basically a combination of tree bark and leaves, collected by the worker bees, combined with their saliva/secretions, forming a black or reddish-brown resinous paste. It is commonly used to repair cracks in the hive walls, and to create a sterile environment, protecting the bees from harmful bacteria and viral infections.
As a health promoting product, propolis has been studied worldwide. The nutritional and therapeutic benefits of propolis are primarily associated with its high bioflavinoid content and the fact that it exhibits antibiotic and antifungal properties when applied as a topical agent.
Our propolis products are independantly lab-tested and certified to contain a minimum of 8% bioflavinoids, and is brought to you as a powder or liquid tincture.
Europeans have used bee propolis for the treatment of peptic ulcers and ulcerative colitis, where it is thought to provide benefits to the digestive system and digestive organs. Again, the anti-inflammatory properties of the substance are thought to be beneficial to the stomache and intestinal tract.
In a similar way, propolis is said to help prevent and/or heal infections, where it is commonly believed that its antimicrobial effects can defend the body against bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
With its flavonoid / antioxidant properties, it is considered to be of benefit to the immune system. It is also used commonly to treat dental conditions such as cankers, mouth ulcers, and periodontal disease.
Propolis is generally considered to be a safe product, but if you are allergic to other bee products like royal jelly or honey, you should perhaps opt not to use propolis, since it contains these elements albeit in small quantities. If you have any mild negative reaction to bee products, discontinue use straight away.

Back to the hive check… Bees docile; not much foraging traffic; bees inside the hive since the temperature is much cooler; I closed the three entrances on the back of the hive. Bees forming a layer on the wire at the bottom of the hive; will close bottom board in a few weeks. B16 has spots of propolis on it but no comb; same amount of comb on B15 as seen on September 12 with cells being filled with nectar. Side bracing on B14 seems to have increased slightly.

Still undecided about removing all the bars to assess the hive interior—seems like a major disruption for my inquisitiveness. Had thought that we should assume all is well and let the bees do their work for winter and do the photo documentation in the spring as I check to see that there is enough food and consider how to do a split. However, plan to check with the Portland, OR Matts to hear their thoughts on the need for a thorough hive check in fall and how detrimental that might be. No pictures today.

Pictures are always good…

I like to see pictures when I read about things…and think most of us do—how many of us wait until we have read to the photo section of an autobiography to look at the pictures? I certainly don’t!

So, today continues the beautiful summer weather, 72° with a few low clouds when I checked the hive at noon today; bees calm but I did wear the veil, flipping it back to see better. The few times guard bees came to check, I stepped back to give them a chance to look me over and then we all went back to work and all was well. I’m going to leave one of my unwashed gardening t-shirts by the hive. If bees do get used to the beekeeper scent, which we read about and does seem true, it should lower the level of bee anxiety when I do a hive check. Wouldn’t that be a great thing if it worked?!

The hot weather continued all week so the spacer and entrance plugs are still out and the white plastic awning still in place. Here’s of picture of the top bars without the roof; bees meandering around the opening and parking on B16 but not drawing comb on it. Odds are they will not draw comb on B16 this year as they wind down for the season, and we will not have to remove a bar with honey this fall; that would be best for the bees. We will harvest the leftover honey next spring when nectar is available and bees have survived the winter.

Spacer removed for increased ventilation

Used the hive tool to separate B16 from B15 which are stuck tightly together with propolis—what an amazing glue these bees make. Recently saw a picture of a hive in Africa hanging from a tree. The hive itself was covered in propolis, which would be a good sealant from the elements. Here’s a photo of propolis build up that I find whenever opening the hive; I can understand why commercial beekeepers find it a nuisance.

Propolis between B16 and B15

Ken wanted to know how the 1.5” wide bars are doing so I snapped a few pictures. B13, B14, and B15 are the wider bars put in place on July 11. B13 and B14 are fully drawn; B15 is almost half drawn with nectar in the cells on the left side of the comb and capped honey on the right side of B15 comb. It looks to me that they are centering comb just fine; will add Ken’s comments about the comb attachment later. B15 comb is hanging straight and not cross combing or growing beyond the bar width. Really looking forward to removing B14 and others during spring to see what the configuration is throughout the hive. Lots of photos then to document the comb placement, etc.

