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.