Summer, Fall and Honey

It's been awhile since I've written anything here. Summer went by very fast, with a lot going on. I had a major construction project on my house. The big snow last December caused my roof to break, so the repairs started in March and they finished in late August. So now, I have a new roof, repaired roof trusses, new gutter, and inside - new ceilings, new kitchen cabinets, and new floors. Kinda like having a new house, without having to move.

So throughout all of this, we were checking the bees, making sure that they were doing what they should be doing. After the robbing incident, the hives settled right back down and worked right along through the summer. It seemed like there sure were a lot of bees flying around!

This fall, we removed the honey frames and supers. And we had a lot of full frames of honey. Here is a picture of a full frame:

After we removed the frames, the next step was to extract the frames. We made arrangements to rent an extractor. Once we got the extractor home, we had to figure out how to set it all up and then we started extracting. I wasn't sure what to expect, but didn't think we would end up with very much honey, especially since this was our first year for having bees. But were were pleasantly surprised. When we were all done, we had over 4 gallons of honey from two first year hives. Here is a picture of the honey coming out of the extractor:

The honey tastes great - the best we have ever tasted (of course!). It was a lot of fun extracting it and it will be even better eating it all the next year. We are already making plans for bees for next year and will eagerly be watching the bees we have througout the winter, to see what they are doing.

Honey Supers

Yesterday, we decided to add our honey supers to our hives. We actually were going to do it earlier in the week, but when we had the robbing problem, decided to wait until things calmed down.

Well, things have calmed down and are back to what seems like normal to me. We added the supers, and did a very fast check of a few frames in each hive. We were very happy to see some honey in some of the outer frames in the top brood box. Here is a photo of one frame:

You can see the honey in the cells. Along the top, where it is white, is where the bees have capped some of the honey. This frame was one of the outer frames in Rod's hive.

While we were working, we were being watched! Check out who was watching:

It's the Three Musketeers!

And that is not all - there was someone else that was very curious about what was going on.


Echoo the dog just really surprises me. She will sit right next to the bee hives, and spends a lot of time laying in the sun next to them. She does not seem concerned at all by the bees, even when they fly close to her. But, if there happens to be a fly inside my house, she is so afraid, she acts like a dog possessed. She runs around in circles with her tongue hanging out and a crazed look in her eyes until I remove the fly. Figure that out!

Robbers!!!

The last day or two, we have been noticing some different behavior in front of my hive. It seemed like there were a lot of bees hanging around on the front, as well as more than the normal amount of bees flying in front of the hive. It has been hot, so I kind of figured maybe the bees were cooling off.

And, I got the latest copy of copy of Bee Culture magazine. The picture on the front cover kind of looked like what was going on with my hive. It shows a lot of bees along the bottom board, more on the front of the hive and even more flying in front. The description says that they are young bees in an orientation flight to help them learn where they are in relation to nearby landmarks. So I thought maybe that was what was happening with mine. But I thought it was kind of odd that this behavior was happening in front of my hive, but not Rod's, since we got our bees at the same time and so far, they have been progressing at about the same rate.

So last night, about 7:45 p.m., we went out to feed the bees by adding more syrup to the top feeders. And I guess I was kind of startled when I looked at my hive. Here is a picture:

After watching for awhile, we could see that some of the bees were fighting. A bee would land on the front of the hive, and several other bees would immediately "pounce" on that bee, and there would be a lot of angry sounding buzzing. Also, there were areas that looked like a bee pig pile - a whole bunch of bees on top of each other. There was robbing going on! Here is a video of what we saw. Please click on the little triangle on the left to start the video:

You can see a couple of bees fighting, up to the left of the lower handle. And more below, along the bottom board. Also, you can see Rod's hive for comparison. His hive is usually what my hive looks like at that time of day.

After quickly looking in our bee books for advice, we closed off the top entrances and stuffed grass in the bottom entrances of both hives, so no one could get in or out. Today, after talking to Jim at Beez Neez, we took out the grass and used two boards on each hive to reduce the entrance. Here is what my hive looks like now:


You can see the boards Rod cut and put in to reduce the entrance. So far, it looks like things have calmed down some. I just took a look, and didn't see any more of the fighting behavior - just bees coming, going and flying. This is more like what we normally see at this time of day.

I read in one of the bee books that I have, that robbing could cause you to lose your hive - that all the bees end up dying from defending the hive. I hope that we have caught this in time and nothing happens to Queen Latifah and all the girls.

If you read this and have some ideas or comments, please leave them. We are new at this and would love to have input and suggestions!

Adding Another Hive Body

Last weekend, after looking at the frames in our first hive body, we decided that it was time to add another hive body or box. We "suited" up in our mechanic's overalls, hats, veils and gloves, made more syrup for feeding, and headed out to the bee hives.

Since this would be our first time adding a box, we talked about the steps to get everything done and what we would need. We wanted to get done in a timely manner so the hives weren't open too long, but also wanted to add the hive body, change the feed, check the frames, and see if we could spot the queen. All while a bunch of bees were buzzing around!

We also did not smoke the bees. They all seem so gentle and don't seem to get upset, so we did not even light or take the smoker outside with us.

