I Don't Know If This Is Good or Bad

Posted by liz on

This is a video of either 1) the Amazon swarm robbing Tomboys and Girls of Summer, or 2) new bees doing their orientation flights. This is either a good thing or a bad thing, and I can’t tell the difference. Ignorance is making me nuts.

For some reason, I feel as if this is simply the sign of a healthy hive, but I’ve taken action as if it’s the sign of some strong bees taking advantage of two smaller, less established colonies. I think I’ve got enough experience and enough knowledge to begin practicing the “art” of beekeeping. At some point, you just have to go with a gut developed by information, instinct, and experience.

Okay, I’ll stick my neck out: I believe this is simply some vigorous orientation flights. There are no dead bees being hauled out of the hives which would indicate robbing. I’ll give it another day with the entrance reducer and with the ventilation holes plugged against intruders, but I’m opening the hives again soon so these vigorous girls can get to work and haul in the goods.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Po7CKaE_Gw

Good Entrance Reducers Make Good Neighbors

Posted by liz on

After trimming trees around the house for much of the afternoon, we were taking a little iced-tea break  on our deck. I began to see quite a bit of activity out in the bee yard…more than usual. It didn’t look like a swarm, but there were a lot of bees. You can see them when the sun lights them up against the dark background of the woods behind our house.

When I went to check on things, I found robbing occurring at Tomboys and Girls of Summer. There was bee frenzy going on out there. Amazons seemed far more calm. And the robbing bees were coming from the woods where I assume the swarm went to live on Saturday morning. It was pretty wild out there, and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t capture it on my camera (only a video would show the craziness and capture the impressive sound of this, though). I never think to grab my camera when I go out there. And if I do put my camera in my pocket, I forget it’s there.

Here’s what I assume is happening: I’m pretty sure the swarm with which we’ve just dealt was from Amazons because Amazons are so darn robust. And, more importantly, because we discovered a lot of queen cells in the hive when we inspected it on Saturday…a sure sign the hive is planning to swarm. So now the swarm has found a place to live, but they don’t have food stored up in their new place…they would know, however, that there’s honey near their old house. So they came back to rob their old neighbors, Tomboys and Girls of Summer…those two hives are newer and so have less strength and fewer guard bees to protect the hive. But they’ve stored up good honey already…honey the Amazon swarm clearly wants.

The robbers were not robbing Amazons nearly so much because those girls are their sisters…for real. And Amazons are a more established and stronger hive than the two new colonies and so can defend themselves better against intruders.

This morning I plan to put entrance reducers on Tomboys and Girls of Summer. I’ll also plug the holes I drilled in the brood-chamber boxes for a few days. Those holes are unnecessary openings, and plugging them will allow the guard bees to defend only one (reduced) opening.

I’m still bemoaning the loss of honey production from Amazons this year. The honey we collected on Saturday is so beautiful in their pretty jars. I’ve got them all lined up on the counter now, and they are amazingly gorgeous when the sun hits them.

Pine cones on the bee hive, and candy at the door

Bees Are Everywhere in the Yellow

Posted by liz on

The bees are feasting…absolutely feasting out there, and I’m sooooo happy about it.

Today is cloudless, and the temperatures are hovering right at 50 degrees. So, I made my first batch of bee candy and delivered it to the hive. When I got there, those girls were already kicking ass. I mean, they were hauling dead bees out of the hive, and they were flying in and out and getting down to business. I was thrilled to see them so alive. They were noisy. I was elated.

I took my smoker with me in case they were a little pissy and rambunctious after being so cooped up, and I smoked the entrance just to calm them down a bit…and the moment that smoke hit the entrance to the hive, a fat mouse scampered out. Ooooh. That made me mad. I should have put an entrance reducer or a mouse guard in place because those little rascals can create havoc in a hive.

Anyway, I removed the protective, black cardboard box for the season, and I plugged up those little air holes with pine cones so the cold air that’s coming later doesn’t make thing any harder on them than need be. I placed a layer of bee candy inside the top lid of the hive, so they can eat it when the weather gets bad again. But I also decided to simply leave a pan full of the stuff at their front door so they could come outside and have a little sugar party.

But then I realized that they were already having a party…a yellow-flower, first-bloom-of-the-season party. We’ve got these tiny yellow flowers that bloom mid-March on our hill, and I realized that the bees were going deliriously crazy in the flowers. I stood out there with them, and I could literally hear the buzzing. And once my eyes relaxed, I saw bees everywhere in the yellow. I am so so so so happy.

Pine cones on the bee hive, and candy at the door
Pine cones on the bee hive, and candy at the door
Bee hives (and Murphy) in snow

Isn't Snow a Good Insulator?

Posted by liz on

 

Before I could get a new, officially sanctioned entrance reducer in place (okay, I admit it…I haven’t even ordered it yet), snow covered the entrance to both hives. And snow’s supposed to be a great insulator, right?  So, I guess things are toasty in there. I hope these bees can stand my hands-off approach.

Bee hives (and Murphy) in snow
Bee hives (and Murphy) in snow

Two Hives and One Entrance Reducer

Posted by liz on with 3 Comments

So, yesterday I slogged up to the two snow-dusted hives with my one-and-only entrance reducer. And then I stood there. One entrance reducer and two hives poses one of those philosophical moments: To which hive do I choose to give the advantage of warmth?

The hive we call the “swarm hive” is the stronger of the two, and I expect it to winter better than the hive we received through the mail. But this is the first year at this location for each colony, and I don’t think either of them stored enough honey to make for an easy winter. So, do I focus energies on the stronger hive or do I give the leg up to the weaker one?

I’m pretty sure that folks who know would suggest sticking with the stronger hive to ensure successful cold months for them. But I placed the entrance reducer on the weaker hive. I think the swarm hive has the gumption to handle the elements…at least until I can get a second entrance reducer over here. But I feel as if the weaker colony needs all the help it can get, so it now sports a brand new and smaller door.

An Evolving World View or Indolence?

Posted by liz on with 1 Comment

It is soooo cold, and I am soooo worried about the bees. It’s so cold that the 2 liters of Coke we lazily left on the deck EXPLODED last night. See? I am just too lazy to be a good beekeeper. Those girls put me to shame. Sometimes I wonder if my newly forming beekeeping philosophy is a reflection of my evolving world view or if it’s a sign of slothfulness…it’s easier not to requeen than to requeen and not to treat for mites than to treat for them and not to manage the space to avoid swarming than to manage it.

Anyway, I have not yet reduced the size of the opening to the bees’ hives, so today I think I’ll trudge out through the snow and put the entrance reducer in place. Maybe that’ll help them stay warmer. Because they sure as hell haven’t stored enough food for the calories required to keep their temperatures up in this January weather. I am a bad beekeeper. I’ll bet my hat we lose the weaker of the two hives.