8/26 Checked inside the Langstroth hive in the backyard ahead of the beedate tomorrow. Found a thriving hive with all combs drawn out again and much honey being processed. Removed 5 or 6 frames from this hive 11 days ago, so the bees have drawn out one frame every two days. The hive has been exceptionally noisy these last few days with the noise coming from the top boxes... exactly where the comb was being built. Will need to harvest more frames really soon. The chuck of broken comb that Jessica tasted had a strong fennel taste. All the fennel down in the creek area is still in bloom.
8/20 Removed almost half a bucket's worth of comb and honey from the cottage hive. Managed to remove one of the monster frames which was still mainly uncapped but no nectar seemed to splash out. Removed other combs that were also not totally capped over. Put all of these frames in a bucket to process separately in case they ferment. We were a little surprised that there wasn't more new comb and honey in the hive as the previous harvest was 12 days ago... but perhaps the hive house is doing better with all the local fennel.
8/15 Removed 5 or 6 medium frames from the hive in the backyard. This was second biggish harvest of the year and in the 11 days since the last harvest all the frames had been drawn out again. Only really intended to inspect the hive to see that everything was okay but found lots of bees on the inner cover and a jam-packed hive.. Filled half a bucket.
8/14 Harvested honey from the organic farm beehive. Filled a 5 gallon bucket with honey and comb. The combs were mostly straight and completely capped over. Bees were really feisty! Also managed to reduce the size of the hive by removing a medium box from the top.
8/8 5 gallons from the cottage hive
8/6 Inspected the Langstroth hive in the backyard (the package from the spring) and found lots of honey had been added. The top medium box had been mainly filled out after we moved up from of honey from the last inspection, two weeks previously. Decided to harvest some of the frames as the bees needed more space for the nectar flow that seems to be in full flow at the moment. Harvested 4 or 5 medium frames from the two top medium boxes. Removed two large chucks of comb honey and crushed the remaining comb and honey into a large 2 gallon bowl, which was filled almost to the brim. Will filter out the wax later.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
July 2011
7/24 Inspected the hives at AL: The hive in the newer location outside the cottage is doing really well... although much of the honey is still uncapped. Decide to remove two frames of honey to free up some space. Looked in the other hive and saw similar but maybe not as much honey. Placed a new medium on top and placed the frames from the other hive in there, so that the bees could use them as guides and to give us time to sort out our harvesting equipment.
7/23 Inspected the hives in the backyard. The langstroth was doing well although the bees had not added more comb in the top box where a lone frame of honey had been placed before. Bees seem congested below so removed two frames of capped honey..... could decide how to store it while we were away in New Orleans, so put the frames back in the hive in the top box. TBH still struggling a little with not much honey.
7/10 Inspected all the hives. At the house the langstroth hive (the new package this year) was doing well. The hive consists of four mediums. The top medium has one frame of capped honey and no comb building elsewhere, the next box has lots of honey but very little capped. Briefly looked in the next box and when eggs were immediately seen we shut the hive back up.
The tbh is the same as before. Not much honey, patchy brood, and a few bees with deformed wings.
At AL the newly positioned hive was doing well, although the bees are still refusing to cap most of the honey. Looked through most of the mediums and found mostly straight combs. Briefly checked the top brood box and found eggs. Closed up the hive. The other langstroth hive was a little feisty. This is the hive that's always been feisty but recently has been fairly mellow. Look through a few mediums of uncapped honey and then abandoned the inspection.
7/4 Inspected the two monster hives at AL. Both doing well with lots of bees and honey, although the honey is still mainly uncapped.
7/3 Inspected the only Langstroth hive in the backyard which was from the package of bees at the start of the year. It now consists of 5 medium boxes, with a decent amount of honey inside. Lots of brood.
7/2 Noticed that the fennel was just starting to bloom along the creek.