B15 on cradle, left side of comb

B15 on cradle, right side of comb

B15 bottom view

B15 left side view

B15 right side view

B14 is completely drawn and attached to the side with brace comb, which is done to carry the weight of the honey…about 6 lbs per comb. Much heavier than brood comb would be—some day we’ll weigh for a comparison as I have not seen that in any of the information. I think the comb would extend on the bar completely to the side without a break between the comb and side brace comb attachment if the metal nail head and divet were not on the angled part of the bar. Seems to me that space weakens the comb structure—something to discuss and try with Ken.

B14 left side

B14 right side with brace comb

Finished the hive check in about 10 minutes and closed the hive without incident (that would be a bee sting).

Honey harvest, plants, shade, veils, and more

Just reviewed “single comb harvest” segment on the video by BackYardHive which describes removing one honey comb when the bees have drawn comb on the last bar in the hive. In this hive, B16 is the one to watch. One systematically goes through the combs beginning at the back of the hive, detaching “brace” comb, which adheres the honey comb to the side for stability, looking for a comb that is ¾ filled with capped honey. Bees are drawing comb now on B15 so it may be that they will have enough space this year. I will check every few days to see when a comb is started on B16 and how fast they are drawing and then decide whether to remove a honey filled comb. We should be getting to the end of honey flow, but there a lot of bees in the hive still and they do keep busy.

I have a different mindset re yard plants now that we have the bees to consider. They are not attracted to marigolds, buckwheat, crimson clover (as mentioned earlier), and geraniums in the yard. They do like the chives, all mints, sedums, michaelmas daisies, black-eyed susans, squash, cucumber, green bean, chard, and raspberry blossoms found in our yard now. Purchased about ten different bee attractive perennials at the nursery yesterday; planted for glorious blooming next summer. Time to start making notes about what is blooming when that our bees find worthwhile. Obviously they forage further than our yard, but it’s neat to see them working close, too.

While visiting the hive early this morning I saw a bee carry something away from the hive and shortly after a drone was dropped out of the hive onto the ground below. Looking closer, I saw its wings were gone…drones being expelled apparently. Placed a piece of white plastic under the hive to be able to better see what was happening on the ground. Soon another drone fell and a hive bee landed on top of it and began taking it apart. Immediately a wasp flew in and took over one part as soon as it was separated. The hive bee flew away with part of the carcass and the wasp stayed with its part…interesting.

Wasp arriving after drone dropped.

Drone parted into two sections.

Hive bee removing its section.

Lots of pollen being brought into the hive. The bees seem to take it through the two main entrances and not through the bottom opening; some nectar bearing bees enter through the bottom as well as through the main entrances. Somewhere I read that bees have to offload pollen themselves whereas nectar is transferred from one bee to another until it is deposited into the cell…also interesting.

Created another veil…black netting this time, which is much easier to see through than white. I use ¾ yard of regular nylon netting and sew a side seam on the short side and a casing on the long side for elastic. It easily slips over the crown of a brimmed hat. Now visitors can use the extra veils to get a good look at the hive if they are timid around bees, which is to be expected because that’s what most of us have learned.

Back to really hot weather for us, 90’s for several days again. Here are pictures of the awning setup, at 9 a.m., noon, and 3p.m.

9 a.m. shade

Noon shade

3 p.m. shade

Many bees outside the hive tonight about 7:30p when neighbor Ernie stopped by to see the backyard hive; he has many years of commercial beekeeping experience in the central valley of California. Ernie suggested the hive needed more ventilation so I removed the ¾” spacer and the 3 entrance plugs on the back of the hive. Already had raised the roof to allow air movement across the bars but it was still too hot in the hive. Shortly after the spacer was removed, bees began moving back into the hive. Interesting information from Ernie about bees being on the outside of the hive—hornets will come along and snatch bees, which agitates those left…not a good thing.

Also, Ernie noticed ants on the sides and top of the hive and said they irritate the bees. I’ll have to find something to get rid of them. We have so many ants that I don’t see being able to rid the yard of them; may have to figure out a ‘moat’ to keep them away from the hive.

