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