Notes from the Bee Hive

Rain, Bees & Blogs

2009-08-15T11:38:00.004-04:00

Dear readers - whoever you may be -
My sincerest apologies for the lack of blogging this spring and summer season. I'm going to defer the blame and suggest the following:

Rain > Bees inside > Less bee activity to concern myself with > Fewer blog entries

However, I have added a honey super on this hive (their first!) and will be checking that soon.

Additionally, I'll probably begin late-summer feeding soon due to the rain and the impact it has had on the bees' foraging.

So, there you have it. An apology, an excuse, and two morsels of beekeeping information for now. I hope that will suffice until I get myself together and post (and back-date) entries....

Swarm Removal

2009-03-21T13:00:00.002-04:00

In my browsing of bee-related sites, I came across Bill Owens' Swarm Removal website. He is a beekeeper in Georgia and, like many accomplished beekeepers, offers the service of removing swarms from homes, public buildings, etc. (All of these links from my favorite bee-site on the web, Beekeeper Linda.) He has excellent photography of sites he's worked at. The photos are daunting, and I have spent some serious time marveling at them from my desk.

What a job that must be! I am both completely awestruck by the work the bees have done in these places and simultaneously terrified at the thought of having to be in the position of the beekeeper who is going to remove them. Wow.

Pollen

2009-03-20T13:24:00.003-04:00

It was pretty mild on Wednesday, and had it not been so windy, I'd have opened the hive up for a spring inspection. Alas, it's March, and any day off I've had has been either windy or drizzly or cold... no fun for bees.
I was surprised to see so much industrious movement at the hive. It seemed as though they never stopped - they were so active and it was so familiar. Naturally, I was elated. I made a list of the things I can now prepare for, knowing that they'd made it through the winter.
They were gathering pollen - as I'd seen a few days before - and it seemed to be in two shades: a bright, orange-y yellow and a dusty green color. (In the photo above, you can see the bees' pollen baskets full of the green color pollen.) I want to learn what plants are providing them with so much pollen so early in the spring.

March/April Checklist

2009-03-20T12:35:00.003-04:00

Order supplies:
- Medication: Terramycin, Fumigilin B, possibly Apistan
- Honey supers
- Second hive (?)

On the hive:
- Rotate hive bodies - The cluster moves upwards in winter. If I rotate the chambers, they will begin expanding upward into the formerly empty box.
- Possibly, replace bottom board - I am thinking about getting a screened IPM board to manage the mites that drop.
- Start feeding sugar syrup (with medication).

For the upcoming months:
- Build second hive - I might be able to start a second hive from this one, and it will prevent swarming.
- Prepare honey supers before the nectar flow - This year, I'll harvest...

Getting Warmer....

2009-03-15T01:29:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a while since I've updated, but as I've been telling people, my concern for this hive's overwintering has been so great that I can't even think about it for any great length of time, let alone talk or write about it.

However! Today was a good day at the hive. I haven't had a chance to open it and check the food supply/hive population in there, though I need to. It's been warmer, but on the afternoons when I have been free, it hasn't been warm enough for me to feel safe about cracking it open.

I sat to the side of the hive, watching tons of ants crawling around in the grass below and up onto the hive. I want to check and make sure that they are not a great threat to the bees. I poked through the grass below the hive entrance and noticed a pretty substantial mass of dead bees. From the varying stages of decay I felt certain that they were just the visible product of winter cleaning - a few bees tossed out one day, a few the next.... as opposed to a big wave of bee death.

Slowly, the bees came out of the hive to take cleansing flights. They were leaving from the top entrance, which supports the fact that bees always move upwards through the hive. Specifically, they will move upwards to consume their food, to lay their eggs, etc., starting in the lower chambers and moving towards the top as they need to. I am presuming that the bottom box is cleaned out of honey stores and that they are on the last bits. I have read that if you are concerned about the level of food in the hive, that you can lay a sheet of cake fondant (maliable, dough-like cake icing) across the frames for the bees to eat.

In other news, I ran into a friend of mine from high school, Jess, who I knew kept bees of her own a few miles away from mine. It was great to have a sounding board - especially someone who I have always respected. The things she said came right from my own brain, especially when she proclaimed, "I saw them bringing in pollen today!!" (I had marveled at that earlier in the afternoon, trying to imagine where that little bee had found the pale white pollen that filled her packets as she returned to the hive.)

Things seem good for this hive - I hope to have a better idea before the end of the week...!

Varroa!

2009-03-15T00:54:00.003-04:00

The ground is muddy, the trees are still bare and March has come in like a lion. I placed a brick on top of the hive earlier after I woke up from nightmares driven by a particularly gusty day outside my window several weeks ago. I had seen, in the dream, the hive blown open and all of my bees freezing. Literally jumped out of the bed and drove over to make sure things were okay... which, of course, they were.

