Interesting, I would consider 103º to be HOT, but according to AccuWeather.com, it’s merely sunny!
Yes, it’s been one hot week! For the first time since the bees arrived, I saw bees while sitting on my deck. Surprisingly they weren’t buzzing the flowers, but drinking the water caught beneath the potted plants. So I thought I’d bring some water out to the hives.
I am told that bees like shallow water where there are things to land on. So I took this flat baking pan and filled it with rocks and wood branches.
I’ve noticed several wasps hovering above the ground in front of both hives. They did not appear near the entrance to the hives, but were rummaging on the ground in front where many dead bees can be found.
Wasps have a very distinct yellow and black pattern and are commonly, but inaccurately, referred to as meat bees.
Last weekend I attended another great workshop put on by Dan Wheat. This time we were in the honey house to observe the process of extracting honey. It was hot, both outside as well as in the honey house, which is heated into the 90s keeping the wax soft and the honey viscosity thin and runny.
Frames of capped honey
Above is a stack of honey supers filled with frames of capped honey.
Uncapping hot knife
Uncapping is the process of removing the top layer, or cap, of honeycomb exposing the individual cells full of honey. The uncapping hot knife is electric and very hot. The technique calls for letting the hot knife do the work. Move slowly and let it melt through. As the cap is sliced off, it falls into the draining tub below. Catching the wax and allowing the honey to drain and collect .
Tine uncapping fork
After the majority of cap has been removed using the hot knife, the remainder of uncapped cells are scraped using a tine uncapping fork.
A frame of uncapped honeycomb.
This frame is now ready to be placed inside the electric honey extractor.
This extractor can hold up to 12 frames. When full, the lid is closed then turned on, slow at first, faster later. The time in the extractor was around 12-15 minutes. After being spun from the cells, the honey drips and collects at the bottom of the tank.
Electric honey extractor
The light underneath helps keep the honey warm and runny making it easier to work with. Once the extracting is done a 5-gallon bucket is placed underneath the black valve.
Straining double mesh sieve
This is the double mesh sieve placed on top of the 5-gallon bucket. The top mesh is coarse, the bottom mesh finer.
Dan and Jose
Thank you Dan and Jose for walking us through the honey extraction process! So much to learn the first year!!!
Today I did my third alcohol wash to test for Varroa mites. I am happy to report that both hives are in good shape.
A good test result is fewer than 9 mites per 300 bee sampling (1/2 cup of bees), or less than 3%. If your test returns are under 3%, then your hive is in good shape…for the time being! The end of August is a critical time. This is when the bee population starts to decline as it heads toward winter and Varroa mite population starts to increase. Will test again next month.
July 22, 2016 Mite check
Hive 2
Alcohol wash: 4 mites. Tested from Box 1 Frame 5
Adult bees with deformed wings resulting from DWV (Deformed Wing Virus) which is spread by the Varroa mite. Photo credit: Katherine Aronstein. Source: articles.extension.org
Hive check Saturday, July 16, 2016 The bees are back and so am I! I’ve been away on vacation and am sure the bees have appreciated some peace from my weekly visits. When I last checked, I thought the hives were rebounding and that’s exactly what I found. Populations in both hives appeared much larger than two weeks ago.
Hive 2 is filling up nicely. Box 1 has all ten frames built out, filled with lots of pollen, nectar and brood. I even saw the queen on Frame 3. Box 2 is almost filled with capped honey, just the outside frames are empty. I will put a honey super on during my next check with the hope that the bees will get an early start building out the honey comb. I want to be ready for next year’s honey flow! Below is a frame of solid capped honey. It was very heavy when I lifted it out of the hive.
Hive 2 Box 2 Frame 5
Hive 1 is also doing well. Box 1 was filled with eggs, larva in all stages, capped brood, lots of pollen and nectar. Box 2 had lots of burr comb (seen on the top side of the wooden frame.) Box 2 is also filling with capped honey, with the brood nest moving up into the center frames.
Hive 1 Box 2 Frame 2
This is a frame from the honey super box on top. As you can see, the frames are not as deep as the bottom boxes. The bees have decided to build a big blob of honey comb down the center of the frame into the frame beside it. It was hard to break the frames away from each other in order to pull it out.
Hive 1 Super 1 Frame 7
Hive 1 Super 1 Frame 7
Ultimately I broke off the extra comb. You don’t want frames with wonky wax!
Bottom board check
Hive 2 bottom board
Hive 1 bottom board
I was very surprised to see dead bees on the bottom board of Hive 1. I asked at our meeting and was told that there must have been a small opening somewhere in the bottom board. The bees crawled in thinking they’d get into the hive, but had crawled below the screen and couldn’t get back in.
I didn’t see any Verroa mites on the board. I was also told that because I had an interruption in the breeding cycle when the hives were queenless, that alone would knock back the mites.
Hive 2 Stats
Super
No super
Box 2
F1 Little comb
F2 – F8 Full of capped honey
F9 One side of comb
F10 No comb
A big thank you to Dan Wheat and Gary McClaughry! They have been holding meetings and doing demonstrations since we picked up our bees in April. Tonight we sat for almost two hours asking questions and hearing about everyone’s experience. It is so helpful! Thank you again!
The weather for the past couple of weeks has been strange. First we had a week with unseasonably cool weather, temps in the seventies, followed by a week with temps over one hundred degrees. The star thistle is now blooming and the bees are bringing in pollen like crazy.
Evening in the bee yard.
On Tuesday, June 28, I checked the hives to evaluate their health. Both hives now have new queens. Last week I did not see any eggs in either hive. This week I was able to see eggs in Hive 1, as well as larva in all stages, though the laying pattern was spotty. I spotted the queen in box 2, frame 5. Hive 2 had larva in all stages, but I did not see any eggs. I don’t know why they weren’t visible to me, but as long as there are larva there must be eggs.
I feel that the hives are rebounding and hopefully there will be a star thistle honey flow that the bees can take advantage of. As I will be gone next week I’m hoping to return to hives full of frames with capped brood! Box 2 of both hives are heavy with beautiful white-capped honey!
Hive 2 Stats Did not see queen
Did not see eggs
Saw young larva
Spotty brood
Saw lots of pollen
Lots of capped honey
Hive 1 Stats
Saw the queen B2F5
Saw eggs and larva in all stages
Spotty brood
Saw lots of pollen
Lots of capped honey