7/1 With local help we moved the monster hive in the backyard to AL. Needed four people to carry it and a truck. Moved it at 7am and had it in place 20 minute later. Let them sit for 20 minutes and then opened the front door. A good few bees flew out without orienting first. These bees ended back at the house and through the day their numbers grew. Placed a box at the house and the confused bees went inside to find nothing. All the returning bees seemed to be star performers and were loaded with pollen. Placed the box back at AL the following morning. Placed grass in the hive entrance as it was opened up to stop the bees flying out without thinking. All the bees were back in the proper hive the next morning.
7/23 Inspected the hives in the backyard. The langstroth was doing well although the bees had not added more comb in the top box where a lone frame of honey had been placed before. Bees seem congested below so removed two frames of capped honey..... could decide how to store it while we were away in New Orleans, so put the frames back in the hive in the top box. TBH still struggling a little with not much honey.
7/10 Inspected all the hives. At the house the langstroth hive (the new package this year) was doing well. The hive consists of four mediums. The top medium has one frame of capped honey and no comb building elsewhere, the next box has lots of honey but very little capped. Briefly looked in the next box and when eggs were immediately seen we shut the hive back up.
The tbh is the same as before. Not much honey, patchy brood, and a few bees with deformed wings.
At AL the newly positioned hive was doing well, although the bees are still refusing to cap most of the honey. Looked through most of the mediums and found mostly straight combs. Briefly checked the top brood box and found eggs. Closed up the hive. The other langstroth hive was a little feisty. This is the hive that's always been feisty but recently has been fairly mellow. Look through a few mediums of uncapped honey and then abandoned the inspection.
7/4 Inspected the two monster hives at AL. Both doing well with lots of bees and honey, although the honey is still mainly uncapped.
7/3 Inspected the only Langstroth hive in the backyard which was from the package of bees at the start of the year. It now consists of 5 medium boxes, with a decent amount of honey inside. Lots of brood.
7/2 Noticed that the fennel was just starting to bloom along the creek.
7/1 With local help we moved the monster hive in the backyard to AL. Needed four people to carry it and a truck. Moved it at 7am and had it in place 20 minute later. Let them sit for 20 minutes and then opened the front door. A good few bees flew out without orienting first. These bees ended back at the house and through the day their numbers grew. Placed a box at the house and the confused bees went inside to find nothing. All the returning bees seemed to be star performers and were loaded with pollen. Placed the box back at AL the following morning. Placed grass in the hive entrance as it was opened up to stop the bees flying out without thinking. All the bees were back in the proper hive the next morning.
Friday, 10 June 2011
June 2011
Rest of June: The smaller hive at Al which had a mite of the queen was found to be queenless a week or so later. No eggs or larvae, just a little capped brood. Immediately combined this hive with the neighboring hive to make a new monster hive. The newspaper was eaten through a day or so later and all was well. This is the way to deal with queenlessness!
6/18 Inspected the Langstroth hives in the backyard. The monster combined hive is doing very well with lots of brood and honey. Nectar and honey production seems high at the moment. The bees still refuse to cap a very large frame of honey, which is over three normal frames of honey wide. It causing considerable problems in the hive with adjacent combs. Decided to remove one frame of mostly capped honey to free up some space. The new package also seems to have accelerated in honey production and have mostly filled the top box of the 3 mediums that constitute the hive. Need to add additional boxes to both hives soon.
6/12 Inspected the smaller hive at AL to see if the new queen and hive now had capped brood. It does but bee numbers are very low. When comparing the combined hive in the backyard and this hive at AL which had eggs introduced to make a new queen, it is obvious that combining hives is the way to solve a queenless hive problem. The shock of the inspection was seeing a mite on the new queen!!!! This also happened in the tbh a few weeks ago. We were extremely puzzled as the hive should have an extremely low mite count as several brood cycles have been skipped due to queenlessness. Didn't see any other mites of signs of deformed wing virus.