At any rate, on one of the calmer days recently I took away the entrance reducer to sweep the bottom board of the hive out of curiosity. I found a pile of wax dust and brownish flecks crowded under the entrance reducer. I looked at it for a few seconds before I realized what the flecks actually were - Varroa Mites. These mites cause all sorts of problems in the hive and are suspected as a contributing factor to CCD, for causing deformities in the bees and for weakening hives in general. There are a few chemicals available to control Varroa mites, but nothing to completely wipe 'em out.

After discovering the mites, I realized that despite the warmth of that afternoon, I'd seen no signs of life. I held my breath and stared and stared at the hive, dread accumulating, before I finally saw one little bee fly into the hive. Within seconds, she - or a sister of hers - appeared at the hive entrance and tossed a small hive beetle off the landing board. I probably cheered out loud at that, for several reasons. It was an encouraging sight.

A Good Bee Omen

2009-01-08T23:29:00.002-05:00

I emailed many people to share a good bee omen that I encountered today.

In other news, well, there isn't any. It's time to catch up on reading and prepare to build the new hives. Last I checked at my hive, there were still dead bees out front - as I've said, that's a sign that there are bees alive inside to carry the dead ones out, so it's a good sign. I intend to get a laser heat-sensor thingy and shoot the hive and see what I can learn, but I haven't gotten around to borrowing one yet.

Closing Time

2008-12-14T12:03:00.003-05:00

It was mid October and night temperatures had veered towards the freezing point or below. Time for all good bees to stay inside and keep the queen warm!

I'd noticed fewer bees leaving the hive during the day along with shortened days of activity. I'd done the final check of the hive and was ready to help them hunker down for the cooler months.

My first priority was to create adequate ventillation for the hive. In the winter, the bees cluster together, creating an internal temperature well past the 70s. With the freezing outside temperature against the walls of the hive, the heat generated by the hundreds of beating bee wings creates condensation inside of the hive. Condensation is, as far as I can tell, the biggest threat to an otherwise healthy hive as it overwinters.

If the liquid rises and coats the inside lid - and is not able to escape - it can pool and drip down onto the cluster. Imagine, a chilled droplet of water falling from the icy hive roof into the warm nest of bees. It damages their carefully calibrated temperature and can cause great harm to the cluster.

To prevent this, I glued matchsticks to the inner cover and pushed the outer cover forward, creating an opening across the top of the hive, so that air could breeze through and escape from under the eaves of the outer cover. (See photo.)

Finally, I closed up the hive and did a sweep across the floor of the hive. It's important to check for mice, who would love to snuggle inside and eat honey all winter. I put the entrance reducer in place with the larger gap as the opening. This both prevents drafts and gives the bees plenty of space to get out. (The smaller opening could be blocked by dead bee bodies as the population continues to drop.)

They're all inside and hopefully ready for what's coming. The only other thing I can do for them is to build a windbreak, wrap the hive in black roofer's paper and put a rock on top of the hive to prevent the cover from being blown off should any harsh winds hit. I will do those things if I feel like conditions get to be excruciating, but as for now, it's been fairly mild. I hope they make it...

End of the Season

2008-12-14T11:54:00.003-05:00

{I meant to write this weeks/months ago, but never followed through. Here's a little note about the end of the active outdoor bee season.}

First of all, I continued to see elder bees leaving the nest. The one above is old enough that her wings have beat enough to destroy themselves.

Now, with the hive population and the temperature dropping, it's time to prepare for the winter. I did one last inspection of the hive - should have, but did not check to see if the queen was present - and made sure there was enough honey for them. I was shocked, actually, at the volume they'd accumulated since I'd initially been very concerned about it. Somehow, they had increased their stores to a level that indicated preparedness for the harder months ahead.

Also, I was able to see SHB's again. This was the second time I'd seen any, though I'd seen one hole through a comb at one point. (Their trademark: the beetles eat the comb and jump around from frame to frame, destroying everything and making life miserable for the bees.) Since they hadn't been visible for the majority of time I'd been inside the hive over the summer, I was less concerned about them. If they are inevitable, and they are not annihilating the hive, I guess I have to just cope with them, an extermination or pest-control plan in order for emergency use.

Finally, the closing steps in preparing the hive for winter....

Tattered Wings

2008-10-07T11:30:00.002-04:00

I watched the bees that were in the grass yesterday to see if I could learn what was causing this, and I think I did. It's not anything strange at all, I should have thought about it!

They weren't drones (the male bees that get thrown out as the hive tightens up for winter), I was finally certain. They were just there in the grass and leaves, stumbling around and not lifting themselves back into the air.

