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Hive Inspection and a NASA Web Site
I sneaked out of work an hour early yesterday to take advantage of a sunny afternoon and do a quick hive inspection. Time: 4:30pmWeather: Sunny, 52 degrees, no wind Hives 1 through 5 are shown in order in the photo strip below. Hive 1: Continues to prosper. However, I noticed excessive moisture along the inner [...]
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First Hive Inspection of 2009
I got home too late Monday to do a thorough hive inspection, but still I was able to get a sense how the hives are making it through winter. Time: 4:00pmWeather: Sunny, 49 degrees, no wind Hive 1, which is the oldest hive in my apiary, seems to be in much better shape than last year with [...]
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A Swarm and a New Queen
I had the rare opportunity to observe a swarm exiting Hive 3 yesterday afternoon. At about 4:30pm a cloud of bees floated up over the hives, then drifted west before settling into the outer branches of one the big-leaf maples that surrounds the beeyard. The swarm is about 75 feet up so there’s no chance [...]
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Aliens in Hive 2!
Here's something I've never seen before. When I removed the top cover of Hive 2 several drone cells attached to one of the top frames were torn open, including the one pictured here. Note how big the drone’s pupa is compared to the attending workers (click photo to enlarge). We’re looking down at the drone’s [...]
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Warm Weather at Last!
Yesterday’s taste of summer made possible a leisurely inspection of Hives 1 and 2. Date: 5/16/08, Time 4:45Weather: Sunny, 72 degrees, slight breeze Hive 1 Trimmed off all excess wax buildup on the frame tops and bottom. Photographed all occupied frames to sample and estimate hive population. I now put the hive at about 9000–that’s [...]
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Waiting for Warmer Weather
Found an extra half hour on Thursday to add second deeps to Hives 3 and 4. Because it was relatively cool I decided not to open Hives 1 or 2 and instead wait for a warmer day. Date: 5/8/2008, Time: 4:30pmWeather: Cloudy, 52 degrees, breezy. Hive 3 Found queen on frame #5 (top photo). Observed [...]
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Back to the New Hives
After discovering how robust things were in Hive 2 (and assuming the same for Hives 3 and 4) I cut short my inspection on Thursday to finish assembly of the frames for the second deeps. Date: 5/2/2008, Time: 4:15Weather: Cloudy, 55 degrees, variable breeze. Added the second deep to Hive 2. Positioned the three frames [...]
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Population Explosion in Hive 1
Before leaving the bee yard yesterday I took a quick look into Hive 1 to assess its progress since last week. Date: 5/1/2008, Time: 3:15Weather: Sunny, 58 degrees, variable breeze. Photographed all occupied frames to sample and estimate hive population. I now put the hive at about 6,100–that’s an 80% increase since my last visit [...]
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Busy Bees
It’s been exactly two weeks since I installed bee packages and I was pleasantly surprised with the first of the new hives that I opened. Not only was the queen in peak form, but most of the foundation was already drawn out with comb. Time: 3:00 pmWeather: Sunny, 58 degrees, variable breeze Observed nice patterns [...]
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A New Queen, Start of Summer and Barcodes on Bees