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.