I looked closer and they all had tattered, broken wings. That was the reason. They are old bees. It is the end of their lives.

This time of year bees will be dying and leaving the hive and the hive number will be reduced to a bare minimum. Also, if a bee is sick or dying, she will leave the nest rather than risk infecting or inconveniencing her sisters.

I told them 'thank you.'

The hive still smelled like candycorn.

"Bee Spit"

2008-09-29T02:01:00.002-04:00

Every time that I refill the jar of honey at work, I like to psyche out my friends by brandishing the jar and proclaiming, "Do you know how many little bee mouths spat this stuff out?" Hokey enthusiasm! (Honey is plant nectar which has been digested/regurgitated by bees, and fermented, essentially, in the comb.) And on that note, here are a few facts about bees and honey.

Bees visit 50-100 flowers during a collecting trip.

It takes two million flowers to create one pound of honey.

It also takes about 55,000 miles to collect enough nectar for one pound of honey.

A worker bee will produce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.

These facts are from pbs!

Sounds of Fall(ing)

2008-09-27T01:34:00.003-04:00

I haven't opened up the hive in about a week - and I know there are things that needed to be done - but I did stop by yesterday. I walked up there just to get an eye on things, since I always like to look and make sure that normal traffic is moving, that there are no robber bees, that nothing has chomped the hive apart. I saw the cluster of lurking wasps which have become a standard fixture amongst the fallen leaves on the ground below the entry board, lately.

While I watched them work, dismantling bees who were down for the count, I heard frequent sounds in the dry leaves around the hive base. pat, pat.... pat...

Things were falling. Bees were falling! Flying in and out of the hive and crashing before their destination. I wondered if this meant the drones were being thrown out - the worker bees physically carry the male/drone bees out of the hive as winter approaches. When I saw that they were female/worker bees hitting the leaves, I watched more closely. True, the wasps had gotten some of them, but in many cases it looked like the bees were making clumsy landings. They were loaded with honey and unable to accurately calculate their landing marks.

For the first time in a while, also, I saw many bees with visible collected pollen. I guess it means the fall nectar flow is continuing.

I will hold off on feeding for this week, as I am concerned that an explosion of food will prompt the hive to continue to grow, when in reality, they ought to only be storing and preparing for winter. I don't want them to get confused! If there still is a nectar flow, then I am feeling more confident in the bees' ability to gather enough food to sustain them... but I have more investigating to do before I rest with that assumption.

Possible Cure for CCD?

2008-09-22T16:46:00.002-04:00

My friend Jared sends me links to news feeds and articles about bees, and this, perhaps, is the most interesting and exciting news yet.

An anti-viral medication is being tested to prevent the spread of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) through the use of gene-silencing. CCD has wiped out thousands of colonies worldwide. Bees' pollination plays a significant role in over 1/3 of all food production, so it is obvious how critical a threat CCD poses to our planet.

I'm wondering if I can volunteer my hive as part of the testing... I'll look into it!

P.S. - Hello to You

2008-09-22T01:35:00.003-04:00

I'm touched to be hearing that people are reading this, and some reading this regularly. (Terry and Emmi - I'm talking to YOU.)

The hive has seriously affected my life in an exciting way - more so than anything I've attempted before - and I'm thrilled to hear that people are interested in seeing what's up with my endeavor.

Thanks.

Disaster

2008-09-22T01:21:00.002-04:00

I haven't written in a while because I am still reeling from - and avoiding giving any thought to - a horrific blunder I made during a visit to the beehive last weekend. Quickly said, I dropped a frame. Not uncommon, but certainly a)something I've never done before and b)visually and factually devastating.

I was knocking a pocket of queen cells off of one frame in the lower deep and looking into it for the first time in a week or two. (Generally, I assume that if things seem ok in the upper deep, the lower one is in decent shape. I avoid disturbing them as much as I can, and cracking them apart seems disruptive.)

The ends of the frame were slimy with propolis (fall is when the bees build up on it to begin chinking up cracks in the hive for winter insulation) and my fingers slid off of the tabs on the end. The frame hit the ground, trapping bees underneath it in the grass. I saw nectar rain out from the honeycomb cells and soak the dirt at my feet. In a whirlwind, bees took to the air around me and writhed in the grass as they sought to get their bearings.

Surprisingly, I did not get stung. Short sleeved shirt and everything. And I was prepared to, seeing as I was mad at myself on their behalf and felt deserving of their wrath.

The crushing blow of the whole ordeal was that my view into the hive was cut short by my desire to soothe the bees, and prevent a possible robbing situation now that there was nectar everywhere. I carefully replaced the frames and spaced them in the box, smoked those bees in and reached for the upper deep. As I lowered it on, though, the cloud of bees was especially frenetic, and all the smoke in the world would not make them get in and stay put. It was unavoidable, but I squashed a handful of bees as I lowered the top box onto the bottom one. Bee heads stuck out at the seem, antennae twitching, bodies crushed between the two boxes, fellow bees hovering nearby and investigating the scene.