I offered to show Ernie the inside of the hive while removing the spacer; he thought I might not want to do that. I said the bees were calm around me and I proceeded to lift B16, the end topbar. And a bee flew out and stung my finger…again. Ernie said one doesn’t disturb the hive after evening because the bees are more aware of intruders. Guess so—and they’re not busy working elsewhere. We talked about how bees get used to the hive keeper’s scent, but that doesn’t matter once evening is here. Okay, now I know yet another thing about beekeeping…it’s a daytime activity!

Because of its size, this is considered a swarming hive; this is good as one purpose of backyard hives is to help bees repopulate. Ernie said there will be a big swarm from this hive next spring, which is nice to know since I planned to split it next spring.

So glad he stopped by…more news is that there will be two more beekeepers in our airpark soon. They are getting established hives from someone who can no longer keep them. And he will be harvesting about 300# of honey from his two Langstroth hives soon. I’m looking forward to seeing that happen and to seeing the extraction process. So nice to have an experienced beekeeper neighbor.

Post hot weather check

Was wondering how our bees have been doing with the heat. We had several 90° days during the past week and while I was away during the weekend, hot days for our area but typical at this time in August. I rigged up some shade for the hive by moving the plastic roof liner out from under the roof much like an awning and also opened two more front entrances on Thursday, Aug 25, after smelling an off odor around the hive, a very strong fermented honey smell. That evening I also lifted a bar to see how hot it was inside and a wave of heat escaped. The bees acted normal, some fanning near the entrances but were not using the birdbath water.

Lee said bees were at the birdbath Sunday evening when he got home and refilled it. So they needed water to cool I'm thinking...first time I've been aware they were at water. The birdbath is next to the steps from the deck into the backyard. Somewhere I read that they like stagnant, stinky water that is a little distance from the hive so I haven't placed water closer as I had planned last spring.

Monday, Aug 29 notes. Last look at the hive was Aug 25 before we took off, not inside but outside observation. Today when I returned it just had a strong sweet honey smell so expect all is okay. Bees were looking good...so very many out there--it looks like a real hive now with activity comparable to the stacking hives of our neighbor. According to the bee calendar at http://www.beekeepingandbeehives.com/the-beekeepers-calendar/, bees will start decreasing in September…not sure which land area that covers. That might not be the case here; I expect it to happen a little later because of our area's mild climate and much nectar still available. Also, I put an empty bar in the brood area during July and I believe it was used for brood--we'll see when we do the hive check for fall. It looks from bottom activity that they are almost to the end of the hive now. I'll sneak a quick peek tomorrow morning to see where they are now. Found that I liked the 7:30a time to look into the hive--calm bees compared to heightened activity in the later morning and afternoon; will see if it holds true tomorrow.

Today 8:00a 61° overcast slight drizzle. A good time to look into the hive as bees were quite calm; guard bees came for a look but I took a few steps away to give off good vibes and let them calm down. Thank heavens for spacers; the ¾” spacer next to the left follower allowed enough space to move bars over. Found many festooning bees on B16 which I shook into the hive so I could take pictures. The bees have been busy…I love it! B13 comb almost fully drawn; new comb on B14 and a small start on B15. Only B16 remains empty. I was just going to look so didn't have tools with me...used a twig to sever cross combing from B13 to B14 and pushed protruding part back into B13 space. Almost afraid to think what’s going on further back on B12 and others. Expect it will be necessary to remove a bar of honey as soon as they start comb on B16, the last bar in the hive—won’t that be a milestone?!

Comb on B14

Start of comb on B15

Lessons learned...

7:30a.m. 65° overcast sky no breeze. Probably the best weather I’ve experienced for getting into the hive to work. Actually quite pleasant—I’ve been a bit nervous about my reception since the guard bees defended their territory so well last time. Used the water spray twice but generally all was calm; the bees at the entrance area kept flying out and in and didn’t seem to know anything was happening at the back. Picked a stem of oregano to move bees out of the way and found it worked better than the wooden herder.

Had seen at last peek that comb on B12 seemed to extend into B13 space. Felt the need to investigate because I don’t want a repeat of B10/11 where the two bars have to be handled together for fear of having them crash. Until they are removed for harvesting next spring, we won’t know for sure if they are cross combed or if B10 is just built to curve around B11.

