Cool Weather Arrives

It is going to get down in the 40’s this week, so my bees are about to get their first taste of cold weather (even the queens have not been through a winter yet!) Both hives seem fairly active and I have actually seen them on both the buckwheat and some of the asters, which is a very positive sign (I rarely seen the wenches on any of my plants, despite the fact that I have tons of different plants blooming all Summer long…)

Hive 1, the Strong Gals, should do well this Winter, although I have not opened them up for a thorough inspection yet. They still have the honey super on them, but I’ve yet to see any honey getting stored. I will probably smoke them this weekend and take the super off, to let them get prepped for Winter. I also want to see if they are having any major problems with hive beetles or (more likely) wax moths. They are so grumpy this time of year that I really do not like poking into their home. They will try (and probably succeed) to sting me for sure, but I need to have a look.

Hive 2 is always a mystery. They look strong. The feeder has a ton of them eating the sugar water and I see a bunch of training flights even now. They definitely ‘look’ better then they did most of the Summer, but every time that I look into the hive, there is only very minor progress. I did not look last weekend, but will take a stronger look this weekend. Last weekend, I basically just eyeballed them and put a second deep on the hive, even though they had not fully filled out 8 frames in their bottom deep. I did find the queen this time, so she was not usurped after all. But, putting the second deep on may have been a mistake, effectively giving the wax moths a free place to breed and wreak havoc. So, we’ll see what it looks like this weekend.

Rebellion Supressed…I think

The weather in Varina has been outstanding this Fall, with cool weather and occasional rain. The buckwheat that I planted in August has really shot up and is blooming right now. The other good thing about the cool weather is that I can put on the bee armor this week, without any discomfort. After the attack last weekend, I am definitely going in with some cover and smoke this time.

I started with taking a look at Hive 2, to see how the rebellion to overthrow the queen was coming along. Although I never found my queen, I did locate three queen cells. Two were in the center of frames, indicating supercedure, but one appeared to be on the bottom of the frame as well, making me wonder what was going on. A bottom cell is ‘supposed’ to mean that a swarm is forming, but this hive is barely working 8 frames. They have not touched either of the far frames on one side and have only partially covered the last two frames on the other side. It’s like they do not like that other side. Regardless, they definitely do not have enough honey to make it through the Winter. I will be feeding these monkeys all year long, assuming they live.

Or Did She Already Emerge?

It was about 12 days ago that I noticed the original queen cell. As I really have no idea what I am doing, I suppose there is a distinct chance that she was in egg form at 2 or 3 days of age at that time. This would mean that she might have emerged over the last couple of days and killed my main queen (I never saw the main queen during this inpsection.) Even seeing eggs in the cells would not tell me much.

The key will be my next inspection, when I absolutely need to find the Queen. I cannot say that I will be able to act on this knowledge, as it is so late in the year, but at least I will know. If my queen has been killed, the next question will be if the new queen successfully mated or not. The key will be in finding eggs next weekend, assuming that I cannot find the queen. I can say one thing for sure, I will be bringing the following equipment to make sure that I am ready for a thorough inspection.

  1. Make sure the sun is available to shine into the frames, so I can see eggs
  2. Wear a glove on my right hand, so I can use my tool to examine the frames without worrying about dropping them, and without worrying about the pain to my hand when I hold the thing
  3. Bring a camera to take some pictures

Hive 1

I did not really do a thorough investigation, but a brief look into the honey super indicated that not much was going on. I am not even sure if they have drawn out the comb yet. I guess they would have had to do some major work to actually draw out that comb in a week, but I was curious. I am now thinking that my best case scenario will simply be for them to draw out the comb (sans honey), which will save them some time next year when they go into Honey Storage work in the Spring.

Next week, I will continue the thorough check of Hive 2 and probably leave Hive 1 alone until the following week.

Don’t Get Cocky

Ouch! Today, I received my second bee sting of the year and it was a good one. I wanted to have a look at the queen cell that the gals had started last week and make a decision about removing it. The weather was nice and all seemed well. One downside was the fact that the feeder had been dry for 5 days or so, so they might be hungry. Regardless, I needed to see what this hive was up to and make a big decision.

The first mistake was how I took the top feeder off. Instead of carefully working my hive tool along the edges, I pretty much pushed it in one corner and popped it off. When I say ‘pop’, I mean that literally, as it made a large crack and the bees answered with a large hum.

A brief moment of wisdom crossed my mind and I thought about gently putting the top back on and returning later when the gals were less alarmed. But, this lucidity passed quickly and I decided that ‘they’d be alright’ and moved onward with the inspection. Indeed, they would be alright (with the exception of one kamikaze bee) in the end.

Once I pulled the top feeder off, several squadrons lit to the air and began what I call the ‘get back and you’re gonna get it’ dance. They were buzzing all over me and, without any gear or smoke, I became a bit concerned. So, I moved back about a dozen feet and watched for a moment. They soon seemed to settle down back onto the frames and relax. This is how it appeared to my dim senses. In truth, they were organizing for the final defense. When I finally moved back to the box, one of them literally skipped the ‘attack dance’ and made a bee line (literally and figuratively) for a tender spot just below my eye. I am pretty sure the little witch didn’t even land, instead jamming the stinger in before any other action could take place.

At that moment, my glasses took flight, being propelled by a frantically swatting hand. I moved back quickly and made my own ‘bee line’ for the garage. It was time for gear and smoke.

Once I returned with my gear and smoke, the bees seemed to have settled a bit. But, in case this was another bluff tactic, to lure me up close, I shot them with a few rounds of smoke and sent the majority back into the hive to gorge on honey. Being the chicken that I am, I gave them a quick look over and replaced the top. I did not remove the frames, so I have no idea what is going on at this moment.

Ahh, the battles of the bees.