I can't even write any more today. I need to keep feeding them and I need to prop the hive onto a forward angle, and will do that tomorrow, probably.

Who's there...?

2008-09-11T00:32:00.005-04:00

On the days when I visit the hive but cannot interrupt them by looking inside, I sit and watch, soaking in as many minute details as I can. The way the bees are entering and departing, the different moves each bee makes as it walks around on the entrance board, what other bugs have nestled into the crooks of the hive, etc.

Well, last week as I was sitting next to the hive I noticed something interesting, unrelated to the bees themselves. Along the bottom of the hive body and stand, there were fur marks imprinted into the mud which has splashed up the side of my hive. Something has been rubbing itself up against the edge of that hive! Raccoons and skunks are the most likely mammals to prey on beehives in this area (though bears would also be interested, if they were around) but I not entirely sure that it wasn't a neighbor-cat. It'd have to be pretty tall and have pretty coarse fur, though... hmm... who's there?

Queen Cells

2008-09-11T00:21:00.004-04:00

Today, yet again, I destroyed swarm cells. Many, many, many. Above, you can see a perfect example of a swarm cell. There is a potential queen bee in that puffed out cell. Also, you can see a few of the milky white grubs which I picked out of other similar cells. Mildly horrific, but it is important to get 'em before they hatch. I think - as I am certain that I've missed a few over the summer - that my queen has been fighting off these newly spawned rivals. I hope she has, and I hope she continues to do so, for two reasons:

1. Her colony is not prepared to swarm, so she needs to keep them home. Should it swarm now, both the swarm and the vacated hive will be ill prepared for winter. Neither would survive.

2. She's too young to succumb to a new queen! She's a year old and she's a good layer.

Fascinatingly, after I knocked out all the queens that I could locate, I sealed up the hive and watched as the diligent workers dragged the dead bodies to the outside of the hive. They tossed them out onto the grass below, and immediately, I saw a wasp close in and devour one of the dead queens. It was amazing - out of nowhere! (Wasps are predators of bees and will invade hives, chewing off the wing and leg muscles of the bees before taking them away and eating them.) Check that out here.

Aster?

2008-09-06T14:38:00.002-04:00

Another post about smells. When I sat down next to the hive last week, I noticed a strange, different odor coming from the hive. It was sweet... but not necessarily pleasant. Pungent, floral (maybe?) but also kind of musty.
Alarmed, I stood up, walked 10 feet away and sat back down on the ground. Maybe it was me? God only knows. Nope, no creepy smell. (Side note: when visiting a beehive, it is always best to smell like nothing. Nothing! No sweat or body odor, but no deodorant, perfumes, fabric soaps, etc. Finding a happy, fragrance-free medium is genuinely a challenge, let me tell you.)
SO. It was definitely coming from within the hive. My first thought was that it could be American Foulbrood. A horrifying thought, as AF means the brood in the hive essentially rot and turn to goo, and the bacteria is so persistent that it can be contagious for up to 35 years. There is only one way to eliminate it: to burn everything. To light the hive, the bees, the woodenware, everything that might have come into contact with the disease, on fire. For obvious reasons, I was concerned.

Then, a hopeful thought crept into my head. I remember when having read Sue Hubbel's book, she discussed a similiar fear. One autumn, she noticed a strong, unusual odor from a hive and considered the possibility of an American Foulbrood infestation. Through her knowledge of regional plants and beekeeping in general, though, she deduced that it was a product of the autumn nectar flow, specifically, the nectar being collected from Snow Asters. The aster is a wildflower. Surely this could be my answer! I have yet to investigate, but I am almost certain that when I drove here to the hive today, I smelled a similar smell when passing an overgrown farm field now full of wildflowers.

When I sat next to the hive today, I smelled the same odd smell, but this time, I forced myself to think of it as a honey smell, and I felt better. I'll find out on Tuesday when I open up again.

Perfume Review

2008-08-26T16:06:00.003-04:00

I've mentioned my attraction to the smell of the beehive: honey, wood, warmth.

After identifying this, I went on a search for a perfume that could emulate that scent. I encountered a limited number of 'honey scented' products, one being L'Occitane's Honey Lemon

I finally found the perfect match. Serge Lutens Meil du Bois. I tried it on and came home to do some research - mainly to see if I could find it for a cheaper price than the $110 tag at the store. I was unable to find that, but I read many reviews of it and was surprised at how mixed or violent people's reactions to the scent were! I hadn't noticed any of the strange notes that they had detected, though it was a very full scent.