6/10 Inspected the two Langstoth hives in the backyard: the new package and the combined hive. Both hives are thriving. The combined hive is a monster with two deeps full of brood and two mediums with several frames of honey nectar. Big problems with over sized combs that the bees refuse to cap which then leads to problems with the shape of adjacent frames. Several frames today had three lobes of comb that were all angled of the centerline but all parallel to each other. Tried to cut and rotate them all into line. Did work like this throughout the mediums. At least three frames are perfect and almost all capped honey. Will hopefully remove these soon. Didn't see the queen but saw lots of brood.
The package of bees also had lots of brood but not much nectar or honey. Not sure if this is a slow build up for a new hive or if it's normal. Bees refused to move up into the third medium (the hive is all medium boxes - 3 in total) since the last inspection, so moved up three pretty straight frames of mixed brood and honey to give them the idea. Again missed the queen.
6/18 Inspected the Langstroth hives in the backyard. The monster combined hive is doing very well with lots of brood and honey. Nectar and honey production seems high at the moment. The bees still refuse to cap a very large frame of honey, which is over three normal frames of honey wide. It causing considerable problems in the hive with adjacent combs. Decided to remove one frame of mostly capped honey to free up some space. The new package also seems to have accelerated in honey production and have mostly filled the top box of the 3 mediums that constitute the hive. Need to add additional boxes to both hives soon.
6/12 Inspected the smaller hive at AL to see if the new queen and hive now had capped brood. It does but bee numbers are very low. When comparing the combined hive in the backyard and this hive at AL which had eggs introduced to make a new queen, it is obvious that combining hives is the way to solve a queenless hive problem. The shock of the inspection was seeing a mite on the new queen!!!! This also happened in the tbh a few weeks ago. We were extremely puzzled as the hive should have an extremely low mite count as several brood cycles have been skipped due to queenlessness. Didn't see any other mites of signs of deformed wing virus.
6/10 Inspected the two Langstoth hives in the backyard: the new package and the combined hive. Both hives are thriving. The combined hive is a monster with two deeps full of brood and two mediums with several frames of honey nectar. Big problems with over sized combs that the bees refuse to cap which then leads to problems with the shape of adjacent frames. Several frames today had three lobes of comb that were all angled of the centerline but all parallel to each other. Tried to cut and rotate them all into line. Did work like this throughout the mediums. At least three frames are perfect and almost all capped honey. Will hopefully remove these soon. Didn't see the queen but saw lots of brood.
The package of bees also had lots of brood but not much nectar or honey. Not sure if this is a slow build up for a new hive or if it's normal. Bees refused to move up into the third medium (the hive is all medium boxes - 3 in total) since the last inspection, so moved up three pretty straight frames of mixed brood and honey to give them the idea. Again missed the queen.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
May 2011
5/30 Checked the combined hive, the new package, and the struggling hive at AL. The combined hive is doing well with lots of honey and really thick honey comb. The thick honeycomb is becoming a problem. Bees are also tending to build comb at 90 deg. The package of bees is doing okay, but seems to be taking a while to build up. The real event of the inspections though was seeing a new queen and eggs in the once queenless hive. This hive had a frame of open brood added on May 3rd - 27 days ago. Bee numbers are really low as this hive has been without a laying queen since the bees swarmed from the tbh on April 5th, 8 weeks ago.
5/13 Jessica checked her TBH as the bee numbers seemed really low. She saw lots of mites and bees struggling with deformed wings. She also saw the queen and she had a mite on her as well!!! A really sad day. We don't really understand the mite situation as this hive has a new queen after the other swarms left, so there should have been a good break in the brood cycle and therefore fewer mites.....
5/12 Checked Lauren's old hive at AL to see if any queen cells had been made using the from of open brood that I introduced 9 days previously. Found seven queen cells along the bottom edge of the medium frame, two on one side and the remainder on the other side!! Looks like this beehive will soon have a new queen after a long break. Also checked the original langstroth hive. Seemed strong with lots of brood. Saw the queen for the first time in this hive. She was blond getting darker towards her rear end and big, although not as big as the queen in the combined hive back at the house. The original langstroth hive now consists of 1 deep and 2 mediums.
