Spring Plans

I am huddled here at home after the season's first big blizzard, I've looked out over the snow-covered hives and thought..."Well what are my plans for the spring?"

After doing some research and attending the "Queen Rearing" course at the U of M last summer, I guess my focus next spring will to begin some queen-rearing. (Of course, all this depends are my hives surviving the winter. They were fed extra sugar and pollen in October and early November, and packed away nicely. There were less mites than last fall, and also very few bees with virus-like symptoms, so I am bit more confident) This means some preparation this winter, so here are my goals:

1. Finding places to place hives and mating nucs. I have one colleague (a former exterminator) who has expressed an interest, the Catholic Worker House one block away, and a small-scale perennial nursery and orchard. I have pretty much reached my limit in hives in Beelandia itself.

2. Equipment Purchases-- I made a number of purchases last summer in preparation for queen-rearing this spring (e.g. card board nucs, grafting equipment, etc. ) My new purchases might include more Pierco plastic frames (With a little extra bees wax "painted" on each frame, the bees accepted these well.), and some pollen substitute.

3. Reading and Rereading More Books-- I am obsessed with collecting as much information as possible on queen-rearing, and, unfortunately, had not had time to do that reading this fall with classes, assessment, advising, and presentations.

Did I forget anything?

Bee Glad's First August Inspection

There are two things I am better at this year than I was last year (my first). First, I am much slower and deliberate in my movements which keeps the bees calmer. Second, I am getting very good at spotting the queen even in the large colonies you will find at this time of the year. Both these skills were demonstrated to me during this afternoon's inspection of Bee Glad... .

The weather was perfect for an inspection. The sun was out, there was a slight breeze and the temperature, I estimate, was in the mid 70s. The bees were actively foraging, storing a great deal of their nectar in the top box. I would guess that they are a behind a bit compared with last year's bees.

I found the queen in the second box, seemingly searching for a place to lay. (She was walking around on a non-drawn out part of a plastic frame.) She looks healthy, and active, and her brood pattern, in all three boxes indicates that as well.

I also pulled a green drone frame full of capped brood in the second box, and replaced it with a drawn drone frame. I ended my inspection by dusting the bees with powered sugar.

And again, no stings!

Muggy, Uncomfortable Inspection

I was finally able to inspect the hives containing the Minnesota Hygienic honey bees Monday afternoon. The two days before were too rainy to inspect. Today, on the other hand, was bright, sunny, hot(low 90s)and humid. The bees seemed as uncomfortable as I was, as they were bearding and "washboarding" in front of both Metpropolis and Bee Glad...

Bee Glad..., a langstroth hive, has three boxes on now and the bees have started work, in earnest, in the third box. Two frames in the top box had newly laid eggs on them and 7 out of the ten frames in the hive were being drawn on. The second box was fine as well although, again, the honey bees do not seem to take to the green drone frame as well as I'd like. The other plastic frames are being worked quite well however.

I had to add three bars to Metpropolis, the top bar hive. This hive is booming! Plenty of brood (in all stages of development), pollen and honey. I took one bar of capped drone brood out of this hive in my effort to control the mite population, although, so far, my sticky board inspections show no mites in any of the hives.

I received no stings during this inspection but that did not keep me from ultimately getting stung today. I brought Monta out to see all the bees bearding in front of Bee Glad... and carried a hitch hiking worker in the house with me. I went to scratch my back while walking through the living room of our house and WHAM!!!! I received a nice sting in the "webbing" between the thumb and pointer of my right hand. The cats were thoroughly amused.

Year 2, Week 5: Pleased to See the Queen

My friend Joyce and I did a quick inspection of Plan Bee... and Lib-BEE-taria this morning, after a quick program meeting. Although it was a bit cool for a mid-May day, the carniolans were very active, bring in pollen of various colors and shades.

Plan Bee..., the top bar hive, continues to draw out more comb, and the queen is laying a nice solid capped brood pattern. I had to add another bar to the hive, and fill the feeder with more sugar syrup. As usual, the bees were calm and gentle. No real problems seem to exist in this healthy hive of honey bees.