In conclusion: I own it, I love it, I would wear it every day and wrap myself up in it. line. (I found that to be too fake/sugary in addition to the citrus erasing the softness of the smell I was searching for.)

Late Summer Feeding

2008-08-26T15:56:00.003-04:00

Just came in from the hive, where I put the hive-top feeder back on for a second round of feeding. I've been using a 'winter recipe' - 2.5 quarts of water and 10 lbs of sugar - in hopes of readying the bees for winter.

Still no new developments on the frames in the upper deep. Saw one swarm cell but I didn't remove it. (Ah, hindsight... why didn't I just knock it off? Oh well.) The queen seems to be very active, as one of the frames had a dense network of eggs, the other had a lot of capped and pearly white brood. The bees keep comin' and the honey doesn't stay. I can't figure that out. I found myself saying, out loud, to them, "I honestly don't know what you're going to do with this mess."

On the plus side, I saw zero hive beetles on the inner cover, where two weeks ago I had seen several. Many thanks to Linda for all of her advice via email and her awesome blog. She was able to ease my fears regarding SHB and also generally renewed my spirits.

We'll see what happens next week. Stay tuned.
(The above photo is not of my hive, but from beecare.com.)

Hope & Heartbreak, Plans and Mysteries.

2008-08-18T00:53:00.005-04:00

Already, I am thinking about next season. When I was in Maine I decided that I needed to add at least one more hive to my yard so that I could always make comparisons, swap frames from strong hives to weak hives, and have space should I be confronted with a swarm.

In addition to a second hive of my own, I have already picked a location for another two hives on my Aunt & Uncle's property. They are located among farm fields, and I can envision those hives flourishing with so many resources. I know my uncle would like to learn more about the process - he has always been fascinated, apparently - but I would probably be making visits to those hives on a bi-weekly basis.

I am preparing myself for the very real possibility that this hive might fail for this season. As Andy says, "you never know the reason" why things go wrong. My relationship with the bees, like relationships with tempermental friends, is one of mystery - I try, I think I am doing what needs to be done, using restraint or pouring on attention as needed, remaining optimistic, but in the end sometimes I am left with nothing instead of substance. I might end up with heartbreak and unanswered questions after trying my damnedest.

Late Summer

2008-08-18T00:43:00.004-04:00

The hive-top feeder that I put in place last week contained about one gallon of thick sugar syrup, which I hoped would inspire the bees to stock up for winter. Luckily, it was empty today. [Above - the bees in the removed, empty feeder zoom back towards the hive.]

They're in no shape to overwinter so far. They ought to have one super of honey and one of brood, theoretically, and they have about half and half in one super. Not even. In fact, if there is 10 lbs of honey in there, I'd be shocked. [They need about 70 to overwinter]. I can't fathom how they're continuing to boom in numbers when they aren't building in the upper deep and aren't capping any honey. This hive, frankly, is doomed.

I am going to double up the batch, or maybe triple it for next weekend, since they'd started one frame of all sugar water in the top super. In real life, they'd have built that up from a hearty nectar flow, but I feel like there is a lull in the fields and the bees are being lazy. If I were selling the honey, this would be outrageous and tacky, but since I'm just trying to get the bees ready to feed themselves, the richness of the honey is secondary to the volume, in this case.

Small Hive Beetle

2008-08-18T00:22:00.002-04:00

Last week I had some more friends stop by to see the hive. It's gotten to the point where I invite anyone within earshot, each week. I love being able to talk about the bees, and I love hearing what people think and answering questions, or considering things that hadn't occurred to me. Some beekeepers use time with their hives as a sort of meditation, but I happily flip-flop between bee-solace and show-and-tell modes.

At any rate, this particular weekend (8.09.08) was another fraught with impending peril for my bees. The presence of what I am certain is the Small Hive Beetle. (SHB). [In the photo above, you can see the beetles - black, tinier than the bees. That is not my hive, also.] The hive beetle is an invasive species now in the United States and having originated from Africa. It is most prevalent in Southern states, where warmer soil temperatures prevent the beetle larvae from freezing in the ground. The larvae hatch and move up into the hive, where they tunnel through frames, eat and defecate in the bees' honey, and generally destroy the hive. If the infestation gets to be too much, the bees will abscond in search of a cleaner, beetle-free home.