5/11 Checked the combined
5/3 Moved Lauren's hive to AL and checked again to see if it had any eggs - none be found. Removed a frame of open brood from the original AL langstroth hive and placed in Lauren's hive.
5/2 Checked Lauren's hive
5/1 Inspected the hives
5/13 Jessica checked her TBH as the bee numbers seemed really low. She saw lots of mites and bees struggling with deformed wings. She also saw the queen and she had a mite on her as well!!! A really sad day. We don't really understand the mite situation as this hive has a new queen after the other swarms left, so there should have been a good break in the brood cycle and therefore fewer mites.....
5/12 Checked Lauren's old hive at AL to see if any queen cells had been made using the from of open brood that I introduced 9 days previously. Found seven queen cells along the bottom edge of the medium frame, two on one side and the remainder on the other side!! Looks like this beehive will soon have a new queen after a long break. Also checked the original langstroth hive. Seemed strong with lots of brood. Saw the queen for the first time in this hive. She was blond getting darker towards her rear end and big, although not as big as the queen in the combined hive back at the house. The original langstroth hive now consists of 1 deep and 2 mediums.
5/11 Checked the combined
5/3 Moved Lauren's hive to AL and checked again to see if it had any eggs - none be found. Removed a frame of open brood from the original AL langstroth hive and placed in Lauren's hive.
5/2 Checked Lauren's hive
5/1 Inspected the hives
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
April 2011
4/23 Installed the package of bees in a new hive in the backyard. Carniolan queen looked black and a little small.
4/23 Inspected all the hives except what was the nuc box at AL. Saw a big, fat queen in the tbh but no brood yet. No brood in Lauren's hive but plenty of nectar. Saw larvae in the original Langstroth hive at AL but missed the queen. The possibly queenless split hive at AL still seems to be struggling. Saw maybe a hand full of larvae but no eggs. Larvae were in a milky liquid which could have been royal jelly. A good few bees flying, so the hive didn't seem directionless. Also bees in the hive were laid back and not agitated, which is another sign of queenlessness.
4/20 Transferred the frames from the nuc at AL into an 8 frame deep box to give the bees more space to expand.
4/18 Inspected Lauren's nuc
4/17 Inspected the hives at AL
4/15 The swarm high up in the neighbor's tree left. The bees didn't go for our attempts at luring them first into Grace's TBH and then a langstroth hive placed up on the patio cover, both with pheromone lures inside.
4/11 Jessica's TBH swarms for the second time and ends in high in the neighbor's tree. Unreachable. Quickly looked into the AL hives and didn't see any new queens or eggs. All swarm cells were open. Saw a little capped brood left over from before the split.
4/10 Weather was warm and I thought the TBH would swarm again. The sister hive of the TBH was busy. I went to look at the AL hives. The original hive was fairly busy and the nuc hive had picked up with bees now flying. The split hive was a little quiet. I peeked in all the hives and the split hive did seem low on bees. Perhaps due to the split or maybe this is the hive that swarmed. All hives seemed quiet inside with no queens piping.
4/9 Jessica heard another queen piping in the TBH
4/6 Stole a medium frame of honey from the original strong AL hive to give to the new bees retrieved yesterday. Also added a extra medium box to the new hive, which I then subsequently thought was a mistake. Also removed a small lobe of wax which they'd built in the wrong place.
4/6 While stealing the frame of honey the AL guy told me that one of the hives swarmed the previous day and that the swarm was still high up in a tree. Couldn't see it myself. Wondered with the language barrier whether he was pointing out where the bees were.
4/5 Jessica's top bar hive swarmed in the early afternoon into Loren's backyard. Huge swarm on a single branch of her orange tree. The branch partially broke under the weight. Cut branch and walked over the the hive to shake bees into a cardboard box first and then the hive. Placed in a single 8 frame medium box.
