New Blog

For those of you interested in how the Alfa is coming, check out my new blog at http://giuliassrepair.blogspot.com

Thanks!

"Good News" or "The Return of the Queen"

Well, after the boy scout trip to my hives, I was concerned! The new package I had installed two weeks previously showed no signs of a queen, with no eggs or larvae in sight. And I could not find the queen anywhere for the scouts. I thought that surely after two weeks, there would be some sign of activity!

When I checked my other hive, I found evidence of a drone layer. How I hate those! You can tell you have one when you see eggs in the cells that are not in the center of the cell, and sometimes you will see two or three eggs in a cell. This is because the worker that has taken it upon herself to lay eggs is not built for the job. Unfortunately, the other bees then think they have a queen, which makes it difficult to introduce a new queen.

So I ordered a queen from Rossman Apiaries ( and had them mark her!). She arrived on May 28th. I hadn't decided which hive to put her into. I opened the new package hive, and found eggs!! My enthusiasm at this discovery was tempered, however, by the thought that maybe I had another drone layer after two weeks without a queen. But as I looked further, I found no double-egg cells, and all the eggs looked to be fine. So I kept looking. The next frame was full of eggs and little larvae, with just a few capped cells. On the third frame, I found the queen!!! An actual queen!! YES! I was quite excited!! Apparently, she needed some time to acclimate to the new surroundings, but there she was, working away!! I carefully put the hive back together so as not to squish Her Highness, and closed up the hive.

In the third hive, I found the same situation as reported earlier. No queen, and double-egg cells. So I have introduced my new queen into this hive, and plan on going out in a couple days and checking on her. I don't have high hopes, as requeening a drone-laying hive can be spotty at best, and my last attempt failed miserably. But I at least have one successful queen working!!

Here's to a great summer!!
Heavy Hives!

Thursday update

Checked on the package today.

The queen was still in her cage, but the bees had opened the candy. So I thought I would take my hive tool and remove the screen to help her out.

As I set the cage on top of the frames, I attempted to brush the bees away from the cage. So I thought I would use my handy-dandy bee persuader (aka the smoker). I gave the cage a little puff, and POOF! Out the queen went through the candy like a rat out of an aqueduct!! So she is now in the hive. Go, baby go!!

On a bit of sad news, my hive that survived is now apparently queenless. I'm checking to see if I can get a new queen soon, as there are many bees, but no eggs or brood or sign of the queen. And she really should be going like crazy right now! I've contacted Purvis brothers to see if I can get a new one by next week.

New package installation

Yay! I now have two pounds of new friends!!

I went up to Lula, GA today to visit Don (Fatbeeman) at Dixie Bee Supply. What a setup he has! Wow! Don was great, he let me choose the package, and then took me out to the bee yard (without veil or smoke, as is his trademark) and made sure I knew how to install a package properly. My son, Owen (6) went with me, and was amazed at the number of hives there.

So I got home, mixed up a quick 1:1 syrup mixture in a 20 oz. soda bottle (an inexpensive sprayer!! Thanks Don!), punched a couple holes in the lid, and then went out to Floyd's to install the package. So they are there now, and I hope they are happy! I plan on stopping by after school tomorrow to make sure they are acclimating well. I'll also check to see if the queen is out yet.

I also need to buy some sugar to mix up a larger batch of syrup for them tomorrow.

CRCT week update

Well, there's not been much to report on lately. And with spring break and now CRCT testing going on, I really haven't had much time to type to you, my loyal readers. For that, I apologize!

It's official, I only had one hive make it through the winter. Italian hive #3 survived! It has been building up nicely, so I decided to try a split the other day. I've never done one before, and I'm sure I did it wrong, but here goes:

I opened up hive three and pulled two frames with capped brood, larvae and eggs. I also noticed that there were about three queen cells started on these frames. After checking for the queen, I moved them over to one of the now empty hives, and replaced them with empty drawn comb. There are honey and pollen stores available to them as well.

So now I wait. I'm praying that it works, and that I haven't completely messed up the only working hive I have!

I'm also planning on getting a package from Don at Dixie Bee Supply this week. I have my son's scout troop coming over, and I need to make sure they have something to see! Don has some pretty docile bees, of the Russian/NWC mix. I'll be interested to see what I get, and I'll be sure to keep you informed.

Until later!!

Well, one out of three ain't bad! I guess....

So I went out today and did a full inspection. It was sunny and 80 degrees! Here is a picture of the hives:



As I've stated earlier, I was encouraged that all three hives were active, and that they were all bringing in pollen and nectar.

Well, with my first inspection, I was to be quite disappointed.

In Jabez, I found quite a few bees, pollen, and nectar. However, as I delved deeper into the hive, not only did I not find the queen, I did not even see SIGNS of one! There were no eggs, no brood, no larvae...nothing!

