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| Empty bars in lowest Warre box |
Saturday, May 18, 2013
May 2013 update
May 11...checked Warre hive minimally by lifting three boxes up several inches (thanks, Lee and Jon) to snap a picture to see what's happening inside. There is no comb built on the bars of the lowest box and through the bars in the photo, one can see that bars visible in the box above have no comb. Although I can hear the steady buzz of bees in the top box and the middle box and the three boxes have been glued together by the bees with propolis, my conclusion is that this is a small hive that will have sufficient space for this summer...and perhaps beyond. The bees seem healthy, no mites or dead bees observed on the floor. Seems to be a good population flying out on warm days, returning with pollen and nectar. So, I plan to let them be bees, doing what they know best. At some point they will requeen naturally, and this will be as wild a hive as a backyard can have, which was the goal in the beginning. The honey is a bonus, although I did get sidetracked for awhile and focused too much on that. However, I can buy very good local honey fairly inexpensively and that suits fine.
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Hi, Lorraine,
ReplyDeleteI found your very interesting blog recently. You have done an excellent job of detailing the steep learning curve of beekeeping! I am new to Oregon, with a good opportunity to consider beekeeping. At the present time, it will only be an armchair adventure, and your many resource references will be useful to me. I am drawn to the apparently somewhat easier management of a top bar hive, and I really just want better pollination of a few fruit trees and a garden that has yet to constructed. I'm planning to get the Beekeeping for Dummies book, and I think I might build my own hive, as the plans I've seen appear to be within my wood-butchering abilities. I'm reviving a long-dormant ranch property inland from Florence, a bit at a time. I found one "beek" nearby who has been managing a Langstroth hive successfully, so I hope to get some guidance from him once I have gotten more self-study done. That assumes I'll decide it would feasible for me, since I have many other "high-priority projects" demanding my attention. Please consider this email to be an encouragement to keep up your notes!
Hello Barry! thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteSorry I have not communicated before now--just haven't checked the blog nor been into bees much since I've moved to Bend last May--well, halfway moved...have two homes now.
Will start a hive here this spring--looking forward to being close to bees again. Went to an awesome beekeeper meeting last night here in Bend; read my notes on the blog if you wish...http://grandmab.blogspot.com/. I'm excited about the magnetic influences and the hybrid hive I saw last night.
Sounds to me as if you have the right approach to being a bee guardian and have an excellent place to start. I used the library a lot for books before purchasing a few--the internet also has an abundance of information. Right now I'm particularly liking http://thewarrestore.com/.
enjoy the remainder of the winter, gathering more bee knowledge--it's one of those never-ending stories you know!