4/23 Inspected all the hives except what was the nuc box at AL. Saw a big, fat queen in the tbh but no brood yet. No brood in Lauren's hive but plenty of nectar. Saw larvae in the original Langstroth hive at AL but missed the queen. The possibly queenless split hive at AL still seems to be struggling. Saw maybe a hand full of larvae but no eggs. Larvae were in a milky liquid which could have been royal jelly. A good few bees flying, so the hive didn't seem directionless. Also bees in the hive were laid back and not agitated, which is another sign of queenlessness.
4/20 Transferred the frames from the nuc at AL into an 8 frame deep box to give the bees more space to expand.
4/18 Inspected Lauren's nuc
4/17 Inspected the hives at AL
4/15 The swarm high up in the neighbor's tree left. The bees didn't go for our attempts at luring them first into Grace's TBH and then a langstroth hive placed up on the patio cover, both with pheromone lures inside.
4/11 Jessica's TBH swarms for the second time and ends in high in the neighbor's tree. Unreachable. Quickly looked into the AL hives and didn't see any new queens or eggs. All swarm cells were open. Saw a little capped brood left over from before the split.
4/10 Weather was warm and I thought the TBH would swarm again. The sister hive of the TBH was busy. I went to look at the AL hives. The original hive was fairly busy and the nuc hive had picked up with bees now flying. The split hive was a little quiet. I peeked in all the hives and the split hive did seem low on bees. Perhaps due to the split or maybe this is the hive that swarmed. All hives seemed quiet inside with no queens piping.
4/9 Jessica heard another queen piping in the TBH
4/6 Stole a medium frame of honey from the original strong AL hive to give to the new bees retrieved yesterday. Also added a extra medium box to the new hive, which I then subsequently thought was a mistake. Also removed a small lobe of wax which they'd built in the wrong place.
4/6 While stealing the frame of honey the AL guy told me that one of the hives swarmed the previous day and that the swarm was still high up in a tree. Couldn't see it myself. Wondered with the language barrier whether he was pointing out where the bees were.
4/5 Jessica's top bar hive swarmed in the early afternoon into Loren's backyard. Huge swarm on a single branch of her orange tree. The branch partially broke under the weight. Cut branch and walked over the the hive to shake bees into a cardboard box first and then the hive. Placed in a single 8 frame medium box.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
March 2011
31/3 Helped Jessica inspect the TBH. First few bars of honey were a mess and needed to be extracted. Weather was warm and the wax was weak, which made the process hard. Later on saw two new queens. One black and one blonde. Also counted 12 plus swarm cells and heard queens singing. Didn't see the old queen. Lots and lots of bees. After the inspection, masses of bees were bearding outside of both entrances. The bearding got bigger to such an extent that if they were on a branch you'd say that it was a swarm. Decided to take advantage and put the bees in a new hive along with a few combs of brood i.e. tried to split the hive. The process was a disaster and I poured the bees back on the top of the TBH. Won't try the procedure again.
Bearding bees returned to the entrance and they were still there the next morning. Bees bearded consistently over the few days.
29/3 Split AL hive into 2 Langstroth and one nuc.
28/3 First sunny day. Checked AL hive at 2pm and saw lots of bees in the air and a small swarm in a hive. Scrambled to get gear from home to collect it. 45 mins later when I got back the swarm had gone. Not sure if it went back into the hive or flew off.
Inspected the hive. Saw 12 plus swarm cells, but couldn't find the old queen. Saw eggs. Definitely. There were even swarm cells in the second medium super.
26/3 Been raining hard on and off for a few day now and fairly cold. Should be brightening up in a few days and should allow an inspection early next week.
18/3 Heavy rain today and will continue off and on for a few days
17/3 Pear tree almost in full bloom with only a the buds on some of the lower branches unopened
15/3 Added another medium super to the AL hive and removed another full frame of drone brood. Hive now consists of 2 deeps and 3 mediums.
13/3 INSPECTION AL HIVE: Masses of bees. Lower medium has several frames of honey/nectar. Saw several queen cups of lower edges of deep comb - generally on the corners. No peanut swarm cells. Wondered whether queen cups will be extended further or whether the bees are just messing with me. The top (2nd) super has comb building going - need to add another medium super to give bees more room.