Disturbed, I put the hive back together and went to hive 2, the Russians. When I opened it, I saw more bees, but still not too many. And my following inspection revealed the exact same situation as in Jabez!

Finally, I gave hive 3 a shot. When I opened it, there were twice as many bees looking at me! So I started into the medium super that I had left on over the winter. And what to my wandering eyes should appear? Larvae!! Capped brood!! Eggs!!! About the fourth frame in, I found this:


What, you can't see it?

How about this:


There she was in all her resplendent glory! Her Majesty the Queen, going about her duties with her attendants in tow! Hooray! Hoorah! Long Live the Queen!

So, I am relieved that there is a hive that is starting to boom, but discouraged about the other two. I'm now trying to decide whether to get some new queens, or just let them go.....

Bees and Boy Scouts

I am very excited! It seems that all three of my hives have survived the winter! This may be the first year I will not be buying bees!!
I had some "leftover" honey, and put it in some hivetop feeders to give back to the bees. They are bringing in lots of pollen, so I want to make sure they have something to eat as well!!

Near the end of March, my son's Cub Scout troop (Tigers) will be coming out to see my three hives. Does anyone out there have some ideas for activities I can do with 10 first graders while they are out there? I'm thinking of contacting some other local beeks to see if they want to come over and give me a hand.
If you have any tips, please let me know!!!

2009 begins...

And it begins happily!
I have been remiss in getting out to the hives for awhile. Last week I spoke with the landowner, who informed me that he didn't think there was anything alive in my hives.

Well, this morning he tells me that with the nice weather yesterday, he saw activity in front of all three hives! So, I need to make sure to get out there the next warm day!

But in the mean time, the most intense music video ever....



You're welcome.


**UPDATE** 1/27/2009
I stopped by the hives yesterday on the way home from school. All three hives were quite active! I want to get some syrup to them to get them ready for the spring. I've also been researching Megabee, which is supposed to be good for building up your colonies. I've never fed my bees anything besides syrup, but I think I will try some this year.

WOW!

I stopped at the hives on my way home from work. I took the lid off of the two hives with top feeders. Both of them are bone dry!! One had a gallon of syrup in it, the other a half!
Well I guess I know what I'm doing after I finish grading these papers....

By the way, how do you like the new look of the blog? I like the bees with the honeycomb in the background!

Death to the Beetles!!

AJ's Beetle Eaters really work well! This is a picture of the dead beetles I got out of my hive of Russians. I only saw a few beetles roaming in the lid (like 3). There were quite a few in the traps. All three hives seemed very calm and quiet, and I hope it is because I am getting the beetles under control.

I also put a gallon of syrup on the russians (top feeder), and a half gallon on the first hive. Hive 3 is still doing well. I put two traps in there and two traps in the Russians.

I really hope I can get these hives through the winter ok.

The next day...

I went out today and put a gallon of 2:1 syrup in a top feeder on the Russians. I also killed a couple of SHB that were running around. I checked the Beetle Eater, and there were several SHB going in and out, and it looked to be low on oil. There should only be 3mL of oil in it, but it seemed to be too little, and with the slope of the hive, I think the SHB were getting out too easily, so I added some more oil to it. We'll see how that works.

I also added more oil to the trap in #3. This hive seemed strong, and was very quiet and gentle. No smoke today.

Jabez seemed irritable, so I put a pint of syrup in a Bordman feeder. There were several bees flying around the front of the hive, and they were quite loud, so I stayed away!

I'm putting canola oil in the beetle traps. Is this right? Maybe I should use a different type?

OH! By the way, I know I don't post very often here, but if you would like to follow my adventures in beekeeping and living, then check out the "Followers" link on the right side of the page. Thanks!

New Fall Inspection

So I went out to check the bees today. I've started a new job teaching third grade at Abbotts Hill Elementary, and have been busier than a dog with three cats to chase. So this afternoon I wanted to see what was going on.

I took some AJ's Beetle Eaters out with me to put in the hive. When I opened up the first hive (Jabez), I saw beetles running like mad under the cover. I had a great time squishing them with my hive tool! I took the top super off, which was empty, just drawn comb. I set it on the ground and leaned it against the hive, to be removed later. The next super had very little honey in it, none of it capped. I went into the brood chamber just enough to find capped brood, larvae, and some eggs. I did not see a queen, but I saw enough evidence to decide to get out of the hive. I put one super onto the deep, a beetle eater onto that super, and replaced the cover. Of course, with this hive being called "Jabez," I got stung on the pinkie as I was putting the cover back on.