Removed B16 and B15 set them aside; they had bees but no comb drawn. Slid B14 and B13  next to the follower and moved in. B12 comb had two separate combs: the full one centered on the bar and a small one attached to the side. The center comb was curving under B13. I lifted B12 and placed it on the bar cradle Ken had made. The cradle met my expectations in that it provided a safe place to park the bar while looking further into the hive and taking pictures as well as served as a very secure holder when I cut and removed the comb protruding into B13 space. (Thank you Ken!)

Bar cradle developed and built by Ken

There was a small section of comb on the far side of B12 connecting to the hive wall. I cut the comb from the wall by using a serrated knife.

Comb attached to hive wall from B12

The hive tool worked fine for levering open the top bars where propolis had sealed them and for cutting between comb and hive sides. However, the serrated knife worked much better when cutting through comb. This small comb had unsealed honey—quite fresh tasting—very sticky. Everything I handled from the first cut until the end got the honey touch…camera, knife, water bottle, pail, veiling, etc. An extra person to hold and move some things would have been helpful. We will have our first taste of honey from this hive—not really honey but rather nectar being processed to honey stage.


Next, B11 had comb near the center extending into B12 space so I removed that small section.

B11 with spacer top view

Back to B12 hanging on the cradle. Cut away the small piece of comb extending into B13 space but did not remove the large curving comb…should I have? Will know the answer when we do the hive check in September or at honey harvest next spring.

B12 on cradle left side

Why did they skip a space on the bar and draw comb from the top bar to the side connecting to the hive wall? Don’t know but here are pictures:

B12 comb attached to wall





B12 bottom view right side




B12 on cradle left side



  

B13 has small amount of comb drawn. Many, many bees on B13 and B14. Closed hive, leaving bars in same position. Ahh, but not before a persistent guard bee stung me on a finger…just landed and stung, no movement or back touching from me. Not too hurtful and I scraped the stinger off with the hive tool blade…a good thing to have. Third sting and as I write these notes a few minutes later, no swelling or pain.

Nectar from my work was scattered across the top of the bars so I left the roof off temporarily to allow bees to reach that area to clean it away. Why waste their work and provide ants a food source by the hive.

Mocha with the bees this morning, plus Aug 16 notes

My Sunday mocha with the bees…7am, 62°, bees flying and returning with big bags of pollen*, gold and orange. Now that the huge rhododendrons are gone, there’s a great spot for observation chairs next to the hive—sun was out and it was the perfect morning for coffee outside. Since we’ve had upper 80 and 90° days this past week, I opened the bottom board for more ventilation…actually it was probably more me wanting to do something and that seemed fairly innocuous. Have seen very few wasps around this year…maybe the new family of scrub jays are taking care of that issue for us; see http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/Likely/likely-Jay-Western-Scrub.html. There are several bumblebees on the crimson clover* next to the hive. So, I am not concerned about hive robbing at this time and felt comfortable with the1/2” opening along the sides of the bottom board. Anyway, bees are clustered on the board and on the edges under the right half of the hive where brood is located. Since there was so much activity and appears to be more bees, I looked at B12 to see what’s happening there…it’s been a blank comb for weeks now. Well, things have changed at B12. Bees were covering the whole comb and festooning over to B14, which in the past indicated they were drawing comb, or considering it. I just removed B15 and B16 for a peek and did not move B12, B13, or B14 this time, nor take time for a photo. So once again, what do I know?! Mentioned a few days ago that they probably had stopped comb drawing, blah, blah...I just need to sit back and observe, letting the bees take the lead in my learning here.

*Recently learned that crimson clover, my favorite garden cover crop, is not a nectar source for the bees. The bumble bee has a long enough proboscis/nectar collector to reach the nectar but honey bee does not. I wondered why they were not taking advantage of this hearty patch of crimson clover just outside their front door! Back to the list of plants to plant...

August 16, 2011

Sunshine, mid 80’s. A cloud of bees flying within 4’ of the hive with several bees on the side and roof “fanning”…this must be an orientation flight for the younger worker bees. As they get ready for the foraging stage of life, the young bees fly out a short distance and turn back to the hive and then move farther away and return. It is like they are fixing their GPS for future flights and memorizing local environment. The older bees are fanning to spread the hive pheromone so young bees can find their way back. Quite fun to watch the seeming chaos in front of the hive, lasted about 20 minutes and then all back to normal. I think they must gather a bunch of recruits to go flying and line up older bees for fanning…how they know to do all this is fascinating.

