I went and saw Ken Hays this morning. I asked him about the cluster of bees at the hive entrance (see photo at right taken last night) and it was just as we suspected — the girls are HOT!
He said to totally remove the entrance blocker (duct tape), so I took care of that this afternoon. They are still a little corn-fused and not ready to use this new available space, but I think they’ll slowly get used to it (and they’ll certainly enjoy the fresh air!)
I also took the frames that they had not touched and interspersed them with ones they had already drawn out. When we closed up the hive we offset the lid so that there was a tiny crack to ensure air circulation throughout the hive.
I also made some simple syrup and put three jars of it in the top hive box. I’ll peek in there tomorrow to see how much they’ve consumed and I will start feeding them regularly. They will need lots of their own honey for the winter and I want to make sure they are totally prepared. We went to Wild Oats and ordered a 25-pound back of organic sugar…we’ll see how long that lasts.
Until later!
Ryan and I got back from Denver on Wednesday night and I was very anxious to check the bees. When I walked out with the flashlight, I was stunned to find a fist-sized cluster of bees hanging around outside the hive opening. As I continued to shine the light, they dispersed and went inside.
Over the past few nights, we have witnessed the same phenomenon. Ryan and I think it may be because the colony is growing and it has been really hot at night so they cluster outside to cool off. I’m going to go see Ken tomorrow at the Farmer’s Market and ask him.
The bees have begun to draw out one of the empty frames, but have barely touched the others. I’ve decided to feed them so I’m going to put three jars of simple syrup in the hive tonight to see how they take to it.
The are definitely increasing in numbers, however. And the queen is healthy and laying brood.
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!
Ryan and I found the queen today! She’s so beautiful and easy to spot, I wondered how we missed her before. Here she is in all her glory. Look for the red dot.
A few weeks ago, Ryan came home with a gift for me. He walked in with a small stem from a fennel plant, attached to which was a beautiful, fat black and yellow caterpillar. We put it in a jar and gave it some food and waited.
After several days the caterpillar stopped munching on the fennel and, essentially, stopped moving altogether. We thought she was dead. Then we noticed that she had attached herself to the fennel stem with two very small silk threads. Ryan moved the jar and she squirmed slightly then went back to her static state.
Within a day, she had turned into a chrysalis. She didn’t spin like I thought she would. She just…well…kind of EXCRETED her chrysalis. She turned from bright yellow and black to a bright green cocoon with little horns and a ridge down her back.
For several days we watched and waited. Then one day Ryan called out to me to come and see the jar. Inside was a beautiful female black swallowtail butterfly, with her wings spread and the chrysalis still moist.
We took her outside and let her crawl out of the jar. Afer a few minutes she fluttered off into the world. It was a moment that brought tears to my eyes. Here are some pictures.
Well this time I was much more calm when I inspected the hive. Ryan and I decided that I would systematically go through every frame and he would take pictures so that we could compare then to the next inspection.
The hive looks very healthy to me. The bees have not yet begun to draw out the empty frames, which means they have not started to build comb and add brood, pollen, or honey. But that’s okay. They’ve only been in their new ‘hood for a week. Ken Hays told me to give them another week and if they have not begun to draw out at least one or two more frames then I should begin feeding them myself. In order to do that, I make a simple syrup mixture and put it inside the hive. This is something that is typically done in the winter to help the bees survive the cold months, but with a new hive like this you sometimes have to feed them even when there might be ample food sources all around.
I did not find the queen, which bummed me out a bit. However, I’m certain she’s there because there’s tons of brood cells all over the place. Bees develop from egg to larva to pupa to winged insect. In looking at my hive I see all four stages. In fact, the other day I was watching the girls work and I noticed a small group of bees hovering around the entrance and landing and then taking off again. This was most likely new bees experiencing their first flight and orienting themselves toward the hive. So all said, the queen is there and the hive is growing. I’m sure I will run into into her eventually.
So I felt pretty good about this inspection. Here are some photos. Ryan is such a great photographer and he doesn’t even wear a hat or veil! What a He-Man!
Enjoy!
Honey galore!
SUCCESS!!!
These are photos Ryan took while I was doing my first hive inspection. I was so nervous! I didn’t accomplish much of anything, just opening and taking out a couple of frames. I called Ken Hays and asked him a bunch of questions — he said I did fine and encouraged me to try again tomorrow. He’s so wonderful. I will do a more detailed inspection Sunday afternoon.
Here are some photos:
Preparing the smoker and getting my gear on.
Psyching myself up to open the hive.
Look at all that honey! (Waxy stuff on upper right quadrant.)
Busy bees! All that is honey.
The bees are tending to “brood” cells — baby bees. The convex, tan caps hold the larva as it develops and becomes ready to hatch. Eventually, this will add thousands of more bees to the colony making it grow to about 60,000 bees.
I can’t remember the first time I considered becoming a beekeeper. I do remember seeing the movie “Ulee’s Gold” (with Peter Fonda) in 1997 and thinking how interesting it was that he was a beekeeper. Then I met my friend Betsy and she told me that her brother was an apiarist. This was all when I was living in New York City, however, so the idea that I could actually become a beekeeper myself seemed a million miles away.
Then a few years ago I read “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd and I think that book once again piqued my interest in beekeeping as a way of life. When I met my boyfriend, Ryan, last year he mentioned that he had considered keeping bees. He bought a book called “Hit by a Farm” by Catherine Friend and I poured through it in a couple of weeks. After that I returned to the bookstore to find more naturalist writers and I came across Sue Hubbell’s “A Book of Bees” and Holly Bishop’s “Robbing the Bees.” That was it. I was sold.
So last week, after talking about it for a year or so, Ryan and I drove down to Bosque Farms and met Ken Hays of Hays Honey & Apple Farm. He showed me his bee yard and orchard and I arranged to come back and help him harvest pollen. After spending a couple of hours in his two nearby bee yards, I knew I was in. I bought a “nuc” hive from Ken and picked it up on Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
The little ladies are in my backyard, working like fiends. I did my first rudimentary inspection today and was nervous as hell. Ryan took some great pictures. I’ll need to check them out again tomorrow.
I’m excited and anxious because I am growing to love the bees as if they are pets. Today, after my inspection, I sat and watched them clean house. They systematically drug out their dead sisters and flew them off to their final resting place. It was sad to see, but inspiring because I know they are doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
I will use this blog to keep detailed notes on the growth of my colony, hive inspections, seasonal information, and — eventually — honey harvesting! If all goes well, I will buy another hive and keep it at school so the kids can take part in this amazing activity.
Until next time…!
I went and saw Ken Hays this morning. I asked him about the cluster of bees at the hive entrance (see photo at right taken last night) and it was just as we suspected — the girls are HOT!
