I have learned that you should always have a specific reason for going into a hive, so here’s my action plan…
Tomorrow I plan to open both hives to:
It’s been a very busy weekend for bee related activities. Saturday I took an all day class with Randy Oliver who is a biologist and internationally known beekeeper/researcher. He is also one of the earliest members of our local beekeeping association 20+ years ago. We are very lucky to have Randy and his vast knowledge available to us all. His class was very helpful and informative and his website www.scientificbeekeeping.com has a plethora of data based information about everything bees.
Today I took an “in the field” workshop where we got hands on experience with the bees. All in all, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. As they say, “Talk to five different beekeepers and you’ll get five different opinions!” I’m sitting here now trying to sift through all the different bits of information I’ve learned so far trying to chart my course of action.
Saturday evening I put another quart of simple syrup in each hive, and again tonight. Hungry, hungry, hungry bees.
I have screened bottom boards at the base of both hives which serve several purposes. By pulling out the plastic board and observing what you see, you’ll begin to get a sense of what’s going on in the hive. The above picture is from Hive 1. You can see lots of bee debris in the middle, left of center. This indicates where in the hive the main cluster of bees are and presumably where the queen is laying eggs.
Another important reason for observing the bottom board is to monitor pests like the Varroa mite. Should a mite should fall from a bee, it would fall through the screen and not be able to get back in the hive. The number of mites found on the bottom board help determine mite population inside the hive.
Bottom board from Hive 2. Both boards also had several brightly colored yellow and purple clumps of pollen.
Not sure what I’m seeing in the top corner of Hive 2. Will have to ask my mentor.
This picture was taken later in the day. The bees are out doing their bee thing.
Took a peek into the top feeder of each hive today and found that both hives had drained their quart jars of simple syrup. Hungry girls! I’m sure they were happy to “eat in” today as the weather was chilly – the 50s. I was amazed at how warm the hives were when I lifted the covers. They were putting out some serious heat.
Today I arrived at 7:00 am to pick up my bees at A-Z Supply in Grass Valley. I purchased two nucs which are miniature bee hives used to start a new colony.
This is a selfie of me in the bee yard ready to install the new nucs.
This is my smoker. My first attempt to light it failed miserably so I watched a YouTube video and got it working just right!
On the left are two empty hives and the two nuc boxes are on the right. As you can see in the front hive, I’ve removed five frames to make room for the new frames of bees.
As I slowly lifted the lid of the nuc box I puffed some smoke inside to calm the bees. This is what it looks like to open a nuc. A nuc is a small “nucleus hive.” They usually contain five frames and come with a mated queen and about 10,000 bees. The queen has already begun laying eggs and the worker bees have begun drawing out comb and storing pollen and nectar.
This is the bees new home.
Here is my new hive! It’s amazing how different the two hives already are. One hive is considerably heavier than the other. The heavy hive’s five frames has much more drawn out comb and already has capped honey and pollen. I saw little larva in the honeycomb, but did not see any eggs. I’m sure they were there, I just don’t quite know what I’m looking for…and they are very tiny. I feel fortunate to have spotted both queens. They are about twice as big as the regular worker bees and have very long narrow abdomens. I also saw several drones, which are male bees. They are also larger than worker bees and have bodies shaped like bullets and very large eyes on top of their heads.
Amber and I have been very busy preparing for the arrival of our bees. It’s almost like having a baby! I pick up the bees Wednesday at 7:00 am.