Now, how did they get into my hive?? I have no idea. I had never seen them before, but there was no denying that they were in. There are two differences from the previous week to this week - between a week without beetles and a week of discovering them - and I am pretty sure I know what happened. One is that I had propped the outer cover open so that the bees could get ventilation. I had never done this before, and did so after seeing Andy's hives set up like that. (I had been concerned about the bearding and thought the heat might have slowed up the bees' production.) Perhaps the beetles were nearby and now had easier access to the inside of the hive. Secondly - and most likely - was the new addition of a bee brush to my beekeeping process. Andy had given me one of his brushes, which had been in his garage for months. I did not own one and he gave it to me, as he had extras. Andy also had told me about these beetles, which, until then, I had not heard of. So... were the beetles transferred from his hives to mine via the bee brush? I have no idea, but it seems more likely than any other thing I can think of, since SHB are not a major crisis in the northeast.

I am hoping that their population will be kept under control by my bees, but I am (as always) fearing the worst. Today - one week after the initial discovery of the beetles - I noticed a few tunnels on one frame, but saw nothing alarming as far as beetle larvae or fermented honey.

Here's hoping.

Motherly

2008-08-03T23:28:00.002-04:00

I am always concerned about these bees - if it's not one thing, it's another. I should not be surprised that I feel this way, since I know that's the type of mother I would be if I had an actual child.

Today I opened up the hive for the first time in several weeks. I had wanted to time it to coincide with Cara and Carin's visit, and I also invited over a few friends who were curious about the setup. It was also the first time I had looked into the hive since meeting with Andy, an 80 year old man who keeps bees in South Jersey and who's family has kept bees in Poland for decades. (They still do - he is going to visit them this week!)

A short note about Andy, the bee man:

He has a row of about 10 hives or so, but only about 6 are active. He told me that the number fluctuates from season to season, and I got the impression that he has had some disheartening experiences in his many, many years of beekeeping. He said to me, "Things happen with the bees... you never know. Things go wrong and you'll never know the reason."

He was impressed by my knowledge of beekeeping, I think, but listening to myself talk with him, I saw myself as I'm sure he did: eager, emotional, nervous and a rookie.

He showed me two of his weakest hive. One had no queen, one had just swarmed. The swarm hive had produced honey, already. He barely smoked them, and he approached the hives with calm and that was helpful to see.

Today I channeled that calm and tried to look at the hive with my fact-reciting brain as opposed to my rookie beekeeper jittery nerves sensibility. These are some things we saw - some are good, some are disconcerting and some are just neat:

- No new building in the upper deep, but the three frames I moved up there had hatched AND new eggs were in those cells.

- The queen was moving rapidly through one of the frames in the lower deep.

- No more swarm cells.

- We watched some bees hatch from their cells.

- Very little capped honey on any frame. This part unsettles me the most and I am not sure how to address it or where to look for information.

I closed the hive and propped the cover open with a block of wood - like Andy had had - in an attempt to ease the heat within the hive. If this helps, I'll leave it, but if they act the same then I'll take it out because I worry that it could chill them (unlikely) or incite robbing (though there is little to be robbed.)

Bees in the Night

2008-07-30T22:07:00.003-04:00

9pm, still about 85 degrees and the bees felt the heat all afternoon.

I am never around at this time of day, but I have been told that they've been doing this each night. Fresh air after a super hot day.

I haven't looked inside of the hive in over two weeks, but I'm sure that they haven't swarmed, so I am not as concerned. I will open the hive again on Sunday and see what has happened since August began.

Summer Bees

2008-07-25T01:55:00.002-04:00

I have just returned from a week and a half of vacation, which I spent on Mt. Desert Island, ME. Before leaving, I was super anxious about a potential swarm from this hive. The day before I left, I opened the hive, brought two frames from the lower chamber into the upper hive body, and cleaned up at least ten more swarm cells. I cleaned up as much of the excess propolis that I could and felt somewhat calmer when I closed it back up, thinking that the bees would begin to move upwards with that little rearranging.

While I was away, I called home to have people look at the hive for me. There is little that can be told from the outside, but just to hear that they appeared 'normal' was reassurance enough.

Also while I was gone, I read a great book, titled 'A Book Of Bees' by Sue Hubbell. While I think that a lot of the charm of this book could be lost on someone unfamiliar with beekeeping, there is an overall sense of serenity and natural harmony in this book. It is just as much a story of the year in one woman's life - her interactions with local farmers in her small town, the different creatures and plants she encounters in her daily routines, the chores of running a farm and a business - as it is about beekeeping.

It really spoke to whatever in me is so compelled by beekeeping. I still don't know why I began, or what it is that keeps me so fascinated. All I know is - and I continue to encounter this - that people who keep bees all care very, very deeply about their bees. It is a poetic, encompassing emotion that cannot be adequately described - though this book came close.

Clever Moves

2008-07-25T01:52:00.003-04:00

Bee Boy Dance Crew Drops Dead

This is a pretty interesting video - I was sent it, and watched it just thinking it was a cool dance project, digging the dudes in bee suits. At the end, I realized it was a commentary on Colony Collapse Disorder, and noticed that it was created from a general interest in and knowledge of honeybees. Clever.