12/3 INSPECTION TBH: Hive doing well. Lots of brood and first two or so bars are going probably be full combs of honey. Struggling to give the bees more room as no complete combs of honey to remove. Saw several queen cups which seems the norm for this hive. Also broke open a queen cell which was partially glued to the side of the hive.. it contained a white substance which we thought might be royal jelly. Didn't see a larvae or egg, but may have fallen out when the cell split.
11/3 Apricot tree in almost in full bloom... most of the buds are open.
8/3 Added a second medium to the AL hive. I'd decided always to give the bees lots of room. The hive now has 2 deeps and two mediums. When I opened the top of the hive I was please to see a good quantity of bees and comb building progressing in what was the top (and only) medium. There are at least 2 1/2 combs that I added using cut down deep comb and the bees have started more. The new medium adds a completely empty box on top.
3/3 INSPECTION AL HIVE: Low 60s F, so quickly inspected the AL hive. Saw all stages of brood and also the queen. She still had one wing shorter than the other. Brood also in the bottom deep this week. Less capped brood than the last inspection but I think there was probably just as much brood in total. The dead frame of drone brood had all been cleaned out. Looked carefully for swarm cells but didn't see any. Saw one small queen cup... like the ones in the TBH. Not sure what to make of it.
Bearding bees returned to the entrance and they were still there the next morning. Bees bearded consistently over the few days.
29/3 Split AL hive into 2 Langstroth and one nuc.
28/3 First sunny day. Checked AL hive at 2pm and saw lots of bees in the air and a small swarm in a hive. Scrambled to get gear from home to collect it. 45 mins later when I got back the swarm had gone. Not sure if it went back into the hive or flew off.
Inspected the hive. Saw 12 plus swarm cells, but couldn't find the old queen. Saw eggs. Definitely. There were even swarm cells in the second medium super.
26/3 Been raining hard on and off for a few day now and fairly cold. Should be brightening up in a few days and should allow an inspection early next week.
18/3 Heavy rain today and will continue off and on for a few days
17/3 Pear tree almost in full bloom with only a the buds on some of the lower branches unopened
15/3 Added another medium super to the AL hive and removed another full frame of drone brood. Hive now consists of 2 deeps and 3 mediums.
13/3 INSPECTION AL HIVE: Masses of bees. Lower medium has several frames of honey/nectar. Saw several queen cups of lower edges of deep comb - generally on the corners. No peanut swarm cells. Wondered whether queen cups will be extended further or whether the bees are just messing with me. The top (2nd) super has comb building going - need to add another medium super to give bees more room.
12/3 INSPECTION TBH: Hive doing well. Lots of brood and first two or so bars are going probably be full combs of honey. Struggling to give the bees more room as no complete combs of honey to remove. Saw several queen cups which seems the norm for this hive. Also broke open a queen cell which was partially glued to the side of the hive.. it contained a white substance which we thought might be royal jelly. Didn't see a larvae or egg, but may have fallen out when the cell split.
11/3 Apricot tree in almost in full bloom... most of the buds are open.
8/3 Added a second medium to the AL hive. I'd decided always to give the bees lots of room. The hive now has 2 deeps and two mediums. When I opened the top of the hive I was please to see a good quantity of bees and comb building progressing in what was the top (and only) medium. There are at least 2 1/2 combs that I added using cut down deep comb and the bees have started more. The new medium adds a completely empty box on top.
3/3 INSPECTION AL HIVE: Low 60s F, so quickly inspected the AL hive. Saw all stages of brood and also the queen. She still had one wing shorter than the other. Brood also in the bottom deep this week. Less capped brood than the last inspection but I think there was probably just as much brood in total. The dead frame of drone brood had all been cleaned out. Looked carefully for swarm cells but didn't see any. Saw one small queen cup... like the ones in the TBH. Not sure what to make of it.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
February 2011
2/27 INSPECTION OF TBH: Quickly inspected the TBH as the temperature forecast for the week ahead was cold. Reached 63F today. Saw a good amount of brood and over a comb's worth or drone brood. Jessica saw eggs and the queen. Didn't seem like as much nectar as before.