I did find the queen in Plan Bee... She attempted to hide under some workers but was unable to escape my gaze. She is large, at least larger than the queens I observed last year in my two hives.

I am pleased to report the same for Lib-BEE-taria as well. The carniolans in this hive haven't shied away from drawing comb on the plastic foundation. I am reluctant to admit that the black color of the plastic makes it much easier to see the eggs and young larvae in the open cells. This colony is producing a little more drone brood. I don't think this is a problem, just something I noticed.

In two days I will open up the other two hives and see what I can observe there.

Year 2, Week 3: After the Rain

I was finally able to inspect both Plan Bee... and Lib-BEE-taria this morning between classes. The last three days have been cool and rainy. This morning it was sunny and in the 50s as I opened both hives. Maple and plum trees are blooming close by and the first dandelions are flowering as well.

I was very pleased with what I found in both hives. In Plan Bee..., the top bar hive, the carniolans have drawn a significant amount of comb on 5 bars. Three of the combs have a nice, full pattern of capped brood, and some capped honey to the top. The bees were unbelievably calm on the comb as well. I added another bar to the ten that were already available, since they have comb built right next to a bar located adjacent to a follower board.

I found Lib-BEE-taria, the Langstroth, healthy also. They are drawing comb on 4 of the plastic frames. I was skeptical about using plastic but wanted to experiment a bit. I melted some extra beeswax on the foundation to make them more appealing and that seems to have done the trick. Again, as with the top bar, these carniolans seem to have a healthy queen if the brood pattern is any indication.

Year 2, Week 2: Taking Out the Queen Cages

Yesterday, morning I did my first short inspection of the year, primarily for the purpose of removing the queen cages from Plan Bee, and Lib-BEE-taria. The weather was excellent, in the upper 60s, with little or no wind. The bees have been bringing in pollen for the last week from an assortment of trees finally blooming. This had to be the first Saturday of 2009 that actually felt like spring.

I opened Plan Bee first. The bees were drawing comb on 4 bars already and were very calm as I removed one of the bars to inspect it. I removed the empty queen cage and closed the hive up. I was very happy with what I saw.

Lib-BEE-taria, the new Langstroth, seemed also to be doing well. The bees were working on two already drawn frames and drawing comb on parts of adjacent plastic frames. Yes, I know, plastic frames! Not very sustainable of me but something I felt I needed to do. I just had too many problems with cross comb last year and felt I needed to get the hang of beekeeping before I'd return to the challenges of foundationless frames. I did include some foundationless frames in this hive that had fairly "straight" comb. Anyway, these Carniolans don't seem to mind plastic frames, though, as a precaution, I did brush on an extra coat of beeswax on each to make them more "enticing".

I have noticed that I am second guessing myself and being overly cautious during inspections this year, possibly because of the dying of last year's colonies. I do not know whether this is good or bad.

Clarifying Issues: Part II

After reading my last post, I could see that it might easily be misinterpreted. I need to make something very clear: I have not given up on using organic and natural apicultural methods. If I can, I use the most "natural"/"organic" management methods available. So for example, I use foundationless frames in the Langstroth and, of course, simple top bars in Metpropolis, leaving cell size up to the bees. My varroa testing and management includes a screened bottom board, two drone brood frames, and periodic powdered sugar dusting. The bees water in a little planted pond kept balanced and mosquisto-less with white clouds and koi. Pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers are not used in the Forest of Beelandia, nor on the rest of our property. The grass (and weeds) are even mowed with an old-fashion push mower.

That being said, the foraging environment of Beelandia's bees is not over healthy I suppose. Within a two mile flying radius, the bees experience (a) the Mississippi River and all its pollutants, (b) two or three factories, (c) the West Side Public pool, (d) a golf course, (e) 4 bars :-), (f) a Brach's Candy factory, (g) the busy traffic of three main streets, and (h) the countless small gardens of neighbors who use both chemical and organic techniques in soil mixed with generations of lead paint and who knows what else. Add to this, the fact that the bees I've installed were produced in California and are not adapted to Minnesota winters, and I have a collection of interacting variables that can't help but stress the bees, making them more susceptable to an array of pests and diseases. In an environment like this, must I be infrequently prepared to set aside my "natural" apicultural management ideals when the bees are sick or plague by parasites? Or, must I just admit that sustainable beekeeping is impossible where I live? Only time can answer this.