Pleasure

2008-07-08T01:34:00.002-04:00

On a side note, I realized very acutely today one of the subtle pleasures of being near the bees: the scent of the hive. When I sit near the entrance, I can smell it wafting from the inside. It's a warm honey-and-life smell that I wish I could capture and distill.

Swarm Musings

2008-07-08T01:21:00.005-04:00

I am determined to get to the bottom of this swarm thing. It's inevitable that beekeepers will have to deal with swarms and it happens at least yearly, though it was my hope that with a new colony, I would be spared the drama during the first season. I did know, however, that Italian bees have a high propensity for swarming.

I leave for a week starting on Friday, so I think I'll chance another disturbance to the hive and open it on Thursday, do a very thorough search for more swarm cells, and then transfer some of the drawn frames from the bottom super to the vacant top super. That's my plan, as it stands.

Swarm Cell

2008-07-06T03:35:00.002-04:00

Scary.

I opened the hive today, one week after adding the second super. Now the bees have two levels in which to build, and I expected that the added space arrived just in time for the bustling hive. When I lifted off the inner cover, I noticed that the upper deep was without any comb, but had a few hundred wandering bees. At first, I was not alarmed.

As I made my way through the inspection of the lower super, frame by frame, I noticed that all but one frame had been drawn out. There are large chunks of capped honey, there are cells of emerging bees and sells with milky white larva. I saw the queen on one of the newest frames. All seemed well - but why hadn't they moved upstairs yet?

Then I saw something that alarmed me - a swarm cell. Typically, hives do not swarm in their first season, but Italian bees are predisposed to swarming and I am afraid that I added the second super too late. I'm concerned that they haven't had enough time to build in the second super, and now they are faced with no space for the queen to lay eggs, and no time to build that space. They could possibly swarm.

A swarm will occur when the hive is crowded - half of the team leaving with the old queen and moving to a nearby tree branch until they can locate a new place to live. However, they will not abandon the whole hive without leaving a new queen. Hence the swarm cells. Built on the lower part of a frame, a swarm cell is a peanut shaped pod, much larger than any of the other cells. Inside, a larger larva is forming - being fed special nutrients to potentially become a queen. Several such cells will be made, then the hatched queens must fight until one remains, and will officially take on the role of the new queen.

I had to squash the one I saw, but now, in hindsight, I have convinced myself that I missed seeing a slew of others. I hope that over this week they can make more space in the second super so that I don't return from a week's vacation to find a decimated, empty, unprepared hive. (Or hear of any neighbors spraying a freak cluster of bees with bug spray should they alight in someone's front yard... my babies!)

Things Are Happening

2008-06-27T16:45:00.004-04:00

There is tons of stuff going on with the bees. There are more and more visible every day - perched on the hive entrance, coming and going, looking out from inside, zooming across the yard, on the flowers near the house...

Here's a photo of the hive. There are two bees sitting next to each other and their wings are beating so quickly that you can't see them. The purpose is to disperse the scent of the hive to guide the other workers back, but also, in the warm weather, bees will line up on their porch and do this to help circulate air through the hive body.

Second Super Goes On

2008-06-23T01:13:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday I looked into the hive for the first time since returning. I forgot that I had put on the inner cover and was startled lifting off the outer cover and having only a small slice through which bees were visible. I was AMAZED when I lifted that off and saw how many bees were in the hive now.

When I left, I recall 6 frames being drawn out, but now there were plenty of bees on about 8 of the 10 frames. Things that I noticed as changed or increased since I left in early June:

Bees zoomed across the back yard, bees hovered around the entrance to the hive, a cluster of bees sat on the landing board, sucking moisture out of the wood and cleaning the porch, in a way.

Inside, the tabs on the ends of the frames were glued together with propolis - a sticky resinous substance made by the bees to plug up gaps and strengthen the structure of their hive.

Some of the frames had burr comb connecting them together, and I had to sever those cells and remove them from the hive so that I could continue to manipulate the frames.

Preparing for Two Weeks of Absence

2008-06-23T01:07:00.003-04:00

Before I left for a two week trip, I opened up the hive one more time. I wanted to gauge their progress and determine at what point their population growth would call for the addition of the second super.

I lit the smoker (which I am still relighting several times during each visit... frustrating!) and opened the hive, removing the white plastic hive-top feeder. I was glad to see that the bees had quit making as much burr comb, and saw that about 6 of the 10 frames had been drawn into comb.

I lifted one of the frames and noticed several bees emerging from their cells, all downy and small. As I studied those, my mother, standing by and viewing the same frame from the other side, said, "Why is there a red bee?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"There - that bee is red, bright red, I can see it from here."