2/25 Jessica noticed that the first buds were opening on the pear tree.
2/24 Put drone comb back in AL hive. Don't think I'll do this again.
2/23 Weather was just warm enough (low 60s F) so decided to take the opportunity to do a quick inspection of the AL hive. Removed the sticky board from yesterday - 56 mites in 24 hours. Not bad for this hive. Inspection showed a lot of brood. Top deep box had almost 7 full frames of eggs, larvae, or capped brood. One frame showed a gradual development of eggs through to big larvae. Nice to see. This queen can lay. Bottom deep appeared mostly empty except for one frame that was completely full of drone brood. Mostly capped but also larvae present. About 1 dozen drones were emerging at that moment. The first two I looked at had mites attached. Decided to remove the frame and freeze it. Didn't like the idea but if it's infested then maybe the right thing to do. Medium box at top of the hive is still not being worked. Has one partially drawn comb and two full combs. All these combs have been converted previously from deep frames.
2/22 Placed sticky board under the AL hive (1pm)
2/21 First blooms appearing on the apricot tree in the back yard
2/15 Noticed the first leaves appearing on the trees on the walk up to the oak tree at Del Valle
2/14 The start of a cold and wet week in Livermore. Temperatures back down into the 50s F.
2/13 All almond trees are now fully in bloom down by the creek and in Lauren's yard
2/12 Inspected both the TBH and the AL hive......
TBH: The empty bar added last week was almost fully drawn out. The two empty bars added the week before that were 1/2 to 3/4 drawn out. Lots of NECTAR. Brood nest substantially bigger in size with a good amount of brood. Saw queen laying again.
AL hive: Queen now laying in the upper brood box as well as the lower box. Lots of nectar. Bees had also made progress drawing combing into the two empty frames added last week. Maybe 1/4 to 1/3 drawn out. A good amount of brood at least five frames worth.
2/9 Jessica noticed that Lauren's almond tree was just beginning to bloom
2/7 Made medium frames of empty comb from the deep frames that I had removed from the AL hive. Inserted them into the top medium of the hive along with the one already there. Placed one empty frame between the two frames of comb to give the bees a guide.
2/5 Temperatures were in the low 70s, so we inspected both the TBH and the AL Langstoth hives.
TBH: Witnessed the queen laying eggs! Saw lots of drones, a good amount of capped brood, and a worker bee emerging. The two empty bar inserted into the broodnest last time had been 1/4 to 1/3 drawn out. Inserted another empty bar into the brood today.
AL Langstroth: Saw several frames of brood and a good amount of old honey. The bees are building up well. Also saw the queen but she seemed to have one damaged wing. No new comb building. Inserted two empty frames (no comb) into the broodnest. CCECCECC where C=comb and E=empty. Worried later that I'd placed one of the best frames of brood against the hive body... might get chilled...but weather is supposed to be warm for the next few days. Fingers crossed. Moved the two frames (honey no brood) into the second deep.
2/3 Jessica notes that over the last two weeks, trees have begun to blossom. THE apricot in the backyard is still covered in tightly closed buds, but along the walking path, I saw an almond today, which was partially in bloom and two trees with delicate pink blossoms. One, which had just a few blossoms last week, was densely covered in delicate, pink blooms today. An almond, just around the corner was almost in full bloom. And the yellow puff ball tree on Livermore St. was fully blooming.
2/25 Jessica noticed that the first buds were opening on the pear tree.
2/24 Put drone comb back in AL hive. Don't think I'll do this again.
2/23 Weather was just warm enough (low 60s F) so decided to take the opportunity to do a quick inspection of the AL hive. Removed the sticky board from yesterday - 56 mites in 24 hours. Not bad for this hive. Inspection showed a lot of brood. Top deep box had almost 7 full frames of eggs, larvae, or capped brood. One frame showed a gradual development of eggs through to big larvae. Nice to see. This queen can lay. Bottom deep appeared mostly empty except for one frame that was completely full of drone brood. Mostly capped but also larvae present. About 1 dozen drones were emerging at that moment. The first two I looked at had mites attached. Decided to remove the frame and freeze it. Didn't like the idea but if it's infested then maybe the right thing to do. Medium box at top of the hive is still not being worked. Has one partially drawn comb and two full combs. All these combs have been converted previously from deep frames.
