May 24, 2009
Well, it is 8 and 10 days, respectively, since I picked up my two hives from a local beekeeper here in Varina, Virginia. This weekend, I cracked them open to have a look! Although I had initially decided to wait a couple of weeks, further reading indicated that every week should be my schedule, starting out. I need to get the hang of checking out my bees in these early days! After about 4 weeks (towards the end of June), I should drop back to about once a month or so.
Regardless, I decided to go without any of the gear that I purchased and was not stung a single time! The local beekeeper shoots for gentle bees, so I am hopeful of getting an easy-going group of gals that will not hassle me too much.
But, there was a problem. One of the hives had the center frames spaced out a bit and the bees were extending the comb a bit further then I’d like. Add to this the fact that the monkeys were actively filling the outer (upper, in this case) cells and I had a very hard time getting the frames back in.
I did, however, manager to pull out one frame (of four) covered with bees, but that is as far as I got. I should have brought my smoker!
Oh well, we’ll see how it goes next year.
Hive One
Arrived 5/15
Started with four frames
First check on 5/24
- Weather was warm, overcast and we were experiencing a couple of sprinkles now and then
- At least 5 frames being used (they were drawing comb on at least one of mine
Hive Two
Arrived 5/17
Started with four frames
First check on 5/24
I decided not to pull the frames out of this one. The issue with the stuck frames in Hive One was enough to have me waiting for the next weekend, when I will have smoke!