Week 9 and The Summer Flow is Coming

I just got through doing my 9th week inspection of Metpropolis and Bee Glad... . We just got through a rainy weekend but this morning was beautiful. The temperature was in the high 70s, the sun was out with light, occasional breezes. The bees have been busy at the entrance, and I've caught them around the neighborhood foraging white clover. I think the basswood trees are just around done flowering.

Bee Glad... has three deeps on now but not much work was happening in the top box. There was drawn comb on one frame but that was about it. The middle box, however, was heavy with bees, capped, and uncapped honey and occasional brood. The bees are drawing very little comb on the green plastic drone frame which is not entirely unexpected I suppose. The bottom box is filled with bees and brood in all different stages of development. When the bees move up in a week or so I will have to do alot of trimming of comb in that box. The cross-comb is terrible on three frames but it would cause too much disruption to do anything right now.

Metpropolis is living up to its name! The propolis is thick in this hive, but not unmanagable. As usual, the comb on most bars is straight, as the cross-comb "problems" seem to be slowly working itself out with a little trimming here and there. I cut off a whole section of capped drone brood from one bar as part of my mite control measures. Like Bee Glad..., the bees are bringing in plenty of nectar into the hive. I am very proud of the bees and I really hope all the neighbors appreciate the work they are doing.

Week 7: It's Such a Perfect Day

I did the week seven inspection a day early. The day was perfect, I think, for both bees and humanity. The temperature was in the 80s, bright and sunny with a magnificent, soft breeze. I've been finding that as a somewhat urban beekeeper (I hesitate to call Winona urban!), it is quite difficult to figure out just what the bees are foraging, though foraging they are. I've seen them exploring white clover, but anything else is just a guess. There are just too many ornamentals growing in the neighborhood to exactly know what type of pollen and nectar they are bringing in.

Bee Glad... was thriving. When I opened up the top box, there were a few hundred bees scurrying around the top of the bars. Unfortunately, one of their number decided to sting me on the index finger as I took the inner cover off. Not a very good way to start the inspection but all went reasonably well after that. The bees have been building comb on all the frames, except of course, the green plastic brood comb frame I am using for varroa control. The bottom box was booming with bees. Unfortunately, it also contained two frames stuck together with cross comb. I did some trimming of comb in that box but will wait until the bees fully move to the top box to really split and trim those frames apart. I am convinced that my cross comb problems in Bee Glad... were the result of not having the starter strips firmly secured to the frame. The bees were tearing the strips out and then had nothing to guide their drawing. I am now using waxed Popsicle sticks glued into the frames instead. If the comb drawing in the top box is any indication, this looks like it works much better.

Metpropolis, as usual, is simply a pleasure to work. I handled one cross comb problem in this hive rather leisurely and the bees didn't mind at all. Also, I cut a section of comb off one bar that was primarily filled with drone comb, as an effort to do some IPM against varroa. (Next week, I will do a varroa count on both hives) There was plenty of brood in all stages, and the bees have begun capping honey on the few bars they have dedicated to it. I added a bar and closed the hive up.

Monta did take photos of this inspection and I will upload them sometime during the week, along with a photo of a spider who feasts on an occasional bee from Bee Glad...

Begin those Purchases

I've been looking at my finances and it's hit me that I can't just go out and purchase all that I need for my bees next spring in one fell swoop. I'll need to buy a few things little by little. The starter kit will have to wait until December, I imagine, but those other pieces of equipment I plan to get will have to be ordered paycheck to paycheck. So this Friday, I plan to order an 8 frame triangular bee escape, an 8 frame shim and possibly a 5 frame nuc. Yes, it does seem like pretty non-essential equipment but I would eventually purchase these things anyway, so why not when I have a bit of money.

Given some of the problems, Jordan at Hive-Mind has had with plastic frames, I'm rethinking my initial thoughts about using them.