After opening the hive and taking off the feeder, I first loosened the frames so they would be easier to remove and take out. Here is a picture:

I next started lifting out the frames and looking at them. One of the first I frames I took out had the queen! I knew she was there since I could see all her hard work, but it was good to actually see her. Here she is - she is the larger one in the center with the white dot on her! Long live Queen Latifa (so named by my Dad). You can also see the queen's attendant bees circling around her.

Well, after checking some of the frames, I added the new hive body, moved up two of the frames from the lower box into the new box, added two new frames in the lower box and eight in the new box, put the feeder back on, and put on the lid. Whew! Here is what the hive now looks like:

Once I was done working my hive, Rod worked his. We also saw his queen. Both hives, to my inexperienced eye, looked like what I thought they would. This has been such a learning experience and each time I go and look at the bees, I see something new.

Here is a cool picture of a bee on the front of Rod's hive. You can see the pollen on her legs. She is returning to the hive after foraging. It is interesting to see the different colors of pollen the bees bring back - we have seen yellow, red, orange and a bright green.

Another hive check

Yesterday, we needed to check the hives, and add more feed. And what a difference in how the hives looked from the first time we checked! The girls have been very busy. A lot of the frames have "stuff" on them - brood and honey even.

We decided to not smoke and see how it would go. We started on Rod's hive this time. The bees were very gentle and did not seem to get upset. Once or twice they would buzz a little louder for a few seconds, so we waited and they settled back down. The same thing happened with my hive. It is great to know they were fine without smoke, since we have heard if you smoke them, it takes awhile for them to get back to normal.

Here are some pictures we took. This first one is looking at a frame. You can see the capped brood (the tan areas), and the capped honey (the white area at the top left). And you can see some of the many bees that live there!

Here is another view of the hive. You can see the girls down in the hive on the frames, as well as the frame I am holding. It was rather amazing to me that they just kept on working and really didn't seem to mind what I was doing, even when I moved the frames and lifted them out. I guess they are just really intent on what they are doing.

And here is one of me, holding up a frame. How do you like my classy beekeeping suit? If you look real close, you can even see the clear packing tape I put over the openings down the front. I didn't want any bees getting in there. I really think that these bees are so gentle, at least now, that I could just wear my jeans and sweatshirt, along with the hat, veil and gloves and I would bee just fine.

This next photo is looking down into the hive. So far, this has been a lot of fun and we feel like we have our own personal nature experiment going on.

Checking the hives for the first time

Two days ago, it was time for us to check the hives for the first time. We needed to see if the queen was laying eggs. We suited up, taped up the seams and openings, put on our hats, veils and gloves and went out to the hives. Looking back, I guess maybe we did not need all of that gear, but we didn't really know what to expect and so we followed the Boy Scout motto - BEE prepared.

We decided to check my hive first, since it is in a corner. We thought that if the bees got mad, we could get out of the area and leave them all alone. But, they really didn't get mad at all. But more about that in a minute.

First I had to take off the top, then the first box, then the inner cover with the feeder on top. Rod held that, since there were bees on the bottom of it, and if we set it down on the ground, it would have squished some bees.

In the hive, this is what we saw:


There were a lot of bees on top of the frames. I took one of the end frames out, then slowly moved the frames so that I could lift out a center frame. I very slowly lifted out the center frame, and on it, there were a lot of bees. It looked like they had been drawing out the comb (I think that is what we saw). In other words, it looked like they had been working. In some of the cells there was a dark honey/brown color of stuff too. I looked for eggs, but wasn't sure what to look for. It was kind of difficult because there were so many bees all over the frame. So, I put the frame back in, and slowly reversed everything, putting it all back in place.

We then did the same thing for Rod's hive, with the same results. It was very interesting seeing the bees working, and they really did not care at all that we were moving stuff, picking some of them up on the frames. They seemed very gentle. The few that buzzed around us did not buzz at us, or act like they were mad. That is good!

After we were done, we decided we would really like to see someone else's hive, to see what we should be seeing in our hives. Rod posted on the bee club forum, and a member called and invited us to come see his hives. So we will go see and hopefully we will then know what to look for in ours. I feel like there is a lot to learn about the bees - not only their care, but about them and what they do.

So Who Knew...
I'm going to periodically add a "Bee Fact" to this blog; things I noticed, or read about. Here is the first thing that I had no idea about, but found out as soon as we picked up our bees at Beez Neez:

• Bees generate heat. The first time I picked up the bees in the box they came in, the box was very warm. After putting them in the hive, I have felt the sides of the hive box a couple of times, and it is warm too. I guess maybe they do it with their wings, I am not sure. But it is pretty amazing that something that small could make that much heat. I am going to have to check into why and how they do this. So who knew?

No Worries

So one thing I was worried about was how my dog, Echoo, would do sharing the yard with the bees. One of her favorite places to sun herself is next to the hives. I wondered if she would keep using that spot to lay in the sun, or would she "bee" afraid of the bees and stay away.

Well, the other day I let her outside. It was a sunny morning and it's nice for her to be out when it is. After awhile, I stuck my head out the door to see what she was up to. And was I surprised -- she was laying in the sun, in her spot, next to the bees. The bees were pretty active, flying in and out, up and down, around the hives. She did not look at all concerned. Here is a picture of her. See what you think.

As you can see, she has no worries. Notice her bandana matches my beehive! It will be interesting to see how she feels about the bees once they really get going and there are more of them flying around, some in her space.