Week 10: Between the Raindrops

The 10 week inspection of Bee Glad... and Metpropolis took place yesterday. When I started the inspection at around 11 a.m. the weather was partially cloudy; by the end, the clouds were a bit more threatening as afternoon and evening storms moved in. The bees are foraging a variety of plants, though they don't touch those I have blossoming in The Forests of Beelandia at this moment. Cucumbers, borage, chamomile, narrow-leaf milk weed are all flowering, along with the continuation of vetch, and white clover in and about the neighborhood.

This inspection included a new associate: Robert, a son-in-law, who I think has caught "bee fever", despite the fact that he took a sting near the eye today.

The bees are now working in all three boxes of Bee Glad... The middle box was heavy with honey and brood. The top box had partially filled frames of comb and brood. The bottom box was much like the middle. I removed one frame each from the bottom and middle box and exchanged them for "empties" in the top box, in line with suggestions given in the book Beekeeping in Northern Climates. Now the top two boxes have only 9 frames each. Before inspecting this hive this morning, I examined a sticky board I had placed under the screen bottom 24 hours before. I found no mites. Bee Glad... continues to thrive.

Metpropolis is also thriving. The queen is still producing brood and the bees are storing pollen and nectar. I added two bars to this hive, one on each end. This hive also seems healthy as I found no sign of disease in it as well.

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.