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...