2/22 Placed sticky board under the AL hive (1pm)
2/21 First blooms appearing on the apricot tree in the back yard
2/15 Noticed the first leaves appearing on the trees on the walk up to the oak tree at Del Valle
2/14 The start of a cold and wet week in Livermore. Temperatures back down into the 50s F.
2/13 All almond trees are now fully in bloom down by the creek and in Lauren's yard
2/12 Inspected both the TBH and the AL hive......
TBH: The empty bar added last week was almost fully drawn out. The two empty bars added the week before that were 1/2 to 3/4 drawn out. Lots of NECTAR. Brood nest substantially bigger in size with a good amount of brood. Saw queen laying again.
AL hive: Queen now laying in the upper brood box as well as the lower box. Lots of nectar. Bees had also made progress drawing combing into the two empty frames added last week. Maybe 1/4 to 1/3 drawn out. A good amount of brood at least five frames worth.
2/9 Jessica noticed that Lauren's almond tree was just beginning to bloom
2/7 Made medium frames of empty comb from the deep frames that I had removed from the AL hive. Inserted them into the top medium of the hive along with the one already there. Placed one empty frame between the two frames of comb to give the bees a guide.
2/5 Temperatures were in the low 70s, so we inspected both the TBH and the AL Langstoth hives.
TBH: Witnessed the queen laying eggs! Saw lots of drones, a good amount of capped brood, and a worker bee emerging. The two empty bar inserted into the broodnest last time had been 1/4 to 1/3 drawn out. Inserted another empty bar into the brood today.
AL Langstroth: Saw several frames of brood and a good amount of old honey. The bees are building up well. Also saw the queen but she seemed to have one damaged wing. No new comb building. Inserted two empty frames (no comb) into the broodnest. CCECCECC where C=comb and E=empty. Worried later that I'd placed one of the best frames of brood against the hive body... might get chilled...but weather is supposed to be warm for the next few days. Fingers crossed. Moved the two frames (honey no brood) into the second deep.
2/3 Jessica notes that over the last two weeks, trees have begun to blossom. THE apricot in the backyard is still covered in tightly closed buds, but along the walking path, I saw an almond today, which was partially in bloom and two trees with delicate pink blossoms. One, which had just a few blossoms last week, was densely covered in delicate, pink blooms today. An almond, just around the corner was almost in full bloom. And the yellow puff ball tree on Livermore St. was fully blooming.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
January 2011
1/25 Looked for locations for additional hives for the spring. Quickly checked the AL hive with Cyndee and saw brood.
1/22 Reversed hive bodies of the AL langstroth hive. The cluster of bees, brood, and honey stores are now in the deep box on at the bottom of the hive. The deep box on top of that appears to be mainly empty comb. There is then a further deep box on top full of empty frames..... hopefully this will give the bees lots of space to aide in swarm prevention.
1/17 Inspected the AL hive for the first time this year. It was around 64F, so I decided it would be okay to do a quick inspection.
1/10 Finished a two day mite count on the AL hive around this time. Counted 120 mites over 2 days, so 60 per day.
1/22 Reversed hive bodies of the AL langstroth hive. The cluster of bees, brood, and honey stores are now in the deep box on at the bottom of the hive. The deep box on top of that appears to be mainly empty comb. There is then a further deep box on top full of empty frames..... hopefully this will give the bees lots of space to aide in swarm prevention.
1/17 Inspected the AL hive for the first time this year. It was around 64F, so I decided it would be okay to do a quick inspection.
1/10 Finished a two day mite count on the AL hive around this time. Counted 120 mites over 2 days, so 60 per day.
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