Found better information on the Oregon State Univ site about those “queen cells” of concern in June. They are actually ‘queen cups’ formed as a precaution in case they are needed. See excerpt from the article on the June 17 post.

On Sunday morning I set out new feeder tray from Ken in front of hive with a jar feeder and zip baggie feeder of 1:1 sugar syrup. Bees were not using either feeder at the end of the day which indicates that they are finding plenty of nectar. However, the ants had found the syrup by Monday morning and word had gone out to the entire yard it seemed. So I removed the system; will reinstall at end of honey flow and then deal with ants. The tray sets close to the entrance and should work well when feeding is needed.



Exterior tray feeder w/jar and baggie of 1:1 sugar syrup

Peeked into the hive and found that B12 comb has been enlarged slightly, still nothing in cells. Looks like the hive will stop here and fill comb already drawn with honey. Four bars untouched at left side of hive.

B12 top view, nothing in cells yet

B12 view from bottom; empty top bars 13-16

Lifted B2.5 (installed July 25 in brood area) about ½ inch and could see that comb had been drawn and nectar was in the top cells. So, assuming drawing comb took 2 days, eggs 3 days, larva stage 5 days, pupa stage 12 days for worker bees, young bees would emerge about Aug 10 and be making their nursery flight between 6-10 days…right about now! Will observe that comb more fully during next hive check, sometime at the end of August or first of September.

List of worker bee’s life/duties (from Beekeeping, A Seasonal Guide by Ron Brown)

0-4 days                      cell cleaning and incubation

3-12 days                    feed larvae

About 4^th day              power of stinging fully developed

Between 6^th and 10^th day        orientation or nursery flight, usually around midday

6-15 days                    wax making and comb building

8-16 days                    reception and storage of nectar; packing pollen in cells

14-18 days                  entrance guard, debris clearance and funeral bearer duties

19^th day                       begins to pay attention to bee dances

18-30/35 days             foraging for nectar and pollen

25-30/35 days             collecting propolis

Neighbor Ernie with 29+ years bee experience

Finally I took the time to connect with Ernie, a neighbor who has two commercial type hives in his yard and who has many years experience as a commercial beekeeper in California. Wow! what a wealth of information and he's willing to do a hive check with me and Jody..that will be priceless. He has the Langstroth box hives with two brood boxes and two "western" supers that are filling with honey; he estimates there is about 140# there already. These hives were brought in as established hives this spring.

Ernie is not familiar with top bar hives but he knows bees. We talked about my smaller hive being a "swarm hive" which means the bees will swarm next spring and I need to be ready with another hive for them and be watching for their swarm because they will not automatically move in. We then talked about basically moving this colony to a larger hive (which I had already planned to get) and starting another colony in this hive.

When we examine the hive, Ernie will show us how to identify eggs in the cells, determine how much honey we can remove, and more. Ernie showed me mites on the sticky boards of his hives and talked about the acceptable level of mites in a hive and what will be done if it gets too high. I haven't seen mites in the pictures of bees from my hive but checked the bottom board with a magnifying glass when back home--none there fortunately. Also, while talking at Ernie's hives I saw a drone return to the landing board and get taken down by a worker bee--she was on top of him for maybe 5 seconds and then dropped him to the ground. Ernie picked him up and showed me that the wings were off and told me that indicates that honey flow is ending. A yellow jacket quickly came to 'clean up' while the drone was still alive--goodness, nature is efficient. Although there is no landing board on a top bar hive and the bees fly directly through the entrances, I'm going to watch to see what's happening here.

When I pulled out the sticky/bottom board today to check for mites, I saw several bee body parts that were being moved out of the hive through a small crack between the board and the hive sides. We planned to close the crack off with bungee cords--now I'm debating about that.

And I got another bee book to read as well as received my first issue of the American Bee Journal so this will be one bee filled day. Between the bees and beginning kayaking and being in this area during summer, life is soooo good here...oh, and family and friends of course!

August observations

August 4, 2011

Mid 80’s today and another wonderful summer day here in western Oregon. Bees very actively foraging. At 5pm, I counted 32 bees returning within 1 minute, which did not seem nearly as busy as other times during the day time. Sometimes it's a steady stream in and out of the two entrances, very politely done although the drones sometimes seem to get in the way. Saw drones near the entrance so they are alive and well.