The second hive, the Russians, was extremely light. There was no honey in the upper super, and some honey in the lower. There was also a lot of capped brood and eggs. I also saw the queen wandering around in the deep. Good sign! So, I put the hive back together with the extra super leaning just like the first, and a beetle eater. I need to get syrup onto this hive tomorrow.

The third hive, which has been a slow mover and producer all year, surprised me! There was nothing in the shallow super, but there was capped honey in the medium! There were also eggs brood and larvae galore in the medium, and the deep looked pretty good. I did not see a queen here, but obviously she's there somewhere. So I leaned the shallow against this one as well and installed a beetle eater.

My plan is to go out tomorrow and put a top feeder on the Russians filled with a gallon of 2:1 syrup which I made up tonight. I will also pick up the discarded (and empty) supers. After I get some more syrup mixed up, I'll put a feeder on Jabez, and monitor #3 a little bit closer. I also want to remember to check the Beetle Eaters next week.

So this was a long post, but it has been a long time coming! Sorry I have no pictures, I was too busy to remember the camera.

I do have honey left from the one super I harvested. All I need to do is get some jars now.

Psalm 81:16 - Honey From the Rock Apiary
Steve Jones, Beekeeper

What happened in Vegas...

Well, for our 12 year anniversary we were in Las Vegas, and thought this was the cheesiest, most Vegas thing we could do...

The First Harvest!

Today I performed an inspection of my hives. In hive #1 (Jabez), I had placed a super with a mixture of empty frames and foundation only frames. Well the girls had built on the foundation, but had built paddle comb, which I cut out. Any comb which was built properly on the frames was left as is.

On Hive #2, I had placed a medium super with starter strips in them. I was very impressed with these Russians! 4 of the frames had been fully built out beautifully, and the other were developing nicely. After reading of Linda's starter strip issues, I noticed that the frames that were being built were all being built on the back half of the frame. So I reversed them as Linda mentioned, and will update you on how they are doing!

While in Hive #2, I removed the first super that was completely full of capped honey! I have run completely out of Fischer's Bee Quick, and apparently can't get anymore for awhile. This was going to make it difficult to harvest the super without getting stung. So while perusing Beemaster, I found that many people used shop-vacs (reversed) or leaf blowers to remove the bees from the frames. So I got my old leaf blower out and got it up and running. Apparently, bees don't mind this as much as being brushed off the frames, as wind is not seen as an intruder!

So I put the super on end on the ground in front of the hive, and started the leaf blower. By the time I was finished, there was a big pile of bees on the ground in front of the hive and flying around it. While this method is effective, I don't think I will do it again, as it seemed a little violent. All bees appeared to be ok, though, and headed right back into the main entrance of the hive. So while this method appears to work and be harmless, I don't think I'm sold on it unless desperate.

I extracted all of the honey from this super. I have a two frame metal extractor that I bought a couple of years ago. It's kind of clunky, but works quickly! I don't have a proper honey house, so I did this in my front yard, about 3 miles from the apiary. It went well. I've about 2.5 gallons or more of honey that is currently straining.

Here is a pic of my picnic table, and the stones on which I did the uncapping:
These are not my bees! But apparently the word is out that there is a big honey mess to clean up, as there are foragers everywhere! Notice that there is even a big ol' carpenter bee enjoying herself!

Here are some pics of my honey being strained through the two different sizes of strainers into my holding bucket. I also have a pic of the honey with the air bubbles on top. If you look closely at the picture of the tank, you can see just below the label the dark line showing how much honey is in this bucket. Not bad for one super!

Bee Inspection Video - Finally!!

OK, and now for the long awaited inspection video I promised you long ago!

This is my first try, so don't laugh too much!

What it should look like

Here is a picture of Mr. Rod Burdick's restored Giulia SS. I am planning on meeting him in RI in two weeks, so I can see what the Alfa is supposed to look like!
Article and more pics.

More Alfa Pics

Here are some more pics of the new project:

Alfa Romeo in Alpharetta

Well we now have a new project to spend money on:

A 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale.



My father-in-law bought this new in Italy when he was stationed there. But first I need a garage to put it in....

Bee video

Well let's see if this works. It's a video from my phone of my Russians. They are working hard!!




It looks like it worked! I'm about to leave town for two weeks, and will hopefully be getting the cable for the video camera so I can upload the videos I've promised you.

Hives looking good...

Well, after careful deliberation with my supplier, I decided to remove the queen cells. Unfortunately, I dropped the big one into the hive, so I won't have any pictures for you!
I also opened the Russians (gotta find a name for them!) and caught the queen laying eggs! The bees were also starting to move into some of the outer frames, which is a good sign.

I'm still waiting on the power cord for our camera to come from my brother-in-law. Apparently Canon won't let you finalize a DVD with only the battery, they want it plugged in. Stupid idea. Once I have the DVD available, I'll post the vid for you.