I had no idea what she meant but as I turned the frame I saw her - the queen bee, marked with a dot of red paint.

Thrilling!!

I left for my vacation knowing that all was well and lively in the bee hive.

I can hear you

2008-05-30T13:37:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I sat near the hive for a while and watched the bees. Not much to see from the outside. Looks like business as usual. I lose track of how long I sit there. Also, I kind of never want to walk away.

I lifted the outer cover off and peeked through the screen on the hive-top feeder, I pressed my ear against it to hear them buzzing. On Saturday I think I'll open it again, but I'm concerned that 6pm is too late in the day. (If all the bees are home for the day, it's hard to work in there.)

Burr Comb and Heartache

2008-05-26T01:18:00.003-04:00

It's been a little over a week since the bees arrived and I was fluctuating between eagerly wanting to open the hive and see what they were up to and being filled with dread about what I might find. (A missing or dead queen, a less than populated hive, hyper-aggressive bees...)
I finally got enough fuel into my smoker (tried pine needles but they were too damp, settled on dried mowed grass which stank a lot but gave off a good amount of smoke) and took the hive apart.

I noticed that the main cluster of bees were spread between one or two frames, about near where I'd left the queen cage. I assumed the queen was in there, too. My first task was to remove the wall frame without crushing or rolling any bees, and I was able to do that easily. It was covered in bees, though, so I carefully leaned it up against the hive stand and hoped any wayward transports would find their way back through the hive entrance should they not make it back in upon that frame.

The most startling thing I encountered was a wealth of burr comb, rogue patches of honeycomb that the bees build between the frames, not on the foundation that is stretched within the frames. This happens, I've learned, if there is too much space between frames. In this case, the gap where the queen cage had been suspended between two frames left plenty of space for them to build this comb. Unfortunately, if the comb is left it would make my task in manipulating frames in order to inspect the hive a difficult one, and knew I had to get rid of it.

I felt then - and still am agitated by - a canvassing sense of sadness for having to destroy this comb. I cannot describe how beautiful it was. Translucent, sweet smelling, clean, light as air - some spaces in the comb were filled with clear nectar, others with a variety of colored pollen, and, heartbreakingly, hundreds of cells with a singular egg in them.

On one hand, I knew I was right in removing the burr comb. Also, it was an obvious indicator of the productivity of the hive and the presence of a laying queen. On the other hand, I felt as though I was confiscating and destroying a week of their hard work. All they know how to do is to gather and build and raise their young, and that's what they did, and here I am, imposing a sense of order on an arguably immaculate natural order/process. (Apparently my sadness over this was visible to others for the next 24 hours, even.)

The heartbreak!

In conclusion - the hive appears healthy, some of the actual foundation was being drawn into comb and now the frames are properly spaced. Hopefully next week's inspection will find them following the laws of their new home.

Dream

2008-05-20T09:45:00.002-04:00

Entirely random - I had a dream that I ordered a second package of bees and had them kept in my studio until I could hive them. I think I was adding them to the same hive that I just set up. Anyway, in my dream, I had to do it all by myself and so I started, spraying the bees with sugar water inside of their crate, only when I sprayed, it blew out one screen panel, opening up the package.
The second half of my dream consisted of calling beekeeper friends for help and frequently checking my studio to see if they'd settled down enough so that I could somehow catch them all.

Amazing

2008-05-17T17:51:00.002-04:00

I just spent 30 minutes sitting in front of the hive, watching the bees enter and exit. I would look out into the yard and wait until I could see one returning, and focus on it as it landed and went into the hive. I was amazed at how clearly I could see the pollen they were carrying, and I was in awe of how quickly they worked.

It's amazing.

All quiet. I hope it's growing!

2008-05-16T20:36:00.004-04:00

It's pouring outside today, so I am glad that we were able to put the bees in yesterday. When I went to look at the hive this afternoon there was one little bee venturing in and out, but other than the humming of the bees inside the hive, there was no sign of action.

Here are three bee facts for the day, as I anticipate the hive's growth over the next month:

The queen can lay 2,000 eggs per day. Likewise, 2,000 new bees are hatched each day.

The hive's population averages 60,000 worker bees in the summer months.

Male bees, or drones, make up less than 1% of the hive population.

Day One - Bees in the Mail

2008-05-16T10:50:00.002-04:00

Carin suggested that I blog this endeavor, and I felt like that was a good idea.

In my head, I've composed a range of entries about the beehive already, addressing why I decided to do this, what the past six months was like, what needs to happen next.... Once the bees get installed into the hive, they musn't be disturbed for a week. Plenty of time for this beekeeper to blog, I suppose. ("It's like nature vs. machine...")

There are many photos of the whole hiving process on flickr.

And here is a video of what I arrived home to. Bees in the mail!