Fun yesterday to let Anita’s three grandsons (ages 9, 7, 5) peek at the hive interior. They were so quiet and calm once they knew the bees weren’t after them but just wanted to get on with their work of collecting nectar and pollen. This gives me the idea of a Christmas gift for the Bend, Oregon grandchildren—a medium size TBH. I’ll check with Ken about adding an observation window because I know they’ll be wanting to look inside more often than even I do. Plexiglass, acrylic, window glass, double pane glass…research to be done on that! And getting an okay from parents is the first requirement.

Watched the Boulder BackYardHive.com video again and was reminded of several things to be done. Based on their information, I added the remaining two bars with the new and improved angle, per Ken, so hive is again fully open. I waxed the empty top bars (using bees wax from the comb that fell during June). Did not remove any bars with comb for observation; just got in and out, looking at the last one with comb which could be seen from the end—same B12 with empty cells. Bees working hard to seal the very small opening by the sticky board at the back of the hive; sorry to say that may be wasted effort as we’ll be anchoring it closed soon with bungee cords. According to video, bees should be working during summer to seal hive for wintering—apparently that’s exactly what they are doing.  Lee recently added the spools and bungee cords supplied by Ken to hold the roof on tight during winter storms. We’ll get to the sticky board soon and then I’ll take pictures.

Another book I just read indicates that whenever one manipulates the hive, honey production is greatly reduced during that day and the next, so I’ll not bother those amazing bees until the end of August or early September. At that time, we’ll check to see how much honey has been stored and the state of the brood. Well, undoubtedly before then I’ll lift the last bar to see how many bars have comb…

August 6, 2011

Early morning visit with Ken today. He has another idea for a feeding tray which would be placed in front of the hive by the entrances. Seems like it would work well for this area. Because our springs include lots of rainy days, I see needing a cover of some kind—either on top of the tray itself or from the hive roof over and around the tray, which I’m favoring right now. We’ll see what cover, if any, works best when it’s needed next spring. I haven’t given up on the attic feeder (see July 21) which would seem ideal for the really cold winter days IF their own honey supply is not adequate and bees would not fly outside to reach supplemental food in the tray.

We removed the two large rhododendron bushes adjacent to the hives…mostly to make room for a seated observation area and more herbs, but also because the nectar is toxic. I noticed that few bees were on the rhododendron blossoms and later read that the nectar is toxic, not only to bees but also to humans. According to research, a couple of bushes in the yard is not a problem, and I believe the bees have an innate sense not to use it. However, we want to operate on the side of caution. And, never never never give a baby honey…excerpt from Mayo Clinic website: To prevent infant botulism — a rare but serious form of food poisoning — don't give honey or corn syrup (dark or light) to a baby. Both foods are potential sources of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) spores. Bacteria from the spores can grow and multiply in a baby's intestines, making a toxin that can cause infant botulism. The concern is only for children younger than age 1.

Another book: Beekeeping The Gentle Craft by John F. Adams, 1972. Although forty years old and no pictures, it’s a very good read with very good information for the amateur, hobby beekeeper. It seems every book I find or person I talk with about bees has something new to offer. Having bees is addictive or that’s the way with me…I love to try new things, learning and experimenting, working with others on ideas.

And now I have to admit it: I want honey! Yes, I very much support bee guardianship and all that entails. But as we near the end of peak honey flow I want to be able to harvest honey for ourselves and to share with others. Hopefully we will be able to take one bar of honey away from this hive this summer, but I’m not counting on it. So I’ve been thinking again about a production hive and talked with Ken this morning. Still feel TBH is the way to go for me rather than Warre or Langstroth hives because with a TBH one works more closely with the nature of bees. Will probably opt for the largest hive Ken builds (see http://yardcraftjunky.com/store.htm) and split this “gentle” hive next spring. During the winter I will prepare for the big event, deciding on location and learning how hive splitting is done…stay tuned.

We need a picture…here’s a beautiful one taken by a friend last spring and mounted on a birthday card. Once I get permission from the creator, I plan to have it made into an insert for a necklace pendant…see http://www.magnabilities.com/store/.