Video: A Trip Through Beelandia

I decided to video Beelandia today. I hope you enjoy watching the bees active outside their hive.

Yesterday's Top Bar Inspection

Another scorching day in Beelandia yesterday where I inspected the two top bar hives: Plan Bee... and Metpropolis. Again the weather was hot and muggy with very little breeze.

Both hives were in a similar state.

I had worried needlessly two inspections ago about the state of Plan Bee... and the nature of its brood pattern. I am happy to report that things are going well in this hive. Plenty of brood, good pattern, and the bees have begun to store away honey on the edges. The queen looks fine. I did accidentally break some comb in the hive but wired it together a bit. The bees should repair the rest. I did add two undrawn bars to either side of the brood nest.

The same report can be made of Metpropolis minus the breaking of comb. The queen is laying well, good pattern, and the bees are starting to store away honey on the edges. I also added to undrawn bars to the hive.

Yesterday's Big Inspection in Beelandia

Yesterday, I spent late morning and early afternoon working in Beelandia on all the langstroth hives.It was not the most comfortable day to be bundled up in "white armor" however. The temperatures were in the high 90s (Fahrenheit) and absolutely no wind to speak of. The sun felt scorching.

I put second boxes on both Worker Bees... and Lib-BEE-taria, along with drawn drone comb frame as part of my mite management plans. I took the 3, 5 and 7 frames out of the bottom box and moved them up to the second and put drawn frames in their place in the bottom box. I left both with a pollen pattie.

I did a walk-away split on Bee Glad... I've never done this before preferring to create nukes from queen cells I've grafted or were given. I am an experimenter and want to see if there is a significant difference in results in my local area. I will report the results as they come in.

Today's Mite Count

I just checked the 24 hour mite count for 4 of my 5 hives. Here are the results:

1. Plan Bee... - 3 mites.
2. Worker Bees... 0 mites
3. Lib-BEE-taria 0 mites
4. Bee Glad... 0 mites

The sticky paper I placed under Metpropolis fell out during the night so no count was taken.

Article: Swarm in New York City

An article, with slide show, about a swarm in Little Italy in New York City. I love these stories and the relative calmness of all those involved. We might yet be able to live with bees!

Video: Chalkbrood

I found chalkbrood in front of the entrance to Worker Bee of the World Unite. This isn't all that surprising given the intermittent cold and rainy weather we've had up until recently. I am not too worried. The hive seems to be taking care of itself.

Last Tuesday's Inspection

Last Tuesday, I inspected all the hives in Beelandia. While it was sunny and reasonable warm, the wind was very gusty. I have caught the bees foraging Dutch White Clover, chives and mint on my property. I was a bit concerned about the bees since we had rainy and unseasonably cold conditions the previous week.

All the hives seem to be doing well. Plenty of larvae in all stages of development. They are bringing in pollen and the queens look large and healthy.

Drones have hatched in Plan Bee..., the largest top bar hive. I did not see any in the other hives.

I took off the top feeders but did leave a pollen patty in each hive. They have been consuming it and, with the rain and cold, I have worried about the bees diet.